UPDATE: The Remaster will make you want to have these books for the core rules instead: Core Rulebook: PLAYER CORE, and GM CORE for GM rules and magic items Advanced Player's Guide: will be "replaced" by PLAYER CORE 2, which fills out the remaining classes not in Player Core Bestiary: MONSTER CORE (coming in March 2024) ADDITIONS/CORRECTIONS: 1. If you walked away from this concluding you needed to get "everything" I either did a terrible or an awesome job! I approached this as "why you might want something" so you could make an informed decision. You don't HAVE to have any one thing here to play Pathfinder, since the rules are free online. Ask yourself if what in this video is essential for YOU to have in physical or PDF form, AFTER you see what is available online! 2. You can find lore on the awesome Age of Lost Omens PF2 campaign setting at PathfinderWiki.com ! (However it is written like a Wiki using the books and adventures as sources... it doesn't reproduce the lore and artwork verbatim that you'd find in these books)
@@craigjones7343 amazon is apparently fulfilling some orders from international sellers. Like the advanced player guide I'm looking at rn is supposed to be fulfilled by a company in the UK
@@andrewlustfield6079 My favorite thing about Castles and Crusades so far (haven't actually flipped much through the books) is the reinterpretation of the covers of the original 1st Edition AD&D books. The Monster Manual's dragon, troll, etc is a fantastic update to the old art that looked like someone in 2nd grade drew it :)
Thank Ronald. I became a fan and subscriber to your channel last year after seeing your video on how Pathfinder 2E had resolved many of the problems with 5E and decided to seek P2E concepts into my 5E games to make them more challenging. But after the OGL debacle, and insights from channels like yours Roll for Combat and NoNat1s, I decided to switch to Pathfinder 2E. I was not able to play in the Beginner's Box weekend event but I am committed to playing and eventually GMing Pathfinder games. This new series is a welcome addition to your wonderful video series. I will be tuning in for the next installment.
I've been running Pathfinder for about a year now, and I'm really looking forward to the caster video. Casters aren't the most difficult to play but I think the 3rd action problem is really pertinent to them.
Monks run into that problem as well cuz of flurry of blows which is one action but increases your mult attack penalty so striking with other actions is almost pointless if you didn’t move which is why it’s good to take skill feats like Intimidating Glare or Bon Mot to hinder the enemy further for the rest of the party or take the Aid action
Yeah I just tried it because it looked interesting in the video and the end result (with the new player resources) is just SO good! I love it. It explains each step so nicely and visually.
The main selling point I have for PF2 would be a direct reply to the discourse going around about the lack of game masters in the hobby: This is not an issue with the hobby a.k.a. ttrpgs in general, but an issue that's *specific to 5E* both because it was poorly design but also because the longer the edition goes on and more material it accrues, the more these problems are exhacerbated. And the best example of this issue is in the form of a question: How many 5E GMs do you know that both advocate and reliably use Challenge Rating to design encounters? The answer is almost always none: not even the designers that wrote 5E themselves use CR because it's simply a useless number that means nothing once the mryad of ever expanding, front loaded player options grow. In Pathfinder 2E I would say that even with it's problems, that's the one thing that actually works: You can actually trust levels to know they work as intended and be used as a tool to design encounters or quickly and easily alter them on the fly. Going back to the main point is that because of this, and as somebody who has ran both 5E and PF2 tables, I can comfortably say that PF2 is better for me as a GM and if more people knew they don't actually *NEED* to prep or do very extensive testing as a player and GM to know how to balance an encounter and you can actually do things like improvise, RNG encounters or just skim through an adventure you're planning on running without actually needing to worry about if it makes sense, if you thought about the party composition and how that works vs the encounters in the adventure, all of this work 5E GMs need to do and that basically keeps so many away from actually running their own games.
@@nemooh You only need to know the core rules, really, and whilst the core book is 650-odd pages, the _actual_ core rules are very simple and only comprise a few pages. If you're having a go at the number of expansion books, it's a similar story with 5E. You can add on the stuff from Xanathar's Guide, Tasha's Cauldron, Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, Mordenkainen's, and so on.
Thank you so much for recommending Organized Play! I have been playing (and organizing) Organized Play games since 2014. It's a great community of passionate players and GMs!
Currently running beginner box with a follow-up mixture of troubles in Otari and abomination vaults. My group is hooked on the system. Your videos have been incredible for giving me information.
You're probably the best PF2 youtuber for beginners and veterans. Your style is excellent for explanation and teaching without being bland. ALso I really love Pathbuilder 2 to build character, you can build a PC when you're busy at the toilet or in a bus/train/plane ect...
Thank you for the video. Very helpful. I recently started, and just finished reading the CRB and the GMG and writing a guide for the players and GMs in my group to help ease the transition Now that I was done with that I was curious on what books to buy next as I love physical collections (and need to fizzle out my dnd stuff). This already gives me some ideas I wasn’t expecting! Definitely gonna get that Grand Bazaar book and yoink those stores for my own setting, for example
What do I get? Before even watching the video it's everything, can't help myself. In the middle of the ogl thing I purchased the core rules, advanced players guide, and game mastery guide. After getting and reading those books, I decided it's worth it to have them all. 13 books in so far.
Nice overview on the books, thank you! You definitely added my to understanding of what is available and how it all works together. I managed to get a few from Paizo before they sold out (core book, bestiary 1, Abom. vaults) along with the Beginner Box, which is great. I participated in your Beginner Box weekend, which was a great success. Our group meets for our 3rd session tomorrow and will hopefully finish out the adventure with the party fully intact. Fingers crossed! 😁🧙♂️
I started a PF2e campaign last week with a couple of friends and already love the system. Also just bought the humble bundle so I could potentially run my own games in the future, though the thought of DMing still feels a bit daunting to me :D. Great overview, thanks!
If this helps at all, know that a rule exists for something, and that players can help you find those rules, too! For some GMs, it's a relief that they don't have to be the ones to make up ways to resolve questions and gray areas on their own, and keep a bunch of house rules in their head!
This just me. Beginner box: starting off with core basics and items to help get a game going and ideas after to avg lvl 5. Demiplane primer: after beginner box and want more but not sure on getting books then check out demiplane primer on this. Goes to lvl 20, more times, spells, feats and such. Core book/bestiary: when ready get these. The corebook contains info for both player and gm to use wifh more stuff. Plus bestiary 1 for monster stats and ideas. Advanced players book/lost omens: world guide/Gamemastery guide: bunch of more options for players, variant rules and ideas for gms, then world lore to give ideas where to play at. The grand library: pretty much any book that interest you. Reminder: all these free on archive of nethys.
Paizo has an interesting approach I genuinely love. What do you NEED, bare minimum to play? Dice, paper and pencil. In theory, you don't need to spend a single dollar on a single book. Every rule is online free on purpose. Of course, the core rulebook is ... What? $10 for the PDF? So minimum buy in to Pathfinder is an $8 d20 set, and if want the core rulebook for convenience and organization rather than looking all up online.... $10 more. So what do you NEED? Nothing really. Paizo's trick is in making you WANT. Their books are quite good. Thick, meaty, well written and well organized. If were to compare pricing between Paizo and certain sorcerers of the beach.... On a per word or per pound basis, Paizo is way, way, way cheaper. And I think their books are better. More content, better written and organized. And then, how much do you want to spend? Cheap pdf? You want physical? Mini paperback? Full sized paperback? Hardcover? Limited edition? From $0 to hundreds, you'll only spend what you want to spend, you don't actually NEED to spend anything. Imho, Pathfinder has one of the most consumer friendly and most flexible offerings of books, giving you the most say and what you do and do not want to spend money on for it. If, for example,.you really loved the Magus class, but nothing else from secrets of magic interested you... You don't need to buy the book to play a Magus. All the rules are online. But if you DO buy the book... It's going to be a very nicely written and organized book, full of content... And if on a tight budget, well the pdf is only a few bucks. Or if you know youll love this book and reference it often... Get a physical copy.... Hardcover? Maybe you love the Magus class so much you want the limited edition hardcover? You get my point. In short, I think Paizo has the best model out there for this sort of thing. All that remains are videos like this to guide people to what they WANT. Which books will most enhance their game. This is one of the reasons I prefer Pathfinder and Paizo. I love their pricing and sales model. It's logical, consumer friendly and everything I've bought I'm glad I spent money on. I would not mind if more companies sold product like this. A few game publishers seem to so their job a bit better than others. Or at least, are more favorable to me as a customer. Paizo, Catalyst (man did their last Kickstarter go well)... Examples of game companies run well imho. It's a lot easier to spend money on their products when every purchase is one you are glad you made, and you are consistently impressed with the quality of what you got... And the prices are all reasonable. This is why companies like Paizo and Catalyst will ALWAYS have easier access to my wallet. Their business practices make it clear they've no interest in burning me or extorting the last nickel they can from a transaction. They profit by selling quality products to people that want them and are happy to have bought them. Thus, as a consumer, there is a higher level of a trust, and lower threshold to make a purchase. I'll drop $10 or $15 on a whim for a book.... And then decide if I want a physical copy later... And what edition I want. It's EASY for me to spend a few bucks on these companies. They have easier access to my wallet. This consumer friendly model ignores the ridiculous Humble Bundle bargain. That's just a stupid deal. Don't analyze, don't think, just buy it next time it happens. That bundle makes a claim for best bargain in the history of gaming. Take the recent catalyst BattleTech Mercenary Kickstarter.... Never even crossed my mind that Catalyst would screw me. They've no interest in that. Just funding to make a new batch of mech minis... Went way, way over their projections, so they just got more and more generous in what they'd give away in packages and make available. Result was they had a jaw dropping Kickstarter (about 3x bigger than last one), and I got a smokin deal on a mercenaries box with lots of extra goodies. Fairly certain there were only winners in this business transaction. Everyone walks away smiles. This is what I mean by easier to spend money on certain companies. My threshold for buying Paizo products is very low. A few other companies in same position by acting similarly. It might not be the most aggressive sales model, but it seems highly effective from my perspective, and both example companies have gotten a lot of money from me in the last year. Both are having a fantastic 2023 so far. So perhaps that consumer friendly sales model has some advantages after all? Also, the beginner box is probably the best intro beginner box in gaming. Seriously. If you are starting out, buy the box and have fun. It's that simple.
10:40 That's not ENTIRELY true, there is the Pathfinderwiki which has a lot of the lore/story stuff. Though I'm not sure how up to date it is, I haven't specifically looked at that. 14:10 Oh! It's good for that too!
What made me back the Humblebundle wasn't beginner box (purchase 2 days prior :(, it was the Lost Omen Ancestry Guide that contain Ganzi, which is one of my favorite.
Howdy! JUST started playing PF2, LOOOOONG time D&D players, from the early 80's. Totally enjoy your videos, have been a great help! Thank you! Question! DO you think you'll continue with anymore of these Law School Courses? Hope so! Keep it up! Fantastic!
Yeah, I've used some of the tools (pathbuilder, wayfinder) to build character sheets and I always feel like there are things missing from e.g. exported character sheets or w/e and I end up needing to amend them. Great for walking people through the process, but not perfect.
Yeah, Im not looking to switch to MORE rules and expensive books, even though these are nice and they are not Hasbro. I'd look more at microlite 20 or an OSR.
Agreed. I was excited to start PF2E, but was blown away by the huge number of books that add classes, backgrounds, spells, and more despite only being out for three years. I said "screw it," and went with Dungeon Crawl Classics. The one core book includes sections for players, the GM (using the term "judge"), and a bestiary. It's a hardcover that includes a code for a free PDF, and only costs $40! The community rocks, too.
Do we know if Paizo is planning to implement some of these previous APs under Foundry VTT? Also, I would love to see an official Foundry module for "Troubles in Otari", my players are not ready for something like Abomination Vaults.
They should! Just saw this exchange with their rep. They don't have immediate plans, but they know there is demand! paizo.com/products/btq026k1/discuss&page=2?Pathfinder-Adventure-Troubles-in-Otari For now, there is an module with maps (one would still need the PDF or book to run it): foundryvtt.com/packages/troubles-in-otari-remade-maps There is a healthy ecosystem of mods being made by the community Foundry all the time btw!
I know I'm late to the party but I'd like to recommend narrative declaration and their rotgrind setting. I haven't had a chance to play it yet, but I can't wait to sink my teeth into it.
I notice that Tarondor includes Age of Worms in his lists, even though it's an old 3.5e adventure path. I loved that adventure, and I've been trying to find a conversion guide for P2e but haven't turned up anything good yet. Is there an archive somewhere that people are posting their conversions?
Found this Reddit post for you. There is a Discord server where people share conversions of older Paizo adventures: www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder2e/comments/wtmyx8/age_of_worms_pf2_conversion_advice_resources/
Thank you for the effort, but that's something I already found. I joined their discord, and checked what they have, and there's actually not a lot of Age of Worms there. It surprised me because it was such a wildly popular adventure path. I expected more interest in converting it. However, that seems to be a great resource for converting P1e adventures, if anyone's looking for that. Seems to be a lot of material there.
This is a great video. I'd really like a comparative look at the pocket editions v full-size. I know the former are just scaled-down versions of the latter, but I would like to know how much of a problem that causes, given that they're not formatted for the smaller size.
Are these books still relevant with Remaster just releasing? I'm looking to get into the game and have the starter set and the pdf of the core rulebook. I'm not sure where i should go. Should i get the player core to have the updated rules?
I'm running a Pathfinder for Savage Worlds campaign in which one of my players has threatened to run the Beginner Box for us after this game concludes. After making a couple test characters using Pathbuilder and Archives of Nethys (because SOMEBODY besides the GM should know the rules), I decided it would be nice to have a physical copy of the CRB. Even 8 full months after the OGL debacle, our FLGS *cannot* keep Pathfinder books in stock. Meanwhile, they're burdened with shelves full of old D&D 5 books and modules.
As a NEW GM playing with my kids I'll defiantly say you CANNOT start playing the Beginner Box in 15-30 minutes. If you already understand PF and are playing with new ppl sure. We got lost so many times trying to understand the rules and the Index in the back of the two books are beyond worthless. (fyi to new GM/players. Look up "Treat Wounds" in the Player book. Just saved you an hour on searches for heal or hit points) That said, we loved the campaign and it is where you should start. It's just not as straightforward as it sounds. The campaign section, I'd say read up one or two rooms ahead so you know how creatures will respond when heros enter. (15 min) Try to read up on the mechanics the day before though. Checks, spell slots (they run out), TREAT WOUNDS, dying
I really want to like Pathfinder. I cannot get past the setting of Golarion that I just do not like and seems deeply imbedded throughout all aspects of the game. Yes I can convert stuff but that is a lot of extra work I just do not want to do. I hope in the future Paizo divorces Pathfinder from Golarion to better allow adaptions to other settings.
It works well in other settings without changing anything. Just exclude anything that you feel doesn't fit. Out of curiosity: What don't you like about Golarion?
@@danitenotes For me Golarion has a generic fantasy vibe. It tries to do everything so it doesn't do any one thing well. It reminds me of Forgotten Realms in this way. ✌ ☮
I recommend you get the books because they support the company and they’re very pretty. But do we buy books simply because they’re pretty? Obviously you never played D&D 1st Edition. Those books were ugly. 😂
If the reasons given to buy the books don't convince you, than you are free to not buy them. The humble bundle will let you see how pretty they are for less money if that interests you.
No they weren't... They were awesome! The art and such from those books were a major source of inspiration to my daydreams. Sure by today's standard they were bad, but back then no one had really seen anything quite like that.
@@danitenotes It's relevant because people can look into PF1E and see if that game is a better fit? Every one is entitled to their opinion. Why are a sub section of PF2E fans such complete a##holes?
And I doubt that he said you "need" 5 books to start, that's just what you want to hear so you can complain about the video! 7:26 HEY! What do you know! I was, unsurprisingly, correct! The end total of "core books" was also SIX not FIVE!!!
It’s called recommendations!! He didn’t say you need it plus the rules are free online and buying books supports Paizo who more than deserve the support
Realistically you don’t actually need ANY of them. However, to make life easier on yourself, just the Core Rulebook and the Bestiary 1 book will suffice. Optionally, the Lost Omens World Guide is also a nice addition if you want to know more about Golarion.
UPDATE: The Remaster will make you want to have these books for the core rules instead:
Core Rulebook: PLAYER CORE, and GM CORE for GM rules and magic items
Advanced Player's Guide: will be "replaced" by PLAYER CORE 2, which fills out the remaining classes not in Player Core
Bestiary: MONSTER CORE (coming in March 2024)
ADDITIONS/CORRECTIONS:
1. If you walked away from this concluding you needed to get "everything" I either did a terrible or an awesome job! I approached this as "why you might want something" so you could make an informed decision. You don't HAVE to have any one thing here to play Pathfinder, since the rules are free online. Ask yourself if what in this video is essential for YOU to have in physical or PDF form, AFTER you see what is available online!
2. You can find lore on the awesome Age of Lost Omens PF2 campaign setting at PathfinderWiki.com ! (However it is written like a Wiki using the books and adventures as sources... it doesn't reproduce the lore and artwork verbatim that you'd find in these books)
I'd love to see you do a review of Castles and Crusades---I'm glancing over it for the first time and I'm really quite impressed.
I just ordered all of the 6 "core" books. They're mostly available in Canada but some of them won't be available till late march
@@luciusrex some won’t be available until April
@@craigjones7343 amazon is apparently fulfilling some orders from international sellers. Like the advanced player guide I'm looking at rn is supposed to be fulfilled by a company in the UK
@@andrewlustfield6079 My favorite thing about Castles and Crusades so far (haven't actually flipped much through the books) is the reinterpretation of the covers of the original 1st Edition AD&D books. The Monster Manual's dragon, troll, etc is a fantastic update to the old art that looked like someone in 2nd grade drew it :)
Let's just hope they don't start running out of PDF's.
Now that really would be worrying :D
It's been a good year for them.
They could always just fax the books to us.
How would that even work?
Just want to say the presentation in these recent videos is such a glowup from the early ones. Well done, Ronald.
Being here since the beginning, I'm really happy with how his channel has grown, it's really great content
This is important stuff you’re doing! There simply isn’t enough Pathfinder 2e content on UA-cam, so thank you!
It’s not really necessary. Ron does such a good job that any other channels would not be able to compete 😊
Thank Ronald. I became a fan and subscriber to your channel last year after seeing your video on how Pathfinder 2E had resolved many of the problems with 5E and decided to seek P2E concepts into my 5E games to make them more challenging. But after the OGL debacle, and insights from channels like yours Roll for Combat and NoNat1s, I decided to switch to Pathfinder 2E. I was not able to play in the Beginner's Box weekend event but I am committed to playing and eventually GMing Pathfinder games. This new series is a welcome addition to your wonderful video series. I will be tuning in for the next installment.
I've been running Pathfinder for about a year now, and I'm really looking forward to the caster video.
Casters aren't the most difficult to play but I think the 3rd action problem is really pertinent to them.
Monks run into that problem as well cuz of flurry of blows which is one action but increases your mult attack penalty so striking with other actions is almost pointless if you didn’t move which is why it’s good to take skill feats like Intimidating Glare or Bon Mot to hinder the enemy further for the rest of the party or take the Aid action
Highly recommend the dyslexic character sheets for p2e. It’s SO pretty and easy to read. Foundry’s built in sheet is also so so so amazing
Yeah I just tried it because it looked interesting in the video and the end result (with the new player resources) is just SO good! I love it. It explains each step so nicely and visually.
Lucky for me I was able to hunt down many of the physical pathfinder books including the core rules. Spent around 450 in total on books.
The main selling point I have for PF2 would be a direct reply to the discourse going around about the lack of game masters in the hobby: This is not an issue with the hobby a.k.a. ttrpgs in general, but an issue that's *specific to 5E* both because it was poorly design but also because the longer the edition goes on and more material it accrues, the more these problems are exhacerbated.
And the best example of this issue is in the form of a question: How many 5E GMs do you know that both advocate and reliably use Challenge Rating to design encounters? The answer is almost always none: not even the designers that wrote 5E themselves use CR because it's simply a useless number that means nothing once the mryad of ever expanding, front loaded player options grow.
In Pathfinder 2E I would say that even with it's problems, that's the one thing that actually works: You can actually trust levels to know they work as intended and be used as a tool to design encounters or quickly and easily alter them on the fly. Going back to the main point is that because of this, and as somebody who has ran both 5E and PF2 tables, I can comfortably say that PF2 is better for me as a GM and if more people knew they don't actually *NEED* to prep or do very extensive testing as a player and GM to know how to balance an encounter and you can actually do things like improvise, RNG encounters or just skim through an adventure you're planning on running without actually needing to worry about if it makes sense, if you thought about the party composition and how that works vs the encounters in the adventure, all of this work 5E GMs need to do and that basically keeps so many away from actually running their own games.
You only have to memorize the rules in these 17 books!!!!
@@nemooh You only need to know the core rules, really, and whilst the core book is 650-odd pages, the _actual_ core rules are very simple and only comprise a few pages. If you're having a go at the number of expansion books, it's a similar story with 5E. You can add on the stuff from Xanathar's Guide, Tasha's Cauldron, Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, Mordenkainen's, and so on.
@@nemooh Yay. And people wonder why casual players bounce off PF2E HARD.
Thank you so much for recommending Organized Play! I have been playing (and organizing) Organized Play games since 2014. It's a great community of passionate players and GMs!
Currently running beginner box with a follow-up mixture of troubles in Otari and abomination vaults. My group is hooked on the system. Your videos have been incredible for giving me information.
What a fantastic guide. Well structured, well presented. Just NICE! Thank you!
You're probably the best PF2 youtuber for beginners and veterans. Your style is excellent for explanation and teaching without being bland. ALso I really love Pathbuilder 2 to build character, you can build a PC when you're busy at the toilet or in a bus/train/plane ect...
Wow, this was such a coherent, cohesive, helpful video! Im so happy to find it.. aswell as your channel in general! Very exciting, thank you so much.
Wow, amazing work putting all this into digestable format. PF product line is sooo overwhelming!
Thank you for the video. Very helpful. I recently started, and just finished reading the CRB and the GMG and writing a guide for the players and GMs in my group to help ease the transition
Now that I was done with that I was curious on what books to buy next as I love physical collections (and need to fizzle out my dnd stuff). This already gives me some ideas I wasn’t expecting! Definitely gonna get that Grand Bazaar book and yoink those stores for my own setting, for example
I'm getting ready to switch the game I'm running to pf2e from 5e because of the recent shenanigans. These videos are insanely helpful!
What do I get? Before even watching the video it's everything, can't help myself. In the middle of the ogl thing I purchased the core rules, advanced players guide, and game mastery guide. After getting and reading those books, I decided it's worth it to have them all. 13 books in so far.
This is a great video. I’m surprised no one else has made a video like this before now. Thanks Ronald! 👍
Also check out the Basic Liches video I link in the description, it has a similar aim
Nice overview on the books, thank you! You definitely added my to understanding of what is available and how it all works together. I managed to get a few from Paizo before they sold out (core book, bestiary 1, Abom. vaults) along with the Beginner Box, which is great. I participated in your Beginner Box weekend, which was a great success. Our group meets for our 3rd session tomorrow and will hopefully finish out the adventure with the party fully intact. Fingers crossed! 😁🧙♂️
Awesome!
I started a PF2e campaign last week with a couple of friends and already love the system.
Also just bought the humble bundle so I could potentially run my own games in the future, though the thought of DMing still feels a bit daunting to me :D.
Great overview, thanks!
If this helps at all, know that a rule exists for something, and that players can help you find those rules, too! For some GMs, it's a relief that they don't have to be the ones to make up ways to resolve questions and gray areas on their own, and keep a bunch of house rules in their head!
I've enjoyed the few books I've purchased so far so I'm definitely going to end up buying them all lol
This just me.
Beginner box: starting off with core basics and items to help get a game going and ideas after to avg lvl 5.
Demiplane primer: after beginner box and want more but not sure on getting books then check out demiplane primer on this. Goes to lvl 20, more times, spells, feats and such.
Core book/bestiary: when ready get these. The corebook contains info for both player and gm to use wifh more stuff. Plus bestiary 1 for monster stats and ideas.
Advanced players book/lost omens: world guide/Gamemastery guide: bunch of more options for players, variant rules and ideas for gms, then world lore to give ideas where to play at.
The grand library: pretty much any book that interest you.
Reminder: all these free on archive of nethys.
This was so helpful!
Paizo has an interesting approach I genuinely love.
What do you NEED, bare minimum to play?
Dice, paper and pencil.
In theory, you don't need to spend a single dollar on a single book. Every rule is online free on purpose. Of course, the core rulebook is
... What? $10 for the PDF?
So minimum buy in to Pathfinder is an $8 d20 set, and if want the core rulebook for convenience and organization rather than looking all up online.... $10 more.
So what do you NEED? Nothing really.
Paizo's trick is in making you WANT.
Their books are quite good. Thick, meaty, well written and well organized. If were to compare pricing between Paizo and certain sorcerers of the beach.... On a per word or per pound basis, Paizo is way, way, way cheaper.
And I think their books are better. More content, better written and organized.
And then, how much do you want to spend? Cheap pdf? You want physical? Mini paperback? Full sized paperback? Hardcover? Limited edition?
From $0 to hundreds, you'll only spend what you want to spend, you don't actually NEED to spend anything. Imho, Pathfinder has one of the most consumer friendly and most flexible offerings of books, giving you the most say and what you do and do not want to spend money on for it.
If, for example,.you really loved the Magus class, but nothing else from secrets of magic interested you... You don't need to buy the book to play a Magus. All the rules are online. But if you DO buy the book... It's going to be a very nicely written and organized book, full of content... And if on a tight budget, well the pdf is only a few bucks. Or if you know youll love this book and reference it often... Get a physical copy.... Hardcover? Maybe you love the Magus class so much you want the limited edition hardcover? You get my point.
In short, I think Paizo has the best model out there for this sort of thing.
All that remains are videos like this to guide people to what they WANT. Which books will most enhance their game.
This is one of the reasons I prefer Pathfinder and Paizo. I love their pricing and sales model. It's logical, consumer friendly and everything I've bought I'm glad I spent money on. I would not mind if more companies sold product like this.
A few game publishers seem to so their job a bit better than others. Or at least, are more favorable to me as a customer. Paizo, Catalyst (man did their last Kickstarter go well)... Examples of game companies run well imho.
It's a lot easier to spend money on their products when every purchase is one you are glad you made, and you are consistently impressed with the quality of what you got... And the prices are all reasonable.
This is why companies like Paizo and Catalyst will ALWAYS have easier access to my wallet. Their business practices make it clear they've no interest in burning me or extorting the last nickel they can from a transaction. They profit by selling quality products to people that want them and are happy to have bought them. Thus, as a consumer, there is a higher level of a trust, and lower threshold to make a purchase. I'll drop $10 or $15 on a whim for a book.... And then decide if I want a physical copy later... And what edition I want. It's EASY for me to spend a few bucks on these companies. They have easier access to my wallet.
This consumer friendly model ignores the ridiculous Humble Bundle bargain. That's just a stupid deal. Don't analyze, don't think, just buy it next time it happens. That bundle makes a claim for best bargain in the history of gaming.
Take the recent catalyst BattleTech Mercenary Kickstarter.... Never even crossed my mind that Catalyst would screw me. They've no interest in that. Just funding to make a new batch of mech minis... Went way, way over their projections, so they just got more and more generous in what they'd give away in packages and make available. Result was they had a jaw dropping Kickstarter (about 3x bigger than last one), and I got a smokin deal on a mercenaries box with lots of extra goodies. Fairly certain there were only winners in this business transaction. Everyone walks away smiles.
This is what I mean by easier to spend money on certain companies. My threshold for buying Paizo products is very low. A few other companies in same position by acting similarly. It might not be the most aggressive sales model, but it seems highly effective from my perspective, and both example companies have gotten a lot of money from me in the last year. Both are having a fantastic 2023 so far. So perhaps that consumer friendly sales model has some advantages after all?
Also, the beginner box is probably the best intro beginner box in gaming. Seriously. If you are starting out, buy the box and have fun. It's that simple.
My gaming group and I are switching over to Pathfinder 2E. I wont to thank you for this video and your updates because we did not know where to start.
Thanks for this, I now have a new shopping list.
I needed a video like this as a gm just getting into pf2e
You madman, where was this video when I needed it one week ago xD
The beginner Box is the best place to start. Our table loved it
Thank you Ronald! Great video as always
Yep I’m awaiting for my books. Luckily ordered from Amazon 😂
10:40 That's not ENTIRELY true, there is the Pathfinderwiki which has a lot of the lore/story stuff. Though I'm not sure how up to date it is, I haven't specifically looked at that.
14:10 Oh! It's good for that too!
What made me back the Humblebundle wasn't beginner box (purchase 2 days prior :(, it was the Lost Omen Ancestry Guide that contain Ganzi, which is one of my favorite.
I spot Twilight Imperium 4th edition! My favorite board game
Awesome video man. Thanks so much.
Howdy! JUST started playing PF2, LOOOOONG time D&D players, from the early 80's. Totally enjoy your videos, have been a great help! Thank you! Question! DO you think you'll continue with anymore of these Law School Courses? Hope so! Keep it up! Fantastic!
I plan to finish the series, yes! Just have to juggle my queue
Really well done video. Thanks Ronald!
I'm coming here, 5 month later, to say THANKS!!
I can't wait to see how to caster good!
Thank you. This is very useful!
About the character sheet, the problem is the color used. The b-w version is awesome, better than the colored sheet.
Great information, thanks for putting in the work so we don't have to.
I have Pathbuilder on this device, but I get the feeling that I'm missing something every time I build a character.
Yeah, I've used some of the tools (pathbuilder, wayfinder) to build character sheets and I always feel like there are things missing from e.g. exported character sheets or w/e and I end up needing to amend them. Great for walking people through the process, but not perfect.
You're awesome, thank you for doing this!
Yeah, Im not looking to switch to MORE rules and expensive books, even though these are nice and they are not Hasbro.
I'd look more at microlite 20 or an OSR.
Agreed. I was excited to start PF2E, but was blown away by the huge number of books that add classes, backgrounds, spells, and more despite only being out for three years.
I said "screw it," and went with Dungeon Crawl Classics. The one core book includes sections for players, the GM (using the term "judge"), and a bestiary. It's a hardcover that includes a code for a free PDF, and only costs $40! The community rocks, too.
This is why PF2E is not a suitable entry level game.
Do we know if Paizo is planning to implement some of these previous APs under Foundry VTT? Also, I would love to see an official Foundry module for "Troubles in Otari", my players are not ready for something like Abomination Vaults.
They should!
Just saw this exchange with their rep. They don't have immediate plans, but they know there is demand! paizo.com/products/btq026k1/discuss&page=2?Pathfinder-Adventure-Troubles-in-Otari
For now, there is an module with maps (one would still need the PDF or book to run it): foundryvtt.com/packages/troubles-in-otari-remade-maps
There is a healthy ecosystem of mods being made by the community Foundry all the time btw!
The import of Troubles in Otari using PDF to Foundry (PF2e) is pretty good in the absence of a premium module
I know I'm late to the party but I'd like to recommend narrative declaration and their rotgrind setting. I haven't had a chance to play it yet, but I can't wait to sink my teeth into it.
Humble Bundle is a great deal!
I notice that Tarondor includes Age of Worms in his lists, even though it's an old 3.5e adventure path. I loved that adventure, and I've been trying to find a conversion guide for P2e but haven't turned up anything good yet. Is there an archive somewhere that people are posting their conversions?
Found this Reddit post for you. There is a Discord server where people share conversions of older Paizo adventures: www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder2e/comments/wtmyx8/age_of_worms_pf2_conversion_advice_resources/
Thank you for the effort, but that's something I already found. I joined their discord, and checked what they have, and there's actually not a lot of Age of Worms there. It surprised me because it was such a wildly popular adventure path. I expected more interest in converting it.
However, that seems to be a great resource for converting P1e adventures, if anyone's looking for that. Seems to be a lot of material there.
Excellent video! - but how do I skip to chapter 12?! =-P
I can't help myself, I keep getting the special edition of the books.
Fascinating video
I’m a completionist and once I find a game I like I need them all
This is a great video. I'd really like a comparative look at the pocket editions v full-size. I know the former are just scaled-down versions of the latter, but I would like to know how much of a problem that causes, given that they're not formatted for the smaller size.
Are homebrew adventures better for DnD? Or is it just a bonus that the PF adventures are so complete
Would you still recommend the same now that the revision has been announced?
Good video, but I was hoping to get more suggestions and reviews on what to buy since there's so much.
Thanks man, good video!
Are these books still relevant with Remaster just releasing? I'm looking to get into the game and have the starter set and the pdf of the core rulebook. I'm not sure where i should go. Should i get the player core to have the updated rules?
I'm running a Pathfinder for Savage Worlds campaign in which one of my players has threatened to run the Beginner Box for us after this game concludes. After making a couple test characters using Pathbuilder and Archives of Nethys (because SOMEBODY besides the GM should know the rules), I decided it would be nice to have a physical copy of the CRB. Even 8 full months after the OGL debacle, our FLGS *cannot* keep Pathfinder books in stock. Meanwhile, they're burdened with shelves full of old D&D 5 books and modules.
About Golarion, do you think it's useful to get some 1e setting books?
Good thing I already bought all the Rulebooks because I got hyped, or I would do that now
New player: What should I get?
The Rules Lawyer: EVERYTHING!
Absolute W video
me sitting here owning every book but watching anyway
Important note with Wanderer's Guide: Don't use it if you need a light mode. Theirs is so horribly executed that I question if they even tested it.
You forgot to mention that FoundryVTT only needs to be paid by the DM / only one player.
Nice!
So I missed the humble bundle. Can I still get the pdfs somewhere?
At paizo.com you can get the PDFs.
The pocket versions are still available btw
The game is great I only wish it was translated into different languages more. I know few ppl who would like it but don't know English
How can I use all 3 of my actions to "like" this video? Ugg, UA-cam you evil monster!
Paizo should dump half of their Website and replace it with a link to this video ;-)
As a NEW GM playing with my kids I'll defiantly say you CANNOT start playing the Beginner Box in 15-30 minutes. If you already understand PF and are playing with new ppl sure. We got lost so many times trying to understand the rules and the Index in the back of the two books are beyond worthless. (fyi to new GM/players. Look up "Treat Wounds" in the Player book. Just saved you an hour on searches for heal or hit points)
That said, we loved the campaign and it is where you should start. It's just not as straightforward as it sounds.
The campaign section, I'd say read up one or two rooms ahead so you know how creatures will respond when heros enter. (15 min)
Try to read up on the mechanics the day before though. Checks, spell slots (they run out), TREAT WOUNDS, dying
im a simple kinda gal, i see rob, i click
10 months later and the beginner box is out of print
I really want to like Pathfinder. I cannot get past the setting of Golarion that I just do not like and seems deeply imbedded throughout all aspects of the game. Yes I can convert stuff but that is a lot of extra work I just do not want to do. I hope in the future Paizo divorces Pathfinder from Golarion to better allow adaptions to other settings.
It works well in other settings without changing anything. Just exclude anything that you feel doesn't fit.
Out of curiosity: What don't you like about Golarion?
@@danitenotes For me Golarion has a generic fantasy vibe. It tries to do everything so it doesn't do any one thing well. It reminds me of Forgotten Realms in this way. ✌ ☮
I recommend you get the books because they support the company and they’re very pretty.
But do we buy books simply because they’re pretty? Obviously you never played D&D 1st Edition. Those books were ugly. 😂
If the reasons given to buy the books don't convince you, than you are free to not buy them. The humble bundle will let you see how pretty they are for less money if that interests you.
No they weren't... They were awesome! The art and such from those books were a major source of inspiration to my daydreams. Sure by today's standard they were bad, but back then no one had really seen anything quite like that.
You only need the Core Rulebook, everything else is just fluff.
Pathfinder 1st edition is better.
Haha! Ok. How is this relevant?
@@danitenotes It's relevant because people can look into PF1E and see if that game is a better fit? Every one is entitled to their opinion.
Why are a sub section of PF2E fans such complete a##holes?
I really doubt you need 5 books to start. That is insane
And I doubt that he said you "need" 5 books to start, that's just what you want to hear so you can complain about the video!
7:26 HEY! What do you know! I was, unsurprisingly, correct! The end total of "core books" was also SIX not FIVE!!!
It’s called recommendations!! He didn’t say you need it plus the rules are free online and buying books supports Paizo who more than deserve the support
Realistically you don’t actually need ANY of them.
However, to make life easier on yourself, just the Core Rulebook and the Bestiary 1 book will suffice. Optionally, the Lost Omens World Guide is also a nice addition if you want to know more about Golarion.