Are there any real DnD newbies?

[the Jester]

Did anyone ever learn this way? All the "old school" players in my group learned it from a friend or an older sibling. (Well, all except the dude who claims to have lived next door to Gygax, but that's a different story entirely.)

I did. In 1980, the local paper ran a story on D&D; my mom read it and thought it would be interesting. I bought the Basic Set and my friends and I started playing. Almost immediately I played a couple of sessions with an experienced dm, though.

Back in those days we just used modules... there was no 'campaign'.

 

[Arken]

I agree that that people introduce players to the game. However, do you think that anyone buys the books, reads them and then starts up a game (without having it demonstrated to them)?

I did and that was AD&D

 

[BlackFalconKY]

New Gamers in My Group

I don't know how many people walk into a store, pick up D&D and off they go. A lot of people who aren't gamers would never go into a "gaming shop", and bookstores often carry a great selection of all the wrong stuff (i.e. a DMG but no PHB). It happens, but I doubt it's a large percentage.

My current gaming group is almost entirely composed of new gamers. I started a campaign in August, and 4 of the 5 regular players were new to the game. The other had played 2E, but had never even heard of 3E. We play every week, and they are HOOKED. It is rare for anyone to miss a game. In fact, two of the players have attended all 35 games since the campaign began. New "blood" is coming into the hobby, but I think the majority of it comes via old players teaching new.

I've found that "if you play it, they will come". We have to turn people away who want to play just because our group is currently full. And to think I use to have trouble finding people to play!

 

[Guillaume]

I was introduced to RPGs in 1980-1981 through the BD&D red box set. My father bought it for me. Over the course of the next two decades, I gamed off and on, introducing family and friends to the game and its subsequent variants.

Now, over that time, I think I've introduced maybe 20 or 25 person to the game. Of those, maybe a handful still game. Most importantly, one of the last person I introduced to the game is my wife. She goes by the handle Julie on these boards. Needless to say, she is totally hooked.

As for younger ones, after all I am 31, getting introduced to gaming. It does happen. I live in a small town in Eastern Quebec. Rimouski has a population of maybe 40,000 (when school is in session !). Combine to that that it is mostly a French speaking town, and you have alot of things going against D&D (Translated books usually cost 25-75% more than the original version).

Anyhow, Rimouski manages to have a small but thriving FLGS. Every once in a while you see teenagers going through the RPG books, looking for new stuff or for a way to get into D&D.

In brief, I think that the futur of RPG is bright. It will certainly be different than what it is today, but it will still be there. There is a new generation coming.

 

[mmadsen]

It seems with the new edition(s) that a great deal of consideration has been given to newbies to get into the rules - nothing wrong with that.

I'm not sure I agree with that. Certainly the rules have been clarified, but there's no true Basic Set these days. The Adventure Game is a great start, but the leap from Adventure Game to trilogy of tomes is huge.

 

[LGodamus]

Well, I was one of those rare folks who learned from the books , but that was about 13 years ago... I bought the monster manual as idea fodder for my sketches and ended up interested in the stat blocks along side the critters and ended up buying a phb and dmg and learning the game....over the years I have introduced maybe 30 people to the game.

 

[muhcashin]

3-4 years

I've been playing D&D for about 4 years now. Does that make a me a newbie? I started in 2e, and never understood anything. But a about 2 months later, our group changed to 3e, and it makes a lot more sense than THAC0s and the number of attacks each round depending on the weapon. And those saving throws? Too many, vs death, vs polymorph, vs wands.

Man oh man, 2e was tough. I decided to play D&D after having played (and completely several times) Baldur's Gate. The game got me so enthralled that I had to play more. BG2 wasn't out yet, I think. And I needed more of that pseudo-D&D goodness, so I called a friend who played. And voila.

 

[Zappo]

I have started by walking into a gaming store and picking up the red box because it looked interesting.

Since then I've taught playing to... mmm... probably more than a dozen people.

 

[Darkness]

Hm. Maybe this poll could be of use to the thread starter.
It only points out which was the first edition of (A)D&D people played, but it's a start, no?

 

[ced1106]

Only 1 in 5 people(the DM) need all 3 books. Players only need the PHB.

And, of course, by "need" you mean "borrows the book from someone else".

(Insert other thread here...!)


Cedric.
aka. Washu! ^O^