Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[tahujdt]

I'm going to start a Dnd campaign with a couple of my friends. What will I need for that? I'm not sure that I can trust the WOTC website, their main objective is to make money. For just a beginner group, what is most important? I'm talking about in terms of books, map, and other such things.

[LordBucket]

...this is one of those times when it's difficult to find a good compropose between answering the question that's being asked, and trying to guess what the person asking the question actually wants to know.

I mean, you don't really need anything at all. As an experienced DM, I could easily sit down at a table with a couple people and have a "D&D experience" with no dice or books or reference material at all. I suppose paper and pencils would be extremely convenient. But if this is your first gaming experience, that might not be realistic. Having some formal written materials to work with would be helpful.

if you want a more practical answer for what I think you're probably going for...and you're just trying to minimize costs, then "players handbook, paper, pencils and some dice" would be pretty good list of materials to start with. You don't really need anything else. Having a hex map adds a lot to a game, but if you don't want to buy one, then a $5 whiteboard from target and some dry-erase markers will do almost as well. But then plenty of people pay without a map at all, so even that's not required.

But even at that, if your goal is to minimize costs, you could easily download the players handbook via torrent, and use a software random number generator rather than buying dice, if you really wanted to.

Checking the wizards of the coast site, I see the red box pack, and yes...it has a lot of stuff you don't really need. You can easily go your entire D&D career without ever opening a dungeon master's guide. It's just not important. DM screens are kind of nice, but generic folders work just as well, and even at that they're not really that important. Pre-printed character sheets, same thing: nice, but not really a big deal if you don't have them. Regular white lined paper works just as well.

IS this the kind of answer you're looking for? Do you have more specific questions?

[Criptfeind]

Dungeon master is something I would recommend. But not strictly needed. If you are willing to spend a long time making encounters and you are not worried about 'balance' you can get away with just the players handbook. If you don't want to spend quite that long the monster manual is nice (a third option is to make it up off the top of your head, but that needs a surprisingly high amount of imagination and a intimate familiarity with the game).

These books should have char sheets in them that you can copy down at your local copy store. Then pencils. Then a whiteboard or a paper with squares or even a ruler and you should be set.

[tahujdt]

I am starting a campaign with some young teenage boys of the standard set, and I'm really going to need to get their attention during a game. Where do I draw the line with respect to visual aids and other such things? You are right, I am going for cost effective, but I want them to get the full experience as well. Just the player handbook? If I wanted to, I could get a pirated PDF, but I won't. I have plenty of dice(my dad was an AD&D player), and I can get most of the other things you mentioned. Also, does the PH have all of the rules in it?
I have absolutely no experience in this area, aside from reading old AD&D books.

P.S. In case you are wondering, I'm a teenage boy as well, but I'm not normal.

[Tack]

Try D20srd.com for most rule stuff. If you keep that open on a laptop while you play, it's as good as having all the books.

[Criptfeind]

What eddition are you thinking about? Because the SRD is 3.5. And it is not as good as having all the books.

If you want figurines and shit that is going to cost a huge amount of money sorry to say. Uh... You can drop the cash or go with janky stuff like... whatever you have laying around. As for terrain... When I did physical stuff it was almost all drawn on a dry erase leather sheet I had. If you have a nice printer there are tools to make stuff that you can then print out to use.

[LordBucket]

monster manual is nice

Dungeon master is something I would recommend. But not strictly needed.

Having a Monster Manual is helpful, yes. I'd prioritize that as more important than the Dungeon Master's Guide. But...it's possible that might be my background talking. Does a new DM need a DMG? ...well, maybe...kind of...but honestly the vast majority of the DMG is for handling fairly obscure stuff that's unlikely to ever come up. But it does also contain general advice like "don't let the players bully you, remember that you're the dungeon master and your word is final, remember that it's a game and you're there to give the players a fun experience not to 'beat' them." Some of that might be helpful for someone running their first campaign.

[tahujdt]

Which is better, 3.5 or 4?

[Criptfeind]

monster manual is nice

Dungeon master is something I would recommend. But not strictly needed.

Having a Monster Manual is helpful, yes. I'd prioritize that as more important than the Dungeon Master's Guide. But...it's possible that might be my background talking. Does a new DM need a DMG? ...well, maybe...kind of...but honestly the vast majority of the DMG is for handling fairly obscure stuff that's unlikely to ever come up. But it does also contain general advice like "don't let the players bully you, remember that you're the dungeon master and your word is final, remember that it's a game and you're there to give the players a fun experience not to 'beat' them." Some of that might be helpful for someone running their first campaign.

It depends what edition, the 3.5 one at least had a bunch of useful stuff in it. Most notably magic items and PrCs. Dunno if that is the case in 4, but seeing as that stuff is in the players handbook I guess not.

Which is better, 3.5 or 4?

Different games fully. 4 is more restricting in some ways, but way easier to play. In 3.5 everyone was a unique flower, which means there were tons and tons of shit for everything. In 4 most things are more standardized.


Edit: Importantly: I suggest 4 for you. I like 3.5 a lot, but it seems to me to likely be a lot more hit and miss. I think anyone really could pick up 4 and have fun, but 3.5 you need to know what you are getting into.

[tahujdt]

monster manual is nice

Dungeon master is something I would recommend. But not strictly needed.

Having a Monster Manual is helpful, yes. I'd prioritize that as more important than the Dungeon Master's Guide. But...it's possible that might be my background talking. Does a new DM need a DMG? ...well, maybe...kind of...but honestly the vast majority of the DMG is for handling fairly obscure stuff that's unlikely to ever come up. But it does also contain general advice like "don't let the players bully you, remember that you're the dungeon master and your word is final, remember that it's a game and you're there to give the players a fun experience not to 'beat' them." Some of that might be helpful for someone running their first campaign.

It depends what edition, the 3.5 one at least had a bunch of useful stuff in it. Most notably magic items and PrCs. Dunno if that is the case in 4, but seeing as that stuff is in the players handbook I guess not.

Which is better, 3.5 or 4?

Different games fully. 4 is more restricting in some ways, but way easier to play. In 3.5 everyone was a unique flower, which means there were tons and tons of shit for everything. In 4 most things are more standardized.


Edit: Importantly: I suggest 4 for you. I like 3.5 a lot, but it seems to me to likely be a lot more hit and miss. I think anyone really could pick up 4 and have fun, but 3.5 you need to know what you are getting into.

Firstly I'd like to say that while I don't like boasting about my abilities, I don't see the point in hiding them either. I have an IQ of 160. I am really analytical, so don't worry about a 14-year old boy not being able to handle it. I meant which is more fun all-in-all, but after doing research it looks like 3.5 is more traditional. I don't really want a standardized game. But, on the other hand, I'm more worried about these other guys. Which would be more fun for them?

[LordBucket]

does the PH have all of the rules in it?

...no, not exactly...but D&D isn't a game that has a fixed set of rules, like chess does. It's more flexible than that, and with a lot of optional material.

I am going for cost effective, but I want them to get the full experience as well.

OK. Then...personal advice:

 * Download the books, don't buy them.
 * Do pay full dollar to buy a nice hexagonal map to play on, and some cheap wet-erase markers from toys-r-us to use on it. (Important: white boards use dry-erase markers. Expensive gaming maps use wet-erase markers. Don't try to mix and match or you may permanently ruin your map. Test new markers on an edge or corner. Don't start drawing your game map with an untested marker.)
 * Have each player buy their own miniurature for themselves, and their own set of dice. Don't use miniatures for monsters. Use dice. This is extremely convenient because you can set the dice with a number facing up to indicate which monster they are. A player can easily look at the map, say "I attack orc #3" and you can easily look at orc #3 in your notes without having to figure out which miniature is which.
 * Download some pre-made character sheets from online somewhere, print them out and use them.

If I wanted to, I could get a pirated PDF, but I won't

Ok. Then modify the first bullet point above to:

 * Buy a player's handbook. Read it, and decide afterwards whether you also want a monster manual and/or DMG.

my dad was an AD&D player

You might consider asking him to DM for you and your friends, and pay close attentino to how he runs the game. That way you learn what's required from someone with experience rather than having to muddle through it on your own.

[tahujdt]

I thought about asking my dad, but I really want to try it for myself. Also, he would know about as much about the newer versions as I do.

After research, I think I might want 3.5 because of OGL. Cuts down on expenses.

[Doomblade187]

In this case, though I may not have much (read- practically none) experience, and this is my personal opinion, I would suggest that you ask your dad for GMing tips at the very least. Good advice is always helpful. This is just my opinion, of course.

[LordBucket]

I think I might want 3.5

That's fine. Really...it probably doesn't matter all that much. The majority of the gaming experience is not about the rules or mechanics. Being a good DM is an art, and no amount of rules lawyering will replace that.

Just pick something and stick with it, so that you and your players will all be familiar with the same set of mechanics. It doesn't really matter whether strength scales from 3-18 or 3-18/00, or whether you roll d20 or d100 for combat. Stuff like that is mostly just arbitrary convention, and TSR/WoTC basically keep producing new versions so they have new books to sell.  But...it is convenient if you and all your players are familiar with the same convention, to minimize time spent having to look things up or explain minutia.

[Tack]

If you were going to go 3.5, ypu'd be better off playing pathfinder.
It was the traditionalists' response to D&D4

Edit: also, don't think we're insulting your intelligence, and don't wave it around. Most people on this forum are brilliant. 3.5 requires more prep time, it's more difficult to make flow, and it'll be more difficult for your 'standard teenagers' to play. The game can get both boring and frustrating if the GM needs to look up the rules for every third action.
Pretty sure that's what he was getting at.