I want to play pen and paper D&D, how do I start?

ReusableGore

I have a group of friends (myself included) that have always wanted to get into pen and paper RPGs. I'm the organizer, I will have to be the DM. But I never know where to start.

The amount of books, different editions, and flat out cost of the D&D stuff out there is overwhelming.

So I come here seeking help. What are the absolute basic necessities for 5-6 guys to sit down and have fun playing D&D?

admanb

This and dice.

mightyspacepope

http://www.wizards.com/DnD/TryDnD.aspx

You can find the following:

-Quickstart rules.
-A couple of sample adventures.
-A program that will let you guys make low-level characters.

All at the fantastic price of $0.

Enjoy! It's an awesome hobby.

Shurakai

Here is a comprehensive Character-Maker that includes just about every option you can think of, and it is continuously updated with new stuff as it is released.

http://www.pathguy.com/cg4.htm

SkyCaptain

I'd suggest using pre-generated characters for the first adventure or two and then sticking with the PHB1 using the Character Builder for now. At least until you get your feet wet. Also, once you start writing your own adventures, if you need any monsters... check out in the link in my signature for the D&D Bestiary. It's a little empty right now, but that's just because I'm focused on creating a CSS template for it. Once that's done, I plan on putting up a new monster everyday.

Fandyien

I've been running a Darwin's World campaign on Saturdays for a few friends who wanted to learn how to role-play, and it's been a teaching experience for me. I play Ravenloft in Pathfinder every Friday with my regular group, but they're pretty intense about it, so I wanted to do something alternative that wouldn't make someone unfamiliar with role-playing cry tears of blood.

The most important thing to do with new players is to find the medium between dragging them along and not making enough suggestions; for instance, don't tell them where to go, or how to do it. Give them a good description of a room, and fuck up their attempts to do otherwise (I usually crank up the DC for tottally out of bounds moves by one or two, but I never make it impossible) to preserve the feeling of an open-ended challenge. Two of my players I've been role-playing with for like eight years. Two have never played any RPG ever. Between those four, I have everything I need to make it work.

But it's a tough balance to find. Don't let any one player take over because they're more original then the others. Encourage people to make the logical choice that drives the story by contextualization, and always punish people in-character

When my friends eschew the storyline, I am okay with it, because they always find their way back. For instance, I was running an adventure generally centered around an underground military base near a post-apoc townlet, and they decided to take the sewers because one of them had a sewer map. Okay - I let them take the sewers to the entrance of the base. They blew their way and then realized: oh, shit, this door doesn't open. There was only one other button working, thus making their choice obvious.

Needless to say, they hit the other working button, almost fell through the whole they made in the floor, and then took the elevator up to the place they had just been where the dude with the passcard was. it was hilarious, because they ended up in the same spot they would've otherwise, but they did of their own devices.

TychoCelchuuu

You could listen to the Penny Arcade D&D Podcasts (there are 3 sets of them) to get an idea for what the game plays like.

Avicus

try to get one of the starter packs with the adventures and characters all there. Try to get each player to buy their own dice. Its kinda annoying trying to find the 1 d10 when someone else ate it or whatever.

I wish I could get a good group where I live. My friends would never play

Fandyien

Yeah, everyone having dice is a pretty fantastic thing. I only have one set and I lost my D20. it's shameful.

Maticore

mightyspacepope wrote: »

http://www.wizards.com/DnD/TryDnD.aspx

You can find the following:

-Quickstart rules.
-A couple of sample adventures.
-A program that will let you guys make low-level characters.

All at the fantastic price of $0.

Enjoy! It's an awesome hobby.

It's really the truth, all you need is this and a printer (or laptops...)

Check out the OP of the critical failures 4E discussion thread for some more info.