Saturday 29 October 2011

Pathfinder Beginner Box

According to Paizo's site feeds their current top best seller is the brand new Pathfinder Beginner Box, which suggests to me that it's not just the beginners who are buying it. :)

It's a box.  A Pathfinder Beginner Box.
I likes boxes.  Maybe it's a Christmas thing. Maybe it's TSR boxed set thing (nostalgia flashback to the early 80's).  Naturally, longevity is an issue, hardbacks live longer, but the Tyrell Corporation put in a fail-safe, a 4 year life span ... but I digress. If you look after your boxes they will last as long, I swear!

Mmm, a shiny box, lots of bits: fold-out maps, press-out stand-up figures (not counters), digestible rules pamphlets, no wait - books, proper books (soft cover) ...


Yummy, yummy, yummy.
(Although this picture makes it look like Blood Bowl)


It's a beefy hamper of RPG goodness:

  • 64-page Hero’s Handbook
  • 96-page Game Master’s Guide
  • 7  polyhedral dice
  • More than 80 full-color pawns (heroes and monsters)
  • 4 Pre-gen character sheets
  • 4 Blank character sheets
  • Double-sided Flip-Mat - with a map on one side and a general purpose grid on the other.

Apologies if you've seen the following official clip a few times but I'm posting it here because it no only provides a fairly succinct demonstration of the contents, it also provides some insights and details behind the design.  Such as... gameplay is for the first five levels only - (which in old D&D might have been enough for some players).  A particular comment which stood out for me is that the Pathfinder rules have been streamlined for beginner play.  One adjustment being that there are no Attacks of Opportunity rules.  I often think about DMing for new players, but one of the things that turns me away from D&D3to4 and Pathfinder is the Attacks of Opportunity rules (which befuddle my noggin), especially when getting anything in the right order can be a really pain.  So in a Beginner set no AoO has to be a good thing (except it's those rules, as a returning novice, that I need the most help with!)




Four classes?  How basic... ;)
Love the descriptions!
Since I've yet to actually inside see a Beginner Set myself I have decided to assemble some cropped screen grabs from the downloadable PDFs on the Paizo site.  ;)

Preetty pictuurs make me want to bie it.

Links to free documents which relate to the Beginner Box:

Hero's handbook 4-page preview
Game Master's Guide Bestiary preview
Cleric Pregenerated Character Sheet preview

Also available to download:
Beginner Box Character Sheet
Beginner Box Pregenerated Characters

Free downloadable expansions from the Paizo site.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Beginner Box Player Pack
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Beginner Box GM Kit

If you're new to the Pathfinder RPG and are unaware of the close relationship it has with the d20 SRD and the Wizards of the Coast's Open Game License you can check out the rules fundamentals here: Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Reference Document - The big not-very-secret gaming secret is that Pathfinder is actually D&D 3-3.5.  So playing Pathfinder can be our way of going back in time before the dark veil of 4th edition descended (okay, not I'm serious, just a nod and wink towards the editions warriors).


Wait a second! 
So why do we have to read the rest of the rules?
Also I love the idea that somehow the d20 could be
a bit like Frank's portal-opening  box in Hellraiser 
"We have so much to show you...
...starting with  your character sheet!"


From the GM's Guide Bestiary.
A lizard dude and a skellington.
Nice art, familiar stats, but strangely blocky,
somehow similar to that other game.

Hi Kyra!  Both sides of the cleric character sheet.  It's nice to read that as well as the pre-generated characters there's also  rules for rolling up characters from scratch, which sometimes get dropped from starter sets and game primers.


Italics are Magic :)


Shopping!


Pathfinder RPG Beginner Box on Paizo (currently $35)


<--- Amazon.com Release Date: November 15th 2011


Thanks for reading.  - Billiam B. :)

P.S.  Happy Halloween!!

3 comments:

  1. It says in the beginner box, which I bought, that one can download for free the additional class- the barbarian - so I go to sight and low and behold there it is for a price. how is that free. what greed! After paying over $35.00 (not including taxes0 for the box set saying the additional Barbarian pdf was free on line and once again its not... rant rant rant. This has really turned me off of the "new and Better" system, hmmm I'll just go back to TSR's first addition. Very disappointed. Piazo u suck!

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    Replies
    1. Hi there. I think I've had something similar when it comes to online downloads -sometimes there's an expiry date. Wizards sometimes screw up with offers like that as well. I found this on the Paizo site:
      http://paizo.com/products/btpy8p2k?Pathfinder-Roleplaying-Game-Beginner-Box-Player-Pack
      If not try searching the site for "Pathfinder Beginner Box OGL" - It contains a page on the Barbarian class. Also I don't know if this page is official text or a custom class: http://docs4.chomikuj.pl/2759896566,PL,0,0,Pathfinder-Barbarian.pdf
      If you email at billiambabble @ yahoo co uk I might be able to send you my copy if the site still doesn't have it.

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