I'm starting a pathfinder group, and I could use some advice.

[Endon the White]

I've never played DnD before, but ever since I discovered OOTS, I've been aware of it. I know about the tier systems, spot checks, full attacks and gazebos, but mostly just from references and explanations I see on this forum. I never thought I would be able to find a group, but just last week, a bunch of my friends brought it up out of nowhere, and things have been moving fast since then. I volunteered as GM, and have been getting a little overwhelmed. I could certainly use any help you guys can give me.

So, I'm the GM, and I have four players. I decided to go with Pathfinder because all the rules are online for free, and I've heard that 4e is very limited in what it can do. I'm the only one who really knows anything about table-top RPG's, though one of my players has been doing a ton of research lately. For now, I'm only allowing core classes and core races, at least for our first game. This is subject to change, but our current group composition is:

Thomas, a Neutral Good Human Fighter. This guy really just wants to hit people with a big sword, nothing complicated.
Grant, a True Neutral Human Sorcerer. Grant is kind of my wild card. I don't think he'll be a problem player, but if anyone was going to do something stupid just to see the results, it would be him.
Jacob, a Lawful Neutral Elven Cleric. Jacob has been doing some exhaustive research into the game recently, and he knows the second most in the group. He wants to play a cleric of Hades, who doesn't like undead because they cheat death, that kind of thing.
Will, a Neutral Good Elven Ranger. Will might mess around at first, but I think he will get sucked into the game really quickly. I know he really wants a bear as his animal companion.

Right off the bat, I know we have a tier problem. Thomas isn't going to want to do any research, so any super-complicated trip-builds are right out. My cleric stumbled over the tier system, and I can reason with him, but I'm not sure how to reign in his natural progression. I'm not worried about him googling PunPun and trying to break my world, just him clearing out a cave of bandits before my fighter can even get his sword out. Since all of us are so new to the game, I figure I could just give my fighter better gear every now and then, and that should be enough to address any power disparities.

I'm trying to plan out a storyline, and I think I'm going to adapt the rough plot Rich Burlew outlines in his Villain Workshop (http://www.giantitp.com/articles/rTKEivnsYuZrh94H1Sn.html) article. I will start them out in one of those small human towns on the border of the elven lands. Clearing out local bandits, hearing rumors of increasing tensions, and then BAM, the elves raze the town to the ground. Hopefully, they will flee and bring back news to the human capital, where I can introduce them to the grander plot. Maybe an attempted assassination they can interrupt? I don't know, I am trying to avoid planning things out too much so I can compensate if my players go off the rails.

I'm doing some research in the PF SRD, and combat is way way more complicated than I first thought. Fortunately, everyone's options are very limited at level one, so that should give me time to adjust. My main concern right now is designing suitable encounters for my party. For their first excursion, I was going to have them fight some human bandits, but it looks like designing that battle would take an insanely long time. From what I can tell, if you want an enemy human, you have to stat him up from scratch and give him feats, gear, and a class. That seems like a ton of work when I could just use some disposable orks. I must be missing something. I'm also worried about making my encounters the correct difficulty. I've been told that low level combat in 3.5 can be very dicey (no pun intended), and that people can die in one hit. I want to give my players some cushion at first, but I also don't want them to steamroll everything. They're a mostly well-behaved bunch, but I will need to establish that they are not the strongest people in the world very soon. If they have trouble taking on three thugs, that should encourage them to play nice with the local guards.

I'm kind of in over my head right now. We don't have a set first session, so I can take a much time as I need to sort things out, but sooner is better than later. I'll take any advice or opinions you guys are willing to give me. Are there any problems I should be anticipating? Does my initial story look engaging enough? You're the experts, after all.

[TheIronGolem]

Don't fret too much over tiers just yet. The tier system is insightful, and useful for identifying and explaining balance discrepancies. But it's more of a design tool than a campaign-management tool. For the moment, just keep an eye on those casters. Once you're comfortable enough with the rules and mechanics to branch out beyond core, if some players seem dissatisfied with their characters' performance, consider allowing them to recreate their characters with some better-balanced classes from other sources. Dreamscarred Press puts out some great third-party stuff for Pathfinder.

Don't get too attached to your planned storyline. Players can and will alter, destroy, or just plain ignore it.

Also, don't be afraid to embrace some of those fantasy cliches. There's nothing wrong with starting the characters in a tavern, or having goblins attack the harvest festival, or even a good old-fashioned princess rescue. Your plots don't have to be original to be engaging.

[weckar]

I agree. As long as the players don't really know what they are doing, clerics more often come out too weak than too strong in my experience.

[Arbane]

As for making human foes/NPCs, don't be afraid to re-use statblocks. The captain of the guard one day can change hats and be a mercenary bounty hunter the next, or give them Darkvision and a beard and call them a dwarf warrior.

[GilesTheCleric]

Before saying anything else, I think I should say that you shouldn't feel too overwhelmed. It looks like you've done a decent job researching things, and you certainly care about running a clean, fun game. That's way more than some groups I've been in, and means you're already on a good path (pun intended).

You group composition seems fine. Your gut instinct of the sorcerer being the one most able to upset things is likely correct -- clerics can, but it takes a little more work and more system mastery. Since you're running PF, many of the really good low-level spells from 3.5 aren't available, meaning that the biggest threat to balance your cleric likely poses would be stuff like Righteous Might making the fighter seem less awesome. The group as a whole should be fairly balanced until level 7, as you're probably aware. This gives you plenty of time (the game I'm running right now took 23 sessions to reach level 7, at 500- 1500xp per session) to learn the ropes and be comfortable with the game.

Combat is a little complex, but it's certainly easier in PF than 3.5. If you'd like a simplified synthesis of how it works, just ask.

Planning out a storyline is definitely important, and it sounds like you've got that under control. I would like to ask whether you plan on running a sandbox game or an on-rails game. The former is a lot more work, and doesn't necessarily guarantee more fun. For the first couple sessions, it might be worth it to run some published modules, just so that everyone gets the hang of the game and how it works. Since everyone is new to it, giving them the opportunity to change their character after these practice games might be nice as well, so they don't feel stuck with a choice made with little experience.

In terms of designing monsters and encounters, checking out published modules should give you a good idea of what's appropriate. My personal approach to encounters is pretty simple, but might not be to your liking. I run most creatures straight from the book, but humanoids and anything with class levels I make on the fly.

For humanoid mooks, I just say "+2 for the most important stat, +1 for the second-most important, and +0 for everything else. Average hp." So a 1st-lvl fighter gets str 14, dex 12, and some generic gear, maybe a chain shirt (+4) and a longsword (1d8). That means he gets an attack of +3 (+1 BAB, +2 str), and deals 1d8+3 damage (two-handed attack with +2 str). His AC is 15 (+4 chain, +1 dex). Fighter gets a d10 HD, max at 1st, so 10 hp. Done.

This is quick and easy when you have most of the common weapons, armour, and class BAB and HD memorized, but it wouldn't be difficult to just make up a small chart of generic mooks from each class, and at different levels. If you're planning out adventures ahead of time, I do definitely recommend just creating the foes ahead of time, and writing out their details rather than doing it on-the-spot.

Don't stress out about stats and feats if you do build your own foes. Just give everything the elite array for stats (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8), and either ignore feats, or give them toughness or iron will or something similar that you can add in as a flat numerical bonus.

In terms of knowing whether something is a challenge, the guidelines for the CR system work decently well. For a foe of equal CR to the party, the party should use up 1/4 of their resources to defeat it. For the example above, a lvl 1 fighter is CR 1. He will do ~7.5 damage per hit, which is most of one character's hp, or 1/4 of the party's total HP. To kill him, the party will likely need to make four attacks, using up a combination of one arrow, two spells, and one person's hp. This is roughly 1/4 of their resources.

Having the party fight 3 CR 1s is a CR 2-3 encounter, and might be very difficult. The terrain and positioning for each side in a fight can also make encounters much more challenging, which is something to watch out for. At low levels, things like foes with ranged attacks demonstrate this the most. If the party cannot attack the foes, or can't get to them quickly, then the entire party might just die.

Letting the party steamroll things to begin with is actually fine. The goal of the game is to have fun, and if they enjoy hacking apart gobbos by the pair, then letting them do that a couple of times when they're starting out will help to boost their confidence and their willingness to keep playing. Of course, they should still feel like they've accomplished something, rather than feeling like it was a cakewalk. Whatever happens, nobody should die while starting out. That doesn't mean they won't have close calls, though.

[Endon the White]

I agree. As long as the players don't really know what they are doing, clerics more often come out too weak than too strong in my experience.

Ah. In that case should I be worrying about my Cleric under performing? I think he said he was going to get the Death and Loss domains. He doesn't seem to want to heal much.

[TheIronGolem]

Ah. In that case should I be worrying about my Cleric under performing? I think he said he was going to get the Death and Loss domains. He doesn't seem to want to heal much.

It's too early to worry either way. Just see how things shake out over your first few sessions. Don't read too much into any one session either, especially at low level where die rolls have a greater impact on the outcome (due to less of a roll's total coming from bonuses).

As for healing, it's overrated. It's actually one of the least efficient things to do in combat, most of the time. It's good to have, but usually more useful during downtime than the heat of battle.

[Endon the White]

Combat is a little complex, but it's certainly easier in PF than 3.5. If you'd like a simplified synthesis of how it works, just ask.
I think I have the basics down, I'm just worried about forgetting a rule that might change the outcome. I also don't really know how I'm supposed to display combat. I know they have miniatures and maps you can buy, but I would like a less expensive option, at least for now. Maybe a whiteboard? I'd probably have to keep re-sketching the grid every time I erase something.


Planning out a storyline is definitely important, and it sounds like you've got that under control. I would like to ask whether you plan on running a sandbox game or an on-rails game. The former is a lot more work, and doesn't necessarily guarantee more fun. For the first couple sessions, it might be worth it to run some published modules, just so that everyone gets the hang of the game and how it works. Since everyone is new to it, giving them the opportunity to change their character after these practice games might be nice as well, so they don't feel stuck with a choice made with little experience.
I think I'd rather save the modules for later, when we can do them justice. Besides, I'm not really sure where I could find them.


In terms of designing monsters and encounters, checking out published modules should give you a good idea of what's appropriate. My personal approach to encounters is pretty simple, but might not be to your liking. I run most creatures straight from the book, but humanoids and anything with class levels I make on the fly.

In terms of knowing whether something is a challenge, the guidelines for the CR system work decently well. For a foe of equal CR to the party, the party should use up 1/4 of their resources to defeat it. For the example above, a lvl 1 fighter is CR 1. He will do ~7.5 damage per hit, which is most of one character's hp, or 1/4 of the party's total HP. To kill him, the party will likely need to make four attacks, using up a combination of one arrow, two spells, and one person's hp. This is roughly 1/4 of their resources.

Having the party fight 3 CR 1s is a CR 2-3 encounter, and might be very difficult. The terrain and positioning for each side in a fight can also make encounters much more challenging, which is something to watch out for. At low levels, things like foes with ranged attacks demonstrate this the most. If the party cannot attack the foes, or can't get to them quickly, then the entire party might just die.
Cool, thanks for the advice. I'm not very familiar with the PF bestiary, so I'm struggling to find adequate monsters for a part of level 1's. Does making your example a warrior (npc class) instead of a fighter bump his CR down any? I'd rather not have to resort to a series of 4-on-1 fights.


Letting the party steamroll things to begin with is actually fine. The goal of the game is to have fun, and if they enjoy hacking apart gobbos by the pair, then letting them do that a couple of times when they're starting out will help to boost their confidence and their willingness to keep playing. Of course, they should still feel like they've accomplished something, rather than feeling like it was a cakewalk. Whatever happens, nobody should die while starting out. That doesn't mean they won't have close calls, though.
Agreed, but I don't have the experience to distinguish between "Tough, but doable" and "Massacre". Especially since I'm planning on the elves to overrun their homebase fairly early on. I'm going to need them to flee that fight, without killing them outright.

On another note, how would you recommend handling experience? Tallying it up after every encounter seems like a lot of work, especially since Pathfinder removed xp costs for crafting items. I was considering just levelling everyone up at certain milestones, like they did in the SilverClawShift campaigns. Keeps everyone together and let's me plan easier.

[jamesb]

1) The adventure-
First time through, premade adventure makes for much less work. Read through it and get comfortable. If the players are plowing through monsters too easy increase HP or increase number of monsters. When you’re planning, hooks are important. You want at least 3 ways to get players where you want to go so that doesn’t just circumvent the whole adventure. I also try to keep something in my back pocket…maybe your session was done sooner than you thought and you tack on an extra raiding party encounter. Were out of town this week and didn’t have time to plan? Well that’s ok…you’ve got a festival with skill challenges, a brawling arena, and roleplay encounters that you can adjust for whatever level. While it’s good not to try to nail everything down so the players have some freedom…you want to plan out a little bit. Unless you have a full campaign plan with a ticking clock, plotting week to week can lead to you falling behind on designing. I’d start being more goals based or railroading…once you’re more experienced you can have a more open world. You can give the illusion of options and still have all roads lead to dungeon B.

Both of these were made free for 3.5 off wizards website and are good choices for an intro:

a) A Dark and Stormy Knight - more of a dungeon to draw the party together, is reference to bandits pillaging so can tell some of the party they were sent to investigate if it fits in back story

b) Wreck Ashore - Definitely fits in with bandit flavor you're going for.

2) Making quick NPCs - If you continue DMing eventually you'll have a library you can pull from. Need a level 6 pirates? Well I've got a level 5 swashbuckler here named Shifty Fleetfoot, levels 5/6/7 rouges all built, etc.. until then... premade, premade, premade. It is easier to change stats/feat/skills/weapon, than to build from scratch each time.

a) Look at that, pre-generated tables of NPCs:
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/mastery/nPCGallery.html

b) Character generator
http://www.pathguy.com/PathfinderCore.htm
This is more for making a main bad guy, still takes a long time, but it's step by step.

c) Monster advancer
http://www.monsteradvancer.com/
You can give class levels to monsters if you wanted orc barbarians/fighters/rouges as bandits...via 3.5 rules fraction levels replaced by class level.

3) Don't worry about the tier just yet. There's other ways of balancing. You might give a player that's pretty locked into using one weapon while doing a lot of damage a +1 throwing and returning (something tactical rather than dps). Someone that's under performing in damage might get +1 and 1d6 flame weapon. Killing monsters isn't the only way...there's battlefield control with tangle foot bags and any number of things. There are other portions besides combat, if one character does most of the conversation they get the spotlight in that moment. So it depends on how the players take to the game as well. All of that comes later...you learn to be able to eyeball a powerful build vs a weak one eventually...but let them fight before adjusting.

4) If you want to watch the game be played DawnforgedCast put up a bunch on yt. He's also got a lot of them as tutorials for new players or DMs.

5) A cleric usually gets the healing job. This should be to use items to heal between battles because he has access to divine magics. In battle, he should be able to play as he likes. Yes, he'd have the best chance to save a character that's poisoned and bleeding out...but one character should not be depended upon as being their only roll. Sprinkle in some healing potions, a few reusable healing items with charges per day, etc...

6) I'll let you work out your overarching story...unless you have specific question.

[GilesTheCleric]

I think I have the basics down, I'm just worried about forgetting a rule that might change the outcome. I also don't really know how I'm supposed to display combat. I know they have miniatures and maps you can buy, but I would like a less expensive option, at least for now. Maybe a whiteboard? I'd probably have to keep re-sketching the grid every time I erase something.

Miniatures are optional. There's two ways to play: on a grid, and theatre-of-the-mind. The former is more typical of 3.P, but the latter is definitely doable. In terms of a grid, just using a big sheet/roll of butcher paper with a grid sharpied on might work. Alternatively, you could use parchment paper (like you would use for baking/cooking). I think the waxy side might even allow you to use dry-erase markers. A third method might be to make a big sheet of paper with a grid on it, and then use a roll of trace paper on top of it to draw on.

Just using dice to represent foes is fine, but if you're interested, I have ~1600 monster tokens you could print out and use. Buying a mat might end up being worthwhile, and I think many of them run 15-25$, depending on size.

Using a digital tabletop like roll20 might work, but if you're playing face-to-face, it's probably not an ideal solution.

Theatre-of-the-mind is just like it sounds -- you describe the scene, and the players tell you how they move within it.


I think I'd rather save the modules for later, when we can do them justice. Besides, I'm not really sure where I could find them.
There are so many modules that "doing justice" to them shouldn't matter. There are many free ones available on the WotC site (google for the wizards 3.5 archives), and Paizo sells adventure paths for the pathfinder society. I think WotC might have free adventures available for greyhawk (their version of the pathfinder society) as well, but I haven't looked. I would bet that you could find many adventures on this board, too.


Cool, thanks for the advice. I'm not very familiar with the PF bestiary, so I'm struggling to find adequate monsters for a part of level 1's. Does making your example a warrior (npc class) instead of a fighter bump his CR down any? I'd rather not have to resort to a series of 4-on-1 fights.
Yes, NPC classes start at 1/2 CR instead of 1. Many creatures run without class levels are also CR 1/2. Both PF (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/bestiary-hub/monsters-by-cr) and WotC (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/lists/monsters&tablefilter=&tablesort=5) will let you search for creatures by CR.



Agreed, but I don't have the experience to distinguish between "Tough, but doable" and "Massacre". Especially since I'm planning on the elves to overrun their homebase fairly early on. I'm going to need them to flee that fight, without killing them outright.
I can't really give any hard-and-fast rules on the distinction between the two, unfortunately. Sometimes the dice are what decide. However, there's two ways to accomplish a difficult fight. First, my previous GM's method: send many weak creatures, and reduce how many of them land successful attacks if things start to get grim. This works best if you're rolling in secret, since you can make sure that they never crit, which is the biggest risk with this method. Second, my method: send one large foe, and have it not focus on a single target for too long. This method means that the large foe is very likely to lose since it takes fewer actions than the party, but it has high odds of KOing single party members, which makes the fight seem tough. For best results, go after the party member with the most HP and AC first, so that the party has more time to kill it.

Another way to make a tough fight is to give the PCs a guaranteed way out -- maybe they need to hold out for 1 minute against a horde, while their friends set up a ballista. Since they know ahead of time what they need to do to win, they can better plan.


On another note, how would you recommend handling experience? Tallying it up after every encounter seems like a lot of work, especially since Pathfinder removed xp costs for crafting items. I was considering just levelling everyone up at certain milestones, like they did in the SilverClawShift campaigns. Keeps everyone together and let's me plan easier.
Every GM handles XP differently. There should be a chart (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering) for how much xp each CR grants to a party of a specific level.

I personally grant xp for both encounters and roleplay. Encounters are anything where the party has overcome a challenge, whether that's environmental, a puzzle, or combat. In terms of roleplay, I grant xp based on both roleplay in general, and for actions where the character really emphasizes their alignment.

Here's an example from one of my sessions, where the party was lvl 5:

Session 16 complete; after checking back in with Grant, the party received an urgent request from Thanatos to go save Eros from the Temple of Selûne. Mira left on some important affair shortly after they arrived. Thanatos unexpectedly showed up to the temple. This caused the acolytes of Selûne to transform into wererats, and attack Thanatos (and Fleshcarver) on sight. Eventually the party found Eros under some ritual, and covered in green grubs. Attempting to haul her out caused the grubs to coalesce into a strange mantis-like aberration, and Helga to transform into a werebat. Zelgadis found himself feeling changed after his encounter with the aberration.

XP: Augustus: 600 for Helga, 300 roleplay, 300 for good alignment
Berethor: 325 for the acolytes, 200 roleplay
Fleshcarver: 325 for the acolytes, 400 roleplay, 400 for good alignment
Zelgadis: 600 for Helga, 400 roleplay, 300 for lawful alignment, 100 for neutral alignment

XP for the aberration to be granted next session. Finish the fight!
I scale the RP and alignment rewards to be roughly equal to the combat rewards, so the numbers would be smaller at lower levels. Of course, the amount of RP or combat in any given session could change the proportion. I typically have equal parts of both.

[BWR]

I think I have the basics down, I'm just worried about forgetting a rule that might change the outcome. I also don't really know how I'm supposed to display combat. I know they have miniatures and maps you can buy, but I would like a less expensive option, at least for now. Maybe a whiteboard? I'd probably have to keep re-sketching the grid every time I erase something.


Whiteboards work wonderfully. Make a permanent grid then use erasable markers for the rest. We also use dungeon tiles and old Hero Quest tiles, but the whiteboard is the easiest option. As for minis, extra dice if you have enough of them, otherwise just about anything works. Lego is wonderful and just the right size. Or you can just cut out squares of paper and write the name of the character/mosnter on them. Quick and easy.



I'm not very familiar with the PF bestiary, so I'm struggling to find adequate monsters for a part of level 1's. Does making your example a warrior (npc class) instead of a fighter bump his CR down any? I'd rather not have to resort to a series of 4-on-1 fights.
NPC classes are weaker, but at level 1 I'm not sure it means all that much. I wouldn't worry too much about getting the CR right at this level, just the challenge. The CR system is a bit whacked, but at low levels it's not too bad. Since everyone is new to this, I'd stick to simple combat at first - a few goblins or other CR <1 creatures, fewer in number than the PCs so they can get the feel for what the system does without there being too much danger. I'd avoid orcs right off the bat. Goblins are harder to hit, but orcs can easily kill level one characters (lots of hit points, and really nasty damage thanks to a lot of bonus damage and big crit range).


On another note, how would you recommend handling experience? Tallying it up after every encounter seems like a lot of work, especially since Pathfinder removed xp costs for crafting items. I was considering just levelling everyone up at certain milestones, like they did in the SilverClawShift campaigns. Keeps everyone together and let's me plan easier.

Whatever is easiest. Unless your players indicate that they dislike your suggested method, do what is easiest for you.

[Endon the White]

Excellent advice, thanks everyone for helping. So, I'm trying to solidify my plans for the first session. How does this sound, as an outline?

The players all meet in Greenwood, a small town on the far borders of a prosperous human nation, and very close to the Elven lands. Now, most of the guards have been called away to deal with a dispute far to the west, so Greenwood is a little undergarrisoned. Recently, trade from the elves has slowed to a trickle, and the Baron thinks that a small clan of goblins is to blame. Thusly, he offers a bounty of, say, 1000 gold to anyone willing to wipe them out. The players meet with the Baron and learn about the situation, and I drop hints about tension with the elves. I'll give them a chance to examine the town, hear rumors about a mysterious old man out in the woods, the conflict in the west, buy some crap, and so-on.

Then they set out. They have a ranger, so let's say I throw three goblins at them, and have the last one flee once his two friends are killed. Then the ranger can track him back to his hideout, and if that doesn't work, I'll put a map on one of the dead goblin's corpses. I might throw another encounter at them, probably something nature oriented, maybe a wolf? They make it to the hideout, which is a cave with a strong wooden door, and one lookout. I'll advise them to retreat aways and rest up, so they will have full hit-points the next day. Anyway, they should be able to break down the door, but they will alert the two goblins on the other side. I think I'll hide a key in a crack in the rock near the door and make it a very high spot check, and let them catch the goblins off guard. Anyway, they go through the (small) cave system, clearing out goblins, until they get to the command post/treasure room. There, we get a boss fight with one orc and two goblins as back up. They kill them, then get some modest loot that the bandits had stolen.

Once they pack up and leave the cave, they walk right into the bows of three Greenscouts (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/npc-s/npc-1/Kyonin-Greenscout), with animal companions. I know this is tricky, but I'll make sure to make it clear that they won't win this fight. Anyway, the lead scout beckons the two elves to come and talk to him, and leaves his two buddies to cover the two humans. I plan to actually send the human char's players away from the table, which should help solidify the distinction. Anyway, the scout asks the elves if they are here on orders from the military, and what they are doing, etc etc. Whether they lie or not, he will tell them to leave the area, ditch their humans friends, and bail. I need to get what he says exactly right, I want it to sound ominous. Anyway, then the elven players can decide what to share with the humans.

They all return to the Baron and explain what happens. I plan to level them all up to two at this point. How does it sound? Too long, too short, too risky? I don't know how many encounters should be in a party's day.

[Endon the White]

Also, I've been looking over the different races, and they all seem super uneven. Like, humans get one feat and extra skills, while elves and halflings get special abilities and bonus to like 6 or 7 stats/skills. Are they supposed to have all of those bonuses, or do I just pick one category?

[BWR]

Plot looks fine, but the proof is in the pudding - anything can look fine on paper, it's how you run it that matters.
Adding a map to a goblin might seem a bit too convenient - these are beings that probably can find their way back home without a map. However, since they came from home at one point, the ranger should be able to track them back that way. Don't worry about hand-waving it if he doesn't make the roll the first time, just say something like "you lose the trail and spend several boring, tedious hours finding it again and following it to their lair".

Encounters per day is iffy. If they are unfortunate and take a lot of damage in the first, a second will probably murder them. If they are lucky and wipe the floor in the first, you can send more. The dice can be unforgiving at low levels, where a single hit or miss can easily spell doom or success. Don't worry too much about planning everything in advance, just adjust to what happens in the game. The most important skill you can learn for running a game is how to react to the players and the situation at hand. Actually, there are a lot of most important skills, but this is one of them. The ability to think "given the current situation, what happens if X".

As for races, they are pretty well balanced. Humans are almost always the best because extra feat and skill points rock but the others are perfectly playable and work well. At least, we've never had any reason to complain. PF did a nice job of touching up the non-humans, especially the poor half-efl which was a joke of a race in 3.5 - the kind you played merely for flavor because the mechanics kind of sucked in comparison to others.


The most important thing to remember is fun. You are playing this for fun and if you think the rules are cumbersome or difficult, throw them out and think up something on the fly and have more fun. You'll make mistakes, probably lots of them. Your players will make mistakes. You acknowledge this and move on and keep having fun, doing better next time.

[Dingle100]

If you want to add class levels to monsters and create simple NPC's very quickly and easily you can use Dingle's Games Pathfinder NPC Generator (http://www.dinglesgames.com/tools/NPCGenerator/pathfinder/)
You can play about with the NPC's to create as many different types as you want, Guards, Archers, Pirates, etc..
The tool is free up to level 5, so you should get quite a lot of use before you need to upgrade your membership.
(The website belongs to me so I am a bit biased:smallsmile:)

[Lord of Shadows]

The players all meet in Greenwood, a small town on the far borders of a prosperous human nation, and very close to the Elven lands. Now, most of the guards have been called away to deal with a dispute far to the west, so Greenwood is a little undergarrisoned. Recently, trade from the elves has slowed to a trickle, and the Baron thinks that a small clan of goblins is to blame. Thusly, he offers a bounty of, say, 1000 gold to anyone willing to wipe them out. The players meet with the Baron and learn about the situation, and I drop hints about tension with the elves. I'll give them a chance to examine the town, hear rumors about a mysterious old man out in the woods, the conflict in the west, buy some crap, and so-on.

Reading this made me think about the "dispute far to the west," which could be a border skirmish with a neighboring Barony, or Duchy, or whatever. That conflict could be part of a larger, campaign-wide theme that may come into play later. Except that, perhaps that neighboring territory has become allied with the Elves... more on them in a bit.

Meanwhile, the Baron may tell the party that he thinks the reason that trade with the Elves has slowed is because of Goblins. He may not really know the reason why, or he may know (or suspect) something else and be lying. Blaming Goblins could be a smokescreen, or just to make it appear as though the Baron is doing something about the problem. Goblin activity in the area would make a convenient scapegoat, and perhaps - if the players do some research/inquiries - they will find out that Goblins have "been around" this border area for years and have always "caused problems." Perhaps they will even try to capture a Goblin to interrogate... or not, it doesn't really matter in the big picture, as foot soldier Goblins aren't likely to know too much.


Once they pack up and leave the cave, they walk right into the bows of three Greenscouts (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/npc-s/npc-1/Kyonin-Greenscout), with animal companions. I know this is tricky, but I'll make sure to make it clear that they won't win this fight. Anyway, the lead scout beckons the two elves to come and talk to him, and leaves his two buddies to cover the two humans. I plan to actually send the human char's players away from the table, which should help solidify the distinction. Anyway, the scout asks the elves if they are here on orders from the military, and what they are doing, etc etc. Whether they lie or not, he will tell them to leave the area, ditch their humans friends, and bail. I need to get what he says exactly right, I want it to sound ominous. Anyway, then the elven players can decide what to share with the humans.

They all return to the Baron and explain what happens. I plan to level them all up to two at this point. How does it sound? Too long, too short, too risky? I don't know how many encounters should be in a party's day.

This is where the rubber gets closest to the road. If your players are up to speed on what a Greenscout is (or even if they aren't, play up the fact that these are "elite" Elves), they may start to wonder why they are here. Hopefully, the light bulb will go on, and they will realize that there is Greenscout activity in the same area where Elven trade has fallen off, and Goblins - who have been a general menace for years - are being blamed for it. They should wonder, "What is really going on here?"

This is all stuff that may occur to them on this first "adventure," but don't give them any easy answers. The intrigue will keep some of their interest, and the head-bashing will keep the others. I leave up to you to figure out "what is really going on." And even if you do, don't be afraid to modify it along the way as needed.

[JusticeZero]

Tiers become a problem later. For the start, it won't be an issue. That's why things like E6 and E8 (P6 and P8 in your case) are popular - it shifts people into a broading skill base instead of an increasing power base at right around the time when the quadratic nature of the standard T1's is getting ready to explode.

I'd suggest you just do one adventure path at low level to start with, let people adjust their characters for the first couple sessions, and then when you hit the end, you can start contemplating the questions. By then, you'll have enough experience that you can better evaluate the other stuff out there. Your group will likely end up wanting to roll up different characters for the next campaign anyways; new players like to shuffle characters a lot for some reason.

[Endon the White]

Hey guys. My first session is later tonight, and I've been scrambling to try and prepare for it. I've been going over my proposed plans, and I need some advice for rewards. So, the WBL for a 2nd level char is 1000 gold. Assuming the bounty from the Baron is 1000 gold, that means each person needs 750 gold worth of loot from this little escapade. I figure I can account for half of that with gold, paintings, jewely, and other stuff from the bandit's loot stash. Masterwork items, apparently, are only 300 extra gold pieces, which would make them well within this adventure's expected payout. Would it make the orc too powerful if I gave him a masterwork sword and shield? It wouldn't make a ton of sense for him to just leave them laying around. I can give my ranger a masterwork bow, but what should I give to my sorcerer? Magic staffs are apparently super high level, and the only ring in the budget seems fairly useless.

I also had some questions about enhancement bonuses. Do they apply to a damage roll, an attack roll, or both? I googled and found this (http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2mz4v?Enhancement-bonuses-to-weapons-shields-and), but I don't understand his math. He says he has an enhancement bonus of 3, but the fighter only has a +2 longsword. Do longswords inherently have a +1 bonus, or am I missing something?

Also, how powerful are masterwork/magic items? I mean, it was a huge deal when Roy got his +5 Greatsword, but the PFSrd says that the bog-standard Orc has a +5 Falchion. How on earth is that possible? If I gave one of my guys, say, a +1 Flaming Longsword at second level, how much of a buff would that be?

[JusticeZero]

No, it won't be overpowering if an orc has a MW sword. It's only a small increase in difficulty. They don't have a "+5 Falchion", they have a falchion, and their various bonuses give them +5. (If they also had a falchion +5, they'd have +10.) A MW sword gives +1 to hit. A sword +1 gives +1 to hit and +1 to damage. A +5 sword gives +5 to hit and +5 to damage.

Looking at the example you posted, I think he just flubbed and said a sword +2 then ran the numbers as a sword +3. The math works if it's a sword +3.

A flaming sword +1 is a +2 weapon, meaning they have an 8,000 GP sword. It would be a LARGE buff, probably unbalancing.

As a note, I do not like to use orcs in adventures. It's not because I don't like the idea of the orc, but because of a game design issue. They do a lot of spike damage, so much that they can kill low level characters outright in one good roll, which is extremely frustrating and a fun-killer. By the time the party is durable enough to deal with that, orcs are a bit of a pushover, and I wouldn't use them anymore anyhow.

[Endon the White]

Hey all! So it's been a couple of weeks, and I thought I'd give you all an update. We've had three sessions so far. The first was an absolute mess, but we've all been doing better since, and the story is heating up. That said, I have some miscellaneous questions I could use your help with, as well as some planning for the next segment.

I thought I was going to type up a brief recap of what we've done so far, but then it turned out to be... less than brief. I put into a spoiler box below if anyone is actually interested, but beware, major wall of text.

The first session was terrible, as to be expected. It took much longer than I thought to finish character creation, and by the time we were done our Fight had to bail to get some sleep for football practice the next morning. I took the remaining three and set them off to kill some goblins. We didn't have legit dice, and it was a devil of a time remembering all the rules and modifiers. In a move of staggering stupidity, I sent three wolves against them. I know, I know, but I hadn't read through the CR guidelines and I didn't think a freaking wolf would be so badass. That fight stretched on forever, since the wolves had a very high AC that made them basically untouchable. Our spellcasters couldn't cast any spells without getting a vicious AoO, and I eventually just had them retreat.

The next session went much, much smoother. We basically decided to start completely over and give the previous scenario another try. Two of my players decided to change up their characters. My death cleric became a half-elven bard, and the fighter went with a Half-Orc Barbarian. Things went mostly as I planned, with them picking up a bounty from the Baron Greenwood to go clear out some bandits. They stopped by a tavern to get some local information, and it was hilarious seeing them fixate on the smallest of details. Anyway, I threw some goblins at them, and we did a little mini-dungeon crawl through some caves, until we got to the boss. Now, that did not go well, but I'm going to blame you guys for it! You were all talking about how scary orcs are and how nobody uses them because there spike damage is ungodly etc etc. And because of that, it wasn't until my one orc rolled dead last in the initiative order that I realized he only had 6 hp. Turns out, the Barbarian won initiative and would have dropped him in one hit. So naturally, I totally fudged the numbers and arbitrarily made my players miss to prolong the fight. I'm not proud of what I did, but I couldn't think of any other options. I had him drop two characters into the negatives before I let the Barbarian decapitate him.

After that, they rounded up a bunch of loot and exited the cave, where I sprang my Elven ambush. One benefit of making the Orc fight so tough was that half of my players were down to one hit point, and the rest weren't far off, which discourage any rash actions. Anyway, I pulled my Ranger aside and we had a fun, whispered conversation where I dropped hints that he should make tracks. To my surprise, they're initial reaction was to do exactly that. No talk of defending the town, or alerting the Baron, the first thing these guys did when they got back to Greenwood was split up so they could complete as many tasks as possible and get out of there. However, my Sorcerer was sent to claim the bounty, and he told the Baron all about the Elven rangers. The Baron thanked him and said he might have another job for them if they came back tomorrow morning. I ended the session by giving them all a level up, to level 2.

The third session started with them approaching the Baron the next morning. We had a cool little RP moment where the Baron and his commanders asked my Elven Ranger and Half-Elven Bard which side they were on. They both affirmed their loyalty, and then the Baron told them the job: infiltrate a nearby elven town and determine if an attack was forthcoming. My players got really creative here, actually. I'd already established that the Elven Empire were slave-holders, so they decided to have the Ranger ride his horse into town, with the other three following behind them in chains. I threw a random encounter at them on the way there, a few bandits demanding toll on the road. I thought for sure they were going to throw down, but the Barbarian just intimidated them into lowering the price, then they simply paid it and moved on. When they got to the town, they bought a room on the second-floor of a local tavern, and started scoping the place out. I wanted them to think they were going to walk into an armed encampment, but the actual town was completely normal. They were puzzled by that, and started gathering information. They asked the local blacksmiths if there had been a large order of weapons, inquired at taverns, etc. I told them that the town was very small, and on the fringe of the Empire, but a great Elven lord from much farther East had suddenly and inexplicably come to visit. The local Duke will be throwing a massive ball in his honor, 3 nights hence, and all Nobles within 100 miles of the town were coming to attend. My players decided to camp out and case the local keep for three days, then infiltrate the ball.

At this point, some previous world-building I had done came back to bite me, hard. At the end of the second session, I was trying to encourage my players to stand against the Empire, so I said that the elves were super racist, and they despised half-breeds. Logically, however, that meant they would not be welcome in an elite, high-class ball. My players decided on their own to leave the Barbarian and Bard back at the tavern, while the Ranger and the Sorcerer sneaked into the Keep. Unfortunately, that meant I would have two players sitting around doing nothing while the others got to go on a fun escapade. So I split the party. I sent the Ranger and the Sorcerer into another room and told them to watch TV for a bit, and sat down with the ones stuck in the Tavern.

The Barbarian and Bard were eyeing me very suspiciously, since they thought I was going to go into the other room. I sit down, and the first thing I say is
"So, you guys are just sleeping, right? You didn't set a watch, or rest in turns, or anything? Just chilling out on the floor?"
Man, the look on their faces! :smalleek::smalleek: comes pretty close, but still doesn't do it justice. Fortunately, they had already established that they were keeping a chair leaned up under the door knob. So I have them roll Perception checks, and tell them they are having restful, blissful sleep when they fail. They start to panic. Eventually, the Bard rolls high enough, I tell him he hears a faint scraping sound. He wakes up and sees that the door is unlocked, and someone in the hall outside is pushing the door against the chair, moving it slightly every time. The Bard kicks the Barbarian awake, and they have a whispered conference, while the guys outside keep pushing on the door. Then this happens:
Bard: I grab my flute, and start playing it quietly.
Me: Wait, seriously?
Bard: Yeah. I start playing my flute.
Me: Hang on, these guys are trying to break into your room, and you want to start playing your flute?
Bard: Yeah, maybe they'll just go away.
Me: ...
Me: You start softly playing your flute. For a moment, the scraping sound stops as the men pause outside your door. And then the door is suddenly kicked off it's hinges as two cloaked figures charge in, brandishing swords!
Heheh. Anyway, two of the aforementioned Greenscouts charge in, and we roll initiative. They manage to drop one, and knock the other unconscious. The Inn starts waking up, and they begin to realize how bad this is going to look for them. As people come running down their hall to investigate the commotion, they kick out their window and climb down, dragging the unconscious Greenscout with them. They start booking it to the nearest exit, a sally port on the eastern side of the city. A bored City Guard is standing watch there, but the Bard casts flare and the Barbarian knocks him unconscious. They open the gate and slip out, as alarm bells start ringing behind them.

Meanwhile, the Sorcerer and Ranger start making their way to the Keep. During the three day waiting period, they had gone to a tailor and gotten some expensive clothes made. A lot of foreign nobles had been invited, and the guards at the gate are having trouble processing them all. The Ranger makes a stealth check to get by, while the Sorcerer Bluffs a guard into letting him in. Inside the keep, there is a big courtyard full of mingling elven nobility, and then the local lords mansion, where the real party is. They stop by the keep's blacksmith, who tells them a lot of shifty looking elves have come in with the visiting noble. Elves with bows and green cloaks. They thanks the blacksmith and proceed to the main ball. Elven couples are dancing in this massive, complex formation while the (visiting and hosting) lords look on from a raised platform at the end of the hall. My players decide to send the sneaky Ranger upstairs, to see if he can break into the local noble's private office, while the Sorcerer stays in the ballroom (by the food bar, naturally) and watches out for trouble. They stay in contact with the Message spell (which, in hindsight, I was far too lenient with). The Ranger manages to make his way past the guards with a combination of bluff and persuade, and gets access to the lord's office. There, another Greenscout is waiting for him. They have an absolutely brutal knife fight in the office, and the Sorcerer intervenes. He summons a Bloody Human Skeleton in the middle of the ballroom and sends it at the Lord's bodyguards, then bolts up the stairs while the party turns into a riot. He bluffs the guards with ye old "Quick, something is attacking down there! Go help Lord Threlsin!", and races into help finish off the Greenscout. They find a vault behind a painting in his office, and after totally smashing it, orders from the Emperor himself ordering Lord Threlsin to assist the visiting Lord in any way possible, and to not ask questions. There is also a record of all the retainers and hanger-ons that came with the visiting noble, including but not limited to bodyguards, cooks, blacksmiths, stableboys, washerwomen... and 100 of the Emperor's Greenscouts.

They snag the papers and race out of the office and down a hallway, as the sound of racing boots echoes up the stair well. The hallway leads to a bunch of smaller rooms, and ends with a large floor-to-ceiling window. They shatter it, and then try to climb down, with the Sorcerer clinging to the Ranger's back. I give them a very steep DC, and the Ranger can't make it. They fall twenty feet and eat 2d6 damage. Both of them are still up though, and they race around the building back into the main courtyard. The Elven nobility are spooked, looking alarmed and shouting to each other as City Guards start to fill the area, along with a couple green-cloaked rangers. In a flash of genius, the Sorc summons another Bloody Human Skeleton near the entrance to the mansion, and the crowd panics, running away from it toward the main gate. My players blend in with the fleeing socialites and make it outside just before the portcullis closes. Once outside, they hear the sound of alarm bells ringing through the night. They race to the Inn to pick up the others, and find it completely engulfed in flame. They run behind to the stables to try and find their horse, but discover that every one of the horse's throats have been slit. They manage to dodge a sneak attack from another Greenscout, who wields a blade that's dripping red. They manage to dispatch him, but both of them are running low on hit points. A pair of city guards round the corner and spot them, and they bail, running for the sally port. They turn the corner of a building and find 3 more guardsmen at the entrance to the gate, leaning over what looks like an unconscious guard. The other two guards are hot in pursuit, and the Sorc and Ranger think they're facing the bullets...

When I call the Bard and Barbarian back into the room. Together, they manage to finish off the guards, and disappear through the gate and out into the woods, along with an unconscious Greenscout.


So, I think we're doing pretty well so far, and I'm starting to get the hang of the system, at least when it comes to combat. I'm still making some bad slip-ups (Wait, you mean I should be imposing penalties on a Bluff check if a story is hard to swallow? Uhh...), but I can mostly manage, at least so far. However, I am running into a couple issues. Most of them have to do with my players, so I thought I'd cover them one by one.

So, Darkeye is my Half-Orc Barbarian. This guy is living proof that the tier system doesn't really apply to low levels. I gave him a mwk greatsword, and that was definitely a mistake, because now he is one-shotting most of what I'm throwing at him. Part of that is because I prefer to throw many weak opponents at them rather than have a bunch of 4-on-1's, but I've definitely had to come up with a lot of descriptions for how a greatsword can kill someone. Apparently I use the word 'cleave' to much. Anyway, there is one rule I'm a little confused about. In the Combat Guidelines, it says that a two-handed attack adds 1.5 you're strength modifier. Does that only apply to one handed weapons used in two hands, because that seems a little much? My Barbarian has a Strength mod of 4, which 1.5 of is 6, which would mean a Strength score of 10, which seems absurdly high.

Also, I've found that he doesn't have a lot to do outside of combat, besides intimidate people. I know that Barbarians are very much a WYSIWIG class, but do you guys have any ideas to help draw him in to the more social aspects of the game?

Kylar is my Elven Ranger, and he's been really shining so far as our skill monkey. He's an archer, and does a lot of damage, second only to Darkeye. Level ups have been kind of thin for him so far, but I know he really takes off starting at 4th level, when he gets spells and Truffles the Grizzly Bear. Basically, he's useless in melee combat unless he takes the Weapon Finesse feat, right? And he can't duel wield without two Weapon Fighting, or at least can't be good with it, correct?

Diamondor, or "Dime" is my Half-Elf Bard. Man, this guy has an identity crisis. He keeps changing his character concept ever five minutes, and it's made his character very unfocused so far. He says he is specializing in Flutes and acrobatics, though so far he hasn't made a single Performance check. I can't really blame him, as they haven't fought a spellcaster yet, but a Bard that doesn't perform is just kind of a lame rogue, at least from what I can tell. He started off wanting a Rapier, but then he switched to a Scimitar because he wanted to get the Dervish Dance feat, and now he as a Duelling Sword for some reason. So far, he hasn't been able to contribute much to the party, besides the odd CLW. I know very little about Bards, so do any of you have any tips I can give him? I'm not looking for anything super optimized, just enough to make him useful.

Draythar is my Human Sorcerer, with the Draconic Bloodline. He has been my best RPer so far, mostly because he grew up in the town of Greenwood and knows most of the people there. Anyway, he was pretty useless in our first escapade, but now that he has access to more spells, he's starting to use them in fun and creative ways. For instance, he has the Kylar tie a vial of oil to his arrow, shoot a guard, then he casts Spark on him to ignite the oil, doing fire damage. He is still very limited in the amount of spells he can use, and he gets frustrated when he is in melee and has to eat an AoO every time he wants to cast a spell. Level ups for him have been extremely thin so far, and it doesn't look like that is going to change much. Maybe it's just me, but the Sorcerer class seems to be only half-finished. Are there any guidelines for spells known? It seems like he can just pick any spell off the list, no matter what school it's in. That many choices is kind of overwhelming. He has the opposite problem with feats, however. All the guides I've read recommend meta-magic feats, but most of them seem to make a spell several Caster Level's higher, which of course doesn't help him. What are some handy, baseline feats that he should get?

I'm having trouble finding good loot to give him. I can always give the others masterwork weapons/armors, but most magical gear seems to be out of his league. I know the most basic staff is like 1,500 gold, which would basically be his entire fortune. Maybe I should start leaving potions around, but those aren't exclusively useful to him. Any ideas?

I also had a couple other, miscellaneous questions, mostly to do with magic. For instance, when a spell is cast, it goes against the target's AC unless it's a touch spell, right? If it does damage, do you add any modifiers, like the casting stat? Concentration checks are only necessary is you get interrupted, not every time, correct?

Also, if monsters have multiple attacks listed, do they get to use them all in one round? Like, can a Crocodile bite and smack someone with his tail in one round?

Thanks for your patience guys, I really appreciate having a knowledgeable resource to turn to as I try and learn to be a decent GM.

[Flashy]

In a move of staggering stupidity, I sent three wolves against them. I know, I know, but I hadn't read through the CR guidelines and I didn't think a freaking wolf would be so badass. That fight stretched on forever, since the wolves had a very high AC that made them basically untouchable. Our spellcasters couldn't cast any spells without getting a vicious AoO, and I eventually just had them retreat.

Were you giving the wolves their free trip attempts on every attack? If so, I'm kind of impressed the players got away...

As far as dealing with drawing your barbarian into social interactions I honestly wouldn't worry about it too much. He doesn't have the skill points or base stats to be any good at it, and you've got a bard. Social interaction is like 80% of what they're for. Let the barbarian play the character he feels comfortable with (at least for the time being) and maybe start thinking about trying to draw him more out of his shell as you get to mid levels. Since everyone's a first timer give them some time to find their feet as players.

Advice for the bard would probably have to be that the bread and butter of his game experience will not take place in combat. He may not be able to contribute as much damage as the other players but he's good at LITERALLY EVERYTHING ELSE. Skill checks, social interactions, being able to make a hilariously large amount of money from perform checks any time the party is resting anywhere remotely civilized; these are the things he has to love doing if he really wants to be a bard, and not a rogue/sorcerer multiclass. Particularly the social interaction. It's honestly a pretty different style of play from what the rest of the party is doing.

Also, I haven't played pathfinder (only 3.5) and I'm not sure if the execution of the animal companion is different but in D&D you're limited to a list of what animal companions you're allowed at a particular level. A ranger wouldn't be allowed a bear of any kind until level seven and wouldn't be allowed a grizzly until level ten.

As far as loot goes the recommendations in the 3.5 DM guide there are a series of charts with suggested ways to divide up encounter loot. Using these charts as a general guideline the incoming wealth should be split almost entirely between straight gold, gems, valuable art and mundane items (mixed with a few low value potions, scrolls and sometimes wands) clear through level four. A magic item in the same general range as the average staff doesn't appear on the table period until level five, when they're still supposed to be incredibly rare.

If you want to give the sorcerer a piece of equipment specific to him what about a wand with a mid-range utilitarian spell that he already knows (so he doesn't need ranks in use magic device)?

[VexingFool]

In the Combat Guidelines, it says that a two-handed attack adds 1.5 you're strength modifier. Does that only apply to one handed weapons used in two hands, because that seems a little much? My Barbarian has a Strength mod of 4, which 1.5 of is 6, which would mean a Strength score of 10, which seems absurdly high.

Not sure what you mean by a Strength score of 10. Barbarian has a Str-18(+4), when swinging his greatsword he does 2d6+6 damage. When he rages his Strength goes to 22(+6) and his greatsword does 2d6+9. If the barbarian has power attack he can take a -1 penalty to his attack roll and do an extra 3 damage with the greatsword. A power attacking raging barbarian does 2d6+12 dmg.

Two-handed weapons and one-handed weapons used with two hands get the 1.5x Strength modifier. Power attack also stipulates that the damage is increased for using a weapon with two hands. Normally power attack grants 2 damage for a-1 to hit penalty, but increases to 3 damage when using a weapon with 2 hands.

Also, I've found that he doesn't have a lot to do outside of combat, besides intimidate people. I know that Barbarians are very much a WYSIWIG class, but do you guys have any ideas to help draw him in to the more social aspects of the game?
The tier system is not just about combat but also about being able to overcome problems outside of combat. As you have seen the barbarian is very good in combat, especially at lower levels, but does not have much to do outside of combat. Are you using Traits? Traits can be a good way for characters to pick up a skill they normally would not have access to.

Kylar is my Elven Ranger, and he's been really shining so far as our skill monkey. He's an archer, and does a lot of damage, second only to Darkeye. Level ups have been kind of thin for him so far, but I know he really takes off starting at 4th level, when he gets spells and Truffles the Grizzly Bear. Basically, he's useless in melee combat unless he takes the Weapon Finesse feat, right? And he can't duel wield without two Weapon Fighting, or at least can't be good with it, correct?
If he dumped strength then yes he’s pretty close to useless in melee combat without picking up weapon finesse. If I was him I would just focus on the ranged and let Truffles go in and melee. Eventually he can pick up point-blank master which allows him to use his bow in melee without provoking AoO’s. Until then 5ft step is his friend. Also if he is going to send his bear into melee he should look at the Boon companion feat at 5th level.

I know very little about Bards, so do any of you have any tips I can give him? I'm not looking for anything super optimized, just enough to make him useful.
If he picks a concept that he will stick to I can offer some advice but for now it sounds like he doesn’t know what he wants. In the meantime buff the party with inspire courage, do a little crowd control with spells and flank with the barbarian to increase both their chances to hit.

Draythar is my Human Sorcerer … gets frustrated when he is in melee and has to eat an AoO every time he wants to cast a spell. Level ups for him have been extremely thin so far, and it doesn't look like that is going to change much.
If a spell is one that he does not have to be close to the target he should take a 5ft step. 5ft steps do not provoke attacks of opportunity and allow spellcasters to move out of range of some attacks so they can cast spells.

If he cannot move out of the way or needs to be close, say to use burning hands, he can try to cast defensively. Casting defensively does not provoke AoO’s but if you fail to make your concentration check you lose the spell. To cast defensively you must make a concentration check which is D20+Caster level + Casting Stat modifier vs. 15 + (2 x level of spell). So a 2nd-level sorcerer with CHA 18(+4) casting burning hands defensively would roll a d20+2(caster level)+4(casting stat mod) vs DC=17.

If he is casting touch attack spells he can cast the spell before he moves into combat and then deliver the spell as a free action. So say he wants to hit a guy with shocking grasp he can cast the spell(standard action), move into melee range(move action) and then deliver the touch attack(free action).

Maybe it's just me, but the Sorcerer class seems to be only half-finished. Are there any guidelines for spells known? It seems like he can just pick any spell off the list, no matter what school it's in. That many choices is kind of overwhelming. He has the opposite problem with feats, however. All the guides I've read recommend meta-magic feats, but most of them seem to make a spell several Caster Level's higher, which of course doesn't help him. What are some handy, baseline feats that he should get?
One of the best first level combat spells is Color Spray another good spell to have is Grease.

Some good feats that aren’t metamagic: Toughness, Improved Initiative and Combat Casting if you find yourself casting in melee a lot. Since he is a Dragon blooded sorcerer he might look into spell specialization which does require spell focus.

I'm having trouble finding good loot to give him. I can always give the others masterwork weapons/armors, but most magical gear seems to be out of his league. I know the most basic staff is like 1,500 gold, which would basically be his entire fortune. Maybe I should start leaving potions around, but those aren't exclusively useful to him. Any ideas?
Wands with a few charges on them, scrolls, potions or various alchemical items. Maybe some bracers of armor.

I also had a couple other, miscellaneous questions, mostly to do with magic. For instance, when a spell is cast, it goes against the target's AC unless it's a touch spell, right? If it does damage, do you add any modifiers, like the casting stat? Concentration checks are only necessary is you get interrupted, not every time, correct?
Most spells do not require a roll to hit. AoE spells like burning hands, color spray, sleep or grease hit everything in the Area of effect , then the creatures in the area make saving throws to avoid the effects of the spell. Touch spells and rays that require to-hit rolls go against the targets touch AC and generally do not give a saving throw. Other spells have a specific target like charm person or hold person these do not require a to-hit roll but the target gets a save to resist them.

Spells generally do not add anything to damage other than what is outlined in the spell. Since your player is a Draconic bloodline sorcerer he gets to add +1 damage for each die rolled on spells that match his bloodlines energy type. So if he was a level-2 gold dragon bloodline sorcerer and cast burning hands he would do 2d4+2 damage to everything in the AoE. At 3rd level he would do 3d4+3 and cap out at 5d4+5 at level-5.

Concentration checks are not required every time you cast a spell. Concentration checks are required if you take ongoing damage, are interrupted, are casting defensively or have some other condition such as entangled that interferes with your spell.

Also, if monsters have multiple attacks listed, do they get to use them all in one round? Like, can a Crocodile bite and smack someone with his tail in one round?
Monsters and players can only make all their attacks if they have not moved in that round, this is called the Full attack action. You can take a single 5ft step and still make a Full attack. If a monster moves it generally uses its single best attack. Some monsters such as lions and tigers get pounce which allows them to get all their attacks when they charge.

[Endon the White]

Cool, thanks for the help everyone.

Now, I could use some fun idea's for my next session. My players recently caused a ruckus in an Elven city, and are now running for their lives, with a captive elven ranger in tow. They made it outside of the city, but there's 6 miles of pretty dense forest between them and their home base, and about 10 Greenscouts coming after them like the hounds of hell. I was thinking of having a cool chase sequence, using the rules outlined here. (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/other-rules/chases) I think I get the basic picture, but I need some ideas for obstacles and hazards to throw at them. I know I can have them ford rivers and jump off cliffs, but what other things can hurt you while running through a forest in the middle of the night? I want to use a variety of skill checks, climb, acrobatics, swim, strength, etc.

I also had another idea I've been toying with. My elven ranger is a deserter from the Greenscouts, and he should be familiar with their hunting signals and tracking protocols. I was thinking that if he rolled high enough on his Perception, he could hear and interpret the ranger's bird calls to each other. I use facebook messages for private communication with my players, and I could send him "Tracks found, targets likely west of x landmark". Since we'll be tracking the chase on our combat grid, I'd let them put down markers for where they think the enemy scouts are, and try to avoid them. Sound good?