New player - looking to learn D&D

[El Diablo]

Hey,

First off, hello, nice to meet you.
I’m a 30+ guy looking to learn D&D (inspired by the leaflet in my Lords of Waterdeep board game). Due to there being no local groups to me and doing rotating pattern shift work there is no opportunity to do so in a face to face group. After a bit of research I learned about Play by Post which led me to this forum.

I’m a total beginner, looking for a DM to run me through a solo/small group adventure. Someone who has patience for answering stupid questions (which I’m sure I’ll have lots of) and can help me to learn the basics and point me in the direction of any resources (preferably fully online as I’m not looking to put in cash at this stage) I’m in the UK so timezone is GMT but I only get a maximum of 6 hours sleep so Should have plenty of overlap with you.

Hopefully someone can take me under their wing/point me in the right direction.

Any help you can offer will be much appreciated

Thanks,
Diablo

[Ninja_Prawn]

Welcome to the forum!

The first thing to say is that the 'finding players (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?51-Finding-Players-(Recruitment))' subforum is the place to go to find a DM for a PbP game. You can post a thread with the dark green 'GM needed' tag, and give a description of the type of game you're looking to play there. As you might expect, willing DMs are always in short supply, so it might take a while to find someone, and you might have better luck trying to join a newbie-friendly game if there's one being advertised.

The second thing is to give a few general warnings about PbP: people ghost out of games very often, and it's rare for a PbP game to last longer than a month or so. It sucks, but it seems like there's nothing to be done apart from keep joining games until one sticks. Secondly, PbP games are very slow and a wise DM will tilt the game away from combat encounters as much as possible, because they slow progress to a crawl. Maybe it's not so bad in a solo game, but still. That means that PbP D&D ends up being a very different beast to face-to-face D&D. As well as having less combat focus, you've got more time to prepare what you're going to say/do, freedom to look up proper rulings, and a permanent record of everything that's gone before. Plus, the written medium is more forgiving to long monologues/narrative descriptions, you can post pictures, use text format to convey shades of meaning... but you lose out on all the non-verbal elements of face-to-face communication. So yeah, it might not be the best environment to learn D&D in.

I trust you've already got the Basic Rules (https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules)? That's the part of the rules that WotC gives away for free, and should be just about enough to enable you to play in a game (albeit a very limited one), as long as the DM has the actual books on hand.

Hope that helps as a quick intro. :smallsmile: If you have simple, stupid questions, you could hit up the Simple RAW (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?561952-Simple-RAW-for-5e-4-Smackdown-v-RAW) thread. That's the place for quick rules Q&A.

[El Diablo]

Thanks for the response and advice re: dinging a game/DM
I did look up the rules previously and admit that when I saw there were over 50 pages just dealing with creating a character I got a bit intimidated :eek:

I get what you’re saying about the differences between PbP and face to face making things a bit more tricky with learning, I’ll just have to take it as it comes I guess.

Will download the basic rules to my phone so I always have them handy and look some more at character build so I can be somewhat prepared for when the opportunity arises.

Cheers

[KorvinStarmast]

I'll get you a link to the pregenerated characters at Wizards of the Coast, but my current situation has that blocked by firewall.

Go to wizards of the coast home page, D&D, and search for pregenerated characters.
That might be of help.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Building characters is super easy. Go through the process a few times and soon you'll be creating so many characters, you won't know which ones to play!

Here are the pregenerated characters (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjm6Zvf7aXjAhXLMMAKHQRUA-gQFjAAegQIAhAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdnd.wizards.com%2Farticles%2Ffea tures%2Fcharacter_sheets&usg=AOvVaw0XlSyrHf6svIQCHWBGT7Ri) that you could just pick up and play. They're mainly intended to save time when you've got new players at the table (not a concern with PbP), but you could maybe use them as templates to help you get the hang of things.

Heh, Korvin beat me to the post, but I got the link in there! :smalltongue:

[Keravath]

Depending on where you live, you could check into any local game stores. These might sell the books and might also run Adventurer's League games. Game stores can also be a local hub for finding other players/DMs.

There are a lot of folks around who play D&D but who may not advertise their existence.

In addition, there are online games that can be run via voice or video chat or using tools like Fantasy Grounds and Roll20. Looking up D&D channels on Discord and the message boards at Fantasy Grounds, Roll20 and D&D Beyond can be a reasonable starting point to finding Play by post as well as online games.

[El Diablo]

Great information, thank you all!

The pre-gen character builds are a great help and I definitely want to create my own so they will be super useful.
I also have discord for video games so will check out the D&D channels there

[abar22]

There's a website dedicated to play by post called Rolegate. It's been my first foray into playing and though I have had a game or two die out, I've also been in a couple that are still going, six months in. Games start up all the time and they almost always welcome new players.

I also learned to play by watching Critical Role, which you can find all the episodes on YouTube. It's a D&D game by voice actors so the level of voices and RP are probably a cut or three above a typical game but it's entertaining and you do get an idea of rules and how the game is played. The Chain is another on YouTube I've enjoyed.

[Tawmis]

Thanks for the response and advice re: dinging a game/DM
I did look up the rules previously and admit that when I saw there were over 50 pages just dealing with creating a character I got a bit intimidated :eek:
I get what you’re saying about the differences between PbP and face to face making things a bit more tricky with learning, I’ll just have to take it as it comes I guess.
Will download the basic rules to my phone so I always have them handy and look some more at character build so I can be somewhat prepared for when the opportunity arises.
Cheers

Honestly, if you're new to D&D - I would recommend simply learning how to create a Fighter.
Not even a Barbarian.
Just create a fighter. Race doesn't matter too much.

The reason I say this is because the Fighter is the easiest thing to play. Most of their abilities are very straight forward.
Fighters also - other than barbarians have the most hit points (traditionally, based on their Hit Dice).

This will get you started with an easy to use character, whose abilities are very simple and straight forward. It's going to (potentially) get you great armor and a nice weapon. And with high hit points, despite being front line type, you should be able to survive most encounters.

Stay away from any casters, for being a starter (like Wizards, Warlocks, Sorcerers, Clerics, Druids) and I'd stay away from the "mix class" (such as Ranger, Monk and Bards). Spells (songs, Ki points) can be a bit overwhelming.

So the only other I'd try - if not a fighter - would be a Rogue. Because they're very straight forward, but until your comfortable with D&D, you may not enjoy playing a Rogue.

[Bjarkmundur]

I concur

Warlock and Fighter are good starting points. Simple, flavorful, yet powerful.

Druids and Wizards are likely to just kill your enthusiasm early on.

There are tons of Youtube content you can use to get some exposure while you're waiting for a chance to play. It's a very good way to learn something by watching something entertaining.

Please let us know how discord works for you. I've always been interested, but never got the chance to try it.

[Mercurias]

I got into D&D through a podcast called Drunks and Dragons during a day-long road trip for work. It was a good tutorial to tabletop in general, because it was a very patient DM trying to teach a group of his inebriated friends how to play D&D 4e (so there were a lot of repeated instructions). They eventually switched to 5e, but they stayed nuts and I love the players.

I would agree that a Druid or Wizard might be a whole lot for your first character. A Druid’s Wildshape feature requires a lot of book keeping, and a Wizard’s spell list and features have a lot of complicated stuff. It isn’t impossible to play, certainly, but it’s nicer to start with something a little simpler to learn the game. The rest comes pretty easily later.

My first character was a Light Domain Cleric, which is a Cleric with features and spells that emphasize blasting with fire and radiant damage. He was pretty fun and uncomplicated to play, and I could experiment with spells and swap them around after a long rest if I didn’t like them.

[BloodSnake'sCha]

In my country we find group in Facebook groups, I would recommend trying it.

You can still play even if your times changes, I have a group that we choose each week the time of play(we have 3 student(university), one guy that work in shifts(with rapid changes) and me who work the same hours every day).
We play in discord using our minds to draw the maps.

You can also play online, roll20 is free and have a way to look for games in it(and if someone pay some money you can even play from your phone, that is how I played when I served in the army).

You have options even if you can't meet in person.

[jaappleton]

First off...

And I truly do mean this:

Welcome to the greatest game you'll ever play.

Secondly, there's quite a few ways to get into the game. If you want to try play by post, that's one way to do it. There's also playing online, through sites like Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds. I play on Roll20 every Friday with friends across the country. I'm in Boston, my DM is in Oregon. :smalltongue: On the note of playing through 'virtual tabletop' (like Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds), there are communities dedicated to new players; they are designed to run introductory games for people new to the hobby. Though, if you're a bit anxious or apprehensive about jumping into a game like that and you'd prefer to get your feet with via play by post, I absolutely understand.

As far as any questions you have: Post 'em here. This is what we're here for, to chat with fellow players. Whether about rules questions or character builds, or just cool ideas about the game, that's what we do.

Regarding a good, simple, fun character: Lots of people say Fighter, due to its simplicity. The Champion subclass of Fighter is especially simple, but it also affords very little player choice, because there's no resources; there's very little decision making. And there's no doubt that spellcasters can be a bit overwhelming for new players, due to the sheer overwhelming number of spells and such. Its for this reason that I actually recommend something a little unconventional for a new player: Barbarian or Paladin. Barbarian truly lets you feel like a hulking warrior, able to wade into combat, shrug off blows, and beat people down. Paladin, on the other hand, gives you just a little bit of everything: You can heal a bit, you can cast a few spells, you can fight, and it certainly invokes that 'chivalrous fantasy hero' feel. Its a solid introduction into pretty much everything a player can do with a character.

As for where to begin, my suggestion is to get the Player's Handbook (or a free copy of the Basic Rules available online) and read it. Read it multiple times. Go through it over and over, again and again. I won't lie, I've read the PHB (Players Hand Book) at least... Two dozen times? And I still go back to it. Why is it so important to read it? Because really, its the only book you need. And all this extends to just the Basic Rules, if you'd rather not spend the money for the PHB. I say 'its the only book you'll need' because you can go through it again and again, and still pick up something you missed the first time. You can go through it for the 5th time and get a new idea for a character.

Finally, please remember, your characters class never dictates what your character is. Your Cleric doesn't have to be a church delegate. They can be a blacksmith if you want. Your Monk doesn't have to be a kung-fu master, they can be an amateur boxer, or a pottery salesman if you want. DO NOT CONFINE YOUR IMAGINATION!