Newbie looking for advice about backgrounds, playing outside conventions etc.

[Menord]

Hello, fellow Pathfinders!

I'm a fairly new fan of the Pathfinder Society, having played in grand total of three games: first one in a con last year, two others in a con this year. I'm starting to get rather enthusiastic about the PFS and would like to play it more often, but there are a couple of questions which I would like to have answered before that.

1. What would be a good source for information about the game world and character backgrounds? I got rather attached to the Half-Orc Sorcerer I made for the last game I played, so I would like to give him a proper background for roleplaying purposes. Background generator in Ultimate Campaign is amusing, but its result tend to be... well, a bit random.

2. Does it sound feasible to organise Pathfinder Society sessions among a bunch of friends when all of us have participated in up to four games of PFS but have more a few years of experience about Dungeons & Dragons tabletop gaming? There are no regional coordinators in the region I live in, but I'm not sure if it would be preferable to gain more experience about the system via online games or some other (hopefully inexpensive) means before trying to GM a session on my own.

I hope these questions don't seem overly newbie-ish: I tried doing a quick search, but I didn't seem to find any threads to help me.

[El Baron de los Banditos]

Menord wrote:

1. What would be a good source for information about the game world and character backgrounds? I got rather attached to the Half-Orc Sorcerer I made for the last game I played, so I would like to give him a proper background for roleplaying purposes. Background generator in Ultimate Campaign is amusing, but its result tend to be... well, a bit random.

This is a bit of a loaded answer, but all the Campaign Setting books that Paizo has made build up Golarion (the setting which houses PFS organized play, their APs, modules, and whatnot.) Orc of Golarion may help, though I can't help but also suggest the Inner Sea World Guide, since that covers the entire region where most of Paizo's products take place.

Quote:

Does it sound feasible to organize Pathfinder Society sessions among a bunch of friends when all of us have participated in up to four games of PFS but have more a few years of experience about Dungeons & Dragons tabletop gaming? There are no regional coordinators in the region I live in, but I'm not sure if it would be preferable to gain more experience about the system via online games or some other (hopefully inexpensive) means before trying to GM a session on my own.

It's definitely possible. Heck, I'd say its pretty much how any region has to start having a PFS presence. If nobody feels comfortable running, playing a little bit online might help, though there's a different set of trials and tribulations in that medium that don't even carry over to real-life gaming. Finding a game is likely easier now with the Online Grand Lodge just a few forums down (though the Recruitment subforum in the Play-By-Post section is still my first though to look at, though that might just be me being behind in the times.)

The short of it is, I'd say, "Don't be afraid to start. If the group has a question that isn't solved by a quick glance at the Index of the Pathfinder Core Rulebook, just make a DM judgement call and look it up on the Paizo Resource Database or in a book. If you can't find it there, look in the Rules forums on this very site; chances are someone's had the same problem before already. Just try to have fun and stay as close to the rules as you feasibly can."

Though best of luck in gaming, whatever direction you decide to take.

[Menord]

Alright, I will look if I can find Orc of Golarian and the Inner Sea World Guide in my local store - and if not, ask if they can order it.

I actually feel interested in DMing a PFS game among friends myself. I don't have any former experience about organising a game, but since PFS scenarios would offer a "backbone", I don't feel as intimidated about the idea as with a more free-form campaign. I suppose I'll just have to do read as much as I can and try to learn the game mechanics, the most common spells and such, so the game would be a bit smoother.

Many thanks for your answers and the encouragement.

[DarkWhite]

Much like yourself, I had 3.5 player experience when Pathfinder first came out. I started GMing Pathfinder when Living Greyhawk and other 3.5 campaigns drew to a close. You'll soon pick up Pathfinder Society and Golarion background the more scenarios you play or GM. Thinking of running PFS among your home group? I say go for it .. worked for me!

[MisterSlanky]

Menord wrote:

1. What would be a good source for information about the game world and character backgrounds? I got rather attached to the Half-Orc Sorcerer I made for the last game I played, so I would like to give him a proper background for roleplaying purposes. Background generator in Ultimate Campaign is amusing, but its result tend to be... well, a bit random.

I might suggest the Inner Sea World Guide as a start. It's the de-facto source of general information about Golarion in general.

Quote:

2. Does it sound feasible to organise Pathfinder Society sessions among a bunch of friends when all of us have participated in up to four games of PFS but have more a few years of experience about Dungeons & Dragons tabletop gaming? There are no regional coordinators in the region I live in, but I'm not sure if it would be preferable to gain more experience about the system via online games or some other (hopefully inexpensive) means before trying to GM a session on my own.

It's not only feasible, but it's likely the preferred method. When I picked up PFS locally 4 years ago (has it been that long!?), we started with a home group where we all rotated GM responsibility. Experience ranged from extensive 3.5 experience to general RPG experience. We had fun, and that's what counted. That was the experience I came from when I took up the VC mantle (which I've since passed on).

So yes, I'd suggest you do exactly what you stated. ;-)

[GeoffA]

Another good resource is the Pathfinder Wiki (www.pathfinderwiki.com). Most of the articles contain citations back to various published books, so if you come across a handful of interesting things that all link back to the same book, that might steer you towards purchasing the ones that you'll use the most.