Comments on: Get Started with Dungeons & Dragons

By: Cody K

Cody K — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:56:16 +0000

Thanks for the article! I have been a fan of RPG’s since I was 5 and now that I am in my 20′s I want to go back and start playing some PnP’s and thought D&D would be a great start. I have been researching for a few months and this is by far the best article I have found in laying out on how to get started in the hobby! Thanks much and I can not wait to join this game!

By: John E

John E — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 09:37:37 +0000

Good article! I like finding advice on teaching people about D&D. In my opinion, the best ‘version’ or ‘edition’ of D&D for beginners (and is my current favorite to play even with experienced players) are the new board games. I have Castle Ravenloft and Wrath of Ashardalon. Both of these board games are a really good deal. At $60 or less, you get absolutely everything you need to play this version of the game: dice, minis, tiles, cards, encounters etc. I’ve played them with everyone from experienced D&D players who have been playing since the 70′s on one end of the spectrum to people who don’t even know what D&D is on the other end. All of them had a good time.

I love how every player gets a feel for what it’s like to both role play their hero and what it’s like to control monsters, lay out the map, describe encounters etc. These games make it simple enough that even kids who are just starting to get good at reading and math can play. The stat cards use smaller numbers than other editions do so that doing the math in your head is really easy. Your bowshot attack may only do 1 damage for example, but then the creatures you are shooting at may only have 4 HP to start with. Really, playing these games made me have an “aha” moment. I realized just how needlessly inflated the stats for the RPG versions have gotten. If you keep it all in scale, you don’t need big numbers to make things impressive. A huge dragon that does 5 damage with his fire breath might not sound too impressive to those used to the RPGs, but when your hero in the board game only has 12 HP to start with, that’s plenty impressive enough You still get to decide which powers your hero has and you even have a chance to level up to level 2 (assuming you live that long, this game can be as brutally tough on heroes as some of the D&D video games like Eye of the Beholder depending on how you use the healing surges).

Once you’ve played through all of the published scenarios that come with it (and the free ones on the website), you can play them all again since the puzzle-like tiles and randomized monster and encounter cards ensure that each game you play is different from the last one.

It also makes a great starting point for new DMs (or old ones who need some inspiration). You can take the encounters and scenarios from these board games and build whole campaigns out of them. I’m even tempted to take the simplified stats, defenses, attacks etc. and use them in my next “full blown” D&D RPG campaign. It might help some of my players to focus more on the story and less on the “crunch”.

By: Geek Gazette

Geek Gazette — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 14:14:05 +0000

While I am a huge Pathfinder fan and can not tell enough people how great it is, I don’t dislike 4e Essentials. I’m not fond of 4e as it was originaly released and feel like I wasted my money buying those books, but I do like Essentials a lot.
If someone was just getting into 4e I’d recommend Essentials hands down over buying the original core books. While I disagree with the first poster and 4e is not crap, I do think Pathfinder is just as much D&D. My primary group refers to Pathfinder as D&D and D&D 4e as simply 4th edition. We also refer to 4e Essentials as simply Essentials. So there is still some anti-4e sentiment and we won’t let go of our love for 3.x, we just like it too much. Still with the release of Essentials we are atleast willing to give WotC a thumbs up with the current edition.

By: Level 1 Gamer

Level 1 Gamer — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:36:50 +0000

Thanks for the comment. I’m glad this post was useful. Contact me if you ever want to chat about D&D.

By: Spencer

Spencer — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:40:22 +0000

Great article! I have been searching the whole internet for something like this. I haven’t played D&D in like ten years, and even then I was pretty young and fairly confused by a lot of it, but am looking to get into it again and 4th ed seems to be the way to go. I would love to DM and just bought the core books off amazon, but mainly I’m looking for a real live person to bounce question off of.

P.S. – I love how you handled Azhriaz comment! Great stuff!

By: Brian

Brian — Sat, 08 May 2010 15:31:33 +0000

This is a great primer for D&D 4e. I think I will link to it so that I don’t have to look around for my resources.

D&D 4e has done something great for the hobbby. I can use my creative time to develop stories rather than rules. Fighting is very tactical and uses up much less of my creative power. I can focus on the aftermath to answer questions like, “Why is there a beholder in this cave with all sorts of undead?”

By: Level 1 Gamer

Level 1 Gamer — Sat, 08 May 2010 03:58:10 +0000

That’s awesome! I’m really glad I could be of help. 4th edition is a good place to start with kids. Also, Wizards of the Coast, the publisher of D&D, just released an adventure written specifically for kids. It simplifies some of the mechanics and softens some of the imagery. I haven’t read it, yet, but you may want to check it out: Also, watch for the new starter set coming out in September called Dungeon & Dragons Essentials. It’s an updated version of the Basic set that’s designed to ease new players into the game. Happy Gaming! Let me know how it goes.

By: FatherAntos

FatherAntos — Fri, 07 May 2010 16:53:27 +0000

Thanks for this primer Level 1 Gamer. I haven’t played D&D since the late 80′s and now my kids are begging me to start a campaign with them. I’m excited about doing that, but they range in age from 8-12, and I don’t want to overload them with too many rules up front. I’m also very rusty at DMing. I have an old D&D Basic Set from the late 70′s or early 80′s, but I figured it would be better to start with the latest version that has the most available resources. I checked out the WOTC web site and you’ve confirmed that I’ve taken the right first steps by downloading the 4e starter set. Thanks for your help.

By: Level 1 Gamer

Level 1 Gamer — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:47:09 +0000

Well, I obviously disagree. I feel that 4e is the best place for beginners to start on their own for the numerous reasons I elaborated on in the article. Also, in my opinion, there is no “real” D&D. D&D is played different ways by different people. Each edition fits those different styles of play in their own way. 4e is great fit for a certain style of play (and I believe for beginners) while Pathfinder may be a better fit for others. Also, like I said in the article, if you are beginner and you find a group that’s already playing a game system like Pathfinder, then go with that. They’ll teach how to play.

If you care to elaborate in a reasoned manner on why you don’t like 4e or why you think Pathfinder is better for beginners, I’d love to here it. I don’t have high hopes though considering the derogatory nature of your reply.

By: Azhriaz

Azhriaz — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 19:18:23 +0000

4e is total crap, you would be better served sticking to WoW instead of playing that BS. IF you want a real game with a decade’s worth of resources then look to PATHFINDER the REAL D&D!