Some advice

[crazyracer554]

So I live in a small town in Albany Ga and a tornado hit our home back in January we lost everything I was telling my son and daughter about how when I was a kid we played d&d not PlayStations lol. Well they were interested in the hole idea now well I'm living in my mom's old house with just enough money to make ends meat what would be the best way to create maps and miniatures and a cheap place to buy dice I'm almost flat broke any advice??? I haven't played since adnd Thanks!!

[Mhl7]

So I live in a small town in Albany Ga and a tornado hit our home back in January we lost everything I was telling my son and daughter about how when I was a kid we played d&d not PlayStations lol. Well they were interested in the hole idea now well I'm living in my mom's old house with just enough money to make ends meat what would be the best way to create maps and miniatures and a cheap place to buy dice I'm almost flat broke any advice??? I haven't played since adnd Thanks!!

If a computer with internet is an option, you can check out Roll20.net. There, you can create maps and play on them.

Alternatively, you can also use the "theater of the mind" rule. Don't bother with miniature and maps, just narrate the encounters.

I also run an adventure once drawing maps on grid paper with the pen and the location of the characters with pencils, so that it was possible to update the latter without erasing the former.

For the dice, I have no idea where you can find them in the US and at what price. However, I bet that you can get a d20 for about a dollar. With a d20 you can simulate any other die. It can bog down the game, though.

[nickl_2000]

So I live in a small town in Albany Ga and a tornado hit our home back in January we lost everything I was telling my son and daughter about how when I was a kid we played d&d not PlayStations lol. Well they were interested in the hole idea now well I'm living in my mom's old house with just enough money to make ends meat what would be the best way to create maps and miniatures and a cheap place to buy dice I'm almost flat broke any advice??? I haven't played since adnd Thanks!!

I've been using this for indoor encounters. It lets you make and print out image that you can use. http://www.stonesword.com/dungeonmaker.php

As for dice, buying one of the "5 complete sets of die" from amazon was the cheapest way to go. With a little research I was about to get it for either $12 or $15. The advantage is they were cheap, the disadvantage is that you get cheap die and you don't get to choose the color. For example, I got a lovely set of transparent Pink die in the set. Still, you can turn that to you advantage. I proudly bring the die to every session, and if a player is rolling horribly all night they are forced to take on and play with the "Pink Dice of Shame"

[CaptainSarathai]

Ouch, man I feel for you. That's terrible.

As far as dice, you can use decks of playing cards:

D10/20 = hearts and spades, Ace-10. Spades are +10 when rolling d20
D4/8 = diamonds and clubs, 10-King. Clubs are +4 when rolling a d8.
D6/12 = diamonds and clubs, Ace-6. Clubs are +6 when rolling a d12.

For a battle map, there are some options. The best I've made, was to buy some cheap poster-sheet, a poster frame, and some dry-erase markers. Draw a grid on the poster sheet, slip it into the frame and the dry erase markers make it all reusable. You could also just laminate the poster board.
If you're really tight, grid some regular printer paper, slip them into those 3-ring binder sleeves, and tape them together.

For minis, I use paper with a stick figure and the names, folded into a /\ and taped to a penny. Draw a stick-figure version of your creature on it, or just number it or write the creature name on.

[DivisibleByZero]

If money is an issue, all you need to do is visit a game shop and buy a single set of dice. Everyone shares this set. The Basic Rules can be downloaded from Wizards' site, so you don't even need to buy rule books if you don't want to. Granted, the Basic Rules don't have the ever increasing number of options that rule books have, and in fact they don't even have all of the options of the PHB, but technically you don't need to buy anything at all except a set of dice.
Maps and minis are nice (for some groups), but they aren't required. Imagination is the key.

[Kurt Kurageous]

Minis for cheap? Oooh yeah! Done!

Ihearprintandplay.com dowwnload and print pdf paper minis. Color with colored pencils, pens, close with glue sticks. Weight with pennies and tacky glue. I have a hundred or so, and I don't feel deprived.

If you have a smartphone, a lot of dice rolling apps out there.

Theater of the mind is just fine, but it you must mat...I have found a yard of 1" checkered cloth hobby lobby or other cloth store works for a mat, pencils for walls.

[dejarnjc]

I've been printing minis because I'm cheap and I quite like em. Google "Printable Heroes". I paid $2 to become a patron but you can download most of his stuff for free if you want.

[crazyracer554]

Thanks everyone this means a lot

[Waazraath]

Damn man, good luck! As someone suggested, you could skip miniatures and maps, just go 'theatre of the mind' (totm). I often use a mix: draw a quick sketch on paper at the beginning of combat, how everybody is positioned at the beginning of the fight, and how the surroundings look, and go from there 'totm'. It prevents people having different ideas about the setup and allows them to use the surroudings, while it reduces the need (and extra time needed) for maps/miniatures.

Another option, if you want a more compex game than the free 5e offers: 3.5 had a huge amount of content as "free to download". There even was a guide written for that, you can find it here: http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=513 I don't know if everything still works (haven't checkt it in some time), but if it is, it allows for years and years of playing with loads of options. (though if I'm honest, I like 5e more; 3.5 more or less demands a lot of time to comprehend the mechanics, if you want to play a more or less balanced game).

GL!

[tieren]

I strongly recommend the beginner box set with the lost mines of phandelver adventure.

It will come with the dice and maps and more details than you'll get in the basic rule pdf. it was a great tool for me getting my kids into it and helping me get back into it after a long break. You could probably pick one up fairly inexpensive (compared to a $50 hardback book). [Wizards site has it for $20]