New to D&D (starting group)

[Raven Crowking]

I know not everyone agrees with me, but I would recommend picking up a decent pre-printed first level adventure to run. If you are just learning the game it will be easier and will help ensure you have a decently balanced game to start.

I definately agree here.

I would look for Necromancer Games' Crucible of Freya, which is not only a good pre-printed first level adventure, but also includes all of those useful staging and DMing tips that can make all the difference when you're starting out.

Other than that, just have fun!

Raven Crowking

 

[Eternal Prosper]

Hello,

I was just wondering after reading your post and the suggestions - have you actually played D&D? Or even some of the computer games that are based on D&D (Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Temple of Elemental Evil, for example)?

Your user details don't show where you live, but maybe it would be a good idea for you and your friends to see if you can find an experienced D&D player to help you start out - creating characters, a few combats, perhaps even DMing a game or two for you. It's much easier to learn the basics if you don't have to figure it all out from scratch.

Oh, and one other thing - somebody suggested reading all the core books. While that would be great, if you can, I wouldn't worry about trying to read all sections of all of the books - for instance, you don't need to read all monsters before you play. Just read the ones you are going to run soon, and learn their powers. And spells - no point worrying about Wish or Miracle when the PCs are all first level and the highest level NPCs they meet would be about 5th level or so.

Actually no i havent played it before. Ive played Nwn but the computer i was using couldnt run it then it got stolen.

its kind of ironic that people mention burning plague cause when i first visted the site i downloaded it Someone asked before how old i was. im 14 and about to enter high school and dont have much cash so im going to work this summer for the books/dice. Thank you for all your help
i really appreciate it

 

[Tom]

Hello. Im starting my own D&D group in late August. I bought the DM manual and will buy the other core books soon (does a DM need the PC handbook?) The group will consist of 4 pc's. I was wondering if any of you have advice or extra stuff to buy. thank you for your time and i hope to be an active member here

When you are sure you are in it for the long run, I would highly recommend Tact-Tiles (www.bc-products.net) for your battle board. They're dry-erase stiff tiles (each tile is 10"x10") with a 1" square grid. I've had my set for a few months and they work great. You don't even need miniatures (unless you like playing pieces), you can draw the character/monster placement.

Tom

 

[Funksaw]

One thing that I would suggest is that if it seems like you or your players aren't having fun with it - feel free to discard rules - even if it seems "unbalanced" or whathaveyou. If the complexity of the system gets in the way of the game, eschew the complexity. (Then again, if you and your players enjoy the level of complexity that D&D entails, good for you!)

Just don't let a bad RP experience starting out sour you to roleplaying in general. D&D isn't for me - for example - and a bad D&D experience kept me from finding all these other great roleplaying games out there. It also kept me from finding the new D&D experiences - settings like Eberron and rules tweaks like the Mutants and Masterminds game, based on D&D but fundimentally changed in areas.

To this end, if you already have the DM's guide, I would suggest printing out a copy of the SRD at www.opengamingfoundation.org, or if you just want to look up stuff quickly on the computer, there's a hypertext version of the SRD at www.d20srd.org

 

[Bloodstone Press]

im 14 and about to enter high school

Many of us were in your age group when we first started playing. My advice is to take all the rules with a grain of salt. If there is something you want to change or something you don't understand, just wing it. It's only a game after all. The main point of it is to have fun, everything else is secondary.

Dice (I recommend the following: 1d20, 5d4, 10d6, 5d8, 2d10, 1d12)

I don't think you need quite that many dice. I've been playing for 20 years now and I get along just fine with: 3d20, 1d12, 2d10, 1d8, 1d6 (with another 3d6 in reserve), and 1d4.

But, whatever works for you is the best.....

Also, I'd suggest borrowing your parent's credit card and buying lots of stuff at RPGnow! (make sure you pay them back, of course) Printed DnD books can get expensive. Some cost as much as $40 or $50 each. However, PDFs from RPGnow cost a mere fraction of that. You can get a lot more material for a lot less money, and you don't need to get out of your chair to get it.

Welcome to the hobby.

 

[Funksaw]

Of course, ink also costs...

D&D is one of the more expensive games on the market. As some have already pointed out, while people who merely want to play can get by with the Player's Handbook, Dungeon Masters need all three books. At retail, that's $90!

And that's before you decide to get a setting book, which costs another 30-40.

Most RPGs aren't that expensive, with most buy-in rates around $40-60 for one or two books. (a few months ago, I would have said around $30-45, but some of the main game companies have switched to a two-book format or one-very-big-but-expensive book for games.)

Now, that said, roleplaying is only as expensive as you make it. Once you have your core rulebooks (in your case D&D - I started with the $30 copy of Vampire) you can run forever on it. If you want more information on a setting or system, that's when you buy the *optional* stuff that it gets expensive. Still, you'll be able to run games for quite a while with just the SRD - all of which is free for download.

Coming to Enworld was a good move - if you feel frustrated with the game - there's already tons of people here who have had the exact same problem you've had and can suggest how to fix it. I know that they've helped more than a bit - I'm familiar with roleplaying in general and familiar with many different systems, but I didn't get into D&D3e until recently.

 

[Funksaw]

Of course, ink also costs...

D&D is one of the more expensive games on the market. As some have already pointed out, while people who merely want to play can get by with the Player's Handbook, Dungeon Masters need all three books. At retail, that's $90!

And that's before you decide to get a setting book, which costs another 30-40.

Most RPGs aren't that expensive, with most buy-in rates around $40-60 for one or two books. (a few months ago, I would have said around $30-45, but some of the main game companies have switched to a two-book format or one-very-big-but-expensive book for games.)

Now, that said, roleplaying is only as expensive as you make it. Once you have your core rulebooks (in your case D&D - I started with the $30 copy of Vampire) you can run forever on it. If you want more information on a setting or system, that's when you buy the *optional* stuff that it gets expensive. Still, you'll be able to run games for quite a while with just the SRD - all of which is free for download.

Coming to Enworld was a good move - if you feel frustrated with the game - there's already tons of people here who have had the exact same problem you've had and can suggest how to fix it. I know that they've helped more than a bit - I'm familiar with roleplaying in general and familiar with many different systems, but I didn't get into D&D3e until recently.

As for dice, I'd suggest that if this is you and your friends first time with D&D, you shouldn't need more than one or two polyhedral sets. These sets usually contain one die of each type - you're rarely rolling more than one or two dice at a time in D&D, so you could play. Now, us "hardcore gamers" (which is about as applicable a phrase as "hardcore quilters") through tradition and convienience, have usually required that each player brings his own dice - some of the "grognards" even have gaming superstitions like lucky dice.

If you have a game shop, you can usually buy dice there. If not, there are a couple places that you could order dice online. A quick google should help you out.

 

[MightIsRight]

...some of the "grognards" even have gaming superstitions like lucky dice...

My dice are cursed. I'm in the process of getting some that are blessed by a voodun priestess, but I have to wait for the next full moon and I need a sacrifice...

My DM's dice are nicknamed Dice of Player Killing. They always seem to crit at the worst times.

Back to the original post:
People are offering good advice here, so I have nothing to offer. I'll just emphasize don't give up if things don't go smoothly the first few times. Lots of rules to remember, I still have to look up a bunch.

Good luck, and have fun!

 

[Eternal Prosper]

well i got lucky today. my b-day was 3 months ago and i just got a letter from my uncle giving 40 bucks! so i may buy some dice and the phb and maybe a copy of this months dungeon magazine. Thanks again for all of your help i have one more question, Im a christian and not too crazy bout all the dieties is it alright that i leave that part out?

 

[Alhazred]

Before you purchase roleplaying products, make sure to read the reviews at Enworld and other review sites. The insights these reviews provide are invaluable when it comes to deciding where to spend your hard-earned money.