An update on recent technical problems and more from the admin: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/250292/on-technical-difficulties-mod-coverage-and-other-things/p1?new=1
Options
Intro to Crictical Failures (Table Top Gaming Noob)
bloodatonement
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So after Community's AD&D episode last week, I'm wanting to dip my toe into the world of table top RPGs, but not sure where to start. I'm not ready to make a long term commitment to any game, so something I can pick up play with out too much need for leveling would be nice.
I'm thinking the D&D Starter kit, cause it's cheap, and I need a place to, well, start.
However, I'm not firmly set on playing D&D. Real Life Comics has put Munchkin on my radar, but it seems to get mixed reviews.
I have no friends who play D&D, though I do have a buddy who's pretty big into board games (Puerto Rico, Ticket to Ride, Settlers, and, in the past at least, Star Wars CCG), who would be willing to try out what ever I settle on and I can probably wrangle a few others into at least 1 game.
TL;DR: What's a good game for test run of TT RPGs?
I'm thinking the D&D Starter kit, cause it's cheap, and I need a place to, well, start.
However, I'm not firmly set on playing D&D. Real Life Comics has put Munchkin on my radar, but it seems to get mixed reviews.
I have no friends who play D&D, though I do have a buddy who's pretty big into board games (Puerto Rico, Ticket to Ride, Settlers, and, in the past at least, Star Wars CCG), who would be willing to try out what ever I settle on and I can probably wrangle a few others into at least 1 game.
TL;DR: What's a good game for test run of TT RPGs?
bloodatonement on
0
Posts
The good news is that I bought that same box to try and lure my wife into D&D and she is really wanting to try a full-blown adventure. Hopefully that plays out the same for you and your friend.
Munchkin is awesome - get 2 or 3 of your friends and play it. It's really silly; they'll get a laugh if they've ever played any roleplaying games (Final Fantasy, etc). Get the basic one for 19.99 or so and you'll enjoy it!
they don't it be like it is but it do
Steam ID: Good Life
You could also try the Keep on the Shadowfell sample adventure for free on the DnD website. It should still be there, look for a link in Aegeri's massive OP for the 4e Discussion thread. It comes with premade characters, too.
Your friend has taste and distinction.
Anyway, as far as tabletop rpg's, I agree that the Keep on the Shadowfell is a good starting place. It's free, comes with basically everything you need to play including premade characters, is pretty straightforward while giving you a sense of what goes on, and is also free. (free is important).
I'm going to recommend against munchkin though, because it's not really like playing a game of D&D or something, unless your group is full of bitter spiteful assholes who attempt to screw each other at every turn. Not to get too much into whether it's a good game or not, but it's VASTLY different from a real group roleplaying game.
At any rate, if you can't convince your friends because they're d-bags or something, then there's websites you can go to to find groups nearby. I know Obsidian Portal does that, though I've never used it myself.
As someone else was saying, Munchkin is not an RPG. It is to table-top RPGs as those 'multiplayer' fantasy-themed 'games' on facebook where you pick X missions to get XP for per day are to MMORPGs. The theme is the same-ish and it has a few of the same trappings at least in name, but the experience could very nearly not be more different.
If your friend is just bound and determined to stick to the world of boardgames rather than RPGs, I'd recommend trying to talk him into a game of the D&D Castle Ravenloft game. It plays like a stripped down version of 4th Edition D&D without the roleplaying (and I wouldn't have guessed you could strip down 4E combat any more, but they managed it). If your friend likes it then it is a very short step to actually playing 4E and you would know half the rules before you start. And unlike other dungeon crawl games, it's co-op and doesn't take 5 hours to play through.
They heartily enjoyed it.
Steam ID: Good Life