I am a pretty easy-going DM, I expect you come to have fun, not to sweat out life. I don’t like to kill off my characters, but I will test you to the point of death, to make the game interesting and if you do something stupid then you could die. I once had a character, in my game, face a random encounter; a grizzly bear. He was a fighter and charged the bear with no armor on, sure he inflicted a little damage on the bear, but the bear ended up killing him. As Forest Gump would say; “Stupid is as stupid does.” I let him be brought back though. Death has always been a factor in the game, and it should be so; therefore play with that in mind, but you can be assured that I am not going to try and kill you at least not until you reach 10th level or so.
I have boosted the Player races to 20 racial points, but that is for player characters only so you have an advantage over the rest of the world, but then you are heroes and so you should be a cut above the average person. You get a 20-point buy, (high fantasy) which makes you a cut above anyone else in the world. You get average hit points and the monsters you face will get maximum hit points, however they will have lower stats than you. This may seem like the odds are stacked against you, but that is not true, you can rise above the odds if you work together as a party.
I expect you to work together, to trust each other and to support each other. I also expect you to not separate your forces too often, you do so at your own peril. The game is designed to offer matches for your combined Average Party Level (APL). If you go running off on your own, then you might just meet more than you can handle. That doesn’t mean I don’t want you to scout your targets, you need to use every advantage you can think of. Just if you risk going off on your own don’t be surprised if you find a monster you can’t handle.
Running away is always an option, but I realize that you came to play, and true heroes don’t run. On the other hand, true heroes also often die for what they believe in. The smart heroes know when they are out matched and out-think their opponents. They also know if it is the time to run away. You can’t win every encounter, but you can out-think the situation. I always make sure that there is a way to win, but I never plan on how you win. You need to figure that out on your own.
I am the kind of DM who likes to plan and set my strategy and tactics up before the game. I am highly organized, and I try to take advantage of that. So, 90% of the time I have my response planned out prior to your meeting the problem. That means you can plan and discuss your strategy in front of me and I won’t be changing my tactics to respond to exactly what you are planning. I am not that petty of a DM. Remember, that you have the power of synergy; multiple minds planning can come up with a better solution than only one mind. You have that advantage so make full use of it. I won’t penalize you for it, in fact I expect it.
I like to think that the characters in my world are a cut above the average person, but you have a journey to get there. Some people populate their worlds with only 0-1st level NPCs. Others insist on having adventurers at every corner, so you are almost always outmatched. In my game about 75% of the NPCs you meet will be normal people of 1st level. A good 15% will have levels 1-10, and 10% will be of higher levels. A ruler is not necessarily a high-level adventurer, and a lot of high-level characters want nothing more than to retire. Then there are those few high-level NPCs who go bad and end up being the big problems that need to be faced down. Know that there are Gods and a few high-level NPCs who will be more powerful than you, but as you advance in level fewer and fewer people will be of that caliber.
As a player character you start with no reputation, but you could and probably will build one as you adventure. A reputation is a double-edged sword. If you have a reputation, then people will know about you and about some of your abilities. I don't like to plan NPCs that counter a PC, but sometimes that happens, be aware of it and know that I am not going to try and counter your build, whatever it might be. I am not a sadist. However, if you attack an outpost of evil and leave before finishing it then you can expect the forces there to reinforce, maybe even try to research who attacked them.
Any alignment is allowed, but I do have a few problems with evil and CN alignments please see the article on Alignments.
I am not fond of power gaming, but optimizing your build is part of the game. Just don't feel you have to optimize your build to the point where it impacts how well you can roleplay your character. For example stupid adventures; those with a 6 or less Int (IQ of 60 or less) probably die in their youth, they certainty won't get far in a game. Just like being useless in or out of combat is going to make you useless as a character. You will need to be able to handle roleplaying situations as well as combat situations. I say this with former players in mind, but it should apply to any future parties. If you tank your Cha then expect people to not to take shine to you and to be offended by you frequently.
First and Second edition believed that life was easy and cheap, death was always a possibility and sometimes a certainty. Pathfinder doesn’t believe in those certainties and I, like Captain Kirk, don’t believe in a “no win scenario.” So, I am not going to try and instantly kill you or set you up with instant death traps and puzzles, but if you make enough miscalculations then death will always be a possibility. Be assured that I am not going to try and kill you if you make one little slip. I use simple criticals; double the damage and natural one simply means you miss. I have played on both sides of the screen with super critical and fumble systems and found they are not fun. Would you be willing to take a chance if you always have a 5% chance of being seriously injured? Yes, I understand statistics and what it really is a different fraction, but a fumble at the wrong time can be fatal. I knew a guy who, first game, first level, first combat, first character; rolled a natural one, confirmed a critical on himself and killed himself. Statistically, it could happen, but is that fun? I don't think so. That is why I use simple criticals (multiple the damage die by 2 and add the modifiers for feats, magic, Strength etc. then give me the result), of course you have to confirm possible critical hits. This makes strong critical builds not so powerful, but they still get double damage making the builds worth it to some.