Today, I...

[pauljathome]

It's a few things:

.

What Bacris said. Plus :

The character that one creates is totally compatible with regular Pathfinder play. It used less options but the options pretty much all work identically (there is probably one or two exceptions that I'm unaware of). One can take a Beginner Box character and play it in a normal campaign. Since they chose mechanically good options to include that character will also be quite viable (albeit not totally mini-maxed).

It also has very high production values. Very pretty artwork and a character sheet that is both very attractive AND makes it very, very easy to create a character.

In the box is absolutely EVERYTHING that you need to play up to 5th level characters. This includes cardboard stand up figures, a battle mat, and a set of dice. The components alone are just about worth the price of the box.

It is a little more expensive than the 4th edition D&D equivalent but the experience is MUCH better. Both in terms of starting to play AND in moving on to "full" Pathfinder afterwards.

 

[Piratecat]

$23 on Amazon -- and the starting adventure is really quite good.

 

[Henry]

Side note -- even Erik Mona has said on a podcast or two recently that Paizo wants a healthy D&D for "gateway drug" status if nothing else.

Regardless of that, I've heard wonderful things about that boxed set (but haven't been motivated to get it because I really don't need it). Listening to what the ladies and gents did to research a good tutorial product (the focus tests, marketing advice, etc.), they really went about it the right way.

 

[TarionzCousin]

Side note -- even Erik Mona has said on a podcast or two recently that Paizo wants a healthy D&D for "gateway drug" status if nothing else.

If that's the case, shouldn't the first one* be free?




* PF Beginner Box

 

[mach1.9pants]

If that's the case, shouldn't the first one* be free?




* PF Beginner Box

It is, it is up to adult employed gamers to pick a few up -23 bucks!?!?! That is a box 2 and half times the size of the BECMI red box with 10 times the content! There are tons of PDFs out there for way more than that. Then give them away to deserving neophyte gamers!

Bookdepository has them for 35NZ free shipping, now that is a bargain! As a comparison they WHFRP 3E box (similar size but a bit more content but not that much) is 125!

My best buddy from childhoods oldest son has the red box that my buddies older brother taught us on (still with my buddies character sheet!) and loves it. They have my BBox, so I am buying another and they can keep mine..

 

[blargney the second]

Cool! If I have anybody to bring into the fold, I'll definitely give that a shot.

 

[IronWolf]

I've run the Pathfinder Beginner Box for an 8 and 4 year old and it went very well. The rules were easy to understand, the adventure was quite entertaining.

The 8 year old has gone off to learn the rest of the game on his own and has now quite successfully run an adventure he crafted himself for me. He ran a very solid game (way better than the first game I ran) and he has a very firm grasp on the rules.

It is a wonderful gateway to the hobby.

 

[Argyle King]

I've heard a number of people say the beginner box is excellent. What is it that sets it apart?

I might echo what many others have said, but I recently learned Pathfinder (see my nearby thread topic,) and I also felt the Beginner's Box was excellent.

- I felt as though the rules layout was exceptionally easy to understand. It does a good job of walking you through everything step by step and introducing the game with a writing style which is clear enough to relay the information while also being engaging enough to not be boring.

- I highly preferred the cardboard standies in the PF box to the D&D Red Box's pogs.

- Personally, I felt the sample adventure was well written. From a player's point of view, I highly enjoyed it. (There are also a few free adventures offered in pdf form which build on the Beginner's Box adventure.)

- The flip mat is a nice bonus. Overall, while the PF box is a little more expensive than the current D&D Red Box, I personally felt that the PF box was 'cheaper' when I considered how much I paid versus how much value I felt I got.


The only complaint I have is that I was a little confused when I moved from the BB to the full game because the layout of the BB character sheet is quite a bit different from the Core Pathfinder sheet. I understand that a lot of the fiddly bits were not included in the Beginner version of the game, but it still took me a session to get my mind accustomed to what I feel is a significant shift in character sheet layout.

 

[Darrell]

The PF Beginner Box is an amazing value, considering everything you get for the money.

I took an "E6-ish" approach (well, 'E5' actually, I suppose) with it, and made a makeshift GM screen out of a restaurant menu and information from the 'reference pages' from the Gamemaster's Guide, and now it's become the game I cart with me on tour.

I'd love to see a 'Beginner Box Expansion' product that had information for levels 1-5 for some other classes (say, Bard, Druid, Ranger, and Sorcerer), some new equipment (both magical and mundane), some new monsters, and a few other adventures.

Regards,
Darrell

 

[JohnnFour]

I learned RPG ages ago from the the basic D&D red book.

Its simplicity helped my friend and I get into it right away. We still got stuff wrong, like spells per level, but it was a sleek experience.

Sounds the the Beginner's Box has the same spirit. Keep it simple and fun. That's awesome.