Pathfinder beginner box . . . good deal it seems to me!

[HawaiiSteveO]

OK here's the scoop, new group coming together and decided I do want to use pawns / mat for select battles.

I don't want to spend $$$ on this stuff, but do want some basics and don't want to use paper / dice / doritos for battles (insert Bill Cosby routine here).

Most cost effective way is Pathfinder pawns - nifty standup cardboard tokens. Bestiary Box 1 seems hard to find, box #2 is $48 on chapters (Canadian version of Amazon). I'd have to pick up the basic flip-mat which is $17 so looking at around $70 with tax. I'd have monsters etc to spare and would never have to spend any more $.

Then I realized the beginner box comes with 80 pawns and a re-useable double sided flip mat and goes for $42. One side of the map is for the adventure that comes with the box (which I would easily convert and use in 5E). I'd also get more dice . . . except I'd also have some pathfinder books that I wouldn't use, aside from the adventure. Obviously beginner box way more limited selection although I don't necessarily care about using the correct pawn for every single battle. That being said more is always better . . .

Trying to decide if I would be happier spending the extra $25 . . . or not. Beginner box pawns also include quite a few that would work well for the PC's whatever they choose.

 

[Cephor]

SteveO, if you haven't bought the Beginner Box yet, may I suggest the current Humble Bundle being run for Pathfinder right now? You can get the Beginner Box for $25 + shipping and all the PFRPG PDFs you could want for a good while. https://www.humblebundle.com/books/paizo-pathfinder-bundle

I can also vouch for the Pawn sets. They are great when you can find them.

 

[delericho]

Yeah, the Beginner Box is a good one.

I had a quick look - can you not get Bestiary Box #1 from Paizo.com? (Also, Amazon.com have box #2 in stock for $37 (US) )

 

[Mentor]

In my opinion the Beginner Box is only a good deal if you are already into Pathfinder or RPGs and salvage it for parts. If you are completely new, it contains too few ready-made content to play. The module itself is played in 1 or 2 sessions, and then you have to create your own stuff, which his hard for beginners. It would be a good addition if there would be a "beginner box revisited" kind of book, that contains a longer, pre-made adventure with multiple locations that uses only material (pawns) from the beginner box and does not require "more" Pathfinder.

If you are in for the pawns, I the Monster Codex Pawns Box is a IMHO much better deal, as it contains all the basic monsters and enough of each kind (in contrast to other boxes, which contain a lot more variety, but generally only 1 or 2 of each kind) to have larger encounters.

 

[delericho]

In my opinion the Beginner Box is only a good deal if you are already into Pathfinder or RPGs and salvage it for parts. If you are completely new, it contains too few ready-made content to play.

It's an up-to-date equivalent of the Red Box that I (and a great many people) started off with. Given that I played for several months with just that, not to mention that I'm still playing today, that seems to be pretty much what is wanted.

The module itself is played in 1 or 2 sessions, and then you have to create your own stuff, which his hard for beginners. It would be a good addition if there would be a "beginner box revisited" kind of book...

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/products/beginnerbox

There are links there to several free downloads providing more adventures, and transitional material to help guide the player towards the full game. So, I guess, your wish is their command.

(Unless, of course, you don't have access to the internet. But if that's the case, it raises a question or two... )

 

[Mentor]

The only playable content of those addons from the website are, AFAIK, the 4 mini-adventures, which are essentially one-room-encounters. Since they are included in the German printed version of the Box, I counted them toward the 1-2 sessions already.

I really like the "lite" rules character of the box, that is why I would like to see more pre-made material for it that makes use of the generic side of the battlemat that do not include references to the full library of pathfinder (and implying "now you have to buy all those heavy books" .

As an introduction and transition to the full game, the box is very good. But it wastes a bit of potential by not being a longer product by its own.

 

[delericho]

The only playable content of those addons from the website are, AFAIK, the 4 mini-adventures, which are essentially one-room-encounters. Since they are included in the German printed version of the Box, I counted them toward the 1-2 sessions already.

There's also a complete adventure, "Deadly Mine" in the GM Kit, which is rather more than a one-room-encounter. Coupled with the two adventures in the Box itself and the four mini-adventures and you've got rather more than 1-2 sessions.

I really like the "lite" rules character of the box, that is why I would like to see more pre-made material for it that makes use of the generic side of the battlemat that do not include references to the full library of pathfinder (and implying "now you have to buy all those heavy books" .

Again, the GM Kit has a section talking about using the library of Pathfinder's pre-gen adventures, which is very extensive. Eventually, they have to leave people to their own devices.

As an introduction and transition to the full game, the box is very good. But it wastes a bit of potential by not being a longer product by its own.

It's almost as if the name "Beginner Box" implied it was an introduction.