Learning the rules what's the best way

[dcollins]

If anyone could give any suggestions I would really appreciate it. I only play dnd once a month and I'm constantly looking stuff up, I've got the basics down i.e tohit, movement, AoO, etc. But ariel combat, invisibility, negative levels, drowning, holy crap. Its alot to manage does anybody have any crib notes. My MCSE was easier to get. Thanks

Frankly, if you have the "basics" down as you say, that's the important stuff. There's no general need to memorize the rest of what you mention, looking it up on the fly is fine. Better yet, anytime you know that ability is coming up in play (DM: set down a creature with that special ability; Player: get that spell or item for the first time), use that as an opportunity to learn that specific rule in advance of play.

I've been DM'ing for along about 25 years now. One of my newer players last week expressed anxiety that he hasn't learned all the special combat moves yet (attack defensively, grapple, disarm, bull rush, etc.). I said "don't worry, I don't memorize that, I've got them jotted down on the inside of my screen", and he was really surprised. But the core basics are what you really need to have a firm grip on, the rest can come whenever you need it.

 

[Altamont Ravenard]

If your players are aware that you're not too familiar with the rules and don't want to slow the game down, perhaps they should look up the rules (if they are in the PHB) for the actions that they are attempting.

For example, in combat, if a character will want to Bull Rush an opponent out of the wizard's face, the player should have read the Bull Rush description before his turn comes up in combat. When he actually does it, he can explain to you rapidly how the manoeuvre works. You can always look it up after the game to be sure the players aren't screwing with you

An alternative would be for the players to at least give you a page reference for resolving what they are trying to do (again, only if it's in the PHB) so you can look it up more quickly.

You could make yourself flash cards for combat manoeuvres.

But as others have said, the best way to learn is to play the damn game

I myself have been playing D&D since the dawn of time (ok, more like since 1984), been playing 3rd edition since it came out, spend an unhealthy amount of time in the rules forum, and still get stumped by basic things when it's time for me to DM (goddamned grapple rules).

Welcome aboard, and have a good game!

AR

 

[kenobi65]

Not that I necessarily want to flog a particular product...but Fiery Dragon's "Battle Box" contains a small set of flash cards that outline the rules for what I'd call "uncommon" battle maneuvers (Bull Rush, Sunder, Grapple, etc.) -- things that don't come up in every session, and when they do, they always seem to cause considerable page-flipping and slowing down of the game.

Beyond that, I second the ideas of keeping a rulebook in the bathroom for "reading time", and the "Rules of the Game" web articles.

 

[Ariddrake]

I think I'm going to make some flashcards and look into that battlebox. I heard about the battlebox at Gencon but my local gamestore doesn't have it so maybe I'll get it online. Thanks for the replies it helps to know other people are in the same boat.

 

[Gaiden]

Well, there's the RPGA Herald level test you can take, if you wish.

Jesus!

I thought I was a rules lawyer. Apparently not. I mean, who keeps track of the morphic traits on the Astral, or DC increase to climb checks when the surface is slippery - just look it up...phew. I was worried the third time I tried it that the question of what is a favored class was some kind of joke and the website was F*&^ing with me.

 

[Ariddrake]

Excellent

 

[kenobi65]

I think I'm going to make some flashcards and look into that battlebox. I heard about the battlebox at Gencon but my local gamestore doesn't have it so maybe I'll get it online.

My FLGS didn't have it until about a month or so ago; if you haven't looked for it recently, you might want to try again. I think that Fiery Dragon had some at GenCon, but the general release was considerably later.

 

[Ariddrake]

Can anyone give me some of the harder rule topics, because I'm going to make flashcards of them and maybe a little blurb on each. Maybe I can or other people could use this to cut and paste on notecards. I'll convert it to PDF and upload it to the site.

Grappling

Underwater combat, Etc

Thanks

 

[Henrix]

Here are some very good reference sheets for various rules (from the ENworld download section).
We had a lot of use of (an earlier version of) these when we were new to 3.0.
Some of the stuff is really handy for the players as well!

 

[Ariddrake]

Thanks. I'm going to use the reference sheet to help in designing the flashcards.