Any Dungeons and Dragons players out there?

[AvronMullican]

Hi guys, Abraham here,

I am planing on joining a D&D game that is ongoing at my school.

Any tricks, tips, or plain old good advice would be much appreciated.

(I have never played before, so i am kinda out of my comfort zone.)

[Wanderfound]

I'm a GURPSist rather than a D&D guy, but, the first rule of tabletop RPGs: relax and enjoy yourself. It's a cooperative storytelling game, not a competition. The only way to lose is to not have fun.

[razark]

The most important thing I've learned is that every group is different. You don't know what your group will be like until you've played with them. The level of role-playing, out-of-game chatter, silly jokes, or whatelse can vary greatly. It can even vary between different games a particular set of players is engaged in. If you're joining an experienced group, it may take you a bit of time to figure out exactly what is tolerated/expected. If you know what character you're playing beforehand, try and learn the rules that are appropriate to you before you get there, and ask questions if you need to. If you have a chance, sit down and build your character with the DM, or at least an experienced group member before the game, so you have time to understand what you're doing, and what it will mean in play (and how it fits in with the rest of the party). Some players will get extremely annoyed if you don't know what they think you should. (Of course, any group that doesn't tolerate and try to help a new player is probably not the best group to start with.)

The only constant I've found is not to touch anyone's dice without permission. It doesn't matter how many statistics classes they've taken, gamers are superstitious when it comes to random number generation.

And remember you and the others are there to have fun.

[JebNeedsHelp]

And remember you and the others are there to have fun.

This is IMO the most important thing. In D&D you're all players on the same team, trying to accomplish the same goal. Don't be that one player who does dumb things just because he can - it doesn't get you closer to the goal, and it annoys others in the game. Just do your best, and play your part for the team, and it'll be fine.

[Seret]

It's a social activity, be friendly and try to have some fun. Us nerds can be bad at including new people, but if the group don't make at least a bit of an effort to make you feel welcome then it's probably not a great group.

[AvronMullican]

I found out that the next capain will be set in modern times, and that the DM will not allow dwarves for this campain.

I was thinking of being some sort of crazy pyro.

Any ideas?

[Nikolai]

I've got a few Space: 1889 campaigns and am looking for a group of players. In the meantime, I play a simple fantasy-based game with my very young kids (Hero Kids).

I found out that the next capain will be set in modern times, and that the DM will not allow dwarves for this campain.

I was thinking of being some sort of crazy pyro.

That kind of depends on where the campaign will take place, and what kind of mission you're attempting. Have you tried talking to the GM about it?

Assuming it's okay with her, I'd want to think a bit about what it is that makes your pyromaniac's flamethrower trigger finger itch. For example, does she associate fire with cleansing? (If so, what kind of cleansing? Religious? Cathartic? Personal? Societal?) Does she just like to watch things burn because it's pretty? In other words, what kinds of things does she like to burn, when, and why?

[Capt.Joseph Kerbertson]

Former player. Even played with a large group of guys while I was in the Airforce. People from all walks of life play and it's interesting to see how they roll a character and how they play. And really your experience will depend on the DM. Some guys are ruthless and make playing a chore. Other guys love to have fun, make things interesting and keep players involved.

[GreeningGalaxy]

I haven't played D&D since I was a middle schooler, but I have played Pathfinder. [loud booing] Yes, yes, I know, I know. Hush.

It was fun. But then I moved away to college and never saw those friends again, so it's been a while.

[Wanderfound]

I found out that the next capain will be set in modern times, and that the DM will not allow dwarves for this campain.

I was thinking of being some sort of crazy pyro.

Any ideas?

I'd advise against it. "PC that does random destructive things for no good reason" is exactly the sort of character that is likely to irritate the other players. You want to allow every player to enjoy the game, and if the other players are into heroic posturing, careful tactical planning, ninjaesque sneakyness or delicate diplomacy, having a Leeroy Jenkins come rampaging through the middle all the time makes that impossible.

As with KSP, start sensible, save the crazy for when you know what you're doing.

[Wanderfound]

To expand: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheLoonie

[Nikolai]

I'd advise against it. "PC that does random destructive things for no good reason" is exactly the sort of character that is likely to irritate the other players.

For the most part, as a GM, I agree. But it really depends on the motivation -- that is, whether or not the character is a character.

Crazy for the sake of crazy gets old pretty fast. But if this is a character who has a glaring blind spot in his moral makeup, or who has come to justify taking extreme measures for whatever reason in certain circumstances to herself, then it could actually be interesting. A character like that has opportunity to encounter conflict, learn, grow, and/or evolve.

If the character is just nuts for the sake of comic relief or troublemaking, then there's no depth. There's nothing to make the inclusion of the character compelling or interesting. But consider a pyromaniac on an alternate Earth who tends to light up large houses of worship, since she feels that the money the religions are "wasting" on these edifices is detracting them from the good they could otherwise be doing in the world. She could even borrow metaphors about "baptism by fire" to justify to herself that she's purifying the faith, saving them from eternal flames, or what-have-you. Moreover, when she does light fires like these, she does so methodically -- making sure the buildings are abandoned, attempting to send a message without anyone getting hurt.

During one game, the party visits a city that hosts one of the largest temples anywhere on the outskirts of town. During a lull in the action, she watches the place for a couple of weeks, making sure she understands the traffic patterns in and out, before lighting the place up -- as usual, when no one is around. What she had failed to understand, however, was that when this temple was reduced to ash and rubble, a local pharmaceutical company decided that they didn't have to be quite as careful about where they disposed of their biological waste. In a few weeks, a lot of people in surrounding blocks end up sick. The government finds out, but the company manages to get away with a slap on the wrist.

Whether or not this develops into an interesting conflict depends on the GM and the player and the pace of the game. I just mean to say that crazy doesn't have to be a game-killer.

[razark]

For the most part, as a GM, I agree. But it really depends on the motivation -- that is, whether or not the character is a character.

...

I just mean to say that crazy doesn't have to be a game-killer.

For a first time player, crazy is probably quite a challenge to play well. (I may be off base here, but when someone says "crazy D&D character", I imagine something that could be extremely annoying to experienced players.) I'm wondering what the age of the players/DM and the length of experience playing.

Of course, for our group's summer game, I just played a dumb barbarian that had a mistaken impression he was a spellcaster. That was fun. The rest of the party had no idea what was going on until I used my "sleep wand" to club some guy unconscious.

[Wanderfound]

I fully agree that "crazy" characters can be fun for all involved, if done right. I was quite fond of clerical necromancers (with accompanying zombie congregations) and halfling assassins (who needs strength when you have an invisibility ring and a crossbow?) back in the day.

But the "if done right" part is key. Done wrong, it's a sure-fire way to ruin the game for everyone. For a first-time player like the OP, something a bit more sensible and conventionally heroic is a much safer option.

[Wanderfound]

BTW:

http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=612

&

http://darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0001.html

[AvronMullican]

Funny story, you people are using "she" as a pronoun to describe a possible character I would play as in the near future.

Abraham is a boy name. Currently i do not feel i could do a female character justice. So...anyway

I have settled on a character who likes fire, but isn't a pyro. I also have come up with an idea to base my character off of, Multiple Personalities.