Apologies if this is lock worthy

iammattpleevee

I like the idea of DnD, I know literally nothing about it and have no one to play with. How should i get my friends into it? what do i need to know, ect? Please educate me about DnD.

DarkPrimus

You should see if there are any local gaming stores in your area - usually they will have regularly running D&D games at least once a week, and you can check it out by yourself before you invite friends along*.

As for getting them interested in it, D&D and other role-playing games are, essentially, adults playing make-believe with more structured rules. That description sounds a bit childish, but that's not necessarily a bad thing - after all, playing pretend as a child was really fucking fun, right? It's a combination of that make-believe combined with collaborative story-telling.

*The reason I suggest going by yourself at first is to get a good read on the game master and players, in case you see anything that might not mesh well with your friends. Kind of a boiler plate discretionary warning for getting into new social activities.

iammattpleevee

Alright well there's a comic store/ table top games store a ton over. They have a big tabletop room for games in the basement. How do i go about joining?

edit: by this i mean I'm fairly socially awkward and incredibly more so in situation i'm unfamiliar with this would be one

DarkPrimus

Well when I got started playing D&D I just showed up and asked when they played, and then I showed up and played - people helped me make a character and everything.

I picked a pretty good time to start playing though, showed up for the 4th Edition D&D preview game, and then for the very first 4e weekly session... if they aren't playing a Level 1 game then it might be a bit more complicated than what I went through. :P

Seriously though, just get yourself over that initial mental hurdle of interacting with people, and before you know it you'll be laughing and having a fun time with these new-found friends. Folks who play role-playing games love introducing new people to the game.

Mojo_Jojo

If you have friends who want to give it a shot, then just pick up the free intro adventure from the Wizards Of The Coast website and have a go. It tells you what to do. If you like it, then buy the books (you'll either need Essentials or The Players Handbook, Dungeon Masters Handbook and Monster Manual).

Going to a shop and playing can be off-putting compared to playing with friends. It depends on the gaming group though.