Some Words Of Wisdom From Players

[abhorsen950]

Basically i havent played a game yet
I hear you groan omg newb and im sorry but we all are them at some point
now for a couple of years now ive been close to buying the books until i found out you had to be 16 and over to play at this group in my local Gamesworkshop.
So looking on Amazon ive found Dungeons And Dragons roleplaying game starter set.
which im purchasing no matter what advice i am given because of the group i have peiced together, The group i have peived together is with a few friends who have never played the game nor have I therefor this will be the key to break us into the game having a few game nights of exchanging who is the dm etc.
Soon after if we enjoy the books will be bourght
im playing as a hero and will be covering as Dm sometimes
so some stips for starting games advice on books equipment etc would be fabulous.


Love to hear from you all
your advice is much apreciated

ABH

 

[nogray]

Welcome!

I hear you groan omg newb and im sorry

Nope. I think you're more likely to hear choruses of 'welcome' than groans. This is a great community.

starting games advice

Okay. Follow this link: D&D Test Drive. It's a free download of an adventure with quick start rules. As to equipment, just dice, pencils, paper, and some imagination. A big grid of some sort is awfully useful (some would say necessary) for the latest edition, as is some sort of token to represent your characters and the creatures you are facing. These can be as elaborate as painted metal minis and sculpted terrain or as simple as a tab of graph paper (presentation size, I might recommend) and some paper cut-out tokens.

Another useful piece of "gear" is the character builder, which can be used in trial form freely (up to 3rd level characters). It can be found at this link: D&D Character Builder.

Come around and ask questions often. Most of us seem to like to see and hear about new people joining in our hobby. I'd keep going on advice, but I'm in a bit of a rush at work, so time is short.

 

[abhorsen950]

Well what can i say
Thankyou
Thankyou for scrawling through my essay
and im listening to everything you have to say
also thankyou for the welcome
looking at the list of equipment you said
the set im starting out to buy contains most of it so thats excellent
secondly in the set you get a dungeon master guide which quite large and has a large monster section so luckil i wont need the monster manual soon
and instead i can get the player handbook the joys
love to hear more tips trick n hints from you guys
love to hear from you all
ABH

 

[Ork_King]

The trial mentioned above has teh first adventure laid out with flavor text, monsters and encounter maps. I think you will find it easy to learn and easy to run. Let us know when you get your gear and we would be more than happy to assist you with any other questions you might have.

And as stated above...WELCOME!

 

[Hjorimir]

Don't worry too much about running/playing the game 100% correctly. Just do your best and have fun. If you accomplish the "fun" factor, you'll find yourself reading the rules more (and more and more) and then you can make the necessary adjustments later. Just let your friends know this and explain it will take some flexibility on everybody's part to go with the flow as you game.

Oh, and welcome.

 

[the Jester]

Welcome aboard, abhorsen950! I hope you enjoy the game- I fell in love with it at first try, and we have been together ever since, since about 1980-1. Heck, my group just played last night!

Especially while you're learning the game, don't stress too much about whether you're "doing it right." If everyone is having fun, you are doing it right, no matter what anyone else says.

It's easier to give advice on specifics, so I want to touch on dming a little bit.

The group should respect the dm, including his right to run his game the way he wants to. The dm should be careful to be fair and consistent- this doesn't always mean following the rules, but rather, breaking them the same way for both players and npcs. Don't be afraid to make stuff up as you go along when you're dming- but the game will be better if you keep track of the npcs, places and plots that you sprinkle through the world.

The one thing the dm should never ever ever do is tell the players what they are doing. The players should always remain autonomous and able to make meaningful choices- that's a big part of what keeps the game fun.

Good luck, and good gaming!

 

[Alisair Longreach]

ABH

Get that basic game box. It has the basic stuff like dice, monster counters and a few tiles you need to play a good D&D game without making a huge investment in official Dungeon Tiles, minis and rulebooks.

Do download the Test Drive adventure, it is worth a few sessions of entertainment and it has updated versions of the pre-generated PC characters from the basic game. When you finish that adventure go search Wizards site for the Treasure of Talon Pass for a follow-up adventure.

 

[abhorsen950]

Thankyou

Again thankyou for your replies
sorry that i havent got back to you early ive had some problems accessings the sight.
The Set is being bourght soon and lookely ive found another player for my group hes a friend of my brothers and has a few of the books HOORAY!!
Gaming nights will be underway soon
and im looking forward to it
any pointers on what are good purchases are very welcome
thanks guys
ABH

 

[Rel]

Indeed, welcome to ENWorld. It's a great place. Hopefully we'll soon have the technical issues worked out.

My advice would mostly be to your DM (so feel free to pass this on): The players will take their cues from you. If you are upbeat and excited then they probably will be too. If you bring fun to the game then it will probably be fun.

Try to learn the rules as you go along but don't let them get in the way of this fun. If they suggest a course of action not covered in the rules as you understand them, don't say "you can't do that". Try to find a way to say "Yes!". Pick the closest applicable skill or stat and just have them go ahead and roll a d20. If they roll a 16-20 you know they probably succeeded. If they roll a 5 or under they probably failed (make that part fun too). It's only if they rolled in the middle somewhere that you need to bother figuring out whether they actually made it or not.

After you play you'll have more questions. Post them here and people will be happy to help you.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

My recommendation.. you have the basic set and that is good enough to run on by itself. Any other purchases tends to take away from getting better pizza's

I recall running games with a deck of cards and some scraps of paper since I couldn't afford even the dice, let alone the rule books!

And to echo what the the Jester said above, DnD is a game and is about being enjoyed.. both as a player and as a DM. So as long as the group is having fun together.. who really cares is that damnable Jack of Clubs {Thug gang} keeps showing up as a random encounter?


And.. definately welcome. By happenstance you have landed in what I consider the best RPG board on the internet. You can find help and assistance here no matter your skill or experience level.

I look forward to seeing your name in discussions and debates!