How would I go about...

[Uriel Valentine]

Getting into DnD now?

I mean, would it be better to start off on 3 or 4e? I've been reading around for quite a while and I basically grasp the current (I suppose 3.5?) edition. Seems everyone's on equal footing as far as 4e goes though, so I wouldn't have to worry about not knowing as much as other people. Though I haven't heard too many favourable 4e reports...

Would it be worth picking up 3rd at this point? I mean... Are there going to be crowds sticking with it?

I don't know of anywhere that runs games near me, nor how to find out about such places. It's not like a student like me has the money to throw around on loads of sourcebooks either... Especially not for something I'm not even sure I'll be fanatical for. I just want to give it a shot, really.

Basically I just want to know how would be best to get started nowadays. I thought of the PbP forums here, but I'm not as savvy with all the terminology as everyone else seems to be, and I don't want to slow people down.

Advice, anyone?

[Azerian Kelimon]

Go with 4th edition. Most people are going to change, and without many supplemental books, a wide array of character concepts are unviable in 3.5. Not to mention, 4th is much more newbie friendly.

[Chronos]

Step one, find a group of people you would enjoy hanging out with, and whose schedule and location is good for you joining the group.

Step two, play whatever they're playing. What group you play with makes a much bigger difference than what system you use.

[Azerian Kelimon]

Step one, find a group of people you would enjoy hanging out with, and whose schedule and location is good for you joining the group.

Step two, play whatever they're playing. What group you play with makes a much bigger difference than what system you use.

I don't know of anywhere that runs games near me, nor how to find out about such places. It's not like a student like me has the money to throw around on loads of sourcebooks either... Especially not for something I'm not even sure I'll be fanatical for. I just want to give it a shot, really.

No group of people nearby. Thus, he HAS to make a choice of 3.5 or 4th to join us here. Because of that, I say 4th.

[Collin152]

Don't give in!
Go with 3.5!
You know you want to!

[Signmaker]

Personally, I would suggest 4E. I myself won't go in to it for another half of a year, but I know that eventually, it's going to catch on. Might as well ride the wave.

[Chronos]

No group of people nearby. Thus, he HAS to make a choice of 3.5 or 4th to join us here. Because of that, I say 4th.

"Us here" includes players of both versions, but that's much larger than a gaming group. Someone looking to join a play-by-post should still pick a group of a handful of people who seem fun to hang out with. Surely, on this forum, there are some people you'd rather game with than others?

[Skyserpent]

3.5 might be better for Play by Post, judging from the less "Gridmap" focused combat system, though I can't imagine 4e would be too tough either. As far as systems go, I myself am having a load of fun with 4e right now, though 3.5 was quite a blast when I was playing it...

[Lycan 01]

College or high school student? Because if you're in college, there shouldn't be too much trouble finding a group to join...


I was in the same situation as you. Wanted to play, had nobody to play with, and knew nothing about DnD other than what I learned from OotS. Eventually (actually, 4 days ago...) me and my GF, who'd also been wanting to play, ended up playing a game of 3.5e with her best friend's brother. The thing is, he only had something called "Basic Game" which only had the rules for combat and movement... >.< So we decided to get a PHB. Our question... which PHB to get?

3.5e? Or 4e?

We decided 4e. Why? Because all 4 of us have no idea what we're doing, and 4e is easier for noobies.


My point is: Just look around, and you'll find players.

And 4e is best for new players, although it lacks the some of the races, classes, and opportunities of 3.5e.

3.5e (which I managed to get the hang of through internet sites and cool people over the last few days) is more detailed and has more options, albiet its also VERY complicated... (the fact that my friends hate math helped in the decision, too...)


At least, that is what all I've been led to believe... *shrug*

[Avor]

Don't give in!
Go with 3.5!
You know you want to!

Trust us, you do.

4th edition is just D&D minitures mixed with WoW.

[purepolarpanzer]

Trust us, you do.

4th edition is just D&D minitures mixed with WoW.

I'm just going to say your wrong. A lot of people more devoted to 4th than I will undoubtably give you net hate for rehashing an old, false, and at this point kinda silly argument, I will simply move on to say as someone who has just recently started 3.5 (just under two years, not that long by RPG standards at all), I am eagerly awaiting 4th. It seems to iron out a lot of 3.5 wrinkles, be more user friendly, and solve a lot of complicated balance/powergaming issues from the former. There are still some things I gripe about, but overall I think it is much nicer to new gamers and a great system for more experienced ones as well. Add to the fact that it is up-and-coming with new material, features, etc. while 3.5 is becoming out-of-print and is well established as riddled with complication, traps, and brokeness (not that it isn't fun- I've been playing it for almost two years straight and having a ball).

[monty]

If you don't have lots of books, you may as well go with 4th and save yourself money in the long run. If you ever find a group that wants to play 3.5, chances are they'll already have all of the books, so as long as you don't plan on starting your own 3.5 group, you shouldn't really need any of that.

[Talya]

Lots of people still play 2e. LOTS of people.

I am not switching away from 3.5 anytime soon. I suspect in 10 years, there will be far more people playing 3.5 than there are playing 2e right now. It's not like 3.5 is going to become a wasteland anytime soon. (I mean, not unless your campaign is set in a wasteland...)

Still, without having played before, you won't know what 4e doesn't let you do, so you might be okay.

One last point in favor of 3.5 though -- it's required to understand the system in order to get Rich's jokes in the comic. ;)

[Temp.]

I wouldn't recommend buying either, yet.

If you want to join play-by-post games, I would recommend running 3.5 out of d20srd.org. It has all the rules you'll need and will usually use.
I recommend 3.5 because 4.0 has a much heavier emphasis on battlefield movement. 3.5 is going to be easier to play without a grid.

If you start playing in person, I'd probably recommend 4.0. It does a great job streamlining and balancing the system. 3.5 provides a wider variety of effects now--even in the SRD alone--but that distinction will fade as 4.0 splatbooks emerge.
4.0 is much more newbie-friendly. Not everyone has to use a casting class to support their archetypes, as they did in 3.5. From my first impression of the system, there's going to be a much narrower gap between the power-levels of experienced players and first-timers.