For anyone who doesn't know, Pathfinder is a competitor to D&D. They are similar in that they are both Fantasy Role Playing Games. In both, you have one or more players taking on the role of heroes exploring a fantasy world managed (and sometimes created) by a Game Master (a Dungeon Master, in D&D terms.)The difference here is in the quality. Pathfinder Second Edition is so thoughtfully designed and balanced that it sidesteps many of the problems in D&D at higher levels. The classes all stay relevant, and all players feel like they can meaningfully contribute to every adventure and encounter. There is also more to do in each player's turn, thanks to Pathfinder's three-action economy.Another big difference between the two systems is that while D&D is a property owned by a big corporation (Hasbro) and is optimized for profit, Pathfinder is created by a small company (Paizo) full of people who are passionate about the hobby. This is evident in the quality of the support material they publish, including a series of full campaigns they call Adventure Paths. These APs are usually considered the gold standard for published campaigns, equal to or better than any D&D campaign, and of far better quality if you take them all as a whole.Focusing on this particular product, there is no comparison between the PF2E Beginner Box and any of the D&D starter sets. This is the way to introduce a game. There are two books inside, one for players and one for the Game Master. They contain everything you need to run a Pathfinder Campaign that lasts from 1st to 3rd level for any of the four basic classes: Fighter, Wizard, Cleric, and Rogue. The GM book includes a simple dungeon that should last a couple of sessions and is designed to teach a group how to play. It then goes on to cover how a GM should create their own adventures and how they can design encounters of varying degrees of danger.There is also a set of dice included in the box, as well as a selection of cardboard lawns that you can use with the included map in place of miniatures. The value here is very high and shows Paizos commitment to customers as opposed to Hasbro's commitment to maximizing profit.Let's talk about that last point because it's important, and it's where Pathfinder shines. The system is so well designed that, unlike in D&D, the challenge system works. You can use the level of monsters to determine the type of encounter that will challenge a group at a given level, and there are guidelines to make these encounters easy to build. That is a gift to gamemasters.To sum up: if you are interested in learning a fantasy role-playing system and are open to choosing something other than D&D, Pathfinder is a very strong option. It does everything D&D does, only better.