Don't worry if you get it wrong to start. My brother and I started off mis-playing MERP because we liked the Lord of the Rings books.
For a while, we played that every time you tried something and succeeded, you got another skill rank. So we'd have adventures of trying to climb trees and getting 5 more ranks in climb that day.
Roleplaying is about exercising your imagination. If you're enjoying it, then you're doing it right. :)
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I would suggest trying to find a local Pathfinder Society chapter. Societies is generally friendly to new players and can provide characters for first time players. You and/or your family can play a game or two under a more experienced GM and find out if it is something you would be interested in.
Paizo has a section dedicated to finding PFS games and depending on your area, you might find weekly games (such as my branch in Cleveland), conventions or even online games. I just think it is a safer bet than trying to learn the rules yourself and teach other people at the same time. I learned how to play from my uncle 20 (!!!) years ago before I started up my own games. That way, if you have questions, you can ask someone who probably knows.
Something you need to understand is that much of Pathfinder is very modular. As a VERY VERY VERY basic start, try merely getting the attack rolls with the standard modifiers for that, Armor Classes and damage rolls/bonuses/hit points right. Voila, you know how to do basic fights. Next time, add missile combat (which is pretty darn similar), lighting conditions, attacks of opportunity or whatever you feel like. Once you understand one add-on, you won't really have a problem with it. Use premade characters and beginner adventures. If you like the first things you do, the Beginner's box should help you understand things better.
Welcome to the hobby, and good luck!
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....Any thing we can do to have a sucessful first game? How can I get ready as a GM? Keep in mind noones played before, including the GM. And we are trying to play the first few games without spending money to make sure we will all be interested in playing regularly. If we play regularily we would spring for books and figures.
Hey there Gigglestomp. Welcome! A couple of years ago we put out the Pathfinder RPG Beginner Box specifically for this purpose. It is a trimmed-down version of the rules that walks you through 5 levels of game play. The box comes with pretty much everything you need to get started, and once you play through it for a while you can decide to move on to the Core Rulebook and other supplements.
I hope you and your family have a great time with Pathfinder!
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We started with the Beginner Box, and really enjoyed it. Of course now we have graduated into homebrew games and regular Society games.
We have passed around the Beginner Box to friends and family who show interest, and most liked it. The second step is to create more characters, and let your imagination have fun!
Definitely the Beginner Box, while some such as myself never went on into the Core rules, the Beginner Box is one of the most awesome products I have ever seen for role playing. It has everything in it that you would need to teach the game, create some of your own encounters, and adventures. Plus it has a very nice flip mat, pawns, and a pretty nice starter adventure that shows of the many aspects of an adventure. Add the free download content, it offers three races and five classes with just enough options to not overwhelm new players with choices.The Beginner Box would be my go to game if it went to level ten, but it is still great allowing advancement up to level five.
Welcome!
Do NOT worry about messing anything up. We all do especially when starting out. But even experienced GM's/players forget or misunderstand things all the time. Just say "whoops sorry guys, I didn't realize the burning hands should have been 2d6 not 1d6. I will try to remember next time and just roll along.
If you are unsure what something means or how to do it, take your best guess and usually come down on the side of what will make things easier for the players rather than the monsters.
Beginner Box has a moderate 1 time price. If that fits in your budget, it is probably your best bet to getting started on your own.
Is there a game shop near you that sells Pathfinder stuff? If there is, ask the staff if anyone runs Pathfinder Society organized play events at the store. Usually there is. If not, there is a PFS section on these forums. Give your general location and ask if anyone knows of a regular event near you.
Go watch/play a few PFS scenarios with an experienced GM. Actually if you talk to the guy organizing it, he would probably be willing to schedule a table specifically for your new people. Our local guys have done that a few times when there are a group of people all wanting to learn at the same time.
Even if you decide that PFS is not what you want to do for long term and that you would rather create your own homebrew world, PFS is a good way to learn the basic rules and how it is done.
PFS scenarios are ideal for a learning player and GM. Especially the low level ones are usually pretty simple. They give many of the details on tactics spells and equipment used to the GM. They are also short, designed to be completed in one 3-4 hour play session. (Some modules can easily be 20 hours of play time.)
We Be Goblins, Masters of the Fallen Fortress, The Confirmation, and In Service to Lore are all excellent for beginners. The Confirmation is probably the most difficult one of those to GM, so I would start with the others.
If you don't want to spend any money on pawns/figures yet, I have seen people use legos or blocks of wood. Then you can tape whatever image you found on the internet onto the block.
Feel free to come to these forums with your questions. I still do it all the time and I've been playing since the early 80's.
Good luck and have fun!
Sounds like Beginners Box is your best bet, as everyone said. My nephew has a copy of that, which he uses to try interest people in the game. It's really well laid out and should have everything you need to give it a try and see how you like it.
There's nothing special about figures. You can be the boot from Monopoly, as long as you can tell them apart, you're good.