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Traab
2011-01-01, 04:47 PM
Someone who knows nothing about classes, gods, alignments, rules of the game, what the stats all mean, etc. How many books would I need to buy to be able to start a character without looking like a total freaking moron? And which ones? Im looking more for the essentials than any esoteric stuff, like covering really odd cross race combinations and classes. Would I basically have to spend the next 2 months studying to have enough memorized to fulfill my role in a group of experienced players without having to hear the sighs of irratation?

ThePhantom
2011-01-01, 04:51 PM
First thing to get, the player's handbook. Sure, it doesn't have all the stuff there is, but it does have the basics. Read it, and get an idea of what kind of character you want to play. That's the place to start from.

Greenish
2011-01-01, 04:54 PM
Someone who knows nothing about classes, gods, alignments, rules of the game, what the stats all mean, etc. How many books would I need to buy to be able to start a character without looking like a total freaking moron? And which ones? Im looking more for the essentials than any esoteric stuff, like covering really odd cross race combinations and classes. Would I basically have to spend the next 2 months studying to have enough memorized to fulfill my role in a group of experienced players without having to hear the sighs of irratation?Which game?
Which edition?

Strawberries
2011-01-01, 04:54 PM
Uhm...we are talking about D&D, right?
In that case, which edition?

Because, if it's 3.5, I started only with the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/index.htm), and bought the player's handbook at a later date, and I've been just fine till now (well, my first DM helped me with character creation, but that's about it).

Also, the best way to learn it's to play. :smallsmile:

EDIT:ninja'd on the Which game/which edition bit. :smalltongue:

Chaos rising
2011-01-01, 04:56 PM
Second thing you should get is the DM handbook, third is a monster manual. After that, you can homebrew everything else. I find making new stuff half the fun. I have run several campaigns with nothing but home brewed monsters. It drives the munchkins nuts.

Traab
2011-01-01, 05:00 PM
Which game?
Which edition?

You see, thats the thing, I meant D&D, my fault for not spelling it out. But I dont KNOW what edition! I know nothing about the game, its rules, its editions, or anything else. So which edition should I be learning about?

Greenish
2011-01-01, 05:01 PM
You see, thats the thing, I meant D&D, my fault for not spelling it out. But I dont KNOW what edition! I know nothing about the game, its rules, its editions, or anything else. So which edition should I be learning about?Who are you going to be playing with?

Strawberries
2011-01-01, 05:03 PM
You see, thats the thing, I meant D&D, my fault for not spelling it out. But I dont KNOW what edition! I know nothing about the game, its rules, its editions, or anything else. So which edition should I be learning about?

Well, that depends on which edition the people you are gaming with are playing. The current one is 4th edition, but a lot of people use the previous one, which is the 3.5. The site I linked you to has the rules for 3.5 edition, for instance.

That's really something you should ask to your gaming group before buying something.

Traab
2011-01-01, 05:07 PM
Ok, so im seeing the player handbook and the srd are the two biggest things. Do I still need the dm book if I dont intend to BE a dm just yet? I wouldnt want to start running games when I barely know the basic rules myself after all. :p
And I dont have anyone setup to play with currently. The way my mind works is, I like to get the "training" done before I start to try and actually do something, so in this case id likely read these books, then locate a group of people willing to include one more in their campaigns and such. Then id be able to gain the experience I need to apply the stuff ive been reading about and go from there. Ive always found the idea of D&D to be fascinating, its just, in my neck of the woods there really isnt a large pool of people to draw from that feel the same way. Hell, I couldnt even find any Magic card players at the freaking comic book shop! (before it closed) I was able to find a stack of books for sale that cover all sorts of D&D stuff, I just didnt know which ones I needed to get, which ones would be for the extra stuff, and which ones wouldnt be useful for teaching me how to play.

Strawberries
2011-01-01, 05:18 PM
No, you wouldn't need the DM guide. The player's handbook is enough to start.

You do have to decide which edition you want to learn, tho. I know next to nothing of 4th edition, but I heard it's quite different from the previous one.

However, if you know really nothing of the game... read the SRD a bit. Start with "the basic". Some concepts are going to be the same no matter what edition you use (rolling dice, skill checks et cetera).

However, I stand by my point that the best way to learn is to play. Learn as you go and so on.
And if you have problems finding a group I always suggest play by post. I know I'm biased, but that's how I learned. :smallsmile:

Traab
2011-01-01, 05:28 PM
No, you wouldn't need the DM guide. The player's handbook is enough to start.

You do have to decide which edition you want to learn, tho. I know next to nothing of 4th edition, but I heard it's quite different from the previous one.

However, if you know really nothing of the game... read the SRD a bit. Start with "the basic". Some concepts are going to be the same no matter what edition you use (rolling dice, skill checks et cetera).

However, I stand by my point that the best way to learn is to play. Learn as you go and so on.
And if you have problems finding a group I always suggest play by post. I know I'm biased, but that's how I learned. :smallsmile:


The play by post thing was actually one of the reasons I even bothered asking these questions. :p As I said before, I have had pretty much no luck finding people interested in D&D or really, any sort of game along those lines. So when I saw that on the forum list I figured maybe id have a shot to actually learn and play the game. :p

Ok, so, from the sound of it, I really need to read the srd to cover at least the basics. And from there I can actually learn by doing by playing a game, and pick up the rules of whatever edition that way. Sounds like a plan.

Lord Loss
2011-01-01, 05:30 PM
D&D 3.5: If you have a computer at hand, all you need is the SRD. i still reccomend getting the PHB. If you like the game and want more books to expand your options: PHBII is a good place to start. From there, Tome of Battle: Book of the Nine Swords or Tome of Magic are both great additions. Finally, the Complete series (Complete Adventurer, Complete Scoundrel, Complete Divine, etc.) are good places to look for goodies. If you like magic, but find it bland as-is, I recommend Expanded Psionics Handbook or Magic of Incarnum (I found the last kind of bland, but some of my friends love it) . Last, but not least, Magic Item Compendium is an amazing book for both players and DMs, no matter your character.

D&D 4e: I reccomend getting Essentials before getting the pHB. It presents an easy to learn, functional (albeit not all that diverse) look at D&D that doesn't require heaps of errata to use. You won't find the wealth of customization of the PHB (or of 3.5 D&D, but that's a flamewar for another time), but it's far easier to use, learn and understand and it doesn't require errata, so I find it preferable to PHB. If you're going to get just one essentials book, get Heroes of the Fallen Lands, as it contains all the common fantasy staples. If you want all the Essentials characters options, get Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms as well. Finally, if you want to diversify your collection, get the PHB, the PHBIII and possibly the PHBII as well as any one of the "power" books that suit your character type (divine, martial, arcane, etc.) I've heard great things about the first Adventurer's Vault (It's kinda like Magic item Compendium for 3.5) , but don't bother with the second (or so I've heard).

EDIT: I'm not very busy at the moment, so, if you're going with 3.5 I'd happily run a "newbie" campaign on these forums. I don't have the DM books for 4e, so I couldn't run that, unfortunatley.

Strawberries
2011-01-01, 05:32 PM
The play by post thing was actually one of the reasons I even bothered asking these questions. :p As I said before, I have had pretty much no luck finding people interested in D&D or really, any sort of game along those lines. So when I saw that on the forum list I figured maybe id have a shot to actually learn and play the game. :p

Ok, so, from the sound of it, I really need to read the srd to cover at least the basics. And from there I can actually learn by doing by playing a game, and pick up the rules of whatever edition that way. Sounds like a plan.

:smallsmile:
If you're interested in play by post on this site, check the link to the guide in my signature. It should cover the basics.

And also, PM me for any question you may have, 'kay? I'm still quite a newbie myself, but that means I remember quite well what are the most confusing things when you're starting out. :smallwink:

Traab
2011-01-01, 05:43 PM
Give me some time to trudge through the basics first. I do have some random bits of knowledge, things like, spell casters can only cast spells so many times a day based on their level and the level of the spell, mainly what ive picked up by playing various computer games that run off D&D style rules like the baldurs gate series iirc. May have the wrong series, but I do know ive played a few D&D style games, with character stat rolls, items with stats on them like does 3d10+5 fire damage, etc. So I have picked up on bits and pieces, I just have to get it all together.

Lateral
2011-01-01, 08:15 PM
I... kind'a just picked it up by reading through the SRD and looking at a crapload of RP forum threads. I dunno, if you've played similar games (I started with 4e), it's a piece of cake to learn.

D20 SRD. (http://www.d20srd.org/index.htm) Read everything in there.

EVERYTHING.

EagleWiz
2011-01-01, 09:16 PM
Most D&D based computer games use 2nd edition. 3.5 has a lot of similaritys to 2nt edition. 4th edition, not so much. All you really need for 3.5 is the Players handbook (or the SRD). Once you find out what kind of charactors you like to build you can go from there if you want and get some books in the complete series or the PHB 2. You dont need monster manuals or the DMG unless you plan on DMing.

AslanCross
2011-01-02, 01:44 AM
It's entirely possible to learn just from the d20SRD, as was mentioned. If you'd like to play 4E, you're going to have to shell out money for books. The reason for this is that the licensing for 3.x and 4E were done in different ways.

Major portions (practically everything you need) are legal to access for free under the 3.x Open Gaming License; the Game System License for 4E is a different creature altogether.

It's up to you which one you'd like to get, but the Player's Handbook is definitely the one you really need to get the handle on the basics.