Noob with questions -- any advice is appreciated :D


Beginner Box


Okay, so I got the family the Beginner Box. Now what?

Only kidding -- it was actually a really well-written and easy-to-follow instruction book once I went step-by-step through the character-sheet process. Not as overwhelming as I thought it would be.

But maybe you can help me out with a couple of questions (and I'm sure I'll add more as I go...)

1) The first time we played, we just used the characters as suggested in the book (rolling for the power numbers, but other than that just took the items as suggested). My question about items is: we were given three weapons and there are two weapon boxes on the form. SO: am I correct to assume that if we wanted we could choose any two weapons and switch them out as a free action if necessary? Seems like a lot of erasing :)

2) It's not as difficult as I thought it would be to jump right in (yay, because I like that!) But now I'm realizing that there is only one story in the GameMaster booklet. Now I get that people can get really into setting up their own stories for players -- and I could see myself being good at that -- but really, I'd rather use someone else's stories until we decide that we really love the game and want to invest more time and money into it. SO: are there any good resources for easy, beginner-level games that only take an hour or two? Free downloads would be ideal. I saw the Pathfinder Society links and assume that's what those books are, but would love to know if there are free stories out there. AND if the story could be set up for beginners (for example, in the Beginner-Box story, I'm pretty much told step-by-step what to do with pictures and stats of creatures -- everything right there so I know what to do for battles). If not free, then really cheap :)

3) THEN after I'm into it, are there certain books I should look for in game stores that can lead me -- as GM -- through a whole story? What do you recommend?

4) Any other advice aside from trying to find a local group? (I think there are a few, but I don't want to walk in as a TOTAL noob; LOL!)

Thank you so much, folks! :)


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Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

Welcome to the game! I'm still pretty inexperienced myself, and I haven't had a chance to look at the beginner's box, but here's my best guess.

1) I would just get another piece of paper and write down the third weapon's stats on that instead of erasing every time. You can drop a weapon as a free action, or draw one as a free part of a move action if you have +1 BAB (base attack bonus). Otherwise, drawing or sheathing a weapon is a move action.

2) Paizo put out a few free adventures (stories) for RPG game day and other promotions: We be Goblins, We Be Goblins Too, Master of the Fallen Fortress, and Risen from the Sands. When you're ready, setting up your own stories is really fun. You don't have to write everything out like they do in the booklet, so it's not as time-consuming as it might seem.

3) There are loads of adventures (stories) to choose from in your local game store. The Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook and Pathfinder RPG Bestiary are good sources for explaining more advanced rules and understanding the references. If you come across a reference in a story to a product you don't have, you can look up the rules in the Pathfinder Reference Document, a great free online resource.

4) Don't forget to relax and enjoy.


CaelibDarkstone has you covered for 1.

I grabbed one of the Basic Paths adventures (Fangs from the Path) to play with my family. It's really nicely written and intended for use by newbies like us. Each of them costs $9, so it doesn't meet your free criteria. It also is too long to play from beginning to end in 2 hours, but we enjoy coming back and continuing the story the next time. Gives everyone something to look forward to. It includes all the stat blocks, and is intended for use with the Beginner's Box.

We've also been playing the Kingmaker Adventure Path. That's not intended for use with the Beginner's Box, but we're just playing it that way anyway. Everyone seems to be enjoying it so far.

I was very nervous about going to my local PFS group as someone who had not played any form of tabletop RPG before, but they were very friendly and helpful in getting to grips with everything.


2) Season 0 PFS games are awesome.
Look for modules for PFS (Pathfinder Society) that are Season 0.
They run about $5 or less and take 4-5 hours to play for 4 characters.
A great way to figure out how to GM better and to see how your players like it.


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There are a number of free scenarios (and resources) available that explicitly use the beginner box rules:

- the Beginner Bash Demos

- the Beginner Box Player Pack

- the Beginner Box GM Kit

- and several of the later issues of Wayfinder Magazine (I think issues 9-11.)

Enjoy the BB and Pathfinder!

Dark Archive

Year 0 scenarios might not be the best choice. They require some conversion. That is not actually hard but as you are brand new, you might want to save that for a little later.

Whatever season of Society scenarios you buy, expect things to change up from one season to another. Espcially how they handle faction missions from one season to another. Try to play a few of them first with people who know how it works and can tell you how.it also.used to workbin the past.

These are free adventures you may also want to try.
Dawn of the Scarlett Sun
Hallow's Last Hope (requires conversion)

Silver Crusade

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You already got great suggestions, so I will just add.

The Gamemastery Guide is a great product, that could help you to become a better GM.

For a shorter introduction, I can recommend the following two free downloads from the Pathfinder society page:

Pathfinder Society: GM 101 PDF.

Pathfinder Society: GM 201 PDF.

This free product has advise on how to teach the game to children.

Kid's Track.

And you could always try to play with the Pathfinder Society in your area, they are very welcoming to new players, and you have the advantage of plenty of experienced players at your table.


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The site, PFBeginner.com has a free adventure on it for level 2-3. There's maps and monster pawns available to download for it as well for free.


I would see if your local gaming store hosts a group, and if they will let you sit and observe (or better yet, play)! The best way to learn is through experience (I started with ZERO experience and only knowing the DM, and I've been loving the ride!)

there are websites around that list all of the free standard content for pathfinder, such as weapon stats, class description and features, monster builds, lore, and more. My group mainly uses online material from established websites since books can be a pain to lug around. Starting to DM is really fun, but time consuming and a challenge at first.

There are also countless threads, websites, random generators, and such to help you create a campaign's story. With a little imagination and a fun party, this can be a great passtime for you and your friends!

Welcome to Pathfinder!

Dark Archive

TRICK No#1 Cheap playing Cards (x2 packets)
Trace the shape of your standard playing card, replicate so that you have a template on a standard sheet, you can also do a stencil, if your keen allows you to print out landscapes and place the template over the top and mark up before cutting out.

From here as you can see are able to create creature tons of cards for various different uses the DM/GM Weapon, Spell, Feats Skills the entire ballpark use a basic picture and stick the guy over the face of the playing card. (like the FACE CARDS & Adventure path card game)

Classic Adventures B1 Search of the unknown & B2 Keep Boarder-lands
RPGnow had pdf down load of these and many more BASIC set adventure modules. Very easy to upscale to pathfinder basic rule set.

TRICK no#2 Print out Beginner Box Character sheets get lamented, use erasable overhead markers. same with equipment, look info page.

Trick no#3 Use nail/screw plastic containers from the hard ware store to store Dice and the pawns stops them getting lost. Fishing store boxes to store plastic figures


First... Welcome to the hobby!!

Some very good advice so far! I'd also like to recommend http://roleplayingtips.com/blog/

You can read his blog or sign up for the newsletter (my personal choice). There's also a bunch of other info there as well.

(I'm not affiliated with the website/newsletter in any way, just a 'follower'. :- ) )

I don't recall anyone mentioning this... But read lots and lots of fantasy*! It's real easy to alter stories/encounters, et al from books and use them in your game. Slowly start using more descriptive language when describing pretty much anything. (Keep it concise though. Players don't want to listen to you monologue.) :-)

* The Pathfinder Tales are good starting points, but any 'decent' fantasy books will give you ideas.

Take care,

Harry


Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Lost Omens, PF Special Edition, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

For #3, after cutting your teeth on some smaller modules you could check out the Adventure Paths. These are full-blown campaigns spanning 6 books, and each path will set you back a not insignificant amount (even if you only get the PDF version, as some books in the older ones are difficult to come by for reasonable prices), so make sure that the story sounds appealing to you before you buy it. They're meant to be played with the full ruleset (so the Core Rulebook + supplements, note that all of that info is available for free online at the aforementioned Pathfinder Reference Document so you don't need to drop hundreds of dollars on rulebooks). Each AP will start out everyone at level 1 and take them to anywhere from level 16 to 18 typically (some go higher, others lower). Getting through a full AP will take quite some time; for me it takes about 6-8 months playing weekly for 4-5 hours to get through one.

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