Getting into D&D

[cn3wton]

So you all may have seen me around the forums (or not) but for those of you who don't know anything about me, I kind of dabble in everything.

 

Sports, video games, etc.  I hung out with the nerds, and the jocks in high school.  So basically I do whatever the hell interests me.

 

I have played tabletop games like warhammer 40k (and the lord of the rings version), and I loved the lord of the rings version where you make your own group and they level up and stuff.

 

So I guess the point is that I have always been interested in trying D&D, but the thing is I have no money, and no one around me who plays. When I was in college they had a club that would play. I went with a classmate and made a character sheet. They were really nice and helped us set up characters, and they were all jealous because apparently when setting up the stats I rolled the best numbers for each stat or something? I never went back due to time issues.

 

So fast forward a few years and the D&D free to play mmo comes out.  (its pretty fun btw) And it just makes me want to try it even more.  I have one friend that may want to try it as well.

 

So I guess I am wondering

 

-How many people do you need to play

-Whats the cheapest way to start

-How time consuming is it

 

And any other stuff you think I should know I guess...

 

Ive also heard that pathfinder may be a wiser choice.

[FalseAesop]

-How many people you need to play?  

 

At least two, and up to as many as your DM's sanity can sustain, though most groups try to stay under 6... combat can drag with large groups.  The main thing you need is one person who is willing to be the Dungeon Master, they're the ones who are going to be spending the most time on the game as they are the one who comes up with the plot, manages the game, and runs everything that isn't a player character.  

 

-What's the cheapest way to start?

 

Well the cheapest way would be finding a group of already well stocked players and borrowing dice and learning the rules from them while sharing a player's manual.  Second cheapest way would be piracy, but that's wrong.  After that it would be getting something like the Red Box starter set.  It includes the basic rules, some maps, some monster stats,dice, an adventure module and the rules up to third level to get you started, but like I said that's just to get you started, it'll run you $20. 

 

A full set of rules, which is generally considered the core three rulebooks, The Player's Handbook, The Dungeon Master's Guide, and The Monster Manual will run you closer to $80.  Of course that'll give you more races, classes, and full rules to 30. 

 

KEEP IN MIND They are play testing what they're calling "D&D Next" which will likely become D&D 5th edition currently so I'm not sure now would be the time to invest in 4th edition... Hell you might even be able to get in on the playtest and the various materials for free.  I haven't actually played D&D in a couple of years so I'm not up on the latest, but try signing up to be part of the playtest, couldn't hurt. http://dndplaytest.wizards.com/

 

Pathfinder, which is build on a modified version of D&D 3.5 edition (which has caused the fandom to call Pathfinder 3.75) it's single core rulebook will run you about $35. 

 

-How Time Consuming is it?

 

Depends if you are the player or the DM.   If you're the DM...  it'll eat up a good chunk of your time.  Even if you run from Modules (prewritten adventures for you to guide your players through while controlling the NPCs and Monsters) you'll have to read and know the modules pretty well to keep the game flowing, you'll have to prepare ahead of time to know the monsters you'll be using that week.  If you homebrew your adventures well you have to write your adventures, plot, scheme, strategize, and all kinds of fun stuff.  For a lot of DMs this is where the real fun is and the few hours a week you let your players ruin all your carefully laid plans (and they will, it is what players are good at) is an annoying necessity.  You have to read and know the rules because ultimately you're the final arbiter of what does and doesn't happen in the game, how the rules are to be interpreted at your table.  It's a lot of book keeping.

 

For everyone else, they gather together once a week and play.  Sessions generally last 4-6 hours, sometimes longer (I fondly remember in my early 20s getting together around 9, and playing till someone noticed the sun had risen the next morning).  Depends on the group's attention span, and how well they like and work well together, and how many of your DM's plans you can ruin before they declare the session over.

 

In the end though what it should be is good times spent with good friends.

 

Edit-It occurred to me later that you've mentioned you have played DDO.  That's based on the 3.5 Edition of D&D, 4th Edition was a radical departure and sorta a base breaker.  Pathfinder would be more familiar to you than 4E if your D&D experience is DDO.

[JessOfAllTrades]

-How many people do you need to play

 

What False Aesop basically said. Finding someone to DM is first and foremost. If you're planning on DMing, great, if not, poll you friends or look at Meetups in your area if you don't have enough of a pool in your friends good. A good beginning group is 4 to 6. Most players prefer that size. I liked DMing up to 10, but that's because I'm crazy and there was a high demand for a D&D campaign when I was in college. 4 to 6 is a great balance for making combat move, having role play opportunity, and materials. I have friends who play with a DM and one player though, and enjoy it. So it is possible to run something with just one player and one DM.

 

-Whats the cheapest way to start

 

Find a player who already has most of the materials. Lots of people own tons of dice (I have at least 4 sets), so sharing is simple. Also, many people own the manuals and game mats, so ask around and figure out which players are cool with lending things out. Otherwise head to used bookstores to find manuals  Since 4th is on its way out you'll probably be able to pick up a used 4th edition handbook on the cheap. You can definitely find 3.5 for cheap. Piracy is also an option, but as False said that is technically wrong. If you have to buy things, a game mat can put you back about 40 bucks, so you could use graph paper instead (cheaper, but a big main in the butt.). Dice will cost about 4 to 10 dollars for a set depending on how fancy you are, no need for figures (we used dice, coins, counters from magic, legos). Pens, pencils, and however much you need to spend on the manual. You can buy the other books, but don't worry too much about it if you're new.

 

-How time consuming is it

 

Most groups meet weekly. I've had campaigns run anywhere from 2 to 10 hours. 4 is great for new players, if you can keep them interested; DMs do need more time to plan between campaigns - my time ranged from 1 to 3 hours (sometimes my group didn't get as far as I hoped = left over content for next game!).

 

Most importantly, try to have fun! And since you played DDO, definitely look for used 3.5 books. It's a solid system, so no need to jump to 4th unless you really want to.

[cn3wton]

Thanks for all the advice! Ill definitely have to look into it once I get the funds and find some people who may be interested.

 

I wouldn't mind being a DM, but I would also like to play some as well... The issue will be finding people.

[Grizzy]

It can get pricey. I would look up getting used copies of the core rulebooks. I would loan you my extras, but my boyfriend is going to be in another state this summer and we'll both need a copy.

 

There are many, many D&D players who look down on 4.0, but it's one of the easier versions to start out with. 3.5 is a bit more detailed, and has tables and statistics and instructions for everything. There is literally a table for how hard it is to hit the broad side of a barn, AND the narrow side of a barn.

 

My friends and I often do D&D tabletop digitally. Google+ has a module where you can have like a picture-grid layout set up during video chat. We'll often get together IRL to roll up characters, but since we all work and live and go to school in different cities, we'll play over the internet.

 

I would set aside a good chunk of several hours for character creation, especially if you are creating characters together as a group.

 

Session lengths are what you make them. My group usually only schedules our start time, and end time is open-ended. Games with that structure for us tend to last 4-8 hours a session, the average about 6 hours. However, if the DM is good at wrangling the group and getting down to business, you can schedule a 2 hour session and see how that goes for a while, and extend that by an hour if you find you just aren't getting as much done in a session as you want. I would recommend no less than two hours, and only that little if everyone is very focused and on top of things.

 

The amount of time the DM puts in can also be variable.

 

Some DMs create the entire world before even asking players to join, have branching storylines based on character decisions, custom items, NPC bios, puzzles, etc... and some of those DMs find that their players go hog-wild and completely thwart their plans for anything in the campaign. These DMs might spend as much or more time planning for a session than the length of the session.

 

Most DMs will have a middling degree of planning. The world is kind of like this, you start in this city which has these things, there are rumors of these kinds of problems, which I have this vague idea of what's causing them and possible resolutions of what might happen. Maybe also come up with some possible fights and the kinds and numbers of monsters in them. These kinds of DMs will probably spend an hour or so planning a session.

 

Then there's the no-planning, wing it DMs. This uses 0 extra time for the DMs as compared to the players. Some of my best and worst campaigns/sessions have been done winging it. It works best when the DM is very familiar with the game and has the most familiarity as compared to all the players. Otherwise you can spend a lot of extra time in-game looking up rules and monster tables, creating rules for things on the fly while the players sit around doing nothing.

 

One thing I would suggest doing is researching the various D&D systems and picking one you definitely want to use. If you think you want to DM, but aren't sure how good you'll be, set up a one-time game that you have pretty much an entire day for, order food, and try and do a story arc with some people you want to play with. This will give you an idea of how good you are as a DM and whether you want to take on that role, will help you determine who is into the game and who would make good players for a real campaign, and might inspire other people to volunteer to DM the next game.

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

If you do an old edition like 2.5 all the materials can be found digitally online for free.

[cn3wton]

Thanks for all the advice guys!

 

I was actually in barnes and noble today and saw the beginners box for pathfinder at only 34 bucks.  So I picked it up.

 

One reason I wanted to try pathfinder is that I read the comics and each month they come out with a story you can play, think that's pretty cool.

[UH60guy]

Have you considered checking out a local hobby/game/comic shop? Some of them have a game night, might be a chance for beginners to join in and see how it runs in practice.

[JeffyB]

I know TSR had solo campaigns for single-player; not sure if any of those are available online or not.  You may also want to check used book stores (such as Half Price Books or similar) for some of the older manuals and campaigns; I've found (and bought) some of the older TSR releases of the Dungeon Masters and Player Handbooks, and have seen some of the Forgotten Realms (and other lines) books available also.

[Harleytrypp]

Thanks for all the advice guys!

 

I was actually in barnes and noble today and saw the beginners box for pathfinder at only 34 bucks.  So I picked it up.

 

One reason I wanted to try pathfinder is that I read the comics and each month they come out with a story you can play, think that's pretty cool.

Congrats on your purchase of Pathfinder.  Once you've been through the Beginners Box, ALL of their rules are on line, free, at their website. 

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/

You don't get the pretty illustrations, but will hold you over till you want to invest in more books.

 

Have fun.

[cn3wton]

Thanks so much for the link! I am definitely looking forward to playing.

 

The only thing is I want to be a gm, but I also want to make a character... Hopefully someone else will want to gm too!

[JessOfAllTrades]

Thanks so much for the link! I am definitely looking forward to playing.

 

The only thing is I want to be a gm, but I also want to make a character... Hopefully someone else will want to gm too!

 

The secret of being a GM? You get to make lots of characters! NPCs.

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

Thanks so much for the link! I am definitely looking forward to playing.

 

The only thing is I want to be a gm, but I also want to make a character... Hopefully someone else will want to gm too!

 

The secret of being a GM? You get to make lots of characters! NPCs.

 

This.  I always have all kinds of character concepts flying around in my head but as a player only get to play 1-2. Whenever I am GM I get to make as many as I want and incorporate them into the game as main characters.  The nice part is I can trick them out if I like as well and make them exactly what I imagine. I can make them good guys such as a king's general who is a falcon riding paladin with a +4 Defender sword and magical plate or a bad guys such a ranger/thief with a cloak and boots of elven kind and +3 short sword of wounding. You can bend rules like I did above and let a ranger my evil if you like.  Lot's of fun.

[far_away]

Well, if you are new, its probably better to begin as a player so you can enjoy the game and get used to the rules before embarking on the grander challenge of being a DM/GM.

 

Alternatively, get some beginner set/module that begins at level 1 so the game doesn't get too bogged down by rules.

[Cr33g]

D&D is heaps of fun! I think though it's better to play with people who won't take the game seriously, add a bit of humour into it and just have fun. It'll be great.

 

I used to play with my brother and his mates a few years ago. Most of 'em would generally buy their own books from the local hobby store/comic book shop.

 

Not to encourage piracy, but my brother didn't really have money at the time and wanted to read up on the rules in his own time, so he downloaded PDFs off the Internet.

 

D&D sessions can be fairly time consuming... we used to start at like, 6 or 7 PM and not finish until 1 or 2 AM, and we wouldn't even be finished with a campaign by then either. Sometimes you will get side tracked off game and just chit chat and stuff.

 

Just have fun with it. I had a Dwarf Paladin, who for some reason had a Russian accent and had a passion for vodka. His name was "D'runkboot Stoutbeard".

 

Then I had an assassin called "♂ Formally Known as Prince". Yes. We called him "Male Symbol".

[FalseAesop]

Just a random serendipitous thing, on one of the podcasts I listen to regularly The Nerdist had Steve Yeun on, Glen from the Walking Dead.  Just as the podcast is about to end Steve just randomly asks Chris Hardwick (Host of the Nerdist and Talking Dead) if he's ever played D&D and how to get started because he and his friends were wanting to get started.  They end up going another 15 minutes on the subject... Worth a listen echos a lot of the things said on this thread...   when I heard it I figured I'd toss the link on this thread.   If you want to fast forward to it you'll find it at 1:23:50.

[cn3wton]

Thanks for all the posts guys.  I have a beginner box to start off with that can help me make a "starter" area.  We plan on playing the pre built dungeon so I can actually try gm and they can try playing.  Then I plan to make adventures in a general setting/world that I can expand slowly as I learn new rules. So we all learn at the same, slow pace.

 

Since we are all starting new this should work out pretty well.