Mates and I want to attempt a weekly D&D session.
What do we need to get started? Stuff like books, dice, char sheets?
Thanks in advance.
No matter what roleplaying game you and your mates get into, you don't want there to be a shortage of dice, pencils, erasers and scrap paper or notepads. I don't need to tell you where to pick up basic stationary, but dice may be another story altogether.
For many, dice are a very personal thing and they may want to see a set of dice in person before forking out money for them. I'm not fussed in this regard and buy all of my dice online from the
Dice Shop in the UK. If you and your mates want to go in on an order together, you can save on some shipping costs. Grab 2 or 3 of the 7 dice polysets each and maybe a dice bag, or just use a tupperware container, jar or small tin. If not, grab a big bag of dice (about 100) for everyone to share and use
here from Defiant Gaming in Canberra; or you can buy all your dice there if you don't want to wait.
I deleted a massive thing here about dice brands and whatnot, because I realised it's largely irrelevant. I will say that it is worthwhile picking up dice that don't have severely rounded edges; if you avoid these, you'll be happy with your purchase.
As for D&D itself, I wouldn't recommend go down that path if you're all just starting out. The next version of D&D (called 'D&D Next') is currently being designed and tested. Support for the current version will be ditched upon its release.
13th Age is just about to come out, and by that I mean my pre-order shipped out at the start of this week. 13th Age is designed and written by the lead designers of D&D 3rd Edition and D&D 4th Edition (the one that'll be in the shop you found). It is more streamlined and straightforward than D&D is, since it's not bogged down in minutiae. It is the game D&D Next wishes it could be.
One thing that's been done is they've specifically designed the way monsters and combat works to make it easy to run. The GM can actually design an encounter on the fly in 13th Age if they want or need to, they do not need to forgo adding a bit of flavour to certain monsters and the overall encounter since that has been baked in as well. Try doing this in D&D 4e at the game table and the GMs brain will explode, preceded by a tornado of tears, but probably not before everyone has left because they had to wait too long. Combat is also very quick, cinematic whilst still being enjoyable. I'll contrast that with my last session of D&D 4e where the combat took over 3 hours; this is not quick, cinematic, nor enjoyable and it is standard fare for D&D combat, it is definitely not an outlier. This puts extra strain on the GM who has to prepare a lot of stuff ahead of time. Both games benefit from some preparation, 13th Age is just far more efficient.
13th Age has a lower cost to entry as well, since that have ditched the standard 3-book release. With D&D 4e you will at least need to start with the Dungeon Master's Guide, Player's Handbook and Monster Manual to have the complete basic game. All these books have been rolled into one for 13th Age and you will get the PDF for no extra charge, so I think it's a better buy in more ways than one.
I don't want to deter you from roleplaying in any way at all with what I have written above. More roleplayers is a good thing and what grabs people is that their first time is an enjoyable time that they would like to repeat. I think you and your mates are more likely to have a better time with 13th Age than you would with the current edition of D&D, while still getting the experience you would expect. You won't be missing out on anything, it will still
feel like D&D, especially since it is designed by the same people.
I'm sure I've gone into far more detail than you care to know. When you combine me with something I find interesting and time to spare, you get trouble. I may have also laboured some points to death, but I have tried to lay down some good reasons why I think or feel that way and I hope they didn't come across as abrasive. Of course, you're free to choose and play whatever you like, that's completely your choice as well as your friends'.
The Star Wars RPG instead.
Nah I don't know, but the Star Wars one is fun.
The newly released Edge of the Empire or the older Star Wars Saga (d6) Edition? I'm assuming the latter. I believe Saga Edition was the precursor to D&D 4e and is partially responsible for how that turned out (my thoughts on this are well documented).
Neither of them are appealing to me, but Edge of the Empire seems a bit more conducive to crafting a story at the table rather than people jumping through GM hoops. I think it might even be possible to play out a more mundane story in the Star Wars universe, rather than it being all big action/high drama all the time. Custom dice are annoying and that in itself quite a turnoff; dice apps are an option, but where's the fun in that?
Exactly the same. One of the first notable things I bought for him was a collection of Dr. Seuss books
I had to hold onto it for a year and a bit (I think I bought it when he was barely two? Or 18 months or something) but he loves it and not long afterwards I was visiting my sister & co. and got to read it to him in bed <3
The next birthday or Christmas or whatever, he scored a Dr. Seuss activity pack which had something like colouring books and a giant puzzle that I helped him with (I helped him with his first jigsaw!). There's been a smattering of DVDs and such, but I try and avoid those.
Went for a walk at lunch today anyway, and managed to find a big, fuckoff-massive Where's Wally book that was discounted to $10, so even though it's not *technically* reading, it's better than a DVD or some toy that he'll barely use. Having said that, a long time ago I bought The Emperor's New Groove for myself but never unwrapped it, so he'll be getting that too (hoping he'll let me watch it with him). Oh, and a squishy Angry Bird toy or something. Found a Scooby Doo talking card though, so at least there's that.
I should stop, clearly I'm too excited about doting on my eldest nephew.
That's awesome man! I was the same with my mates son, it's hard not to get excited and spoil them just a little. I started him out with Richard Scarry, which turned out well because he was really into cars and bikes and other cool vehicles so
Cars and Trucks and Things That Go was a real hit.
I've been a reader since before I can remember much of anything and I loved Where's Wally and colouring books. It can't be all reading all the time, it's nice to just have a change of pace; he'll love it. If it's creative or exercises the brain or imagination in an enjoyable way, then I'm all for it.
