Hey guys I'm trying to get into D&D got any tips for a newb?
>>44106297
First, which Edition?
Second, do you have a group?
>>44106333
5th and we have some people looking for more.
>>44106348
Player or DM? What have you got so far?
>>44106354
5e starter pack I prefer to be a player but I'm up for DMing want to avoid common pitfalls in a game.
>>44106367
If you are a player, never, ever, ever, EVER make a "lone wolf with a shady past" character. Never steal from or attack fellow party members, no matter what. If their deeds offend you, talk to the player.
If you are a DM, swallow all of your pride and act as a game engine - emotionless and precise, no matter what happens.
Make sure your players know EVERYONE is supposed to have fun. And to try to make the game fun for everyone.
Reinforce that by examples of stealing stuff from other players might lead to the other player being angry, unless that guy was OK with it.
Then agrew what kind of game you want.
>>44106410
Don't agree with that second one. Everyone should be enjoying themselves.
But be willing to be flexible. If a player suggests something, consider it.
If a player wants to contact the local mage guild -if any- for help in a thing, even if you didn't plan a guild originally.. consider it. Don't say no automatically. Would it help the campaign, fun or flow? You can throw in a stereotypical wize sage to help, he could be a future questgiver or help again down the line. Being flexible to adapt the setting that you haven't yet defined in-game can help a lot.
>>44106410
That second one is one approach to DMing, but far less universal than the first one - which absolutely is. DON'T. MAKE. A LONE WOLF.
If you DM, your focus has to be everybody's fun. If it seems the funs of different people (including you) are clashing, talk about it.
Every problem you have with real live players need to be resolved by talking, not by passive aggression.
>>44106297
This page is pretty handy.
https://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop/players-basic-rules
>>44106297
Be familiar with the rules; no one likes waiting 5 minutes for you to figure out what your next action can be.
Don't be That Guy; if it's not going how you wanted it to, deal with it or just bow out politely instead of shitting on everyone or inserting your creepy fetishes into everything.Have fun. That's why you, and everyone else, are there, isn't it?
>>44106410
>If you are a player, never, ever, ever, EVER make a "lone wolf with a shady past" character. Never steal from or attack fellow party members, no matter what. If their deeds offend you, talk to the player.
Is this what D&D players actually believe? Only make characters that are frictionless dungeoncrawling teamplayers? Why aren't you just playing WoW?
>>44106367
>but I'm up for DMing want to avoid common pitfalls in a game.
Not everyone will agree with this because wizards wanting to sell pre-written adventures have convinced a generation of shitty DM's of the opposite, but DON'T plan everything in advance.
If you ever look back at an adventure and say "That wen't exactly how I planned it" you have essentially established that the players didn't matter.
The DM is there to provide the players with a world that reacts to their actions and provides consequences and context, he's not there to grab the players by the ear and drag them to some quest giver.
>>44106577
They didn't say make team players. They said never make a Lone Wolf.
Reading Comprehension, you should learn it.
>>44106577
If you're a good enough roleplayer, there are no rules.
But let's face it, the people and tables that can pull that off well? In their first game?
>>44108368
for what?
>>44106297
pic related is pretty helpful for starting players
It touches on what >>44106410 was driving at.
There is no "Right Way" to play D&D, but as long as everyone is having fun, you're doing nothing wrong.
Even if you cringe about game and characters years later.
>>44106297
Don't get into DnD is my advice. Or at the very least, after you're done with this campaign, try another system. The worst trap for newbies is turning into DnD grognards.
>>44106297
Another thing I thought of regarding DnD specifically is the abstraction of AC and HP.
Thinking of HP in terms of taking physical damage makes for insane mental images like a high level characters walking around with thirty arrows sticking out of them like Boromir on PCP.
"Damage" is better viewed as "potential incoming physical damage" than as actual damage to the physical body.
HP is better seen as "the ability to handle incoming physical damage" than as actual ability to take physical damage.
This abstraction is not obvious to everyone, primarily, I think, due to the use of the term damage.
Once you understand this, a large chunk of the silliness of DnD drops away.
And it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize it was an obtuse abstraction and not just bad game design.
