Getting started in D&D

[deadly7]

Well, since my friends and I are talking about getting a D&D group together, and none of them wants to be DM so I said I would (because I have kinda done it once.. or twice.. with it all laid out) I was wondering what a good book would be to learn all the rules.  Also, a book on how to set up things as a DM would be nice, too.

[rabbit]

Basically, you'll want (and need most of) these.  And some d20 and d6s.

[iago]

Definitely this book :-P

[deadly7]

Definitely this book :-P

Is that sarcasm? =|

[Sidoh]

No. ^_^

[leet_muffin]

I know Newby used to have a few .pdf D&D books up, but you'd probably rather have the a physical version.

[Newby]

Blah.

[deadly7]

No. ^_^

Eww.

I know Newby used to have a few .pdf D&D books up, but you'd probably rather have the a physical version.

Yeah.. the physical version of books totally pwn the ebook version.

Blah.

Still.. hook me up and I'll at least give them a readthrough. :D

[rabbit]

What about the Sony ebook Reader version?  A PHYSICAL EBOOK!! DUN DUN DUN!!

[BigAznDaddy]

Blah.

what happened to your D&D group

did you guys give it up??

[iago]

Definitely this book :-P

Is that sarcasm? =|

Yes, I was calling you a dummy :P.  Actually, I saw that book in Barnes&Nobel, and it got me curious.  I wish I'd flipped through it, now. 

The post before mine that linked to the D&D Starters Kit is where you ought to start, though.  Whether in hard-copy or e-form, that's what you need. 

It's easy to find e-copies of D&D books, take them to your local Office Depot or Staples or whatever, and spend $15 to print/bind each book.  It's a hell of a lot cheaper than buying the books, but it's not as nice.  And where I live, they don't even ask you if it's copyrighted :)


And the best advice I can give you for DM'ing: don't be too rigid.  And don't try to plan for any detail.  If you do, you're forcing your players to follow your set path, and discouraging exploration and creativity.  That's a mistake I see a lot of DM's make.

[leet_muffin]

Blah.

what happened to your D&D group

did you guys give it up??

More or less. I'm still hoping for a new group to form... The only thing is that we'd need a DM, and Newby seems to protest becoming one.

[deadly7]

What about the Sony ebook Reader version?  A PHYSICAL EBOOK!! DUN DUN DUN!!

No.

Yes, I was calling you a dummy :P.  Actually, I saw that book in Barnes&Nobel, and it got me curious.  I wish I'd flipped through it, now. 

The post before mine that linked to the D&D Starters Kit is where you ought to start, though.  Whether in hard-copy or e-form, that's what you need. 

It's easy to find e-copies of D&D books, take them to your local Office Depot or Staples or whatever, and spend $15 to print/bind each book.  It's a hell of a lot cheaper than buying the books, but it's not as nice.  And where I live, they don't even ask you if it's copyrighted :)


And the best advice I can give you for DM'ing: don't be too rigid.  And don't try to plan for any detail.  If you do, you're forcing your players to follow your set path, and discouraging exploration and creativity.  That's a mistake I see a lot of DM's make.

I couldn't tell!  Heh.  I don't like *For Dummies, but that's just me.

D&D Starters Kit.. all right.  I think I can scravenge up money for that.  Is that pieces and stuff, too, or just rule books/guides?

Eh.  I have no "local" Office Depot or Staples that I know of.  The closest one is.. five+ miles from my house.

Truth be told, I was just going to pick an area and kind of improvise from there. :P

[Sidoh]

The *For Dummies books obviously have completely different staffs for most books, so I'm not sure why you have such a notion against them!  I think you just don't want to be seen reading a book implying that you're a dummy. :P

[iago]

I couldn't tell!  Heh.  I don't like *For Dummies, but that's just me.

D&D Starters Kit.. all right.  I think I can scravenge up money for that.  Is that pieces and stuff, too, or just rule books/guides?

Eh.  I have no "local" Office Depot or Staples that I know of.  The closest one is.. five+ miles from my house.

Truth be told, I was just going to pick an area and kind of improvise from there. :P

Well, a lot of people don't play with "pieces and stuff", I personally only use books and dice.  We can (and have *looks at Sidoh*) argue all day about whether or not using miniatures/figs is good, but there's one thing we can agree with: they cost more money.  So if you want to experiment, if for nothing else, I recommend not using figs.  But it's up to you. 

If you want a really simple game that you can mold yourself (that's how I started), you should consider my Tunnels&Trolls rules.  They're pretty straight-forward and open-ended.  I tried to keep the rules as simple and fast as possible, for the most part, which lets you spend more time on the game and less time looking up rules and rolling dice.  That's my personal preference, but again, it varies from person to person, some gamers I know are very much into rules, to the point where half the game time is spent flipping through stacks of rule books. 

It really takes some experimenting, with a group of 2 or 3 good friends, before you figure out what you're doing.  It definitely won't be easy the first time, especially because you've never played a game (I don't think?), but just have fun with it, and always keep in mind that you're there to have fun.