Hi all,
I've just purchased the beginner box and I am absolutely amazed with it. Never tried Pathfinder before although I've played extensively D&D 3.x and d20 Modern, so I am familiar with the rules.
So basically been a noob in Pathfinder Universe, I decided to check for more products and...my. The amount of them is overwhelming! I already have the core rulebook (and what a monster it is!) but want some advice on the rest: what do I need to start adventures in Golarion? What are the "you have to have" books? Please advise!
Thanks all in advance.
Hi all,
I've just purchased the beginner box and I am absolutely amazed with it. Never tried Pathfinder before although I've played extensively D&D 3.x and d20 Modern, so I am familiar with the rules.
So basically been a noob in Pathfinder Universe, I decided to check for more products and...my. The amount of them is overwhelming! I already have the core rulebook (and what a monster it is!) but want some advice on the rest: what do I need to start adventures in Golarion? What are the "you have to have" books? Please advise!
Thanks all in advance.
Adventures in Golarion? hmmmm that is a lot of potential. First of all you said you have bought the core rulebooks, I assume that means you want to use the complete ruleset (which I am assuming wont be too difficult with extensive 3.x experience).
You will need the bestiary, that is a must have, so you have the basic monsters and such that other books will assume you have access to. Then you need to decide on what you want to run, do you want to create your own adventures or keep running pre-written ones? One of pathfinder's biggest strengths is the awesome adventures paizo publishes. The adventure paths and modules offer a wide variety to choose from. (Note that some of the products in these sections were written for 3.x instead of pathfinder, so keep that in mind if you choose any of them).
If you want to get to know more about golarion, you cant go wrong with the inner sea world guide which is the primary campaign setting book.
Once you choose an area of interest or a adventure path you can choose products that will help flesh out that part of the world past whats in the main guide.
Also note that there are lots of free resources to help you get started (have i mentioned paizo is extraordinarily generous with their liscensing?). You can find all the rules from the rpg line for free in the prd. So if you decide to buy more rulebooks you can have a look there and see what you like before you buy.
Also for information about golarion, check out the pathfinder wiki
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^ As Kolokotroni said.
As far as game mechanics go, I would add that the Advanced Players Guide is IMHO a must-have for experimented players (especially when it comes to new base classes like the Alchemist, the Inquisitor or the Witch, and "archetypes", which are class variants specialized in a specific job or thematic and basically one of the most loved pathfinder features).
Ultimate Magic and Ultimate Combat both have gold content (more awesome archetypes, character concepts and feats), though you probably should first stick with the Core rules and the setting/adventures paths ; then with the APG to gain a good mastery of the system before using them at full extent.
Additional options being overpowered or ridiculously game-breaking like it was common to see in 3.5 isn't something you should be afraid off, with the exception of some rare feats or archetypes that could prove problematic with enough rules-fu, a lenient DM and a real mastery of potential loopholes. Options are usually slightly better at the cost of versatility, similar or a bit weaker than what they replace, or allow to do things that weren't possible before.
Hi all,
I've just purchased the beginner box and I am absolutely amazed with it. Never tried Pathfinder before although I've played extensively D&D 3.x and d20 Modern, so I am familiar with the rules.
So basically been a noob in Pathfinder Universe, I decided to check for more products and...my. The amount of them is overwhelming! I already have the core rulebook (and what a monster it is!) but want some advice on the rest: what do I need to start adventures in Golarion? What are the "you have to have" books? Please advise!
Thanks all in advance.
I would start light, core rulebook and bestiary, and maybe pick up one of the adventure paths. It will start you off at level 1 and take you up to like level 15+.
After that first path, then start expanding, slowly. Pick up the 2nd bestiary and the advanced player's guide to give players more choices than just the core ones, and possibly the Dungeon Mastery Guide if you start to build your own realm within Golarion.
You might want to look into HeroLab which is great for creating characters both playable and NPCs, but also making sheets for your "bad" guys.
There you have it.
In order, I would get:
Core Rulebook
Bestiary
Advanced Player's Guide
Bestiary 2
Ultimate Combat or Ultimate Magic
Ultimate Combat or Ultimate Magic
You'll get the most bang for your buck for the first three. The Advanced Player's Guide is the best supplement for more character options. The bestiaries are both ripe with options to challenge your players, although I think the second bestiary goes a little bit overboard on the extra planar stuff. Still good, though.
The Ultimate Books are pretty cool but not quite as good. You shouldn't rush off to get them, since the Advanced Player's Guide will keep you busy for a long time. If you already have the Dungeon Master's Guide from 3.5 or you're already a seasoned GM, you won't need the Gamemastery Guide. It's a decent read and has some fun tables and lists, but it's probably the most disappointing book so far.
Also keep in mind that the Pathfinder SRD pretty much has all the core roles and then some available. It's a handy reference and can help a lot. That being said, they don't explain concepts as well as the Core Books.
I'd recommend having at least the Core RB in print, you can get away with having the rest of the books in PDF as you probably won't be using them as often. Hero Lab is a good, (if increasingly expensive), tool to have. You can whip-up NPCs and monsters pretty quick and it can even assist running combat if you've a mind to do so. Downside of Hero Lab is that you have to pay extra for material such as the APG or the Bestiaries to be added to the program. You can get away with not buying the Bestiaries if you're willing to input the stats manually which doesn't take long in any event.
The APG,UC,UM, and books like them are worth considering as they add the races, classes, etc... to the program.
My 50 cents
. If you already have the Dungeon Master's Guide from 3.5 or you're already a seasoned GM, you won't need the Gamemastery Guide. It's a decent read and has some fun tables and lists, but it's probably the most disappointing book so far.
I really like the various NPCs of various levels, all statted up and everything. I expect that could come in handy...
For adventures in Golarion specifically you'll want the Inner Sea World Guide (Izz-wig!) for it is a beautiful book. Not as rules heavy, but it has a fair amount. Mostly details the game world of the Pathfinder products.
This blog post should be exactly what you're looking for.