Pathfinder 1E Definitely hit hard by the Pathfinder bug...

[Nimmo]

Hi everyone, I have been hit hard by the Pathfinder bug and have now volunteered to play the role of DM in a one-off Pathfinder scenario whilst our usual DM is unavailable due to the University actually expecting us to work... (so unreasonable isn't it?)

Anyway, we are used to D&D 3.5, we are going to be running with 5 PCs. 4 of the players (myself included) have been playing D&D since November and have no other experience of game systems. We have one player who is definitely experienced in 3.5, 4.0 and I think he mentioned some Warhammer based ones too and has DM'd many campaigns with a group of people he knew before Uni.

Anyway, that's a bit of background to what's going on, on to the real question I guess...

Since I know this is likely only going to be a one-off thing, I figured that I would run with one of the Pathfinder Society Scenarios, but I have seen that they all seem to have two "tiers" in them. I was wondering if I was right in assuming that the term "tier" was synonymous with level. I have read the Society Players guide and the Seekers of Secrets book and couldn't find a yes/no answer to that.

I have decided that starting at level 5 would be a good idea, as it gives a good flavour into what Pathfinder is really like.

The other thing I was wondering about was which Scenario would be good to go for. I have had a quick look through some of the tier 5 scenarios and liked the look of the Silent Tide, as it seems that in a 4 hour session you can save the world and seems to have quite a good set of reviews. Another that I had looked at was Mists of Mwangi.

I have a physical copy of the Core Rulebook and Advanced Player's guide. I couldn't get my hands on any physical copies of the Monster's Manual, or any of the Society books, but I have purchased PDF versions of these, so have easy access to them.

Anyway, if you have any thoughts or suggestions then feel free to send them my way, or if you want to throw rocks, at least give me a chance to cower in the corner and cry like a little schoolgirl.

Thanks for your time,
Nimmo

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Hi everyone, I have been hit hard by the Pathfinder bug and have now volunteered to play the role of DM in a one-off Pathfinder scenario whilst our usual DM is unavailable due to the University actually expecting us to work... (so unreasonable isn't it?)

Anyway, we are used to D&D 3.5, we are going to be running with 5 PCs. 4 of the players (myself included) have been playing D&D since November and have no other experience of game systems. We have one player who is definitely experienced in 3.5, 4.0 and I think he mentioned some Warhammer based ones too and has DM'd many campaigns with a group of people he knew before Uni.

Anyway, that's a bit of background to what's going on, on to the real question I guess...

Since I know this is likely only going to be a one-off thing, I figured that I would run with one of the Pathfinder Society Scenarios, but I have seen that they all seem to have two "tiers" in them. I was wondering if I was right in assuming that the term "tier" was synonymous with level. I have read the Society Players guide and the Seekers of Secrets book and couldn't find a yes/no answer to that.

I have decided that starting at level 5 would be a good idea, as it gives a good flavour into what Pathfinder is really like.

The other thing I was wondering about was which Scenario would be good to go for. I have had a quick look through some of the tier 5 scenarios and liked the look of the Silent Tide, as it seems that in a 4 hour session you can save the world and seems to have quite a good set of reviews. Another that I had looked at was Mists of Mwangi.

I have a physical copy of the Core Rulebook and Advanced Player's guide. I couldn't get my hands on any physical copies of the Monster's Manual, or any of the Society books, but I have purchased PDF versions of these, so have easy access to them.

Anyway, if you have any thoughts or suggestions then feel free to send them my way, or if you want to throw rocks, at least give me a chance to cower in the corner and cry like a little schoolgirl.

Thanks for your time,
Nimmo

Welcome, welcome!

One thing that you may already have picked up on is that there are 'ninja' changes between 3.5 and Pathfinder - skill ranks are lower, and so are skill DCs, for example. Combat maneuvers is also worth taking a second look at.

Yeah, tiers are what levels a scenario can be run - so a Tier 1-7 can be run for first through seventh level. Sub tiers is how the stats are divided among the tiers - so while an adventue might be tier 1-7 it is more likely to be run at sub tiers 1-2, where the PCs are levels 1 and 2, 3-4, where they are levels 3-4, and etc..

The system is explained in Guide to Pathfinder Society Guide for Organized Play.

I did run Hangman's Noose in a single session, but mostly I have been running campaigns.

The Auld Grump

 

[Nimmo]

One thing that you may already have picked up on is that there are 'ninja' changes between 3.5 and Pathfinder - skill ranks are lower, and so are skill DCs, for example. Combat maneuvers is also worth taking a second look at.

I am currently sitting with the Core Rulebook on my lap and reading the combat section, not met the combat maneuvers section yet, but I am aware that it is significantly different. I am starting to get hold of the altered skills thing, I think.

The main changes on that front I have spotted so far is that Acrobatics caters for Jump and Tumble from 3.5, Perception looks to replace Listen, Search and Spot and then Stealthy replaces Hide and Move Silently. Linguistics, I am not certain with, but I think replaces Forgery and that sort of thing. A proper read of the skills section is the next port of call.

The system is explained in Guide to Pathfinder Society Guide for Organized Play.

Ah, my apologies, I will go and investigate that now, thanks for pointing me in the right direction with that.

[Edit]Looks like I was looking at an older version of that PDF and it has a section explaining it now, I guess when someone says "I got this PDF from the site for free, so here you go" I should hear: "I got this for free, you should go and check it's still valid" I had a version 2 copy of the guide.[/Edit]

 

[TheAuldGrump]

I am currently sitting with the Core Rulebook on my lap and reading the combat section, not met the combat maneuvers section yet, but I am aware that it is significantly different. I am starting to get hold of the altered skills thing, I think.

The main changes on that front I have spotted so far is that Acrobatics caters for Jump and Tumble from 3.5, Perception looks to replace Listen, Search and Spot and then Stealthy replaces Hide and Move Silently. Linguistics, I am not certain with, but I think replaces Forgery and that sort of thing. A proper read of the skills section is the next port of call.



Ah, my apologies, I will go and investigate that now, thanks for pointing me in the right direction with that.

[Edit]Looks like I was looking at an older version of that PDF and it has a section explaining it now, I guess when someone says "I got this PDF from the site for free, so here you go" I should hear: "I got this for free, you should go and check it's still valid" I had a version 2 copy of the guide.[/Edit]

Yep, a lot of skills have been combined, which means the skill points tend to go further.

Also, you no longer get X4 skill points at first level - you get your class points plus Int bonus. This is actually a very good thing - it means that those folks who want to multiclass as rogues are not as constrained to do so at first level.

Class skills get a bonus, but all skills cost just one point per rank.

Feats are now every other level, which means fighters now get a feat every single level.

And sorcerers rock.

The Auld Grump

 

[Nimmo]

I had seen those points about the skills and the changes to how class skills are handled and the feats, I was just going to read the chapter so that I was aware of the DCs and that sort of things.

My girlfriend who usually plays a sorcerer is quite excited about the new bloodlines aspect to the class. I am more of a rogue/ranger type, although, I love the look of the Summoner and can't wait to play one.

 

[VanceMadrox]

Silent Tide is actually from Season 0 which still used the 3.5 Rules.

For other good stand alone society mods I would reccomend:

#5 Mists of Mwangi
This was originally done for 3.5 but has been officially updated for Pathfinder rules.

I's an adventure set in a musem.

#35 Voice in the Void.

Sequel to Mists of Mwangi, it's another adventure in the museum.

#45 Delirium's Tangle

An adventure in a maze with some rgeat encounters and an awesome BBEG at the end.

2-13 Murder on the Throaty Mermaid

Not your typical adventure but very fun. The PCs are at sea and accussed of a murder and must locate the real culprit. Also only needs one map (the ship) which is available as one of Paizo's flip mats.


Hope this helps!

 

[Nimmo]

Hi everyone,

Just thought I would drop by and say thanks for the advice. I ran the scenario #33 Assault on the Kingdom of the Impossible.

I got everyone to build their characters to be Society legal and at level 5 (so, arguably not legal, but hey, for a first exposure to Pathfinder it seemed more fun.)

So, in the end, I really enjoyed it and even had a couple of people saying they would be up for doing it again, which really says something about the quality of the Society stuff, as even with a few occasions of uncertainty on one or two rules and a making one or two rookie errors the players still loved it.

I also loved DMing and would love to DM one of the Adventure Paths with the group, if only I had the time...

Thanks again everyone, all of your advice was really helpful and made a great and memorably night for myself and the 4 players that got involved.

 

[IronWolf]

Thanks again everyone, all of your advice was really helpful and made a great and memorably night for myself and the 4 players that got involved.

Excellent! Glad things went well. The Pathfinder Society modules can be great for use in one-shots.