Paizo's Pathfinder - Beginner Box

How to bring your wife to play role playing games

To those unfamiliar with Paizo's Pathfinder game - a word of introduction. There was a time when the publisher of the "World's oldest roleplaying game" decided that your host's (i.e mine) favourite system needs a thorough review and re-composition. Thus D&D 3.0 was born basing on the freshly designed (read: cunningly crafted from the previous AD&D mechanics) d20 game system. Ta-dah! And not too soon an update called D&D 3.5 edition was unleashed  to the world to smite yer beliefs in any other entertainment beside delving dungeons and wrestling dragons. And the GM's saw it was good. And they smiled upon it.

Then the Publisher said: "Let there be OGL (open game licence) for any of you who want to create fantastic worlds and games using our ingenious mechanics". And the other publishers saw it was good. And thus Pathfinder was born.

Pathfinder is currently one of my most recent fascinations and with good reason. It all started with me being frustrated over the fact Paizo does not accept AMEX cards (shame on you Paizo, shame on you). I was half way there to plan a trip to the US to purchase a set of manuals when browsing my befriended game distributor (www.rebel.pl) I found out they were (are) in fact importing the Pathfinder books to Poland (yippee!). I read enough to get interested in the beginner's box. After all I was already an owner of the famous TSR's red box which probably deserves another note. Having played countless sessions of FFG's Descent: Journeys in the Dark boardgame with my wife and brother-in-law I was already looking for an easy mean of transition from fantasy boardgames to fantasy role playing games. But to achieve that I needed a system that is possibly close to the boardgame's setting and mechanics that are straightforward, transparent and easy to learn. Of course attractive graphics and artwork is very, very helpful. 

I found Pathfinder Beginner Box to be all that and more. 

First impressions

The box is fantastic - sturdy and well crafted. Artwork is damn solid (not Elmore though). It all smell of quality and dedication. Upon opening the solid chest I stumbled upon a one-pager introducing me to the content with a brief yet informatory guide through the box's contents. Bravo!

The two manuals (Hero's and GM's) are not intimidating to a beginner. My fantasy boardgame's campaign rulebook is thicker (sic!). Pre-rolled character sheets are a masterpiece of design containing short introduction meant for a person who's never (ever) played before, then each section of the character sheet is well explained so that even during gameplay you can never be lost (for too long) and you don't have to consult the hero's manual. Smart.

A nice touch is a folded generic dungeon map that can be drawn upon with a erasable marker and a set of paper pawns with beautiful drawings to use on the map should you decide to play Pathfinder as a semi-boardgame. Need I say more? The last part os of course a one-pager on the bottom informing you of all development options, further expansions and manuals, Pathfinder society etc. Well played, Paizo. Well played.

All you need to play - the dice

As it is a game dedicated to beginners it should and in fact it does contain everything you need to start playing right away. It does have the pre-generated characters, one of each kind (fighter, wizard, cleric, rogue). It does have all necessary and simplified rules. It does have an introductory adventure that is easy to run with merely an hour of preparation. And it does have the dice.

The set is great. Well crafted and weighted. Sturdy to the level of indestructibility. A classic set of 1d20, 1d12, 2d10, 1d8, 1d6 and 1d4. This is in fact a great addition to my collection of dice (another note on that should be available sometime). Thanks, Paizo!

Getting to play - the first adventure

I can't really tell how many publishers understand the importance of the introductory adventure in a roleplaying game. I can tell though that not many enough. Fortunately Paizo is a publisher who seems to stick by one general principle: Diligence, dedication, quality and support. Well, that's more than one principle, but it proves the point!

The introductory adventure is the first thing you see in the GM's manual. First thing! That is how you make a statement. It bases on the decades-old quest format - dungeon delving. But it does it so well. The text is easy to read, well composed and structured. You actually need to read through the adventure once to be able to run it, because all major points are so handily provided in subsections, boxes, tables etc. Flavour text is laid down in a separate box, so you can read it aloud if you're not ready to create atmosphere on your own. All enemies' stats are provided as you go. The adventure itself introduces new rules step by step so you can learn while you play. Boy, somebody has just done their homework in learning patterns. So there's cavern exploration, strange artifact inspection, traps, treasures, fighting, talking your way out of the situation, riddles, underground river swimming, crossing obstacles and a dragon. Whoaa. All in one adventure. The ending is open so you have a great starting point for a follow up. Some ideas are even written down for your consideration. This is who everyone should do it. You immediately get the gist of the game, you get the idea what lies beyond the first gaming session! Does this work? It sure does, ask my recent all newbee gaming group.

So, yes, I am impressed :)

The Boardgame mode

For those of you who feel like transitioning from a simple hack and slash treasure hunting boardgame to a fully fledged rpg is too much of a step the Beginner Box introduces a boardgame mode.

The board is provided in a form of a folded map. One side shows the first adventure from the GM's manual - the dungeon. The other side is a generic square board with tiles. You can write stuff on it with a erasable marker to create your own dungeons. Or outdoor encounter location.

The broad selection of paper pawn lets you to manage your skirmishes. There are monsters of course, the 4 generic heroes but also variants of other races and classes should you decide to play a new generated character. Nice.

The beginner box rules allow to play the game on a board in a effortless manner. They are also well composed into the rpg idea, so that you don't have separate sections for board-based sessions. I could also put it like that: the initial assumption is that beginners will play with the board, but you can easily skip that step without losing fun in reading the manuals and playing the game. It's a win-win situation.

The artwork

The graphical side of the product is beautiful. The style is a bit too cartooney for my taste, but it is stylish in its own right. I am a sucker for illustrations, I admit. The books are beautifully decorated, you immediately feel the allure of game settings (woods, caverns, dungeons, villages, towns, swamps etc.) the individual feeling of particular hero classes, the character of each monster. I love the product for the visual side alone. And knowing that all Paizo's products maintain the general quality and style of artwork I must admit they just couldn't have done it better.

Rules - general impression

A general note: this is not meant to be a review of Pathfinder rules but a overview of my impession.

Pathfinder bases on the generic d20 mechanics but introduces a lot of minor tweaks and improvements that add to the general quality of the game and the entertainment it gives. Melee system is simple but gives the players a variety of options to make it more engaging. The Wizard's spell system is nicely balanced. A bit too boardgamey for my tastes, but works very well in Pathfinder setting. The cleric finally has some some individual assignments and tasks which makes him more useful in a combat situation. The Rogue is a nice blend of thief and fighter. Generally the classes are well balanced and each type might charm a different memeber of your gaming troupe.

The skills system is consize and very playable. I personally find it very comfortable and logical as a GM and I don't have to consult the manual every time I need to resolve a problem. The mechanics is fasts and transparent. Easy and agreable to run, dynamic and transparent for the hero's to play.

A good selection of basic rules from the Core Rulebook (yes, there is of course an expanded, i.e. full version of Pathfinder game) makes up for a really successful initiation in the rpg game genre.

Support

But, one of the most important features that struck me about Paizo is the support they provide to their games and clients. Not only did they care for the great started package. On their page www.paizo.com you can download beginner box character sheets, rules expansions, sample adventures and more - for free!

They provide a guide article on how to run commercial modules (published adventures) with your beginner box. So, say that you don't feel like buying the full version yet, you can prolong the replayability of the beginner box to infinity if you like. Actually, I was that lucky once to open Paizo webpage on a "free rpg day" when they were giving some modules for free. Now I only have to wonder on which adventure to choose for our May holiday (typical string of celebration days in Poland). There will be monster whooping a plenty!

So listen game publishers, if you know how to cater your gamer-clients, follow in Paizo's footsteps. 

What I see great about Paizo is that whatever product they make, they make you feel that they are doing all their best to make it a better experience for you. And this is a principle that all of the people in the entertainment industry should follow.

Conclusion

I got the Pathfinder Beginner Box out of curiosity and faint hope to buy wy family into playing rpg's. So far we have had 2 sessions, 3-4 hours at average. Everyone is looking forward to playing the next session. No issues with the rules have been had, no complaints, just general fun all around. Of course I am a wonderful GM (sneer) but if you're looking for a great gateway into the marvellous world of fantasy role playing games - Pathfinder Beginner Box is there for you.