Want to start DnD

[Faervel17]

Our little group of friends is interested in starting to play dungeons and dragons. We've all been thinking it but have never said it. Now the hard part is what do we need to start? We're kinda hoping to play this weekend so looking to buy like tomorrow. Thankfully we have an amazing gaming store in town that will have everything we need but we are totally overwhelmed by all these add ons and options. 

 

So, what do we need? Any pointers?

 

Thanks!

[Lawboots]

I would encourage you to steer away from 4th Edition, I think it's a pretty terrible failure in gaming. That being said some people love it. I personally prefer the 2nd ed ADnD, almost all the books can be found online for free and I think it's a very solid system. Pathfinder is also a great system though I have little experience with it outside of the initial books. Just take a look around the editions and see what works for you.

 

With all that out of the way I'd say the bare minimum to start are a set of dice, a Players Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide and a Monster Manual. I highly recommend adding a map and minis to this as it makes combat so much smoother.

 

Beyond that you can see by all the books and options that the rabbit hole goes far indeed. If you don't have a setting already in mind I like Forgotten Realms, I've always had a love affair with the setting and its got a very deep background.

[Faervel17]

Good to know as the 4th edition is very easy to find and comes with the handy starter set. 

[JessOfAllTrades]

4th Ed. is actually fairly simple for start-up purposes. That was the idea behind the weekly encounters many stores were a part of. That being said, I think the version you play will depend on book/guide availability. As Lawboots said, a lot of older edition stuff is available online for free. Used bookstores can also be your best friend for finding all of the books.

 

As for beginning a campaign, you can do it with just a player's handbook, a storyline idea, and dice. Pre-set worlds may make your life easier to get started.

[ShadowSilk]

I agree with Lawboots about Second Edition and Fourth (sorry, Jo). if you search Dungeons and Dragons, they have lots of the older 2nd Ed. modules available for download, cheap. The group shouldn't all read the module, just whoever your DM is going to be. And your DM should read it cover to cover and backwards, even. Know it well.

[Faervel17]

This is overwhelming but I know it will be worth it

[ShadowSilk]

Oh, no, honey, I didn't mean to info dump!! I'm so sorry!

Look, if you've got a good gaming store nearby, talk to the owner. They should be able to help you for sure.

[Faervel17]

We are going to go to the gaming store this evening BUT at the same time I want to understand whats going on and the basics before I walk in. Initially I thought no way will I be the dungeon master but as I stop and think I may end up. Ahhh! Oh well good chance to make a fool of myself, I have that mastered I'm half way there

[JessOfAllTrades]

Don't get me wrong, I hate 4th edition, but it is easy to start with. I'm a 2nd ed. girl myself.

[ShadowSilk]

To be honest, Jo, I've not tried 4th Edition because it looked -- in the display at B&N, anyhow -- like crap. Cyber high-five for 2nd Ed!

[z3llin]

Probably too late but:

4th Ed is great as an introduction to pencil and paper RPGs as it is a pretty easy system to get a hang of. If none of you know anything about p&p RP Gaming then I would have suggested having a look at 4th Ed.

 

2nd Ed has a warm place in my heart as it was my intro to D&D and pencil and paper RPGs, however I had an experienced DM and an experienced player helping me along to get used to the system. Well that and Baldur's Gate, lots and lots of Baldur's Gate. It seems simple once you know it, but learning 2nd Ed is not that easy.

 

I've settled quite comfortably in 3rd and 3.5 Ed. It has a good balance of ease of play and not being as simplified as 4th.

[Jittersthe.Clown]

I was a fan of the simplicity of 4th for my newer players.  I started with AD&D, and went through all the editions till 4th.  Our group disbanded after that, so I haven't tried the new 5th and only have a small understanding of Pathfinder.  I do like the mechanics of Pathfinder.  I would recommend that for a lot of people.  That said, those who grew up with AD&D and even the 3rd (or 3.5) will probably favor those more.  I'm curious what you ended up choosing.  

[ShadowSilk]

As am I, Jitters.

Faervel?  Wanna let us know how it went?

 

Also, I am sorry for edition bashing, it just -- well.  *shrug* 

[Faervel17]

Because only one of us has any experience with DnD we have chosen to start with the 4th edition just a little start up kit that our stores owner has made up for relatively cheap. We also had the benefit of it happening to be drop in night for the game so thankfully one group let us watch and explained a bit to us for about half an hour. 

 

From there and a bit of information off the internet my husband and his one brother already have a slight preference to 3.5 but honestly I have a feeling it's the graphics that capture their attention more than anything. 

 

We're hoping to start figuring things out this weekend so I'll let you know how it all works out. 

[ShadowSilk]

Excellent.  Glad to hear it went well and that you got a chance to observe and learn from some other gamers!

[Lawboots]

My only problem with 4th ed is that it not only encourages min/maxing but it requires it. The combats can take a VERY long time and if someone in your party has decided to create a character that isn't a combat monster than you can enjoy fighting those goblins for at least an hour. in 3.5 you could game the system pretty hard but it wasn't a prerequisite to playing the game. 

[JeffyB]

I found the Critical Hit podcast (http://majorspoilers.com/category/critical-hit/) a while back; the podcast started with an intro to D&D, and then goes into a "live play" of the game.  The DM does a good job of explaining rules, actions, etc.

 

Also, for the adventures/campaigns that you can't find for free online, OneBookShelf is converting the guides and manuals into PDFs, available at http://www.dndclassics.com/.  Most of the individual adventures are $4.99, bundles are available for some of the full campaigns, and most of the older DM manuals are available for all of the editions (basic/1e to 4e).

[Duck Dropping]

My only problem with 4th ed is that it not only encourages min/maxing but it requires it. The combats can take a VERY long time and if someone in your party has decided to create a character that isn't a combat monster than you can enjoy fighting those goblins for at least an hour. in 3.5 you could game the system pretty hard but it wasn't a prerequisite to playing the game. 

 

I don't necessarily agree with this statement.  I'm going to go with this being a fault of the DM for not adhering to the group dynamics entirely.  Sure, if one or two min max then the DM is going to have a hard time.  So encourage you players to not do so and your game can run the way that it should.  4th does allow for non min/maxed characters as that is all that I play and I always find ways to be effective both in and out of combat.

 

A great game to start with is Gamma World, which is a 4th edition WOTC off shoot game that uses the 4th edition rules set.  The character creation is done by random die rolls and can come up with very unique PC's (A mindbending Yeti, or a Super Strength Moth Swarm).  It is pretty goofy and allows players to get the ridiculousness out of their system before you play something that requires a bit more sustenance like an actual campaign.  The rules are lax and character death is not a big deal (as you just roll a new character in 5 mins).  This way you can explore if you enjoy this pen and paper route.

 

When you get more into tabletop for this look into 3.5 Pathfinder.  I personally think it has the most potential for all sorts of gameplay and allows your players to truly customize and become powerful whether in a social, min/max, power gaming, RP player, or any other type.  Pathfinder Ebberon FTW!

[Faervel17]

Thanks. We planned on trying things out and geting started this weekend but it didn't work out. Our set came with an online code so I will be plugging that in this week and trying things out that way. I learned one friend back home (not in our regular group) is huge ino DnD so may play a bit with them too. 

[Faervel17]

a few of us started creating our characters. we kept it simple with only the main 4 but I'm not normal I don't like the main 4 I want to be more! lol. 

any good sites to play online? I've found a few looking for a few others. 

[dntspard]

http://roll20.net is a good one if you're planning on gaming with everyone online

 

http://www.feartheboot.com/forum/index.php is good for general questions and has a plethora of play-by-post gaming stuff

 

mostly depends on what you want to do and how often. 

[Raxie]

I've been playing 3.5 with the same gorup of people for over a year now... it's awesome, our characters are starting to get pretty bad ass. D and D Wiki is an amazing resource, it has a lot of information on the 4th edition as well. Have fun!

[Faervel17]

thanks the wiki is so helpful!!

[Damaramu]

Ahh roleplaying. I haven't played in years thanks to being a single dad and my career. My friends are all in the same boat and none of our schedules mesh well for regular roleplaying. *sniff*

 

I started out as an AD&D player. That was my intro to the dice and it's the most fun I've ever had being a player character.

 

Then we moved to 3rd edition and the game kind of fizzled.

 

I decided to run my own group and we started playing Deadlands. That's probably still my favorite roleplaying game ever. I was the Marshal and we played Deadlands and Deadlands Hell on Earth. I had all the modules and box sets and the cardstock cowboys (we used them as miniatures). It was so much fun, man I loved those days. I've never played the Savage World's version though. I don't know what the main difference is.

 

Then I ran some D&D 3.5 for my friends. I was pretty good at it and we had fun, but I was never the greatest DM for that game. However, my friend Tim started running a campaign and I was blown away. We had a great time and I have very fond memories of 3.5 as well.

 

I also ran a Shadowrun campaign that we had a ton of fun with, but Shadowrun was very complex. And I did a bit of Star Wars D20. And just a tiny bit of Vampire the Masquerade.

 

 

I've never played 4th Edition and don't want to. Isn't Pathfinder pretty much D&D 3.75?

 

There's so many other games I've wanted to play and never did, but D20 makes them all a lot easier. I've wanted to play Legend of The Seven Rings (i think that's what it's called) and the D20 that's set in a pirate setting. I also have always wanted to try the Kingdoms of Kalamar campaign setting in 3.5.

[Raxie]

I've never played 4th Edition and don't want to. Isn't Pathfinder pretty much D&D 3.75?

 

I have heard not good things about it from a lot of people I play with, and also this thread didn't help my opinion of it thus far.  Though I am really interested in the OP's experience with it!  I've definitely seen some heated debates over it online, so I'm sure it does have it's positives so I'd love to hear someones first impression of it without being influenced by previously playing another version to compare it against.