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Hi guys! Newbs, I know that the Pathfinder rules can look an Advanced¹ Giant² Owlbear³ sometimes, especially if you've joined a group of people who might know more than you but don't quite know enough about the game to fully explain it to you. But don't fear! We're here to help.

This subreddit is filled to the brim with grognards⁴ like me who have loaded our brains full of ultimately useless knowledge about a ruleset for a dice game about pretending to be Sorcerers⁵ or knights in shining armor.

Today, I (and I hope my fellow master Pathfinders, too) hope to share that collective knowledge with anyone who is confused, confounded, or just curious about the Pathfinder ruleset. So, ask away, and remember, there are no dumb questions!

Hey guys, if you're answering someone's question in this thread, please be patient with them. This is the No Dumb Questions Thread, not the Lure Newbs in with Promises of a No Dumb Questions Thread and Then Clobber Them with Ridicule and Resentment Thread. Also, if you can, please provide links to the d20pfsrd, Archives of Nethys, or Paizo PRD websites so the questioner can read more about the subject.

FOOTNOTES:

1: Advanced is a type of Template^a that increases all of the creature's ability scores by 4. In addition, this template increases the creature's Natural Armor^c by 2.

a: A template is a modifier applied to monsters to increase their Challenge Rating, a metric that allows the GM to determine how large of a challenge the monster might be for the party)
b: Ability Scores are a creature's base six attributes: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.
c: Natural Armor bonuses are a type of Armor Classⁱ bonus that represents the toughness of a creature's hide or other natural armor.

i: Armor Class is one of the core metrics of the Pathfinder combat system. It combines bonuses from a number of different influences (like the type of armor a character is wearing, a character's Dexterity modifier, and whether or not a character is using a shield) into a static number that enemies roll against in order to hit a character.

2: Giant is another template. This template increases the creature's Strength and Constitution by 2, and increases its Size Category^a by 1.

a: Size Category is a grouping system of 9 individual categories (Fine, Diminutive, Tiny, Small, Medium, Large, Huge, Gargantuan, and Colossal) that indicate the general size of a creature, and confer bonuses and penalties to that creature depending on its size.

3: An Owlbear is a Magical Beast^a that was made in the past by a mad Wizard^b who combined an Owl and Bear into a fierce guardian creature.

a: Magical Beast is one of the 12 basic classifications for creatures in the game, called Creature Types; Magical Beasts are often known for their enhanced natural senses, may or may not have sapient intellects, and are generally physically formidable.
b: A Wizard is one of the 11 Core Classesⁱ in Pathfinder. It is an Arcaneⁱⁱ 9th-level spell progressionⁱⁱⁱ caster^iv class that has a Spell List^v which it shares with the Sorcerer class. The Wizard is widely considered to be one of the most powerful classes in the game due to its extremely versatile Spell List, and its ability to potentially learn any spell on its list due to the fact that it prepares^vi its spells rather than casting spontaneously^vii. Wizards gain power through study and knowledge, and use Intelligence to determine the strength of their spells.

i: A Core Class is a class that was released in Pathfinder's Core Rulebook, which contains the most essential elements of the game rules and is the only Pathfinder rulebook that a group can't play the game without.
ii: Arcane casting is a type of spell casting that is drawn from inner strength, such as Wizardly training, or Sorcerous bloodlines. The strength of an Arcane caster's magic is almost always determined by their Intelligence, with few exceptions. Arcane spellcasters struggle to cast their spells in armor, because Arcane spellcasting requires absolute mobility in order to form specific hand signs during the casting of a spell. This is known as the Arcane Spell Failure chance, and it is why you'll rarely, if ever, see an Arcane spellcaster in heavy armor. The other two types of casting are Divine and Occult.
iii: 9th-level spell progression is the most advanced type of spell progression in Pathfinder. Pathfinder's spells are broken up into 10 power tiers or "spell levels", ranked in power from 0 to 9. The weaker casters have access to spell levels to spell levels 1 through 4 and are called 4th-casters, though they often also have access to potent training with weapons and armor. More powerful spellcasters have access to spell levels 0 though 6, and are called 6th-casters. These casters may or may not have some training with weapons and armor, and those that do are called Gishes. Finally, the most powerful spellcasters, 9th-casters have access to all spell levels, though they almost never have access to training with weapons and armor (with the exception being Divine casters, who pull their strength from a God's blessing or their own faith).
iv: Casters are classes that possess a Caster Level. A Caster Level denotes the strength of that casters magic. Caster Levels are gained, usually one-for-one, by taking levels in casting classes such as Wizard. Caster Level is used to determine a number of things, from how many creatures a caster's spells can effect, to how long a spell lasts, and even determines the amount of damage their spells do. Caster Levels from different spellcasting classes do not stack, or add up together, which is why most spellcasters stick to one spellcasting class.
v: Spell Lists are the groups of spells which a certain class has access to. A Wizard may only cast from his Wizard Spell List, for example.
vi: Prepared casting is a typing of casting in Pathfinder. Prepared casters have fewer spells per day (that is, the number of spells they may cast on any given day), and to cast their spells they must first prepare them by studying their spellbook, praying to their God, or otherwise communing with the repository of their spell knowledge for one hour. After doing so, they select the spells which they want to cast that day. They must specify exactly how many times they want to cast a certain spell, and may not cast it more times than they have it prepared. After casting a prepared spell, that spell is gone for the day and must be prepared again the next day. A prepared caster may pay to learn new spells. vi: Spontaneous casting, on the other hand, permits casters to sling spells without preparing them, so long as they still have spell slots (or spells per day) in the Spell Level from which they want to cast a spell. However, spontaneous casters can only learn a limited number of spells, and can never learn more than those given to them by their class.

4: Grognard is a term for an extremely experienced tabletop nerd who may or may not be attached to the old way of doing things. Be careful to only use that word with veteran dorks who you know and love, because it can be seen as a little bit offensive if used in the wrong context.

5: A Sorcerer is an Arcane spontaneous casting 9th-level spell progression caster that shares its Spell List with the Wizard class. Sorcerers use Charisma to determine the strength of their spells. They draw their strength from their bloodline, usually because an ancestor had a child with a powerful creature such as a Demon or a Dragon.

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