Basically, as brreitz has pointed out, as long as you have all of the AP Chapters (each AP has 6 books), you'll just need a laptop/desktop and access to the PRD page, which has been posted above. :)
Generally, people only use the three Bestiaries, Core, APG, Ultimate Magic and Ultimate Combat.
All of the gear can be found there, along with Wealth By Level and Encounter guides in the Gamesmastering section and the amount of experience needed for each level up can be found on the Classes tab (don't click on the Classes. Instead, scroll down).
I hope this helps! :)
Creative Director
|
For the most part, you can get away with running any Adventure Path with the Core Rulebook and the 3 Bestiaries. Now and then we'll pull things from the other books like archetypes or equipment, but if you're familiar with those other hardcovers, you can probably get away without having them at the table. You can certainly get away with having an iPad or smartphone or laptop with access to the internet (and thus the PRD).
I'll second James, but eliminate the bestiaries:
(1) The core rulebook.
(2) A web browser and internet connection.
(3) A pencil and set of 3"x5" cards.
I don't care for the way the stat blocks are arranged in the books, so I just sit down with my wife's iPad and 'card out' all the encounters, putting each creature on a 3x5 card. All items, spells, and monsters are either statted out in the AP or available on the PRD. So I never use a physical book beyond the AP book itself.
I think the issue is more like
what companions etc publications do I (really) need to make the AP work well
Csn you run KM without river kingdoms books or some other guide?
Im about to Run Sh St
Reading the first mod there are loads of what ill call throwaway lines about this person and this place and this bit of history that I beleive the author assumes you know about, and therefore isnt in the mod
--do i need to access a wiki, or this book about magnimar, or this book about kaer magar etc
MrUth what AP are you going to run and therefore someone could advise you on what peripheral stuff is "needed"
I would agree with Mr. Jacobs that all you really need to run an AP is the Core Rulebook and the Bestiaries.
Of course, Paizo is a publishing company after all, and they're in the business of selling books. So, naturally, each AP has a few Campaign Guides and Players Companion volumes that are immediately useful.
For example, if you're running Rise of the Runelords, the following campaign guides could be valuable...
Magnimar: City of Monuments
Lost Cities of Golarion ...for details on Xin-Shalast.
Lost Kingdoms ...for more details on Thassilon.
Inner Sea Magic ...for details on Thassilonian magic.
Classic Monsters Revisited ...for flavor notes on goblins, ogres, and trolls.
Giants Revisited ...for flavor notes on giants.
These Players Companions would also be useful...
Varisia: Birthplace of Legends ...for general overview of the area-- including a lovely player-friendly map!
Goblins of Golarion
Faiths of Corruption ...for more on the cults of Lamashtu and Norgorber.
Of course, if you're running Skull and Shackles different supporting material would be appropriate.
|
Creative Director
|
We generally try to build our Adventure Paths so that you can run them with as few books as possible, but then provide support for them in the form of numerous additional books so that if you want to go BEYOND what's in the adventure, you can.
The extra books Haladir lists above will absolutely help you expand Shattered Star, but they're not required to play the specific encounters in the adventure itself.
The idea is that an adventure should ENCOURAGE you to read more about the themes and elements and creatures, not REQUIRE you to do so. I'd much rather have a GM read extra books about a setting because he wants to learn more and is honestly interested than make it feel like we're forcing him to spend money and time reading something he'd rather not bother with.
We generally try to build our Adventure Paths so that you can run them with as few books as possible, but then provide support for them in the form of numerous additional books so that if you want to go BEYOND what's in the adventure, you can.
The extra books Haladir lists above will absolutely help you expand Shattered Star, but they're not required to play the specific encounters in the adventure itself.
The idea is that an adventure should ENCOURAGE you to read more about the themes and elements and creatures, not REQUIRE you to do so. I'd much rather have a GM read extra books about a setting because he wants to learn more and is honestly interested than make it feel like we're forcing him to spend money and time reading something he'd rather not bother with.
I didn't mean to imply that you need extra material to run the APs.
I've been buying extra material because I love the setting and find the Campaign Guides a whole lot of fun to read... and they give me more to work with when the party decides to go off-script.
Honestly, I only own three of the supplemental books I mentioned. I'd definitely buy more of them if I had a bigger budget for gaming stuff.
LOL@James.
Paizo's got well over $1000 of my hard-earned cash just because every time I stop by my local game store or browse the Paizo web site, I see, "Oooh! A book on Varisia! A book on the Inner Sea! A book on Magnimar! MUST HAVE!"
And I will openly say, they VASTLY improve my GMing. Magnimar has turned from a 'safe stopping point' in my CotCT campaign to a 'major hub of intrigue' in my RotRL campaign, and I've even started my kids in Shattered Stars and everyone's loving the crossovers between the RotRL and SS groups. Heck, I've even started reading the paperbacks set in Magnimar.
You could say I'm obsessive, and it's absolutely true, but my players love the depth of my knowledge of the areas they're wandering, and it makes for a much richer gaming experience.
All that being said, my priorities cash-wise would be:
(1) The core rulebook.
(2) Decent accoutrements (dice, pencils, pads, a battle mat, pens, colored stones as markers, etc.)
(3) The AP you want to play.
(4) Any city guides of any cities the PCs will go through. I love love LOVE the guides to Korvosa and Magnimar. Sorry, but Korvosa's guide is still the best. And the guide to Sandpoint in the RotRL Anniversary edition is really really nice.
(5) A regional guide such as the Guide to Varisia. Not nearly as important; I did the whole CotCT campaign making up stuff as I went along, but in hindsight it would have been nice to have it.
(6) A more global guide such as the Inner Sea guide.
(7) The Golarion wiki page.
There. You can spend at little as $100 or as much as $1000. Hope I helped! :-P
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I believe the way most monsters in the APs work now is if they are in Bestiary 1-3, they will mention the monster name and what book it can be found in, including page #s. If it is in a companion/3rd party book (like Tome of Horrors) they will print the entire stat block in the AP so you don't have to go searching for it. Or if it is a special, or has class levels, the whole stat block will be included.
But if the srd has all the monsters listed, then yes you could just have the AP, the Core book, and the srd and be golden.
I however am one of those completionists like NobodysHome and have pretty much every Paizo book published thus far. Gaming is an addiction, and I readily admit it.