I have been asked by some of my gaming group to DM/GM Pathfinder game. I have been a AD&D DM/GM and Player for sometime. My question is what books are absolutely need to DM/GM a game of Pathfinder.
P.S. I will be DM/GMing Rise of the Ruinlords Anniversary for the group. Also take it as I know very little about Pathfinder other than it's pretty much D&D 3.5 (which I have also not played) with some things changed from what my players tell me.
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The Core book and Bestiary 1, that's it. I would recommend the other bestiaries, the NPC codex is just super helpful, and the Advanced Player book.
There are a lot of subtle differences between 3.5 and PF that significantly change elements of the game.
Races have been reworked slightly.
Classes got a major boost (bards are actually worth playing now). Many familiar elements work differently now.
Prestige classes are rarely played now due to the class buffing, favored class bonus, and archetype options.
Archetypes are minor variations of the base class. If you play an archetype of a class you are still a member of that class. Example: Fighter (Dragoon) is a Fighter with the Dragoon archetype. Note: They are not prestige classes.
Favored Class bonuses were introduced. These add +1 to hitpoints or skill points per level. There is also an optional favored class bonus that depends on your class and race.
Ability Score generation A character's ability scores use the 'Point Buy System' as the default method now. Other methods (rolling) still exist.
Feats PCs and creatures get a feat every odd level/HD (instead of every three levels)
Skills Cross Class skills no longer exist so 1 rank is now always 1 rank even if it is not a class skill. Now Class skills gain a +3 bonus if you have a rank in them.
You no longer receive x4 skill points at first level.
A number of skills have been merged. Perception = Listen, Spot, and Search. Hide and Move Silently = Stealth. Open Lock has been folded into Disable Device. Use Rope has been folded into Climb (or the Grapple rules). Balance, Tumble, and Jump are now Acrobatics. Decipher Script, Forgery, and Speak Language are now Linguistics.
Grapple and other combat maneuvers have been simplified (somewhat, grapple is still a pain). Each creature now has a Combat Maneuver attack score called CMB and a defense score called CMD.
Ability Damage has been reworked, it can be a surprise. Short version: ability damage is a penalty to rolls but not much else. No more recalculating ability scores.
Regeneration has been significantly reworked. 3.5 Regeneration = nonlethal damage. PF regeneration = you cannot die from damage unless regeneration is shut off first. Example: a Troll has Regeneration 5 (fire or acid). If you take it to -1000hp it is still alive. BUT, if you give it a single point of fire damage its regeneration shuts down the next round and, due to being below it's con score, it dies from being at -995 damage.
Traps have lost a lot of the 'we need a Rogue' factor. Anyone with a decent perception score can detect most traps now. Anyone can disarm non-magical traps. A rogue (or spellcaster with dispel magic) is required to disarm magical traps.
Concentration is no longer a skill. It is now a caster level check. It is also a bit harder to cast defensively than it used to be. Expect about a 50% success rate for your highest level spell unless you have the feat Combat Casting.
Polymorph is now VERY different. You keep your scores and just gain a bonus (or penalty) depending on the size of the creature. The creatures abilities are dependent upon the type and level of the polymorph spell.
Physical books you should have are the Core Rulebook and the Bestiary. All else you can get away with PDFs only or the online equivalents.
- Gauss
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As above, you'll need the Core Rulebook, the Bestiary. You'll also need the Bestiary 2 (there are some monsters from it in the Anniversary Editon of RotR).
This AP is pretty self-contained, so that's really all youneed.
If you're looking for a comprehensive list of changes between 3.5 and Pathfinder, there's one (not quite complete) here.
(I'd really suggest reading the rules with fresh eyes, though, because many of the changes are subtle, and easy to miss).
Past this, for more information on the WORLD of Golarion, see the (beautiful, giant) Inner Sea World Guide, or, the much faster to read, Inner Sea Primer (this one is GREAT to give to players, to give them a quick grounding in the world). Varisia: Birthplace of Legends is another quick summary, this time of the part of the world in which the AP is set.
That would be my suggestion for a start, and then just dive into the rest of the catalog as your time and budget allow. Pretty much everything Paizo makes is worth reading, but you can check out the reviews to find the best of the best.
And don't forget about the Pathfinder Reference Document. This has all (or most) of the "rules crunch from the Core Rulebook, Advanced Player's Guide, Advanced Race Guide, Ultimate Magic, Ultimate Combat, Ultimate Equipment, Game Mastery Guide, NPC Codex and all the Bestiaries. For Free.
I have been asked by some of my gaming group to DM/GM Pathfinder game. I have been a AD&D DM/GM and Player for sometime. My question is what books are absolutely need to DM/GM a game of Pathfinder.
P.S. I will be DM/GMing Rise of the Ruinlords Anniversary for the group. Also take it as I know very little about Pathfinder other than it's pretty much D&D 3.5 (which I have also not played) with some things changed from what my players tell me.
I would suggest the Player's handbook, Bestiary and GM Guide for starters.
The Advanced guides are optional.What books are allowed is up to you as a GM to decide.
I have been asked by some of my gaming group to DM/GM Pathfinder game. I have been a AD&D DM/GM and Player for sometime. My question is what books are absolutely need to DM/GM a game of Pathfinder.
P.S. I will be DM/GMing Rise of the Ruinlords Anniversary for the group. Also take it as I know very little about Pathfinder other than it's pretty much D&D 3.5 (which I have also not played) with some things changed from what my players tell me.
Consider yourself lucky that you are going into Pathfinder having not played 3.5e. You're looking at the ruleset fresh, and not retconning/retrofitting a bunch of stuff. So, right away, you have a distinct advantage and can embrace PF on it's own. I envy you.
The only books you really need, I'd say are the Core Rulebook, and at least Bestiary 1. All of the other books just throw options at you, they aren't really necessary.
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I have been asked by some of my gaming group to DM/GM Pathfinder game. I have been a AD&D DM/GM and Player for sometime. My question is what books are absolutely need to DM/GM a game of Pathfinder.
P.S. I will be DM/GMing Rise of the Ruinlords Anniversary for the group. Also take it as I know very little about Pathfinder other than it's pretty much D&D 3.5 (which I have also not played) with some things changed from what my players tell me.
Not already being and expert on 3.5 will probably make it easier.
All you really must have is the Core Rule Book and Bestiary 1.
I would recommend you stay with just those 2 until you are comfortable with the rules. If the adventure path call for a monster, spell, item, or class you don't have in those 2 books you can just substitute something that is in the books very easily.
After you are comfortable with the rules for a few levels, I would add in the Advanced Players Guide. And if you like background on the world in which your adventure is placed, you can later add in the Inner Sea World Guide.
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The core rule book and a bestiary 1. If you are ok with working from a computer the PRD has everything you need to run the game.
I have been asked by some of my gaming group to DM/GM Pathfinder game. I have been a AD&D DM/GM and Player for sometime. My question is what books are absolutely need to DM/GM a game of Pathfinder.
P.S. I will be DM/GMing Rise of the Ruinlords Anniversary for the group. Also take it as I know very little about Pathfinder other than it's pretty much D&D 3.5 (which I have also not played) with some things changed from what my players tell me.I would suggest the Player's handbook, Bestiary and GM Guide for starters.
The Advanced guides are optional.What books are allowed is up to you as a GM to decide.
There's no such thing as a player's handbook in Pathfinder. It's the Core Rule Book (CRB), which combines all the necessary topics from the old PHB and DMG book concepts. The Game Master's Guide (GMG) is most certainly NOT a necessity. In fact, there's no need to even purchase it if you are an experienced GM. That book is most useful for beginner GMs and those who just want to own all the books (like me). Although, I will note that it has some useful game rules for optional things like drugs & addiction, chase scenes, disasters, and more - but all of those rules are online for free.
To the OP: Get the CRB and Bestiary 1 for quick reference on hand. Everything else can be looked up online (for free!) by either going to the Pathfinder Reference Document (PRD) (everything is organized by book), which is hosted by Paizo, or the D20 Pathfinder System Reference Document (PFSRD) (everything is organized by topic and has helpful rules interpretations), which is hosted by a 3rd party.
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uriel222 said all the right things... Except he forgot to mention the RotRL Player guide ( that is a free download that you should give all your players before character gen (and you should look through it too so you know what they will know going in). paizo.com/products/btpy8tgl?Pathfinder-Adventure-Path-Rise-of-the-Runelords -Anniversary-Edition-Players-Guide
Also this thread is super awesome if you like material for your players: paizo.com/threads/rzs2i3wa?Community-Created-Stuff
As a "I like to spend money" option there's: the bestiary box, the RotRL pawn collection / cardboard minis (you need the bestiary box for the bases or this is worthless), the RotRL face cards and item cards. These will run you a pretty penny, but will make an awesome experience for your players. I've been prepping to run this AP for a while now and plan to do so in a month or so, so I've looked into a lot of the extras.
I agree with the consensus that just the CRB and Bestiary 1 are all you need to start with.
One clarifying question, are those asking you to GM already PF veterans or not?
If so, I strongly, strongly recommend limiting them to the CRB. This may cause some grumbing if they are used to using all the books, but I'd stand my ground on that in your position. I make it a rule never to allow any book into play until I have read it and have a decent grasp on it, and recommend every GM do the same. The additional books bring in a lot more feat/skill/spell/character class combinations that are hard to keep up with and easy to abuse, either knowingly or unwittingly. There are still some challenging things to adjudicate in the CRB, but it's easier to get a handle on just the one book.
If they are new to the system as well, they should have no problem with just the CRB. It offers plenty of entertainment options to keep people going for quite a while before things get stale and need a little spice.
Notisur, the time it takes to look up the information online is slower than if you looked in a hardback or PDF. Especially since many of the abilities listed are not with the creature but in the back of the book. Are you going to print all of that information off for each creature?
- Gauss