newbie question

[Drakonis]

i know this is a dumb question, but i've never played d&d before and i just recently picked up the 4e starter pack, and i was wondering what "range 10/20" means for the ranged javelin attack of the dragonborn paladin..

 

[Jack99]

It means that the dragonborn can throw the javelin 10 squares (50') with no penalty, and up to 20 squares (50'), with a -2 penalty to hit.

 

[Piratecat]

Jack's got it right. And welcome, Drakonis!

 

[Gruns]

It means that the dragonborn can throw the javelin 10 squares (50') with no penalty, and up to 20 squares (50'), with a -2 penalty to hit.

And by "20 squares (50')" he of course means "20 squares (100')". But it shouldn't really matter, as we do math with squares most of the time in 4E anyway.
As an addendum, the paladin can't throw the spear further than 20 squares without magical assistance or further training. (i.e, a magic weapon with the Distance property, or the Far Throw feat, for examples.)
Gruns

 

[Drakonis]

thanks a lot for the replies.
i appreciate it and am looking forward to playing my first adventure with my friends

 

[Nail]

Any more questions? We grizzled old-timers love this kind of stuff.....

 

[bagger245]

Anyone ever played without a DM? I want to be a player but also have to DM...

 

[DracoSuave]

Anyone ever played without a DM? I want to be a player but also have to DM...

It's hard for some, and I don't recommend doing so without understanding the basics of roleplaying, social contracts, etc. But, if you can do improvisational theatre without getting angry at your fellow actors, you can do roleplay without a DM just fine.

Really, if you just want to hang out with your friends and tell cool stories and play pretend while rolling dice, hell, I actively encourage that, it sounds like a lot of fun if you guys can agree to some common ground rules. Be forwarned, however, it takes a higher level of maturity and 'letting someone else have the talking stick' for it not to devolve into 'I shot you!' 'NO I HAVE A FORCEFIELD' style arguments that we all had as a kid playing legos. You all know what I'm talking about.

There's a fair number of roleplaying games out there that change it up from players + referee/DM/GM/Keeper/Storyteller to other combinations, like revolving GMs, to having no GMs, but giving players points they can spend to direct the story the way they like. They're considered fairly high-end intellectual style roleplay as well, so it's not even gonna get you looked down upon by the nerdherd.