BoLS Overview: Pathfinder RPG System
Join us for a quick run down of the early history of Pathfinder and a breakdown of what books you need to get started!
Hello BoLS Readers – many of you may be veteran RPG players as well as avid wargamers – but i’m willing to bet many of you aren’t and may not know where to start! I’m here to help point you in right direction. I’ve been playing different tabletop RPG’s on and off for as long as I can remember. In this video I breakdown a brief history of Pathfinder and how it’s the spiritual successor to Dungeons & Dragons (thanks to some Open Gaming License/d20 system clauses) and which books you’ll want to grab to get started!
via Paizo
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook
Enter a fantastic world of adventure!
The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game puts you in the role of a brave adventurer fighting to survive in a world beset by magic and evil. Will you cut your way through monster-filled ruins and cities rife with political intrigue to emerge as a famous hero laden with fabulous treasure, or will you fall victim to treacherous traps and fiendish monsters in a forgotten dungeon? Your fate is yours to decide with this giant Core Rulebook that provides everything a player needs to set out on a life of adventure and excitement!
AdvertisementThis imaginative tabletop game builds upon more than 10 years of system development and an open playtest involving more than 50,000 gamers to create a cutting-edge RPG experience that brings the all-time best-selling set of fantasy rules into the new millennium.
The
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook
includes:
- All player and Game Master rules in a single volume
- Complete rules for fantastic player races like elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, and half-orcs
- Exciting new options for character classes like fighters, wizards, rogues, clerics, and more
- Streamlined and updated rules for feats and skills that increase options for your hero
- A simple combat system with easy rules for grapples, bull rushes, and other special attacks
- Spellcaster options for magic domains, familiars, bonded items, specialty schools, and more
- Hundreds of revised, new, and updated spells and magical treasures
- Quick-generation guidelines for nonplayer characters
- Expanded rules for curses, diseases, and poisons
- A completely overhauled experience system with options for slow, medium, and fast advancement
- …and much, much more!
The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook is a 576-page full-color hardcover.
Pathfinder Game Mastery Guide
Rule Your World!
Players may be the heroes of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, but whole worlds rest on the Game Master’s shoulders. Fortunately for GMs, the Pathfinder RPG GameMastery Guide is here to back you up. Packed with invaluable hints and information, this book contains everything you need to take your game to the next level, from advice on the nuts and bolts of running a session to the greater mysteries of crafting engaging worlds and storylines. Whether you’ve run one game or a thousand, this book has page after page of secrets to make you sharper, faster, and more creative, while always staying one step ahead of your players.
The 320-page Pathfinder RPG GameMastery Guide is a must-have companion volume to the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. This imaginative tabletop game builds upon more than 10 years of system development and an Open Playtest featuring more than 50,000 gamers to create a cutting-edge RPG experience that brings the all-time best-selling set of fantasy rules into the new millennium.
The Pathfinder RPG GameMastery Guide includes:
Subscribe to our newsletter!Get Tabletop, RPG & Pop Culture news delivered directly to your inbox.By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.- Tips and tricks for preparing and running a better game, suitable for beginning GMs and battle-hardened veterans.
- Step-by-step walkthroughs for creating campaign worlds, cities, cosmologies, feudal systems, and alternate dimensions.
- Difficult player types, and how to handle them gracefully.
- New rules for subsystems like hauntings, chase scenes, fortune-telling, gambling games, mysteries, and insanity.
- Charts to help you generate everything from interesting NPCs and fantastic treasures to instant encounters in any terrain.
- Advanced topics such as PC death, game-breaking rules, overpowered parties, solo campaigns, and derailed storylines.
- Sample NPC statistics for dozens of common adventuring situations, such as cultists, guardsmen, barmaids, and pirates.
- AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!
Pathfinder Bestiary
Here there be monsters!
AdvertisementWhat is a hero without monsters to vanquish? This 328-page book presents hundreds of different creatures for use in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Within this tome you’ll find fire-breathing dragons and blood-drinking vampires, vile demons and shapechanging werewolves, sadistic goblins and lumbering giants, and so much more! Yet not all the creatures in this book are enemies, for some can serve lucky heroes as allies or advisors, be they summoned angels or capricious nymphs. And it doesn’t stop there—with full rules for advancing monsters, adapting monsters to different roles, and designing your own unique creations, you’ll never be without a band of hideous minions again!
The Pathfinder RPG Bestiary is the must-have companion volume to the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. This imaginative tabletop game builds upon more than 10 years of system development and an Open Playtest featuring more than 50,000 gamers to create a cutting-edge RPG experience that brings the all-time best-selling set of fantasy rules into the new millennium.
The Pathfinder RPG Bestiary includes:
- More than 350 different monsters
- Dozens of monstrous variants to modify creatures and keep players on their toes
- Numerous lists of monsters to aid in navigation, including lists by Challenge Rating, monster type, and habitat
- Extensive rules for creating effective and balanced monsters
- Rules for advancing monsters by hit dice, template, or class level
- Universal monster rules to simplify special attacks, defenses, and qualities like breath weapons, damage reduction, and regeneration
- More than a dozen feats tailored especially for monsters
- Suggestions for monstrous cohorts
- Two dozen additional animal companions
- More than a dozen different wandering monster encounter tables
- AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!
My recommendation is that if you’re a player or GM buy the core rulebook. If you’re a GM you’re probably going to want to get the Game Mastery Guide and the Bestiary (eventually). Player won’t need the GM guide but may want to check out the Bestiary – it also makes a great “thank you for running our game” gift…
If you’re worried about the cost or quality – the books are very well done so quality is a non-issue to me. If the cost is holding you back you can also pick the PDF’s for all 3 of these books from Piazo for around $10 each. That seems like a very reasonable price for a legal digital copy.
So get out there and go adventuring! There are worlds to build, adventures to be had and YEARS of fun ahead.
What’s holding you back from playing Pathfinder? Veteran Adventurers – share some of your favorite memories in the comments below!
