Pathfinder?

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Does anyone play Pathfinder?

What do you need as a minimum to get into a game?

I don't play pathfinder and never have, but I know it to be just like D&D 3.5/4e, in that there are three core rulebooks needed to play. The Dungeon Master's Guide, Players Manual, and Monster Book.

Some dice or a software dice roller that can roll a D20, D10/percentile, D8, D6 and D4. I've yet to see a D12 in D&D, so it may not be as important a dice to have. To be honest, I've only ever seen in any of my RPG experience D12s used in Palladium and that was five times, all of them for the same weapon labeled differently between settings. Have a D12 anyway.

Then of course, you need your imagination and at least one other person to play with. Yes you can play any rpg with one dm and one player. THe more players the better up to your max management abilty which for most range from 4-7 players. Stay within your comfort zone.

Also a playing space, which can be open or on a square playing grid, but isn't neccessary and a few figures, or items to represent figures and monsters. I've gamed where we've used everything from coins, chess set pieces, wooden blocks, and other miscellaneous pieces.

I played D&D with friends at the American School in Lomdon back around 1975-1978. The books were small tan booklets, black and white printing and inexpensive. We spent our allowances on cast figures that we then customized with metal files and spent hours painting... The games were fantastic and the cost of entry very low.

I was distressed to find that the rule books are now ridiculous, bloated, full color, hard bound tomes with price tags to match their weight. The pathfinder books are on the same bloated scale. They seem to have been keeping up with academic inflation rather than the general economy.

I found some games organized through the local hobby shop I can join, but I can't justify spending that much just to give it a try. I think my son and daughter might enjoy it, too, but we are also learning to make electronic devices and it's hard to think about buying a book that costs more than an arduino when I don't really know if any of us will be into it...

If you set up a Paizo account (which is free), then they let you download a whole bunch of Pathfinder books for free.

Thanks!

http://www.d20pfsrd.com

This is a website containing everything you need to know to play Pathfinder. It is free and has been made available for everyone's enjoyment. Plenty of links to character sheets and tools to assist in character creation. Also, on the internet, there should be a collection of all of the game stuff in plain text files- you can then print them off at your leisure, if you want a physical copy of the whole thing or if you need a spell list handy.

To play Pathfinder, you're gonna need a few things:

1). A DM and Three+ Players. A group usually consists of four to six people, but honestly you can play the game with three and still have a smashing good time. And as DMing gets harder the more people you add, three is a good place to get comfortable with the game. And if you get more people who want to play, it's not hard to fold them into the ongoing story.

2). Dice. Pathfinder uses d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20 dice (there is also a precentile die that can be rolled with a d10 to give a percent). Everyone at the table needs their own set, and would benefit from having multiple copies of their dice (a magus, for example, can use up to 15d6 die to determine damage- rolling five die three times is much quicker than rolling one 15 times).

3). A game mat. Everyone needs to share the same mental image of what's going on, and a 1-inch grid is the classic way to present the scene. You can either have the maps pre-drawn, or go with a mat that can be erased and redrawn. I honestly prefer hex grid, but the rules are written for square grid- you'd need to figure out how blasts and such work in hex to play. The miniatures I think are self explanatory, but I think it'd be perfectly playable with 1-inch pawns cut from a wood rod.

4. Pre-game. I have found that these games work out a whole lot better when everyone gets involved with it. After all, everyone is there to have a good time, and the best games are the ones you walk away from the table with a new story. This is a lot easier when the players get together with the DM and take some time to set the stage. Bringing four strangers together to form a group is actually a lot harder for a DM than it sounds- the story revolves around the player characters, and if they don't want to work together, everything grinds to a halt.

As for playing resources, roll20 is a good start with a few flaws (didn't feel the tablet support was worth the subscription). It has the grids, dice, and image tokens needed to get started, and also has a variety of options for immersion (sound, lighting, effects, etc). It can be used for free, and subscriptions are available for premium options. Roll20 also has means by which to put groups together, but your mileage will vary- it's the internet, after all.

I wish I could get a Pathfinder game going, but I don't really have a groups of people who would be willing to play. I'd be interested in setting one up through roll20- got a computer to set it up on now, and I am familiar with the rules.

You could play Pathfinder online using either forum-based play, or VoiP gaming.
Forums such as BoardGameGeeks offer a whole lot of different games, including a range of Pathfinder Society games.

A (free) program called Herolab can help with making your character properly, too.

So: there is a Pathfinder gameday coming up a week from saturday with all day play at the game store in my town.

The event is organized through something called warhorn (v1.warhorn.net)--this seems to be a sort of meetup for Pathfinder--I am still learning all this.

The event overview is:
Join us as we continue growing our Local Chapter of the Pathfinder Society with three modules designed for characters of Level 3 – 7.

The day is divided into three parts: 1) 9am-1pm
PFS #4-14: My Enemy's Enemy (Pathfinder Society - Pathfinder RPG)
By James Olchak. Someone in the city of Magnimar is committing crimes and leaving evidence implicating the Pathfinder Society. It falls to the Pathfinders to get to the bottom of it, and what they find may signal the resurgence of an enemy thought long defeated.

2) 2pm - 6pm
PFS #4-21: Way of the Kirin (Pathfinder Society - Pathfinder RPG)
By Dennis Baker. On the eastern continent of Tian Xia, the Pathfinder Society remains a small player in the greater political landscape, but Amara Li, head of the Lantern Lodge in the teeming city of Goka, has plans to change that. In order to secure the Pathfinder Society's place as an influential organization on the far side of the world from the Grand Lodge in Absalom, she must orchestrate an alliance with the mysterious Way of the Kirin. But the longtime rival of the Pathfinder Society, the Aspis Consortium, has plans to form an alliance of its own, and if the consortium succeeds, the Pathfinder Society's hopes of cementing their place in the Dragon Empires could be dashed forever.

3) 6pm - 10pm
PFS #4–23: Rivalry's End (Pathfinder Society - Pathfinder RPG)
By Ron Lundeen. The Pathfinder Society's conflict with the Aspis Consortium in the frontier region of Varisia has come to a head, and the time to secure dominance of the ancient land is now. But despite mounting victories on the Society's part, the Aspis Consortium still has a few tricks up its sleeves, including several powerful agents from the Pathfinders' past who could prove too challenging an obstacle to surmount. Can the PCs end the ongoing struggle for control of the flow of ancient Thassilonian artifacts out of Varisia's ports, or will the Aspis Consortium succeed in keeping the Pathfinder Society ever in its shadow as it profits on the exploitation of the millennia?

So, being a Pathfinder noob, will I be able to generate a fresh character of suitable level? Or should I try to create a character now and level up in time for the event? These games seem to take place in well established settings--I feel I ought to research these if I am going to role-play effectively--but where to begin? Is anyone familiar with these sorts of organized scenarios?

Thanks very much for the link, Zephyro--that seems like a very rich resource. The Paizo site seems to be almost all items for sale, the free PDFs are apparently a bonus for those who have subscribed to the regular scenario and guide releases from the company. For the most part they are selling this material (I don't fault them for making money on their work, either--I just don't feel I can drop $150 on it at the moment.)

Very cool. Thanks Ladywoofwoof!

I am downloading the iPad version of Herolab!

I hear ya, man. I'd love to have a nice physical copy of all the books, but my wallet is not fat. Honestly would love to run a short term game through roll20 to get some DMing experience. Want to try and incorporate some writing into the storytelling- background conversations and the mood of the places they go. Atmosphere is key to any great video game, and tabletop gaming is the father of interactive storytelling, but it does have some limitations. Requires a bit of narration to keep things lively, and it's hard to say everything- besides, it seem like a good way of keeping skill checks like Knowledge: Local relevant to the players.

Also would love to run a character through a high level campaign with interesting character concepts over raw power (basically, upscale monsters so we don't have to go directly to punching Chuthulu with the story). I have been plotting like a mad man over an awesome character concept, and I have my mind set on a Magus 7/Rogue 3/Arcane Trickster 10/Eldritch Knight x. It could very well be the most magnificent critical cannon ever, and I'd love to orchestrate a party that stands on the same scale. And orchestrate a campaign that is won with their sweat, tears, and blood (face it- nothing is fun if it is won easily).

Needless to say, I'm rather geeky when it comes to Pathfinder. Hope my nerd isn't too terribly abrasive ^~^

Edit: http://www.trovetokens.com/pathfinder.html

Online character sheet. If you wanna save your work you need to buy a code, but it's a great tool to use if you're assembling the character on paper or in an editable PDF file. Helps to keep tracks of the numbers. Planning a character to level seven shouldn't be hard at all, if you know what you wanna do. What class are you thinking about? Official events have some restrictions as to spells, feats, and Archetypes, so it's best to get informed of what you can and can't do. I'd get in contact with the DM and see what you need to do for pre-game. Do you have an e-mail or another means of contact?

The way they do characters in Pathfinder Society is different then normal Pathfinder.

Can you explain the difference? I did not realize that Pathfinder Society was not just a way of doing Pathfinder... is it like a fork in the code tree, or a new distro...? (I am starting to use Linux as a metaphor for understanding the world, perhaps this is unhealthy?)

Is it almost a distinct game?

http://paizo.com/pathfinderSociety

This link will take you to the Pathfinder Society page. Pathfinder Society games are still Pathfinder games. However, all pathfinder society games share the same setting, and to maintain fairness there are restrictions to some feats and spells (no Permanency, for example). However, the changes do not deviate from the typical pathfinder rules, so the game will play the same. Under Player Resources there is a free guide called the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play- it should be able to answer your questions in detail.

http://www.eatoutin.com.au/Pathfinder%2 ... 0Guide.pdf

Link to a PDF Field Guide for the Pathfinder Society. Has all the info I think you need to have a character who is familiar with his background, and equipped to meet its challenges.

Thanks, Zephyo!

This is just what I needed. Perhaps you, Ladywoofwoof and I could arrange an online game somehow?

I'll post a follow-up when I have played my first PFS game and let you know how it went. I am fortunate in that my NT wife is pushing me to do this, so the odds of my overcoming various inertias and anxieties and actually doing it are well over 50%.

I have squandered many years in which I could have been playing such games because since high school I felt they were too geeky and would blow my (probably not very good) cover. I strove to find a balance as a stranger in a strange land by keeping a low profile and practicing stealth and concealment as my first resorts. As I have come to terms with my nature in the last year, this is one of the things I am embracing as a pleasure I can now accept. It may be geeky and from the fringe, but I can finally accept that the fringe is my natural home, and that's just fine.

Now--onward to the legendary realms of mythic imagination!

I hear you, Adam- I want to be able to use this game to expand my social circle and give myself something to do, but have really been introverted about it. I'm glad you're on the path to a Game Day - I pray for your success and that you get sweet, sweet loot through your efforts.

I think it would be awesome to get a Wrong Planet Pathfinder table going! Roll20 can be used for free, so that can be a start. I can DM a pre-written campaign (don't really have the time to prep a custom one), but I really want to play a fun character concept. Been mulling over the idea of a Magus/Rogue/Arcane Trickster for awhile, and I'd like to think I could make it sing a sweet symphony of chaos and gibbeting.

I'd say it'd be best to start a campaign at third level. First level is dreadfully slow, and nobody has anything interesting yet. Third also is a comfortable level for multi-classers, if there are other like me that are crazy and want something atypical.

Post Note: It should be possible to do an official Pathfinder Society game through a digital medium. Requires some extra effort to maximize the digital presentation, but I think that it's a great option to consider. The system would give confidence to anyone looking to play Society games with other tables.

Thanks, I appreciate your insight and good wishes. You are less than half my age, but I appreciate wisdom when I see it. I wish I had understood this when I was your age!

Also, thanks for the quote from Simon Pegg! I am a huge fan of his and these are words to live by.



Let's make it happen!