Pathfinder 1E New to Pathfinder and PFS

Hey, I posted this on the Paizo Pathfinder forums, but thought I'd post here as well.
I'm new to Pathfinder and the Pathfinder Society. I've played D&D since 2nd ed, and I've played a lot of D&D Adventurer's League.


I'm pretty familiar with D&D 3.5, but I know Pathfinder has grown and refined a lot since then. So I have a couple questions.


1> Given that I know D&D 3.5, what are the biggest mechanical differences in pathfinder? What systems do I need to read in particular so I don't slow down games or try to use wrong rules that have changed?


2> Reading the Pathfinder Society stuff, I see that there's both 'Standard' using all the first party Paizo books, and also 'Core' using JUST the Pathfinder Core rule book. How common are Core games at events like cons or gamedays? Should I both to make a Core character as well as a Standard Character, or am I likely to always be able to find Standard games at events?


3> I have the Core book, and PDFs of Advanced Player's Guide, Advanced Class Guide, Ultimate Combat, and Pathfinder Unchained. What other books would you say are 'Must Haves' and which books would you say are 'Nice to have, but not 100% necessary'?


Thank you!

1. Never played 3.5, so can't say. Sorry!

2. We don't have much CORE in my local area. Standard is probably more likely. A CORE character can always go Standard if needed. You just can't go back.

3. The only must have book is Core. The rest is just icing. I have pretty much all the books and still haven't played outside of the core rulebook except for some magic items or the occasional spell from a module reward. So don't worry too much about it.

I will say that if you're playing a class with an animal companion, you might want to brush up on that section of the Society FAQ. The rules are different than in the PHB.

Sent from my SM-G900P using EN World mobile app

1. It's very similar to 3.5. There are some small differences, but they are easy to pick up. The biggest that comes to mind, is adjudicating special attacks. Combat Maneuver Bonus (CMB) applies to attack rolls and the Combat Maneuver Defense (CMD) applies if you are targeted by one.

2, There are two types of campaigns/adventures run in Pathfinder Society stuff, standard (which include almost all Paizo books/material) and CORE (which only uses the PHB). Most people run standard, but if you're just starting you might look into a CORE adventure. I have never been to a place where I could not get a game with my standard characters. Remember to sign up to get a PFS number and register your characters online. You cannot, however, use a CORE character in a standard campaign/adventure (or vice-versa).

3. Advanced Race Guide is very good for options (and very useful). If you are into spell casters, Ultimate Magic is also very good (Options and Magus Class).

..edit...sorry...double post

Actually you can use a CORE character in a Standard adventure. It just then becomes a Standard character and can never play CORE again.

Sent from my SM-G900P using EN World mobile app

3.5 has limited cantrips per day. Consequently, they can allow Cure Minor wounds to heal 1 hp, and it won't be an automatic healing of any character to full life.

PF has unlimited cantrips per day. Consequently, they allow Stabilize that stops bleeding when below 0 hp, but no cantrip for actual healing. You have to spend some of the limited resources of healing spells level 1+ (not 0 level cantrips) to actually heal up.

Also, several 3.5 skills got combined in PF. Hide + Move Silently = Stealth. Balance + Tumble + Jump = Acrobatics. Others...

The setting is also different: different gods, different locations, and some non-open content monsters do not exist (e.g. beholders).

Check out this link for more details for classes:
http://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/1/differences-between-dd-3-5-and-pathfinder

The difference between 3.5 and Pathfinder is like the death of a thousand needles (in a good way). There are many small changes, which takes some time to absorb. Particularly spells have changed, many buffs have dropped considerably in duration. But these are subtle details you'll discover as you go.

The big changes are obvious ones; class abilities and combat maneuvers. All classes now have more and improved class features besides spellcasting. Here are some highlights from the top of my head.

Bards can cast spells while maintaining bardic performance.

Paladin smite is not a one-time deal, it lasts for an entire combat but only against a single enemy.

Sorcerers now have a bloodline that give them lots of abilities. These are more flavor than power, but some are quite nice. And they get additional spells know from the bloodline too.

Druids have been nerfed; summon nature's animal is much less powerful and the rules for wild shape are very much tighter.

Fighters have actual class abilities, and learn to move around in armor.

Rogues and barbarians from the core book are no longer valid in Pathfinder Society play, instead use the unchained versions.

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/unchained-classes/barbarian-unchained/

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/unchained-classes/rogue-unchained/