D&D 3E/3.5 New to gaming - Should I wait for 4E or should buy the 3E Core Rules?

[Asmor]

I'd say don't buy anything.

The SRD is nice, but it's easy for we who are so jaded to forget that it is not a complete game: the SRD lacks rules for character creation (which are easy enough to guess) and experience (which is considerably less so).

In any case, I think the best advice is for you to find an existing game. See if your cousin has room in his game (although you really shouldn't push too hard... D&D can be a complicated, and a lot of dungeon masters like to limit the size of their group strictly for their own sanity).

Don't necessarily limit yourself to a D&D game, either. There are lots of good systems and settings out there.

Go to your FLGS and look for players. See if you can put up a flyer to the effect of "New RPG player looking for group." Make a post in the Gamers seeking Gamers forum here.

Honestly, starting your own group should be a last resort.

 

[Gundark]

I'd just play with the SRD and wait for 4th edition. Then I'd make my decision at that time.

 

[Odhanan]

Seriously: buy this for $4.00 (or, if you prefer hardcopy, you should be able to get one off of ebay or amazon for $10 or less). This edition is easy to understand for players and DMs alike, and by the time you've exhausted its possibilities 4E will be released and you can either move on to it or to one of these: Expert Set, Rules Cyclopedia. Much better idea than either trying to teach yourself to play via the SRD or dropping $90 on a set of books that will be obsolete in 6 months (or waiting 6 months to start playing).

I will third this. This is the best introduction to D&D in existence yet. Nothing ever truly matched it.

 

[Kida]

One last thing: I visited my cousin over the weekend and he showed me the CMG SRD package.

Would it be okay if I asked him to make a copy for me?

 

[Wystan]

One last thing: I visited my cousin over the weekend and he showed me the CMG SRD package.

Would it be okay if I asked him to make a copy for me?

That would be copywrite infringement. However if you go to Drivethrustuff you can get it for a good price.

 

[Drowbane]

As the title says, I am very new to gaming. My cousin raves about 3E, but has also told me of the impending 4E release next June. I'm not sure what to do. Please help.

Cruise the SRD (link above) until 4e comes out. No reason to buy anything now. No doubt your cousin has all the books required for you to game for now.

My niece's first D&D book will be the 4e PHB (unless you count my Draconomicon... brat is always borrowing it for "research").

 

[hopeless]

Okay...

As the title says, I am very new to gaming. My cousin raves about 3E, but has also told me of the impending 4E release next June. I'm not sure what to do. Please help.

I'd recommend 3rd edition since it should be cheaper depending where you decide to pick it up and as for 4e wait until you hear some reviews before considering converting over meanwhile however get involved in some games to get a feel for the system and let that guide your decision on what you want to do.

Hopefully before xmas you'll have some idea of what to expect from 4e even if its reviews of a preview book they're releasing sometime in december but you should be able to not only read the review here but find a few threads talking about it to help you decide what you're looking for.

What setting is your cousin playing by the way?

 

[hopeless]

Psionics

Looks like there are plenty of options in the SRD.

Psionics, eh? Never understood how that fit into fantasy.

Any way you want.

In the games I've played in they're mostly ignored but I did play a 1st edition character who teamed up with another character and mind blasted a nightmare but that was about the only psionic character I had.

3.0 seemed better than 3.5 but that was only because I could ignore the power point rules and employ the vancian rules although that was only because I was the dm in a kalamar campaign.

Didn't much care for power points to be honest but ultimately its up to you what you want from your game and whether the dm is willing to let you run a psionic character of course.

Eberron seemed to go into more detail concerning psionic characters but only as an option if I remember properly.

 

[Nadaka]

That would be copywrite infringement. However if you go to Drivethrustuff you can get it for a good price.

What? The SRD is free to copy as one sees fit due to the open gaming license.

 

[Nifft]

I get most of my rules from http://www.d20srd.org/ despite owning all the books. Know why? Errata. The free online one gets updated. My books? It's a laborious process.

So yeah, you'll need one 3.5e PHB (for the XP chart mostly, but the examples are also good) and a web browser.

Cheers, -- N