What Is Pathfinder and How Do You Start Playing It?

Updated

Pathfinder is a fantasy tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG) in which one player acts as the Game Master (GM) and the others each control a single character, typically an adventurer exploring the world of Golarion. You can start with the Core Rulebook, a set of polyhedral dice, and a character sheet, then either run a game for friends or join an existing group through the Pathfinder Society organised play programme. The sections below cover what the game is, what you need, and how UK players can find a table.

What Pathfinder actually is

Pathfinder is a cooperative storytelling game rather than a board game with a fixed winner. The GM describes situations and controls everyone who is not a player character; the players describe what their characters attempt, roll dice when the outcome is uncertain, and the GM applies the rules to decide what happens. Play usually runs in sessions of a few hours, and a single story can span one evening or a campaign of many months.

The default setting is Golarion, a fantasy world that supports everything from dungeon crawls to political intrigue. The rules are published by Paizo, and the wider Pathfinder line includes adventures, supplements, and organised play scenarios.

Pathfinder and Starfinder

Starfinder is a related game from the same publisher. It shares much of Pathfinder's underlying approach but moves the setting into a science-fantasy universe. If your group prefers starships and alien species to swords and sorcery, Starfinder is the parallel option, and the two games are often played by the same communities.

What you need to begin

You do not need a large collection to start. A typical first game needs:

  • The Core Rulebook — the main rules for creating characters and resolving actions.
  • A set of polyhedral dice — commonly d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20, plus a percentile die.
  • A character sheet — one per player, recording abilities, skills, hit points, and equipment.
  • Something to write with and a surface to play on — paper maps or a grid mat help once combat starts, but are not strictly required for a first session.

One person takes the GM role. If nobody wants to run a long campaign immediately, a short published adventure or a single scenario is a lower-commitment way to learn the rules together.

How organised play works

The Pathfinder Society is the game's organised play programme: a shared campaign in which players can bring the same character to different tables, at conventions, clubs, or local stores, and have the results count. This is the usual route for someone who does not already have a home group.

The same model applies to Starfinder through the Starfinder Society Roleplaying Guild, described as a worldwide science fantasy campaign. Organised play is also where special content appears: at game conventions, Starfinder GM boons have offered alternative alien races for play, distributed according to where the game takes place in the real world.

Following an ongoing story

Organised play campaigns have long-running plots that players influence. One example from the Pathfinder Society is the Scarab Sages, a faction that replaced the older Osirion faction. Its premise was to recover gemstone artifacts holding the memories of long-dead sages, recruit strong minds to host those memories, and revive the ancient order of Jeweled Sages. The faction's story moved toward a decisive outcome shaped by player results.

Factions can also change status between seasons. In Season 8, Pathfinders travelled the elemental planes and encountered a group called the Concordance of Elements; that group later became an ally and began recruiting as a new faction. Following these developments is part of the appeal of organised play, because the outcomes depend on what players do at the table.

Finding games in the UK

Pathfinder and Starfinder activity in the UK runs through conventions, local clubs, and games shops. PaizoCon UK is a games convention for Pathfinder and Starfinder players and a source of information on activity in the UK; its news covers organised play developments, faction storylines, and Starfinder's spread into UK venues.

Starfinder in particular reached UK conventions and local clubs in a big way in the autumn following its release, after rules sold out in most games shops, and it is played and demonstrated at most UK games conventions and local games groups. If you are looking for a table, a convention is often the easiest entry point because games are scheduled and run for newcomers.

A practical way to start

  1. Decide whether you want fantasy (Pathfinder) or science fantasy (Starfinder).
  2. Get the core rules and dice, or borrow them at a convention table.
  3. Look for a Pathfinder Society or Starfinder Society event at a UK convention, club, or shop, and ask to join a beginner-friendly scenario.
  4. If you would rather play with friends, pick up a short adventure and take turns running the game.

The main obstacle for new players is usually finding a GM rather than learning the rules, which is why organised play events exist: they supply both the GM and the table.