Pathfinder Role Playing Game Beginner Box Review.

I was told over and over to check out Pathfinder. Every time I told fellow gamers I used 4E they would say the same thing about how much better Pathfinder is. So I had a game coming up and after the last post we had some players quit over a white elephant gift exchange (just an excuse to quit the game). So after she quit I need to keep things secure. That may sound extreme but character sheets are in one location and everyone in the group has the password. One of the players is the father in-law of the female who quit. I could not have her have access through him when we changed the password so he was booted by me (for the record with no vote) so this game went from 9 players in the beginning to 4. I’m actually excited about how the game is now going to go.

With all that said I scheduled the next game, after a LONG break it was urgent that it happen. Unfortunately two players could not make it, so I’m down to 2 players for that evening. On that Friday before the game I headed to my favorite game store Paladins Game Castle (shameless plug yes!) to buy the dungeon tiles I did not have that were needed for the D&D super adventure Madness at Gardmore Abbey. When I got there I realized that I did not need these till next game now because there was no way I was going to get the normal adventure back up and running with only two players. So I began to think of other cool things I could do. After turning in my new pull list for comic books I noticed a display of Pathfinder miniatures. Of course I knew these would work on any system of the same sizing so I grabbed a pack. Then after talking to one of the owners about the limited edition Black Dragon that Pathfinder has released I could see the amazing quality of the sculpts. The miniatures were that good and everyone raves about the RPG, so I decided to get the starter set for Pathfinder RPG. I ended up with two new sets of dice, two pathfinder miniatures boosters, and the starter set to Pathfinder.

I open the stuff up when I get home. First I start with the miniatures. To my surprise I get TWO goblins in the first box. The boxes say one collectable figure so I was very surprised and pleased. The next one was a Human Druid. The druid was perfect for players but also very nice because it could be used as a NPC very easily.  So I was very happy with what I pulled. I think what was more exciting was the quality and detail of these. Pathfinder hit this out of the park, the paint and sculpts are the best I have ever seen for high production plastic miniatures.

Second and last I open the Pathfinder box. The second I open this I can tell this is going to surprise me because the box itself was thicker than any D&D product I have to date.  Open it up and first is the bags of dice and plastic bases. Then a insert to get the player or GM on the right track. The books at first site look good. And I find a double sided play map that is coated so you can use dry erase marker! One side is detailed with fantastic graphics and the other is textured with a light dirt or sand with no discernable graphics, Perfect for continuing the adventure further. The books as I read them were fantastically written. The best part was the graphic design, it helped me navigate to the information I needed VERY quickly! I imagine for a new DM (yes I’m switching between DM and GM) this would work very well to keep learning and pacing up. Next were the 80 full color pawns on extremely thick card stock. My only complaint about the hole set, and its small, is the pawns are a bit over sized.

We played the game and had a blast! It was a very balanced and well written adventure. It gave all the elements a player need to experience to successfully introduce the game. On top of all that I was able to use my goblin miniatures right away! So that just made it that much better.

List of in the box items according to how it is written on the Pathfinder web site.

• 64-page Hero's Handbook, detailing character creation, spells, equipment, and general rules for playing the game
• 96-page Game Master's Guide packed with adventures, monsters, magical treasures, and advice on how to narrate the game and control the challenges faced by the heroes
• A complete set of 7 high-impact polyhedral dice
• More than 80 full-color pawns depicting tons of heroes, monsters, and even a fearsome black dragon
• Four pregenerated character sheets to throw you right into the action
• Four blank character sheets to record the statistics and deeds of your custom-made hero
• A durable, reusable, double-sided Flip-Mat play surface that works with any kind of marker

Over all fun night I give the set a 9 out of 10. The miniatures are 10 out of 10.

However with that said we will continue with 4E till 5th edition comes out. I gut don’t want to deal with the conversion.  I can’t wait to beta test the 5^th edition of Dungeons and Dragons. These are exciting times for RPGs.