Top products from r/Pathfinder

Phew This'll be a long a post, but certainly reward to read by the end of it. Playing D&D/Pathfinder really is the Nerdiest, Nerd thing I've ever done, and it is a lot of fun! Watch +DawnforgedCast's Session 0 video and download his checklist here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0FmGxmJLiw It's meant for a GameMaster/Dungeon Master, but that checklist will help you out greatly in understanding what you want when starting out in a new group, with or without veteran players. If you aren't able to find a group locally (I don't recommend online groups for your first introduction) then taking up the mantle of leadership as the GameMaster/Dungeon Master, can be both exciting and overwhelming at the same time. However, if you're one with a vivid imagination, or are good with thinking on the fly (believe me, it gets better with time) then you'll already have a headstart on the majority of GMs out there. A great beginning module that has a little bit of everything, adventure hook (i.e., reason why your players should be doing this), NPC interaction, wilderness adventuring, dungeon crawling, is the Hollow's Last Hope module for 1st Level Players as it works for both D&D and Pathfinder. You don't really need the print version, since you can download it for FREE at Paizo's website https://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Hollow%27s_Last_Hope

I greatly recommend you get the Pathfinder RPG: Beginner Box ($25-$35) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601256302 it is a different game, but the rule set is uber-simplified and honestly, superior to the D&D Starter Set ($15), and is worth the extra money. The Beginner Box literally has the all of the beginning needs for play. Pre-generated characters, blank character sheets for the four classes (Wizard, Rogue, Cleric, and Fighter) with either of the three races (Elf, Dwarf, and Human) that are easy to introduce new players to, a flip out map that you can use dry-erase- or wet-erase markers, and permanent markers on (all of which can be erased off, I use these wet-erase makers that are $9 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006IFGW because I'll draw camp fires with brown, yellow, orange, and red colors, green helps with trees and shrubbery, blue for water, and black for everything else), a Hero's handbook, and really, really, good GM guide, plus thick, cardboard punch-out marker pawns of various Monsters, NPCs, Player characters, and other creatures, that amount to a wealth of miniatures that would take a lot of money and time to paint them all up, plus they're easier to store in the box. Unfortunately, it only comes with one set of dice, so it wouldn't hurt to get these on these 7 sets ($12) on the cheap https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MDJNE93 and pass them out to your players, or if they have their own, then you'll have plenty of extra multiples of dice, which will come in handy during combat with spellcasters and sneak attacks by Rogues. I handed them out to my players after they told me what their favorite colors were. =P

That'd would be all you'd really need to start, $30ish Beginner Box, plus $10 for markers, and $10 more if you or your players need dice. Now, what follows is what I used for my first GMing of a game, based on many different people's recommendations. In order to make combat work in a logical way that I could understand, I bought the Pathfinder Combat Pad $20 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601255470, along with those wet-erase markers from earlier. It's usefulness has been far better, and worth it's price in gold, to use than a cheap $1 store notebook, when I would have to erase or rewrite when players would defeat monsters or would hold their actions, or would tell them the wrong initiative bonus to start (lol!). Again, rather use a dollar store binder, I bought the Pathfinder GM Screen $16ish https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601252161, because it was short enough for me to look over rather than 3-ring binders or a paper folder at the actual game table. Speaking the table, I bought the Chessex Battlemats https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015IQO2O this is a link to the smaller one ($20), since I bought the Megamat ($35), only because I had a large table, and players could use it as a coaster for drinks too (even though I did have coasters, to prevent spillage). As an added bonus, I recently discovered the Condition cards $10 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601252854, to use with Pathfinder, and they are great to hand out to players (as you would already know these conditions since it's written behind the GM Screen) so they know what condition they are in at a glance. Keep in mind though, you only get 4 or each, so if you are lucky enough to have more players, it wouldn't hurt to buy an extra set (however, it would be strange if all of your players had the same condition).

Now, let's say you enjoy Pathfinder, and you bought the Core Rulebook $20 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601258879 (if it's a hardcover, always look inside for the Sixth edition printing, the paperback will already be that edition) but are getting tired of looking up Monster stats online, then grab the Paperback version of the first Bestiary $16 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601258887 which has the great majority of all of the "regular" monsters in either D&D or Pathfinder. If you're not much of an artist, then there's the recently released Pathfinder Traps and Treasures Pawns Collection $25 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601259719 but be warned that you only want to place on the board AFTER the players find out what it is or after they trip it since it does have text explaining what it is as a trap, and if you're use the treasure ones, make sure you add whatever is actually printed on the tile is IN the list of treasure you give the players, because they can and will ask about, "can't I grab that cup or sword, it's on the tile?" ;)

Lastly, if you enjoy being the GameMaster/Dungeon Master, the storyteller, the world builder, then I'd recommend getting the Pathfinder Gamemastery Guide $15 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601259492, which again, can be applied to both RPG games. And if you what better weather effects to throw at your party than what is presented in the CRB and GMG, then Pathfinder Ultimate Wilderness $30 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601259867 has all that you need, and then some, plus some cool spells and tons of new animal companions and familiars for spellcasters alike, and a new shapeshifting melee-fighting class called the Shifter, which is pretty neat to use (albeit, you may want to check out Paizo's website for any official errata or clarifications, just in case). If you want to actually create a campaign and are having a hard time coming up with ideas, locations, groups/factions, kingdoms, races, then one more purchase, which is what +DawnforgedCast used for his Pathfinder games seen here is the Inner Sea World Guide $45 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601252692 It is pricey, but again, very much worth it, to create your own world or to use the pre-made world, as well. Remember, the Beginner Box, Markers, and Dice is really all you need, the rest of this is to expand out. I hope this helps you and anyone else out as well. =P

Keep in mind this sub is for Pathfinder Society, which is an organized style of play that tends to discourage homebrew and creativity in favor of strict adherence to rules. You might also check in with /r/pathfinder_rpg for a less strict interpretation of the game.

The basics of Pathfinder are pretty simple and you have everything you need to get started in that bundle. You've got the core rulebook and bestiary, and what seems like a pretty wide range of modules and campaigns to get your feet wet with. The Beginner's Box will also include tutorial-style guided adventures to get everyone familiar with the basic rules. The most important concept is how actions are broken down.

In order from most expensive to least expensive, actions are: full-round actions, standard actions, move actions, swift actions, immediate actions, and free actions. Unless modified by spells or other conditions, everyone gets one move action and one standard action per round (and a full-round action uses both.) Swift actions don't "cost" an action, but you may only perform one swift action per round; immediate actions don't "cost" an action and can be done even when it's not your turn to act, but can only be done once and count against your "swift" action option when it becomes your turn. Free actions can be done as often as you'd like, whenever it's your turn to act; some free actions can be considered more involved or powerful than others and it's up to GM discretion if they want to place limitations on such free actions. Generally speaking, most basic spells and attacks (like casting a Fireball or swinging your greataxe at someone) will cost a standard action.

There's a considerable amount of complexity in the system, but it's fairly simple to learn and understand. The "tutorial adventure" in the beginner's box should take you through all the major processes in a typical dungeon crawl, including skill checks, making saves, attack rolls, and so on.

You'll probably want to get a set of dice for each player, and maybe eventually another set or two for the DM: Chessex is probably the most common brand, but there are about as many dice manufacturers as there are colors in the rainbow. For a simple set of 7 dice made of plastic or similar materials, you shouldn't expect to pay more than $8-10; if you're paying more, you're probably getting ripped off. You could consider buying sacks of dice, too.

If you want more than just the basic cardboard minis the beginner's box comes with, there are all different kinds of plastic and pewter miniatures made by a variety of companies (Reaper is one of the most common) - many of them come unpainted, and painting minis is a whole new hobby you can get into with your kids! The basic cardboard minis or pre-painted minis are just fine, but there's really something to be said for assembling and hand-painting your own mini to have it look exactly like the character you're playing as :)

Lastly, it can be really useful to have the Systems Reference Document open on mobile or a notebook (or even desktop if your play area is near one.) Access is free and it includes all of the rules, monster entries, etc from a wide variety of sources.

I use a combo of things. Long term storage (eg: not used this game) I put in plastic organizers like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006L2UZTW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_OwacAb3V9VPGW
I use my label printer and organize them by type (orcs, undead, etc)

If I’m GMing somewhere for PFS or at a friends house, I use my battle foam bag: http://us.battlefoam.com/pathfinder-bag-standard-load-out/

I don’t use pluck foam anymore since I mix what goes in there; I’ve switched to using their standard precut foams. Like someone else said, you can get them in a number of depths and precut shapes and sizes.

Edit: I have 700+ minis, so my organizing is pretty important for finding things. Also, I use bigger plastic bins for large creatures. Don’t have a link handy for them though.

I use a couple Stanley organizers (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005QWYF/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1), alphabetized. I keep the bases jumbled up in the original box, and only store the bases that I've painted in the toolboxes (painted bases help me track enemies of the same type, so I don't have a need for tons of bases).

Note that there is a large discrepancy in the numbers of enemies by letter (for example, demons, devils, and dragons all start with "D"), so you will probably have to spread letters across compartments, make sub-categories by letter, and/or put more than one letter in a compartment to save space (for example, "x" and "y" can be easily put together).

I only have a couple bestiaries worth of pawns; you might want something different if you have much more than that. Of course, nothing is stopping you from simply getting a lot of toolboxes like this guy did: http://i.imgur.com/13wYjeV.jpg

More info here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_RPG/comments/2fy6b5/pathfinder_pawns_sorting_project/

Good to know...no wonder I never saw those others too...

I have FR "Serpent Kingdoms"...It shouldn't be too hard to convert from that book.

i prefer the 20 pocket tobacco card pages https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003A7VIH4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_HL66CbBX0HRYX

d20pfsrd resources are listed at the bottom of the page:

Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Pathfinder Society Field Guide. © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC. Authors: Erik Mona, Mark Moreland, Russ Taylor, and Larry Wilhelm.

so single custom mini might be a bit harder than finding one already made. I buy most of my minis from amazon or ebay.
for example: http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B005MUAL8Y (this search was for dwarf mini)

On amazon be careful as some are shown painted but come unpainted. Also, just look at all RPG minis - no one is going to know if you have a D&D mini vs a pathfinder mini


Another place to look is the Reaper online store: https://www.reapermini.com/OnlineStore they have tons and tons of minis (most unpainted) but lots of selection and you might be able to find what you are looking for there.

I have three battlemats. While I'm doing DM prep for a PFS scenario, I draw out the battles, one to a map. When it's time for battle, I roll out the correct map and away we go.

I use different color markers for details like water, vegetation, walls, trees.

http://www.amazon.com/Expo-Wet-Erase-Overhead-Transparency-Assorted/dp/B002R5AEC0/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1453846010&sr=8-5&keywords=vis+a+vis+markers