"D&D vs Pathfinder" Topic

My 13YO daughter and her friends want to learn Pathfinder. They have no one to guide them so I volunteered. I played D&D back when it was the Monster Manual and Player's Handbook. How different is it?

Can anyone suggest a good published adventure for a bunch of 1st level noobs?

The producers website has a lot of freebies on it. Probably an adventure in there for it somewhere.

Pathfinder is more like D20 4.0 and not exactly played like the old D&D of the 90's. The new D&D I have no idea not really cared to look at it.

My 13yo daughter wanted to play a RPG and I got her the Pathfinder starter box for Christmas 2013. I never played any D&D when I was young but we figured it out with no problem and she's been playing with friends regularly since with no help from me.

I'd HIGHLY recommend you read through the rules here to get a sense of the game. It's a half-sibling of the 3rd Edition, but very different from 2nd and earlier editions.

d20pfsrd.com

-Will

As you may know, Pathfinder is basically D&D 3.75 edition, so you probably missed 3rd edition entirely. The big new concept is Feats, which are elective powers/advantages that characters get in addition to the traditional level-based powers, along with the minor in the abstract and huge in practice scrapping of all the old limitations on multiclassing.

IMHO, Pathfinder plays like D&D with two caveats: (1) every conceivable situation or house rule now has a codification--which is great in one sense but overwhelming in others; and (2) character creation, advancement, and sometimes play is far more complex because there are so many options plus the feats/skills/class powers provide for tons more options in encounters.

When I read Pathfinder, I always think, "this is great, it has everything covered," then when I start to GM it I think, "this sucks, too much to keep track of and I can't hand wave rules anymore."

Man, that is my EXACT feeling on Pathfinder as well. BUT, I have friends who love it, so I'll still play, if someone else is running it.

-Will

Your daughter's 13! Blimey, time flies….

Mike

Thank guys. I'll probably limit the characters somewhat just to keep things manageable….

@Mike: Sending you an email and stock order tonight…

I've heard from friends who play it that the new 5th edition is the best D&D has been for years (and yes, they've played various versions for ages)

Mark

Head over to the Wizards of the Coast website and download the free version of the rules. There is a Players Handbook and a Dungeon Masters Guide, both available as free PDFs. I would recommend D&D5E over Pathfinder. And I have played a lot of Pathfinder but my group has gone back to D&D. As MH Dee says it really is the best version of the game they have produced in a long time. And I go back to the White Box rules.

Mark, limit it to Core Rulebook only and it will be great fun while still manageable regarding builds/options/feats.

I'd go with the Latest version of Dnd. Cleaner mechanics and simpler language

I prefer Pathfinder. I've palyed both Pathfinder and D&D 3.0,3.5,4.0 and what ever configuartion is currently out. Yes, there is more adaptibility, but limit it and things should be easy and fun. If you're the GM, you're driving the bus, so do what you want as to how in depth they get. She'll enjoy it!

Just get the Beginner's Box for Pathfinder. It includes a noob adventure and allows you to make your own characters. I enjoy Pathfinder, but it really is the most complex version of D&D out there and it is a bit daunting to dive in full throttle. The Beginner's Box eases players in.

I also recommend D&D 5th Edition, which I also enjoy greatly, but Pathfinder really is what the younger cool kids play, so your if your daughter balks at D&D 5th (which is much easier to learn) and insists on playing Pathfinder, go with the Beginner's Box.

Her friend already had all the Pathfinder books so….

I agree, stick with the Core rulebook or the Beginners Box and it will not be near as bad. Unfortunately, your daughter is likely similar to my boys, who cannot unerstand that limitation and want to play classes out of various supplements, etc.

On the plus side, several years ago it was Pathfinder that jump started my younger son reading for pleasure. He devoured hour after hour the Core book, then various supplements, then started reading fantasy fiction (that he had previously refused).

Is there no "Intro to Pathfinder" set? Most of the WotC products started with that. I would think the makers of Pathfinder would follow the same line of thinking.

EDIT: Beginner box here. link

Mark – If they really want to stick with Pathfinder, I would definitely start them out with the boxed Starter Set. it will make things easier for both sides of the GM screen, and its a great value. After that, if it doesn't seem too complex, they can add the core Player's Handbook.

I will tell you that I tried to introduce my son to Pathfinder several years back (before the Start Set was published) and he took one look at it and told me that he had enough textbooks to read for school! It really is a thick, highly detailed and highly codified set of rules.

The "new" edition of D&D (5e) is actually much closer to the D&D that you remember, and is an all-around easier game to DM and play. It also has a great boxed Starter Set. If they can be pried away from Pathfinder, this is what I would recommend for introducing players.

I also recommend the D&D 5e starter set. It's a good value, and easy to get into game.

Xin

Another vote for 5e if possible.

Our group couldn't get away from 3.x fast enough and liked the 4e approach. As the supplemental books stacked up that got overwhelming and more importantly, hard to play quickly, and 5e is a breath of fresh air: it plays like the D&D we all remember from the white box / AD&D / AD&D2 editions but includes all the good ideas from interim editions in a manageable way.

However some players forked off from us into PathFinder and have a very active parallel group. A couple have sat in to see what 5e is like and afterwards still prefer PathFinder. So clearly there are differences of opinion. Note, this PathFinder group all have kids old enough that the parents run RPG sessions for them and as noted above "all the cool kids play PathFinder".

Pathfinder beginner box gets my vote. And Paizo have just – this week in the UK – released the Pathfinder Strategy Guide, which acts as an excellent 'bridge' from the beginner box to the full, rather overwhelming rulebook.

Gotta say that D&D 5e is really, really good, and easy to get into.

I'd go with DnD 5th ed – the starter box includes a great first adventure – pre-generated character sheets – dice and a beginner set of the rules geared to new players without needing anything else to start with.

I'm gearing up for a D&D program for teens at the library where I work. After looking around a bit, I've decided to go with the classic D&D Rules Encyclopedia, slightly modified for better compatibility with 5e. This is in part due to expense, as the library isn't ready to commit that much money into the core books, and partly due to my own experience. Otherwise, I'd go flat out with 5e. Having read the rules, I find it to be a very clean and straightforward set with a lot of flexibility, very much a return to Old School D&D while modernizing and streamlining the mechanics for greater vesatility and simpler play.
My goal is to have the players come to the whole experience fresh, without expecting them to have read or know any of the rules, but let it be a free-form experience of adventure for them, with me providing the details if needed and overseeing all the "guts." They'll imagine; I'll crunch the other stuff.

While I understand the appeal of Pathfinder's "crunchy" character rules, with all the Feats and so forth, for my plan I think that crunchiness would detract from the shared story-telling experience we intend for this program. We want the players to concentrate on the imaginative experience of sharing a world, not concentrating on what new powers or abilities they have. There's nothing wrong with that latter style of play, it's just not the direction we want to go.

So I think it comes down to that same question for you. What style of play do you want? Storytelling over powers, or nifty features over a subtler, looser style? You can always keep the game "rules light" for the players, and use whatever system you want, if you're willing to put in the work.

I suggest you go with the Pathfinder starter box.

Mostly because everyone else said to, but also because I choose to ignore your posts saying she already has all the books and all you're looking for is an adventure.

D&D5

Gave my 11YO daughter the beginner box. Just the right level for a tween with good reading skills.

Every game there is, is funner if your friends play with you. There are a bunch of published advbenture that start at 1st level and through the course of many scenarios take you all the way up. I have played a few, and they are good scenarios.

kids are adabtible. If they are having fun they can play anything. I have had 12 YOs play Rolemaster, compared to which pathfinder is checkers simple. If they are into it already dont sweat the differrent aditions. we all have our favorites, and no matter what the original question was about many will ignorte it and tell you to play something else. but you have been here a long time and probably already get that.

But if you really want them to have fun find a copy of 3rd edition rune quest………

Owen