New Player help

[sgtcsgrove 1]

I am a huge fan of Brian's and started listening to Nerd Poker just because of him, I know find myself really wanting to play D&D. I have looked at the 4th edition red box but have heard many bad things about it. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to start?

[RiffWizard 6]

Hi. I suggest checking out this site: http://www.rpggamefind.com/. You can search for a game locally to join and in most cases you'll find a group that is willing to take on a newbie. I started playing again early this year after a 20 year "break" and was able to put together a group of 6 in my area. We're playing 4the edition and while it does have a bit more of a board game feel I do think, personally, that it's easier than 2nd edition to play. The key is a good group. You have a good group and you'll have a blast regardless. PM me if you have any questions.

[Chaosound 50]

check this out too

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/event.aspx?x=dnd/4new/event/dndencounters

it's a weekly game sponsored by Wizards of the Coast. Held Wednesday nights at local game or comic shops.

[RiffWizard 6]

The encounters are a little on the, well, meh side but definitely a good way to get started without jumping right into a full blown group. They lack the ability to really build up a character and mold his/her attitude, interests and style. But if you're in an area with no games and your friends aren't interested, it's a great way to get started.

[Larfox 0]

I started playing for the first time a few weeks ago, after finding a D&D Encounters in my neighborhood. It was a good way to learn the game. I bought the Players Handbook off of Ebay for $5 and a subscription to D&D Insider.

 

The problem I have right now is that D&D Encounters group is nothing but 10-15 year olds. Being 30 years old, it kinda makes it a bit less fun, especially since a lot of the players are only using melee or ranged basic attacks and have no idea what's going on with their character sheet.

 

I am taking the time to read through the Dungeon Master Guide and writing my own adventures so that I may put together a game with people closer to my age group.

 

One thing you might want to check out is Roll 20. It is a kickstarter funded online web based online virtual tabletop RPG community. There are newbie friendly games out there that you can get into. I did my first one last week, roleplaying with 4e rules as Celebrities/Historical figures. I played the pirate Blackbeard who I rolled up as a Swordmage.

[Chaosound 50]

I finally started playing D&D Encounters also after not being able to get a regular group together. It's fun and convenient. Luckily where I play it's actually mostly people 30+ with a few mid 20s. No kids other than the couple people who bring their teens along to play with them (like I did).Yeah I agree the way Encounters is set up & 4e in general it's more a battle/skirmish game than an RPG. It's all about beat these bad guys 7 get to the next bad guys. With those drawbacks I still enjoy it and look forward to playing each week. Hopefully I will be able to use the experience to spin off into a home game with some people I meet at Encounters.

[please delete this account 16]

I used to play the original AD&D in the 80s in junior HS, but this stupid podcast (and a vacation with nothing to do) inspired me to pick it up again.

 

I poked around and found there are people out there still playing 1, 2, 3.5, and 4, so deciding on a version is tough. And 5 is allegedly coming in a year or two. So I'd find people to play with and make a version decision before buying anything. I just went with 4e because its current and the people I roped into playing with me were all starting from scratch, too.

 

First I bought the 'red box' and it was pretty pointless aside from giving you a rough 'choose your own adventure' style idea of the mechanics, but you can't even roll up a complete character with the info there. I'd say your best bet (especially if you're joining people who know what they're doing) is a set of dice and a 4e Players Handbook first (Like Sark said in his thread, buy "1," dont get PH2 or 3, you can just fudge numbers for weird races/classes) and some dice first,

 

If you're starting from scratch with all new players, you'll need the DM guide (again, the basic one for your edition). There's an OK starter adventure in there too. The Monster Manual is the most fun book, but not really necessary until you're making up your own adventures, since monster stats seem to be universally included with adventures. I've just been grabbing the free adventures on the Wizards site and other sites.

 

I like 4e alright (only comparing it to what I remember of original AD&D), but (like they've always been) the books are confusing at first until you have 40 post-it-notes sticking out and notes in the margins. Info you need to play a basic game is spread out all over and there are too many details cluttering up the basic concepts. Aside from that I think 4e is pretty decent, I'm not a huge fan of the battle maps/figures and I certainly am not going to spend money on that, so I've just been printing out 1" graph paper and using Lego blocks or slips of paper or coins for markers.

 

What I really liked about Sark's story in the podcast is that it's not all pseudo-medieval/LOTR stereotypical D&D with an dwarf and an elf and a wizard going into a dungeon with torches and fighting room after roomful of orcs, but I've been disappointed with the Wizards-published adventures. We're doing one called "Rescue at Rivenroar" which is pretty decent but I'd love to see some fresh ideas in 'dungeons,' especially shorter campaigns for just a couple low-level players that can be completed in a couple sittings. I have no intention of completing a three-year-long campaign and getting into paragon paths and all that, I just like the role-playing aspect of it and goofing around with a story and having fun. Anyone have any suggestions there?

 

I've only been playing for a few weeks, I still have no idea what i'm doing and I've been DMing so I'd love to actually play myself. Anyone in Chicagoland that'd be into getting together to play with the same balance of reverence and sillyness of Nerd Poker? I'm playing with a couple friends and our kids and it's fun but it's hard to get more than 3-4 of us together at a time and we've all got toddlers running around too so we can't blast SunnO))) and drink booze and curse while we play.

[brotherTodd 22]

@illnoise

Damn... If only you had started a little sooner... I would have loved to join, even would have dusted off my DM hat... Regretfully, I'm leaving NWI in a couple of months, for warmer climates. Good luck!

[please delete this account 16]

Ha, speaking of Chicago, I'm still catching up on episodes and only halfway through, so I just heard Brian's "Wesley Willis Headbutt" At-Will action. I'm totally going to roll up a Wesley Willis character.

 

Rock over London, Rock On Chicago, Burger King, for when you need diarrhea at the airport, that's Burger King!