D&D starter

gold

Hey guys, I'm new here and I wanted to ask for some pointers.

My and some friends are starting a D&D campaign this weekend. We have the Red Box (4E) and one of us has played a bit in the past, but only one campaign a few years ago. Anyways, I've read that the red box is as good a place as any to start getting into it, but I was wondering if there's extra stuff I/we should be aware of while playing? Maybe some pointers you could give me? I'm a total nitwit about this, but I've been wanting to play for years.

Thanks!

CesareB

A subscription to D&D Insider is, IMO, quite valuable. It gives you access to all current rules errata, use of the Character Builder (not perfect but still really useful), and an online Monster manual/editor. It's not super expensive and there's no reason you and your gaming group couldn't chip in together and get one in common, as long as your DM trusts you not to look at anything you shouldn't.

You should also probably take a look at the WotC Forums, there's lots of info there. You and your group probably don't want to jump straight into making highly optimized perfect characters, but a quick look at the Character Optimization forum will give you a great hint at things to directly avoid, while your GM will benefit from the collected info, especially if he or she is new as well.

Since you guys are all new, it might be worthwhile to not start your campaign off in your first session, and use that to either build your characters together, or just run a one-off adventure with pre-made characters to just get the hang of the system.

DevoutlyApathetic

Recent thread about just this topic!

I would avoid the fuck out of the char op forums and not breathe a word of their existence to anybody if I were you. They are a fine thing but I'd let the game develop naturally for awhile. Half a group who copy builds exactly and half a group who aren't is a recipe for disaster.

webguy20

At least in 4ed people who copy char op builds and people who just go organic isn't as broken as it was in previous editions. I would recommend sticking to a few books though, don't go all splat book the first time out.