Pathfinder 2E Pathfinder 2e Newbie with questions.

[Thomas Shey]

The Beginner's Box does exactly this, by paring down the game to three ancestries, 4 classes, and providing prebuilt leveling which makes it a very ideal entry point for new players.

The classic four classes, human, elf and dwarf I'm assuming?

 

[Velderan]

The classic four classes, human, elf and dwarf I'm assuming?

Yep!

Dwarf, Elf, Human for ancestries.
Acolyte, Criminal, Deckhand, Farmhand, Gambler, Scholar, Warrior for backgrounds.
Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, Wizard for classes.

They also present some of the basic actions you can take on a handout (Drop Prone, Interact, Leap, Seek, Stand, Step, Stride, Strike). Pretty basic game as presented in the Beginner Box.

 

[Doctor Futurity]

The classic four classes, human, elf and dwarf I'm assuming?

Correct. Very traditional (for better or worse).

 

[Thomas Shey]

Correct. Very traditional (for better or worse).

Well, it is a basic box set, in a game that's a clear offshoot of the D&D line.

 

[dave2008]

Yep!

Dwarf, Elf, Human for ancestries.
Acolyte, Criminal, Deckhand, Farmhand, Gambler, Scholar, Warrior for backgrounds.
Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, Wizard for classes.

They also present some of the basic actions you can take on a handout (Drop Prone, Interact, Leap, Seek, Stand, Step, Stride, Strike). Pretty basic game as presented in the Beginner Box.

I should consider getting that. I bought the CRB, Bestiarty, and GMG when the came out - but nothing sense. And those books were just to dense for me to grasp it will on quick read-through.

 

[Velderan]

I should consider getting that. I bought the CRB, Bestiarty, and GMG when the came out - but nothing sense. And those books were just to dense for me to grasp it will on quick read-through.

The adventure that comes with it is a basic dungeon with different rooms featuring a different mechanic in the game to help teach a GM new to the system how to resolve a situation. I think it does a lot to address some of the complaints I've seen made about the various 5e starter sets not really doing a good job teaching the game. The story is pretty basic too, though it does a good enough job setting up the PCs to make friends in Otari.

Spoiler: Menace under Otari plot hook

Some fish in the lower level of a fishery have recently starting disappearing, go investigate!

As an added bonus, the Foundry version of the Beginner Box is clearly aimed at people new to both PF2e and Foundry, providing explanations on how to resolve the mechanics in Foundry. As the module's target audience, I really appreciated that.

Worth mentioning the follow-up adventure Troubles in Otari is written to be played off the Beginner Box rules also so you can get to level 4 or 5 before needing to worry about the full ruleset if you want.

 

[Kichwas]

None of them has played it and they don’t seem interested in learning a new system. I don’t think it had anything to do with the system itself. but to be fair what I have seen if PF2 it will take quite a learning curve to get up to speed on it. It is quite crunchy.

At least one of the players doesn’t want to move away from DND Beyond.

My group is the opposite dynamic. Of course I'm on the "other side" of the OGL fiasco from when you posted the above, and maybe by the time I catch up in the thread you will have been in a different place. Especially given the note about DnD Begone.

I recently joined a group that was starting into PF2E. They were a D&D5E group and the GM wanted to try out PF2E. Maybe because of the OGL thing or maybe just in genera; (he seemed way to prepared to have just recently decided to try it, but then again Foundry is such a good VTT that a smart GM could be up to speed in days for the transition over).

Two of their players were not joining the PF2E game. I have no idea why. Never asked. But it meant he went out to recruit 2 people and I made the cut (he interviewed a lot of folks, invited some of us into his discord to hang around for a few days, and then made choices. I'm not the "best gamer" out there but I can tell my temperament fits theirs - which is more important, having people on a similar vibe).

By the end of session 2 him and all his existing players decided to kill their D&D game and open up more space for the PF2E game. I suspect that if me and the other new person hadn't been available on the other day, they would have decided to run two games.

They were all essentially shocked at how much easier it was to handle all the 'crunch' in PF2E than it had been for them in D&D5E. Maybe that's the VTTs, maybe it's the system. They have both Foundry and Fantasy Grounds and some experience with Roll20. PF2E's implementation in Foundry is just a game changer. It is so well done and so well supported (without added cost - no need to rebuy all your books) that the game just 'vanishes' underneath and you're left with your enjoyment of the experience. They told me D&D5E was a hassle to get running in Foundry, and that their impression was Fantasy Grounds was not aging well. I personally have mild PTSD from my attempts to use Roll20...

So the trick...

Is just to get people to manage to sit down for a playtest. But to make sure you have good tools in place for that test. If they had done their test in Roll20 they'd have run screaming for the hills...

 

[Kichwas]

I should consider getting that. I bought the CRB, Bestiarty, and GMG when the came out - but nothing sense. And those books were just to dense for me to grasp it will on quick read-through.

There's a Humble Bundle out for a few more days that gives you that plus a ton of other stuff (retail around $422) for $25. All PDFs though, not print books. BUT still extremely worth it.

(I had about half the stuff already in print - so for me the value was that each PDF is normally just under $20, but this gave me all of them for $25. Now that I'm a PF2E fanatic, I got their subscription so my future PDFs will be free additions to the print books they ship me - which I'm getting for less than my soon to be cancelled WoW sub).

 

[dave2008]

There's a Humble Bundle out for a few more days that gives you that plus a ton of other stuff (retail around $422) for $25. All PDFs though, not print books. BUT still extremely worth it.

(I had about half the stuff already in print - so for me the value was that each PDF is normally just under $20, but this gave me all of them for $25. Now that I'm a PF2E fanatic, I got their subscription so my future PDFs will be free additions to the print books they ship me - which I'm getting for less than my soon to be cancelled WoW sub).

I already have the CRB, GMG, and Bestiary. I don't use published adventures, so I don't think the bundle is for me. The only thing I am think of picking up is the beginner's box.

 

[glass]

I already have the CRB, GMG, and Bestiary. I don't use published adventures, so I don't think the bundle is for me. The only thing I am think of picking up is the beginner's box.

It is cheaper to get one of the lower levels than to buy the PDF of the beginner's box on its own. By quite a lot.