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I have never played D&D, but I have recently been looking into it and it seems quite fun.
Can anyone give me advice on what is required and any good ways to start out?

RaptorsTallon wrote:I have never played D&D, but I have recently been looking into it and it seems quite fun.
Can anyone give me advice on what is required and any good ways to start out?

4th edition is the version that is readily available in stores right now. To be a player you will, at minimum, want to pick up the Player's Handbook. This will give you the foundation information you need to play in the game. Sadly this book is not in print right now for reasons no one can really seem to understand, so you might need to go to Ebay to find a copy or get lucky and find one on the local game store shelf.

Beyond that, as a player, you can add: Player's Handbook 2 and 3 which add more races and classes and types of character power to the game giving you many more options for characters to play.

Once you have digested those you can pick up: Arcane Power, Primal Power, Martial Power 1 & 2 and Psionic Power. These add some new builds and powers to the classes from all 3 of the Player's Handbooks.

All you really need to get started as a player, though, is that first Player's Handbook. That gives you a good mix of races and most of the classes that are generally associated with D&D: Fighter, Cleric, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Wizard and Warlord.

Now if you want to *run* the game you'll the 3 Player's Handbooks to know what to expect from player powers, plus the Dungeon Master's Guide and Dungeon Master's Guide 2, along with the 3 Monster Manual Books. There are other campaign world based books for The Forgotten Realms, Eberron and Dark Sun, but these aren't really necessary for a starting GM.

If you don't mind paying a monthly fee you can sign up for Wizard of the Coasts' D&D Insider service which gives you access to an online character creator tool and GM tools as well.

Finally, if you decide you want to start up another version of the game other than 4th edition, then the process is pretty much the same as a player: Pick up that version's Player's Handbook and go from there. There are a ton of books for all versions of D&D, but most of them are *not* required reading and you can have plenty of fun without them.

Most importantly: Have fun and enjoy the hobby!
Skriker

RaptorsTallon wrote:I have never played D&D, but I have recently been looking into it and it seems quite fun.
Can anyone give me advice on what is required and any good ways to start out?

Best way to start is to go online and find any groups in your area and try and sit in on some games. Easiest way to learn the game and determine if you want to start putting money and time into it. You may also want to check out the official website.

RaptorsTallon wrote:I have never played D&D, but I have recently been looking into it and it seems quite fun.
Can anyone give me advice on what is required and any good ways to start out?

There are many different types of DnD. It might do you well to see what your nearby FLGS deals with the most. The store owner should know of players in the area and could direct you to them. I would do this before buying any books. Also keep in mind there is the 40k rpg games, which are very good, but if your just looking for a fantasy rpg then ignore them for now.

If your looking to DM a game, then you need players and to decide on what rule set you are going to use. It's important to spend a good deal of time looking around the web for game master tips and tricks, and then to run a trial session once or twice so you can be sure you have the hang of it.

Sounds Good.
What is the difference between the different editions?
I have been looking at rulebooks online and have found these. Is this the best way to buy them and are these the right ones?
I have listened in on a game of D&D, via the Yogpod, and found it quite entertaining. I will have to look into finding a D&D group near me.

RaptorsTallon wrote:What is the difference between the different editions?

They each have very different rules and power levels. It is difficult to explain w/o people getting into an edition war generally as often opinion gets confused with fact.


OD&D: Potential
BX/BECM: Straightforward
1e: Dungeons
2e: Story
3e: Options
4e: Tactics

Ok. I think I will probably be getting edition 3.5 or edition 4 as they are the latest, and I assume easyest to obtain, editions.
How do you usualy go about finding a gaming club? I assume it will be harder for me as I live in the UK, but are there any good sites or is it just a case of finding a shop/club which does it?

Also, are there any good sites/articles/dakka threads which I might be interested in looking at?

3.5 is out of print becuase, as you noted, there is a 4e. My advice would be to find out what people in the area play. Loading up on Pathfinder won't do you much good if everyone plays 4e in your area, and vice versa.

RaptorsTallon wrote:
How do you usualy go about finding a gaming club? I assume it will be harder for me as I live in the UK, but are there any good sites or is it just a case of finding a shop/club which does it?

Search around for your nearest hobby store that sells the books, a comic book store is also a good place to look for. At the very least, finding a comic book store will help since most store owners know of other stores in the area.

Ahtman wrote:3.5 is out of print becuase, as you noted, there is a 4e. My advice would be to find out what people in the area play. Loading up on Pathfinder won't do you much good if everyone plays 4e in your area, and vice versa.

Exactly. I have noticed that some D&D is played with models and some is played without. Is there any difference?

With earlier editions minis are optional whereas in 4e they are almost mandatory.

Ahtman wrote:With earlier editions minis are optional whereas in 4e they are almost mandatory.

Ok, are the minis the same scale as warhammer fantasy, and would it be acceptable to use them?


Automatically Appended Next Post:

juraigamer wrote:

RaptorsTallon wrote:
How do you usualy go about finding a gaming club? I assume it will be harder for me as I live in the UK, but are there any good sites or is it just a case of finding a shop/club which does it?

Search around for your nearest hobby store that sells the books, a comic book store is also a good place to look for. At the very least, finding a comic book store will help since most store owners know of other stores in the area.

I think I know where I can find a comic book store so I will visit them.

It's completely acceptable to use other models, the only thing is the base size needs to be standard 1 inch squares. Larger than that is needed for bigger monsters. I've used fantasy models in dark heresy, and futuristic models in fantasy.

juraigamer wrote:It's completely acceptable to use other models, the only thing is the base size needs to be standard 1 inch squares. Larger than that is needed for bigger monsters. I've used fantasy models in dark heresy, and futuristic models in fantasy.

Well since it's on a grid and not measured by distance, you can use ANY size model for a small/medium creature, so long as you know can mark it as occupying that space. Similarly anything big enough to at least partially cover four squares should be sufficient for a large creature.

As a side note, snacks can make pretty good minis. Starburst are a good stand-in for medium creatures and peanut butter cups can fill in for large.

RaptorsTallon wrote:
I have been looking at rulebooks online and have found these. Is this the best way to buy them and are these the right ones?

Assuming it's the right version, possibly. That is, I believe, a 'starter set' in the sense that it's a Player's Handbook, a DM Guide, and a Monster Manual. If you're just playing, you really only need the PHB. It's actually kind of fun NOT knowing the exact abilities of he opposition (which is why a bad GM will say "Oh, there's a bunch of orcs in the room" while a good GM will say "Oh, there's some sort of horrid grotesque humanoid creatures." at least until the characters logically know what Orcs are.

Realistically, if you find a friendly group, they'll let you play a session or two without a rulebook. For 4th, this can be very easy as the character builder prints full details of all powers, etc. 3rd has similar tools as well, albeit 3rd party. (But I hear they're better in some ways, worse in others.) In general, for D&D you don't need the rule book the same way you do for a tabletop game.

Balance wrote:

RaptorsTallon wrote:
I have been looking at rulebooks online and have found these. Is this the best way to buy them and are these the right ones?

Assuming it's the right version, possibly. That is, I believe, a 'starter set' in the sense that it's a Player's Handbook, a DM Guide, and a Monster Manual. If you're just playing, you really only need the PHB. It's actually kind of fun NOT knowing the exact abilities of he opposition (which is why a bad GM will say "Oh, there's a bunch of orcs in the room" while a good GM will say "Oh, there's some sort of horrid grotesque humanoid creatures." at least until the characters logically know what Orcs are.

Realistically, if you find a friendly group, they'll let you play a session or two without a rulebook. For 4th, this can be very easy as the character builder prints full details of all powers, etc. 3rd has similar tools as well, albeit 3rd party. (But I hear they're better in some ways, worse in others.) In general, for D&D you don't need the rule book the same way you do for a tabletop game.

Ok, I will have to look into finding a local club.

RaptorsTallon wrote:Ok. I think I will probably be getting edition 3.5 or edition 4 as they are the latest, and I assume easyest to obtain, editions.
How do you usualy go about finding a gaming club? I assume it will be harder for me as I live in the UK, but are there any good sites or is it just a case of finding a shop/club which does it?

Also, are there any good sites/articles/dakka threads which I might be interested in looking at?

3.5 Is no longer in print so ebay, a game store with a used book section or flea markets will be your best bets for finding the actual books. Might even be some for sale in the Trading section of Dakka.

As for finding a club, you can check in at your local hobby store. They often will have boards with contact information for GMs looking for players and vice versa. I've just luckily had a constant stream of friends for the last 30+ years that game so I haven't really had to try and find a group to play with per se.

Unfortunately there isn't as much D&D talk on Dakka as other sites. You can find good supporting info and such at Wizards of the Coast's website.

Skriker

Generaly, how much does playing D&D cost, including all the set up stuff like the rulebooks?

RaptorsTallon wrote:Generaly, how much does playing D&D cost, including all the set up stuff like the rulebooks?

Can be Free, assuming the group you play with has books you can read from. You often don't even have to buy your own PHB. Check out the groups you can find, and what they want you to bring.

RaptorsTallon wrote:Generaly, how much does playing D&D cost, including all the set up stuff like the rulebooks?

As a player since all you need at the beginning is the player's handbook you are looking at around $30-$40 USD. Beyond that it can get really expensive if you want to own all of the books, especially for 2nd or 3rd edition. There were just way too many books for those. Not as many for 4th edition, yet...

Skriker

Another popular option for players is to buy just the Player's Handbook and then subscribe to D&D Insider. For something like $70/year, you get access to the content from every published book through the D&D Compendium and Character Builder.

Having that as an option has stopped me from buying every single book and saved me a ton.

If you buy only one book at this point I would say the current rules compendium. It has all the updated rules for 4th (meaning it works for 4e and Essentials) and will let you know how the game plays. With the online char builder you don't really need players handbooks as you can just read all the info in one spot there.

That is a really good point. I never bought the Rules Comp, but it is more up to date than the PHB.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Random rules are the only thing that the online Compendium really doesn't do well.

Right, I am going to ask a question which I am aware often sparks rows, but please try not to do that this time.

What are the major differences between 3.5 and 4 and why do they cause arguments and disagreement between veteran players?

RaptorsTallon wrote:Generaly, how much does playing D&D cost, including all the set up stuff like the rulebooks?

For my group? Maybe $10/game, but that varies depending on how much food and booze people want.

There's some 'spiky' expenses as well: Everyone bought a PHB up-front. Some of us have more books, some of us less.

The GM has a DDI account, so we can get access to most 4th edition material. We can store characters on it

The GM buys adventures (but could make his own, pre-buying is just easier as we all have jobs).

Also, judging by the flags next to you guys, It seems D&D is much more popular in the USA. Is that right?

RaptorsTallon wrote:Right, I am going to ask a question which I am aware often sparks rows, but please try not to do that this time.

What are the major differences between 3.5 and 4 and why do they cause arguments and disagreement between veteran players?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Editions_of_Dungeons_%26_Dragons#Differences_from_Dungeons_.26_Dragons_v3.5

Please never ask that question again. It is the surest way to start nastiness.

That is what I had heared about. Please Don't.

From what I have read, 3.5 had more freedom where as 4 is more structured.

RaptorsTallon: If you want to get the rules for 3.5 or Pathfinder (the sort of "new" 3.5 that is very popular) then you can get them online (legally) very easily.
http://www.d20srd.org/
This is the 3.5 rules, completely searcheable.

For pathfinder:
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/
here are the core rules.
Pathfinder has a lovely main book though.

As to what the difference between them is, well, I like both systems.
Pathfinder offers players more freedom and has more rules related to things that happen outside of combat. It has a looser approach to combat that is easier to abstract so you don't have to use minis. It has gorgeous artwork in it's books and publishes flavourful adventures and settings. It's tone and feel are great.
However, Pathfinder is harder for the GM to run, and it still has balance issues at very high levels.

4th edition offers a bit less freedom in build (though it is not incredibly restrictive) and more tactical, defined combat. The core is a very well balanced game (though I've heard some newer books tip this balance somewhat) that is easy to run, play and understand. A grid with markers at least is needed for combat, minis aren't essential. 4th offers a lot more expansions and so on than Pathfinder, and more material in general. Not all of the material is of a high quality however. (I recommend the Underdark setting book and the Darksun setting book as two decent ones). It is really easy for the GM to run, something I appreciate, and it is simple to build a character for people who aren't into rules.
It's biggest problem is the tone and feel it puts across which is very much a one sided high fantasy feel with a lot of pyrotechnics and high fantasy heroics. However this is easily altered by players with some imagination, and it does what it does (pulp fantasy adventure) extremely well.

I'm going to be running a pathfinder AND 4th edition game soon enough, so I gotta say I see the attraction of both.

RaptorsTallon wrote:Also, judging by the flags next to you guys, It seems D&D is much more popular in the USA. Is that right?

27% of DakkaDakka users are American.

http://www.sharenator.com/w/dakkadakka.com