Pathfinder 1E Diving in to Pathfinder

[TheAuldGrump]

I GM Pathfinder and do not own Bestiary 1 and 2. I have only found it mildly inconvenient. Admittedly they are likely higher on my list to buy if I choose to pick up some more data sets, but as a "nice to have" - not required.

Of course I tend to run published APs at the moment or PFS scenarios. My desire for the Bestiaries will likely increase if I decide to dabble more strongly in full on adventure design.

Yeah, I will admit that I was talking more 'roll your own' than anything else. If you are running just published material, maybe not needed so much.

For me GMing involves rolling up the sleeves, reaching into the soapy water, and pulling out my saxophone so I can play with Jake and Elroy. (Wait... I may have taken that metaphor a little further than planned... )

I like the APs, they are very good, but I like my own material too.

I don't know how many NPCs you make using HL, and how many are non-standard races.

The Auld Grump

 

[IronWolf]

Yeah, I will admit that I was talking more 'roll your own' than anything else. If you are running just published material, maybe not needed so much.

Yeah, I agree. The Bestiaries would be useful if you weren't running pre-published mods. They will likely be the first data packs I pick up beyond what I have now. Just varies by GM and the type of games you run as to how needed they are right up front.

 

[Maidhc O Casain]

In fact, one of the down sides to HeroLab is that the 'mini-bestiaries' from the APs are not included - I'm not sure why. There are several users on the forums who've put together many of the AP encounters and posted them up to d20 PFSRD, which is very useful as Paizo tends to throw their monster building rules out the window when making beasties for the APs.

 

[Nylanfs]

Thanks for the input, everyone. I downloaded PCGen a week or so ago and couldn't figure out how to recognize Pathfinder content; sounds like I should try it again.

I don't mind paying for RPG tools (as evidenced by the fact that I use DDI), but I was surprised that there aren't excellent free tools for Pathfinder with the SRD being out there and all. Shrug.

I'll wait to see how much I play Pathfinder before I spend a lot of money at it, but I appreciate knowing what optionally are out there.

IronWolf, if you have any questions just drop us a line on our main list if it isn't answered here.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Okay, getting back on topic after a tangent that was, umm...*shuffle* pretty much all my fault.

If you are spinning a DC 'off the cuff' it is important to remember that the skill numbers are going to be different than in 3.X - class skills gain a bonus, but cross class skills cost the same as class skills. Class skills will be lower, but cross class skills may well be higher.

When creating rogues (or rouges if they are embarrassed easily) you no longer get more for taking the class as your first level.

The base classes are now on even footing with prestige classes - if you are adding a prestige class from 3.X and it looks more potent than the base PF classes then the odds are that it is over powered.

Magic item creation is a bit different, while casters are no longer penalized for making items for the party they now have a chance to elbmuf and have something go awry.

The Gamemastery Guide is not as vital as it was in 3.X, but is worth reading. Several systems, such as generating cities, are in that book, not the core.

The Auld Grump

 

[OnlineDM]

I've actually played my first Pathfinder game now; so far, so good. At the moment I'm feeling like 4e is a little more my style, but I'm looking forward to really getting to know Pathfinder to see what I think as I learn more about the system. The game is run by a great GM, which makes just about any game fun in my opinion.

More details on my blog.

 

[Shisumo]

Just FYI, the adventure you're playing is a Paizo classic, and should be fun no matter what system you're in!

8 hp is indeed fairly low for most clerics - to a certain extent, that should encourage you to stay further away from the action, casting enhancement spells on your allies rather than risking your own neck on the front line. You will definitely find playing a cleric in PF to be a fairly different experience from that of 4E - most PF actions really only do one thing (whether it be attacking, using a class ability or casting a spell) while 4E tends to have actions that do (this) + (this) at the same time. As you get to know your abilities better, you'll start learning more when a particular action is most worthwhile.

 

[OnlineDM]

[MENTION=85314]Shisumo[/MENTION] - thanks! On the hit point question, where should a human cleric's hit points be coming from? This might be an area where I flat-out misunderstand the rules.

What I currently have is 8 hit points from the d8 hit die (maximized at first level). That's it. The character's Con is 11, so I'm not getting any bonus points there. Am I missing something that should be giving the character more hit points that I've forgotten?

 

[IronWolf]

What I currently have is 8 hit points from the d8 hit die (maximized at first level). That's it. The character's Con is 11, so I'm not getting any bonus points there. Am I missing something that should be giving the character more hit points that I've forgotten?

If your Con score is 11 then you have the right number of hit points. Well, where did you put your favored class bonus? It could have been an extra hit point for you depending on how you used your favored class bonus.

A cleric might have been more likely to put a few more points towards Con to get your HP up a bit. Clerics sometimes find themselves up close to heal, though channel positive energy has helped in that regard in Pathfinder.

 

[Shisumo]

A "typical" cleric might have done so, but yeah, IronWolf's got it. If you want, you can raise your Con score by 1 at 4th level, which would retroactively give you +1 hp/level, but as it is, you can just plan to be relatively far from the action and buff your friends instead. There doesn't seem to be anything in the rules (except possibly for the favored class bonus IronWolf mentioned) that you are overlooking.