Pathfinder 1E Pathfinder Beginner Unboxing

[Stormonu]

With my kids I have usually just taught them at the table. I also have done similar to what the Beginner Box is going to do as well - we don't use AoOs and limit combat maneuvers.

The oldest who is almost 8 I started playing with at age 6 in this fashion. He has a great attention span though, is mature for his age and is sort of a geek like his Dad. He's been just fine with the game and knows the basics pretty well at this point. I've also had him help me test combat from a few other systems as well and he usually picks that up very quickly.

My youngest I started letting her roll some dice and hang out while we play. She's four. She knows nothing of the rules, but rolls the dice and participates in the story for about the first 60 to 90 minutes.

I think it is worth a shot. Just do as you have already noted, keep the action exciting and I bet it goes well. This Beginners Box should be perfect for you!

Similar experience here: I started playing with my 5-year-old with the 3E boxed set (the one with the Black Dragon mini) and he loved it, caught on pretty quick. He's ten now and sometimes DMs his younger brother through adventures he made. My younger son is now 8 and likewise has been playing since age 5, but is near-autistic. Keeping him on-task in the game for more than 5 minutes can be difficult, but when he's paying attention, he loves to play and can be surprisingly clever.

In both cases, we tend to keep the rules "behind the screen", the kids have fun enough exploring, fighting, rolling dice and hamming it up with NPCs. Dad (and Mom) worry about how the rules work and adjudicating whether an action will work or not (sorta reminds me of the days of 1E & 2E).

 

[IronWolf]

The Beginner Box Paizo page has gone live!

http://paizo.com/beginnerbox

The unboxing video is there along with several free resources for the Beginner Box - including the Beginner Box Player Pack, Beginner Box GM Kit, Character Sheets, and pregenerated characters.

Can't wait for my set to arrive! Time to get IronPup started on a proper journey!

 

[Jacob Marley]

Can't wait for my set to arrive! Time to get IronPup started on a proper journey!

I just got my set in the mail today and opened it tonight. I am stunned! And in a good way. I am a twenty-plus year veteran of gaming and I found myself giggling like a wide-eyed school boy at this amazing set. I think Paizo hit a homerun with this product.

 

[Remus Lupin]

Got mine yesterday. Also very excited to get the chance to play. I think this has the potential to do what the old Red Box edition did for me when I was 10 or 11 years old -- introduce new players to the game in a very user friendly way. I concur -- home run!

 

[IronWolf]

Glad to hear the initial favorable reports! Looking forward to mine arriving, though I will likely have to satisfy my interest through the PDFs being released on Wednesday to satisfy my initial curiosity. Hoping to run the intro adventure for IronPup this coming up weekend.

 

[Feeroper]

I found my copy at my flgs in toronto yesterday (downtown hairy t had it for those possibly wondering).

The set looks amazing! You can sense the love that went in it right from opening the box. Even though I knew what to expect thanks to that unboxing video, I was still pretty surprised at how slick everything was. Very eye catching and pretty.

The content is presented in a great fashion too. Perfect for those who are curious about Pathfinder. I would highly recommend this to anyone, and especially as a gift idea for any budding gamers out there.

 

[billd91]

Mine arrived today. Beautiful product. A surprisingly solid box holding it together. I'm looking forward to really digging into it.

 

[Stormonu]

Got mine a few days ago, and I'm pretty happy with it.

I was really surprised with the choose-your-own-adventure at the start of the player's book. I couldn't slog through all the reading in the 4E red box version, but I found myself reading through the Pathfinder one really quickly (I was actually expecting it to be longer).

The visuals throughout the two books make this look really, really nice and it feels both simple and complete - as if you could have years of fun just with what comes in the box.

I gotta really say that the 4E red box felt like a sampler, with the expectation that you'd to come running back for more and invest in the whole line. The Pathfinder set feels like you could run your game (for quite a while) just off what's in the box - "and hey, if you enjoyed that, we've got this other stuff you can expand that game with - if you're interested". In short, it feels more like the ol' basic D&D sets from the 80's, with cooler graphics and toys to play with.

 

[IronWolf]

My physical box has not arrived, but I picked up the PDFs yesterday. Awesome stuff! Very well laid out, trimmed down, but not stripped down so much to make the leap to the full core completely overwhelming. Very impressed so far.

I am planning on running IronPup through the first adventure this weekend and see how that goes. I won't have the cool flip mat or the pawns yet, but I can see how he adapts to the rule. I suspect he will pick up on them pretty quickly.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

I have it and... not bad. Not bad at all.

Enough to get a good start on the game, with a nice mix of critters in the GM book. I also like all the critters in the GM book having its own standee.

I kind of like the way the starter dungeon (not the solo) introduces new mechanics with each room - it does a nice job of explaining the rules, one step at a time.

All in all, it is what it says on the box. A good start for beginners.

The Auld Grump