(PF) New DM Help

[Delanas]

Hello I'm looking for any advice or help - I've played Dnd 3.5 for about a year now as a player, my group has now decided next campaign we play we'll be starting with Pathfinder and i'll be DMing it my first time as DM.

I've picked Curse of the Crimson Throne campaign im reading through it now, but i just wanted some basic DM advice, tips, tricks and if anyone has played the crimson throne campaign some advice on that campaign.

Anything will be help full.

Thank you.

[Chained Birds]

Haven't worked with that adventure path before, but some general PF Stuff:

1. Monsters now have a set Exp that PCs gain listed on the monster. Meaning that it is very easy to tally up Exp gained from defeating a bunch of monsters without having to reference other books.

2. Combat Maneuver Bonus (CMB) and Combat Maneuver Defense (CMD) makes battles faster. No more opposed strength checks or hitting touch ACs anymore; just roll you CMB (example: a Trip attempt or Grapple attempt) vs the opponent's CMD and that's it. Works just like Attack vs AC.

3. Grapple works a lot better now. Still might have to read up on it if you're going to be using a grappler in an encounter; but the rules are a lot easier to understand.

More towards PF specific Advice:

1. Rogues have a larger list of things they can Sneak Attack (Including Undead and Constructs now!), so don't feel hesitant to send out undead at the party's rogue; he can handle himself now.

2. Some of the Wizard's / Sorcerer's spells and Combat Feats were nerfed, so some spells (like grease and ray of enfeeblement) and feats (Power Attack) work a lot differently than they used to.

Look to http://www.d20pfsrd.com/ for any book related stuff you might not have, as every book published by Piazo is located here with some 3rd party support.

[Delanas]

Haven't worked with that adventure path before, but some general PF Stuff:

1. Monsters now have a set Exp that PCs gain listed on the monster. Meaning that it is very easy to tally up Exp gained from defeating a bunch of monsters without having to reference other books.

2. Combat Maneuver Bonus (CMB) and Combat Maneuver Defense (CMD) makes battles faster. No more opposed strength checks or hitting touch ACs anymore; just roll you CMB (example: a Trip attempt or Grapple attempt) vs the opponent's CMD and that's it. Works just like Attack vs AC.

3. Grapple works a lot better now. Still might have to read up on it if you're going to be using a grappler in an encounter; but the rules are a lot easier to understand.

More towards PF specific Advice:

1. Rogues have a larger list of things they can Sneak Attack (Including Undead and Constructs now!), so don't feel hesitant to send out undead at the party's rogue; he can handle himself now.

2. Some of the Wizard's / Sorcerer's spells and Combat Feats were nerfed, so some spells (like grease and ray of enfeeblement) and feats (Power Attack) work a lot differently than they used to.

Look to http://www.d20pfsrd.com/ for any book related stuff you might not have, as every book published by Piazo is located here with some 3rd party support.

Thanks a lot for the help, I'm a little nervous but also cant wait to start. I'm reading everything up now and starting to plan it all.

[jmelesky]

It's worth noting that Curse of the Crimson Throne was written for 3.5ed, not PF (that adventure path predates the existance of PF as an RPG). Low-level characters in PF tend to be a bit more powerful than in 3.5ed, so you should expect to have to adjust the encounters accordingly.

Some of it's just making sure you use the PF version of a monster, instead of the stat block provided, but some of it might require a bit more work. Basically, keep an eye on how they're doing, and don't be afraid to toss an additional mook in if they're cruising through the fights.

[Novawurmson]

I ran some of that campaign setting a while back. It's pretty fun, but I do recommend buffing some of the encounters for a Pathfinder party (especially the bosses - the first boss will probably not stand a chance against a full party; I had a lucky Rogue solo him).

[Golkiwu]

I am currently running players through the Rise of the Runelords, a 3.5 pathfinder product. I created a chart in excel to gauge when the players should be leveling and after what point in the encounters. You don't need a spreadsheet per se, but I have found it very streamlined to just tell the players when to level, instead of doling out XP to them. Pathfinder does not require XP for item creation, so players really don't need to keep up with that anymore. I find it easier for book keeping, it keeps them more focused on the story, and it is fun to surprise/reward them with telling them to level their characters after a session. I also have found that even with the conversions, that the players tend to be challenged in the combats if they are a level lower than what is recommended in the text of the modules. That of course is your prerogative as there can be some overpowering Boss fights as well. I would recommend looking through the loot they will be getting per encounter as well. Some of the found loot can be totally useless to them, unless you have a gracious item sell/swap mechanic available to them. There is nothing stopping you from replacing the text loot with something more useable by the party as long as it is GP equivalent value.:smallbiggrin:

[Delanas]

I had no idea Crimson Throne was still in 3.5, thanks for the heads up and advice to work it with Pathfinder but it being my first time i think i'll move over to doing Carrion Crown it was my 2nd choice but i will still enjoy it.