I'd say that you really only need the core rulebook and the first book of the AP.
Well with the Advanced Players Guide I thought it would allow the players to build the pc they want, and not be pigeon toed into a pc like it (I already know that atleast one person will be wanting to make a witch, or another class in it). And with the Bestiary I'd be able to throw interesting little side quests durring the ap, and be able to start work on anouther campain well we're doing this one. Id most likely be dropping the fluff book for the campain.
The books Pale mentioned should be your priorities. On their first campaign, your players will be so thrilled they won't even care about all the options the Advanced Player's Guide offers to them. They'll be very happy with simple, core book exclusive characters. If you keep playing, eventually, it might be fun to buy the Advanced Player's Guide, but if your players are noobs, it'll be easy to surprise them when encountering NPCs or to make their characters interesting to them.
True, you only need the Core Rulebook. But I would recommend Bestiary I and the Gamemaster's Guide, since you're still pretty new to GMing. It has a lot of great ideas that help with world, campaign, and session development.
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If you are new to Pathfinder I would say go with Carrion Crown cause it is made for Pathfinder so requires no tweaking.
As for the book obvious the core book, first AP and bestiary I think would all be must haves. Depending on what you can afford I would then say the Advanced Players Guide, rest of the AP's(it helps to read as many as you can before running it to keep them connected more smoothly) and Rule of Fear(book about the country that Carrion Crown AP takes place in).
After that books I would consider helpful but not a must would be the World Guide, Game Master Guide, bestiary 2.
Mostly it comes down to your budget. Also keep in mind if you don't mind PDF's all the rule books are only 10 bucks for their PDF's.
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Carrion Crown (As meny of the AP as you can get.)
Assumes that you have
Core
Bestiary I
Bestiary II
DM books you might want.
Rule of Fear
Game Master Guide (Over all good book. I don't get a lot of use out of it. I have GMed for over 20 years now so im the wrong person to ask. As a new GM you might get alot of use out of it.)
Player books you might want.
Inner Sea Primer (Gives a short back story of the people from each of the inner sea countrys/reagons. And hase traits for each of the reagons.)
Faiths of Purity (I can not give this book enough credit. It dose the best job of puting forth the tenets of the followers of the gods of good.)
Books I wold stay clear of with new players.
Advanced Players Guide (Just to much at one time for a new player.)
Ultimit Magic (Same as Advanced Players Guide.)
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Bare minimum? The core rulebook and the AP. Next most important beyond those would be the Bestiary - essentially a part of the Core Rules is contained in the appendices: there you'll find the mechanics of monster abilities and the abilities of monster types that are not in the CRB. In fact, having that stuff is ESSENTIAL because that stuff will be referred to in the AP, it's just not as-necessary a purchase because it's also reproduced in the public PRD and is relatively easy to print out.
I would also allow your player to have the Witch by printing off the class description from the PRD. It's overwhelming to give a new player an entire splatbook and say "pick something from here." But as the GM if you have already familiarized yourself with the material then I'd suggest talking the players through their character concept with them and say, "oh, what you'll want to play is a witch actually" and show them only what they need to see. You can even point them in the direction of a specific archetype - new players will be learning each new power as it comes anyway, "learning as they go" with your guidance primarily.
That's my suggestion, because a key ingredient for your campaign is your players' investment in their characters - if they can be especially excited about their character, that might spawn ideas for character arcs that you can tie-in to the AP.
On a related note, when selecting your AP find out what flavor actually excites you and your players - if you guys want an urban adventure with political intrigue go with CotCT. If you guys look forward to turning down the lights and upping the level of horror, go with Carrion Crown.
Now I'v heard that the sweet spot for gaming groups is 3-5 players, is this true in your experiance? Also what do you if say in a 4 person group if 2 choose to be a fighter, 1 a rogue, and 1 a mage. But nobody chooses to be a cleric? Do you supply a npc cleric that will go with them, let them get hurt with nobody to heal them, or try to convert one into a cleric?
Thanks,
TimeRanger.
While a balanced party is important, letting the players all play a character they'll enjoy is more important. APs are long, and playing a character not of your choice while everyone else plays what they wanted will dampen the player's enjoyment. (Allowing a player to change characters if they realize they really don't enjoy what they started with is also something to consider, especially early in the adventure)
If the GM is going to run an npc, a cleric is the best choice and easiest to play. We're playing Second Darkness AP and our GM is running an npc healer. We have a barbarian, monk, inquisitor, and wizard.
Play an npc cleric that just heals; no going first, no making tactical decisions, etc. And a GM run npc can help when the party needs that little nudge to get the clue they're overlooking. (Can be very important with new players)
As to party size, 3-5 is ideal. Even with experienced players, larger group play bogs down in combat, especially at higher levels.
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Thanks for all the advice. I'm thinking of changing the APG to the Game Master Guide. And i'm leaning towards Carrion crown, as we're all fans of horror movies and I want chances to mess with the players heads. Now I'v heard that the sweet spot for gaming groups is 3-5 players, is this true in your experiance? Also what do you if say in a 4 person group if 2 choose to be a fighter, 1 a rogue, and 1 a mage. But nobody chooses to be a cleric? Do you supply a npc cleric that will go with them, let them get hurt with nobody to heal them, or try to convert one into a cleric?
Thanks,
TimeRanger.
Pathfinder like 3.5 DnD is set with a default assumption of 4 PC's per group. So if you have more or less you might need to tweak the adventures to keep them challenging with out being overkill. If the group has no healer you will likely need to include a NPC healer or make healing potions or a cure wand easy to obtain for the group.
Things can be difficult without a primary healer. I'd say discuss it with the group. Perhaps one of them will decide to play a cleric, or they might ask you to run an NPC. I'd say only do that if you feel comfortable with it. Otherwise, they'll just have to budget cash to enable themselves to go to the local cleric for healing, or to stock up on potions.
As for suggestions, I'd also suggest adding two more things to your list: the GM screen, and a notebook. Organization is a primary element to a smoothly run game. The screen puts several often-used mechanics right in front of your eyes, so it saves time having to flip pages looking for the right spot to find the DC for a specific skill roll, etc.
Having a notebook on hand is good for jotting down all sorts of things you need to keep straight for a campaign. Suppose a player asks a question you don't have an immediate answer to, but don't want to drag the game to a halt so you can find an answer. Jot it down, let them know you'll get back to it later. Want to remember the name of the NPC you just invented to help them along? Write it down. The better organized you are, the more in control of the game you'll be.
Notebook or someplace to write down notes is also important if continuing plot in a campaign as it is nearly impossible to predict players. Also you will need to jot down if a creature has cast a spell or if the players get in a good or bad relationship with an npc could be useful to know so their reaction is the same so versimilitude does not break.
I find having the PDF versions of the books (Core, APG, Bestiary, AP, etc.), in conjunction with the PRD and www.d20pfsrd.com, has made my experience as a DM and a player a lot easier.
Also, the PF DM screen that Paizo produces is top notch and a must buy for any new Pathfinder DM. If you're short on cash and don't mind a little do-it-yourself work, you can also print the charts from the downloadable GM screen over at d20pfsrd.
Paizo is fantastic about supporting their products and open gaming in general. It's also nice that they provide a place to gather and talk about the game we all love. There are many experienced and friendly people on this forum to help you make your campaign a success--use what you like and disregard the rest.
Good luck!