D and D
Jocelyn Vilter
He got up! And had quite a bit to say on the subject, as you can see below.
I transcribed what he was saying, so any errors are my own etc.
Jocelyn Vilter
Good to see some new people getting into the game. DnD is an interesting
game and can certainly broaden your understanding of a variety of subjects,
but it can also be difficult to get into.
DnD basic game is a good way to get started. You'll need at least three
people, preferably five, to play a successful game. This is because you
need at least one dungeon master to run the world and if you only have one
additional player this can cause problems with game balance and enjoyment.
As for what books to get hold of, I would recommend sticking with the basic
game until you've run at least two successful sessions with at least three
people. Once you've done that, you should start branching off into the
three core rule books of the the 3.5 edition.
The Players Handbook provides you with all the info you need to create new
chars level them all the way up to 20. It also has all of the combat rules
and spells. What it lacks is any info on DMing and creating encounters and
treasure for your players, if you are the DM.
The Monsters Manual contains 100's of monsters as well as rules for creating
your own monsters and a glossary of their special abilities. Very handy
when running encounters, but useless by itself when creating a campaign.
The Dungeon Masters Guide contains dozens of pages of advice on how to run a
successful campaign as well as all of the rules to creating balanced
encounters. Magic items, balanced treasure and info on how to create your
own campaign world.
In short, if you're really serious about getting into DnD, you'll need at
least these three books. The non-book accessories you'll need include
pencils (I find mechanical pencils are best), as well as plenty of scratch
paper and character sheets, which you can download from the Wizards of the
Coast site, or photocopy from the players handbook.
From there you have three options for resolving combat, you can use graph
paper, maps and miniatures or your imagination. Graph paper is a cheap and
flexible solution but leaves something to be desired as far aesthetics goes.
Miniatures and maps provide clarity where the rules are concerned are
pleasing visually, but are highly expensive and somewhat limited. Finally,
your imagination is perhaps the most aesthetically pleasing and is
definitely the cheapest, but can result in confusion while resolving combat.
It's also worth mentioning that there is a line of role playing books using
the d20 system, created specifically for Warcraft. I haven't used them
myself, but they seem to be of high quality. Keep in mind that they were
created before the WoW online game, so there are some discrepancies there.
Good luck!
Matthew Vilter
I transcribed what he was saying, so any errors are my own etc.
Jocelyn Vilter
Good to see some new people getting into the game. DnD is an interesting
game and can certainly broaden your understanding of a variety of subjects,
but it can also be difficult to get into.
DnD basic game is a good way to get started. You'll need at least three
people, preferably five, to play a successful game. This is because you
need at least one dungeon master to run the world and if you only have one
additional player this can cause problems with game balance and enjoyment.
As for what books to get hold of, I would recommend sticking with the basic
game until you've run at least two successful sessions with at least three
people. Once you've done that, you should start branching off into the
three core rule books of the the 3.5 edition.
The Players Handbook provides you with all the info you need to create new
chars level them all the way up to 20. It also has all of the combat rules
and spells. What it lacks is any info on DMing and creating encounters and
treasure for your players, if you are the DM.
The Monsters Manual contains 100's of monsters as well as rules for creating
your own monsters and a glossary of their special abilities. Very handy
when running encounters, but useless by itself when creating a campaign.
The Dungeon Masters Guide contains dozens of pages of advice on how to run a
successful campaign as well as all of the rules to creating balanced
encounters. Magic items, balanced treasure and info on how to create your
own campaign world.
In short, if you're really serious about getting into DnD, you'll need at
least these three books. The non-book accessories you'll need include
pencils (I find mechanical pencils are best), as well as plenty of scratch
paper and character sheets, which you can download from the Wizards of the
Coast site, or photocopy from the players handbook.
From there you have three options for resolving combat, you can use graph
paper, maps and miniatures or your imagination. Graph paper is a cheap and
flexible solution but leaves something to be desired as far aesthetics goes.
Miniatures and maps provide clarity where the rules are concerned are
pleasing visually, but are highly expensive and somewhat limited. Finally,
your imagination is perhaps the most aesthetically pleasing and is
definitely the cheapest, but can result in confusion while resolving combat.
It's also worth mentioning that there is a line of role playing books using
the d20 system, created specifically for Warcraft. I haven't used them
myself, but they seem to be of high quality. Keep in mind that they were
created before the WoW online game, so there are some discrepancies there.
Good luck!
Matthew Vilter