Been looking into tabletop games and I have some starter questions.
Where do I find a community.
What kind of games should I start at?
Simple beginner questions thread.
>>43816832
Mechanically simple games. If you want a simple starter fantasy game try DnD 5e. The rules for pretty much everything have been simplified.
Modern game systems - try World of Darkness. The dice pool system can be easily adapted for use in any modern setting, supernatural horror or not.
>Where do I find a community?
At a local gamestore or online forums/roll20.
What kind of games should I start at?
You could go D&D of any edition, I like 5e and 4e. GURPs can do gritty action (any anything really but I use it for action.) I also like All Flesh Must Be Eaten (Zombies.), Mouseguard RPG (mice), and Riddle of Steel.
>>43816832
>Where do I find a community.
Assuming you don't want to learn to game with your friends (which is what I did), you could try your local game store, which may have games that are run there, or at least "want adds" for games seeking players and so forth. Also, you try online. Though I don't remember having seen one in a while, there are periodic game finder threads on /tg/, or you could try over at roll20. I have, however, heard that folks you meet online tend to be flakier than ones you meet in meatspace, which makes sense.
>What kind of games should I start at?
If you're trying to join some kind of community, you're pretty much at the mercy of popular opinion. You need a game that's popular enough that you can actually find people playing it. D&D 5e (the current version) is probably your best bet here. A shitload of people are playing it, and it's a lot more noob friendly than the other iterations of D&D that have large followings. Stay the fuck away from 3.5e D&D and Pathfinder.
If you're forming your own group, you have a lot more latitude, and can go with something that's significantly better as a beginner game than the currently-popular editions of D&D (though you're obviously sacrificing the advantage of having experienced folks around you who can help guide you through the process). Barbarians of Lemuria is great for a full-length but still very minimalist and easy to learn / run game. There are also mini-games out there like Risus, which are only a few pages and so take practically no effort to absorb, but for obvious reasons these tend to be a bit limited (and often a bit silly) in the long run... though that doesn't make them bad places to start.
>>43817106
Ill probably be forming my own group of amateurs just like me. However don't I need at least 1 person that knows what they are doing for the DM for say we play DnD
>>43817535
Most starter products are pretty good about instructing new DMs. The 5e Dungeon Master's Guide has a how-to-DM section, for example.
If you're just starting out, though, I recommend Dungeon World. The game is very good at outlining good GM practices and keeping things simple to understand. Even character creation is just checking a bunch of boxes in a playbook.
Guys, I accidently played a game of FATAL, do I need to go see a doctor?
>>43817535
>However don't I need at least 1 person that knows what they are doing for the DM
No. I mean, certainly it's easier to run things if you start out already knowing what you're doing, but it's not an absolute prerequisite. And the simpler and easier the system, the more this is true. As long as you're a bit patient and remember this is a learning process, you should be alright. (I started DMing without any prior experience other than a single two hour session where the DM didn't actually use any of the rules as far as I could tell, and just made up stupid shit.) At its heart, role-playing is just "playing pretend" with more rules, and ultimately, the "more rules" bit is something that can be negotiated. Check out Risus, which I attached here, to see how simple an RPG can be. If you're wanting something a bit more involved (while still being very, very simple compared to the likes of most popular RPGs), here are some links for Barbarians of Lemuria:
Mythic Edition (current edition) -- https://www.mediafire.com/folder/7llc83r2xf8bg/Barbarians_of_Lemuria_-_Mythic_Edition
Legendary Edition (earlier edition, fewer details & more minimalist presentation makes it even easier to learn, but rules aren't as refined) -- http://www.mediafire.com/download/p5w885sa9a869ma/Barbarians+Of+Lemuria+-+Legendary+Edition.pdf
House Rules / Patches for Legendary Edition (if you want the added minimalism of Legendary, but with the rules tightened up a bit) -- https://mega.co.nz/#F!CtQR2bST!y_awB-GHCiL3CdK4iLCV7A
Another thing, I've seen people with a program to play the tabletop game online on their PC? Anyone know what that program is called?
>>43818872
Are you talking about roll20?
>>43818971
I might be. Are there any downsides from roll20 and actual pen and paper. Other then it's hard to play with pen and paper with people over the internet.
>Everyone suggesting OP find people at their FLGS
Well, that's fine and all, but the first place you should look for players is your friends, or even family. Tabletop gaming is generally a social activity; you should do it with people you want to spend time with.
>Everyone suggesting OP start with RPGs
That's a bit, uh... jumping into the deep end?
Maybe start with board games, or even card games. Everyone likes Pandemic, as long as there isn't one player who knows the game better than anyone else. If you think you could cobble together a regular-ish group, Pandemic Legacy would be even better. Coup isn't the kind of game that will keep a veteran hobbyist busy for months, but its great light fare for playing at a pub, with a mixed group (family?) at the kitchen table, and to ease your way into the hobby. Carcasonne and Ticket to Ride are great bridges to "hobbyist" board games as well, and a lot of people would also recommend Catan.
If it's wargaming you're after, X-Wing has an active community and by genre standards is delightfully free of tedium.
Your area might have a Netrunner scene. If not, you could try attending a MTG pre-release...
>>43819100
>Maybe start with board games, or even card games.
Never even occurred to me. Sometimes I forget that tabletop games includes more than RPGs, given how RPG-oriented this board is.
>>43817535
If you're just starting out with DnD, without an experienced DM, definitely run a pre-made adventure.
However, DnD is also a bit involved for a fresh group. You might try something a bit lighter. I hear FantasyCraft and 13th Age are good, but from games I know personally, Spirit of the Century is a pretty good place to start.
If it's pure dungeon crawling action you want and not necessarily a mixture of that and improvisational theatre, you could try Descent or its rebranded offspring Star Wars: Imperial Assault.
>>43819153
Yeah there's an effect at work where the more massive and complex a game is, the more there is to nerd out over. The game I'm most excited for might be Mafia de Cuba, but it's a heck of a lot easier to sustain a conversation about an RPG, Wargame, or CCG.
Even XWing feels a bit weirdly under-represented around here, perhaps because the game is fairly efficient with its complexity compared to, say, WarmaHordes.
>>43819154
>FantasyCraft
Holy shit, no. However good the rules to that game may be (and I don't have the experience to be able to say one way or the other), it's *incredibly* dense and crunchy. It's really, really not a beginner's game.
>Spirit of the Century
While the rules to the Fate games are simple enough, I really think there's a certain sophistication you need that noobs might lack. There's a level of meta-story awareness that you need beyond just playing your character. For that reason, I think something like Savage Worlds works better as a beginner game.
>>43819197
I haven't played Savage Worlds but I suspect you're right.
>>43817649
yes
