New player here, really excited to get started

[Gorphentos]

First let me say that I am really terribly sorry if this is posted in the wrong section, I couldn't decide whether advice, or Beginner box was the proper location. Looking through the Beginner Box posts it seemed as if they were all to do with the actual product, but whilst looking through the advice posts it seems to all do with character advice so I am not quite sure.

So, I am going to be brand spanking' new to the pen and paper RPG hobby, and I could honestly not be more excited. My interest started probably a little under a year ago when "Spoony" started posting You Tube videos of RPG memories under the channel "Counter Monkey", and wow all I can say is I was hooked I found all of the stories so intriguing, and it made me want to get into the hobby straight away. Then I stumbled upon Dawnforgedcast's Pathfinder basics videos, and ending up watching every video on his channel, and especially enjoying the recording of his sessions. Now recently I started watching A Fistful of Dice's work, and after countless hours upon hours of videos I am finally deciding to pull the trigger, and just try to jump into it.

From everything I have watched I really wanted to save up a small fortune to get everything I wanted before getting into it (which basically included the core rule book, advanced players guide, ultimate magic, ultimate combat, bestiary 1&2, a grid mat, and a bunch of pawns.) however that didn't really turn out all that well mainly because I am not that well off financially right now being only 19, and having to try to take care of everything I need to for myself. So I decided that tomorrow is pay day, and I will use everything I can spare to just get the barest essentials for what I need which is the core rule book, dice, and a dice bag (From everything I have watched it seems as if it is not common place to bring your own miniature, and that people seem to provide, though honestly I am not against using my own dice as a place holder if need be), now I assume this is everything I need, and I made it into an amazon wish list for simplicity's sake (http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/ACGW4X8IHVOZ/ref=topnav_lists_3 I assume all of that is fine, and would apreciate if anyone would tell me otherwise, and I thought about just getting a single set of dice, but from everything I have watched it seems as if a lot of times you will be rolling multiple d6's for damage pretty early on.)

Another thing I am kind of worried about is finding a group. I live in kind of a small town, and can't really find any near by groups online. I am not opposed to driving any distance in under an hour though, so I am sure I will be fine. I had the thought of using some of the online services to find a group, but I am not sure if there is a find a random group feature, not to mention it seems kind of awkward at first, plus I lack a webcam at the moment though would not be against getting one if that becomes my only option. I had also considered GMing my own group, but the two problems with that are I don't really have the funds to get the bestiary with the rule book, and I really want to get a firm grip around being a player before I start to GM.

I haven't really had any back, and forth with any people who play so I am looking forward to any replies.

[Someoneknocking]

My first suggestion is this. While it's nice to have the minis and the books, these two components are not truly necessary. Paizo has a PRD on their site, there is also an SRD that can be found via google. Both of the places have nearly every core book published for the Pathfinder series, and from there you can find all of the rule you'll need to play.

Second are the minis. While it is fun to have minis, my first group we printed out character pictures and glued them to washers, using coins and spare dice as the monsters and other nps characters. Dice are in my opinion truly necessary. While there are plenty of free dice simulators, I've personally found its best to roll them yourself.

As far as finding a group, I think that's always part of an issue. If you have other friends around you that are interested in the same things, ask them if they want to play. A lot of people look at tabletop rpg's with disdain until they actually sit down and play a session, so just try to get some people to play with you. There are plenty of campaign settings and pre-mades out there if you're worried about your ability to create a game completely on your own. Well hope this has been helpful.

[Thaliak]

I'd like to echo Someoneknocking's comments regarding books and miniatures. Unless you enjoy reading away from the computer, you don't need hard copies of the books. They're great to have, but they're not essential.

Minis are also nice, but coins, dice, strips of paper and the plastic figures from board games work almost as well. Alternately, you could play without a grid or minis. While this "theater of the mind" style takes more concentration on the players' parts and can lead to some ambiguity, it can also help you think like your character instead of playing as a dispassionate tactician. It's also nice not to have to count squares.

For what it's worth, I would encourage you to consider finding gamers online. I've met three groups through the player registry Pen & Paper Games and my city's forum for local gamers. It didn't take too long for the awkwardness to go away once we were playing.

If you don't find anyone on Pen & Paper Games, the long-standing Dungeons and Dragons news site ENWorld has a tool for finding players. Like Pen & Paper Games, it lets you search for games near your area.

While I'm all for finding games online, your best bet might be to visit a gaming store. They're a great place to meet people who already play pen and paper roleplayingg games like Pathfinder or might be interested in learning. Also, many of them host open games or events that are designed to help new people get into the hobby.

If you're not sure where to find a game store, ask people if there are any stores that sell Magic cards or comics. Many of the gaming stores do.

You might also search the phone book or its online equivalents for game stores. The stores in my town are classified as game stores, collectibles stores, or comic book stores on yellowpages.com.

If you live near a college, see if you can find a list of clubs. Many colleges have clubs that play roleplaying games.

If you have no luck finding people to play with in person, consider doing a forum game. These are much slower than real life games, often end prematurely, and usually require a competitive player application process. However, they're convenient. They're also great if you enjoy writing and want to focus on interaction and roleplay rather than combat.

There are several sites that host play-by-post games. Personally, I like Myth-Weavers. It's been a long time since I've played there, but I remember the community being friendly.

If you can't find a game that interests you, take the plunge and try DMing. You don't need to know everything to do it. As long as both you and your players are having fun, you're doing a good job.

In any case, welcome to the hobby! I hope you're able to find people to play with.

[Changing Man]

I would respectfully disagree with the previous two posts regarding books (or at least one), and recommend that you definitely get a copy of the Core Rulebook at least. There is much more contained in the book than is in the PRD or SRD, especially when it comes to GMing and running a game, etc. Besides that, you're not bound to any electronic device to play/ read, and you can highlight things that you feel you need to remember or want to "stand out", etc etc.

That, and dice.

Everything else kind of grows and builds as the need arises (and as the finances allow).

Of course, if you are just jumping in to someone's game and money is REALLY tight (believe me, I know how that is; I've lived from hand-to-mouth several times in my life- even now finances are tight with 3 kids and one on the way), then the PRD / SRD is a good way to get your feet wet (and at least get a character going) without having to live on ramen noodles or sleep in your car (provided you have one; I don't).

As far as minis and "accessories" are concerned, those are not necessary to play and/or enjoy the game (and we did it for years in 1e/ 2e without anything but the core books); you can easily use whatever you find (we even used bottle-caps to represent our characters for tactical purposes).

Finding a group could be easy or challenging, some good advice has already been given above.

Whatever you do, don't get discouraged, and above all, have fun!

Game On,
-Changer

[Taku Ooka Nin]

If there is a local college nearby then ask if you can post a flyer looking for Pathfinder groups, it is a long-shot but can work.

My group tends to use the minis for characters, and numbered tokens for monsters.

Have fun.

[Nuclearsunburn]

I'll throw my vote in for using the online resources available to you, as a way to ease into it slowly. You'll be able to find hard copies in time. I love my hard copies, especially the Bestiaries (that artwork!!), but I could play without them as well. It's good that you're excited about getting into this, there are a lot of stories to be told (and at their cores, pen and paper RPGs are about the story, they just involve varying amounts of tactical combat to tell it).

I've found people to play with from almost everywhere. Local game stores (Magic : the Gathering tournaments namely), work, friends of friends, etc. Just be open minded, and patient.

Kind of off-topic, but reading this reminded me of sitting in on a panel at Dragon Con last weekend, where Keith Baker and Jason Bulmahn were talking about running high-level campaigns. When they opened the mike for Q&A, the last person who stepped up said "I saw that this was about high level gaming, and I thought it was for MMOs. I've never played a pen and paper RPG before, but after listening to this, I can't wait to try one!" He was immediately pointed to the room next door where there were several PFS tables running. It was pretty awesome to see someone excited about the stories they could be a part of.

I hope all goes smoothly in your search for people to play with!!