Boxing Up the Pathfinder RPG

Like many gamers, my first experience in "gamer" game (y'know, anything beyond the games most families would have laying about) was Dungeon & Dragons. I was invited to join an afterschool D&D club during my freshman year of High School back in late '79. I bought the Basic Set (the one with the wizard and knight taking on the fearsome Red Dragon, with the blue rulebook) and was off on a multitude of fantastic adventures.

It's been years since I've played in an RPG. I like RPGs, but really don't have the time to participate in an ongoing game and, frankly, finding a good Dungeon Master is not an easy task. Over the years I've tried a couple times to get back into D&D (mid-90s) but couldn't get a consistent group going, and dabbled in WOTC's Star Wars RPG...but found it very uninspiring.

I've kept an eye on Paizo's Pathfinder RPG for the past couple of years. While I had my store I carried their original Pathfinder Adventure Path products and was very impressed by the quality. As they moved towards creating their own RPG system with the release of the Pathfinder Core Rulebook at Gen Con a couple years back I remained curious about it.

I've always meant to pick up the Core Rulebook, but funds were always needed elsewhere. I'm a sucker for rulebooks, whether I'll play the game or not, and the Core Rulebook looked fantastic. But, again, limited gaming funds were needed more for the games I was actually playing.

But now Paizo has just announced the Pathfinder RPG Beginner Box, and I'm feeling that siren call once again. This boxed set, expected around October 2011, contains the following:

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

For an expected MSRP of $34.99 that's a pretty darn good deal. I'm going to keep my eye on this and we'll see come October if I give in the allure of the Pathfinder RPG Beginner Box.