Pen + Paper D&D

[nvert]

hey y'all,

okay, i'm a relatively young fellow. having grown up on staten island, new york there wasn't much oppurtunity for me to learn anything about d&d much less find a large enough group of people to really play it.

alex albrecht (and dan) have been mentioning "pen and paper d&d" for ages now and i'm just curious as to WHAT that really is? i really want to play, i just wanted to know if any of my fellow geeks could help me out with some info as to where i can start to learn about, what i need, etc.

thanks!

[b0r]

It's just D&D. You know ummm.... rolling dice and acting like half orcs. If you want to start playing you probably have a friend, of a friend, of a friend, of a friend that plays. Otherwise poke around a comic book shop. Many of them sell the D&D books. You just need to read the player's guide.

[masherscf]

They just mean playing D&D the way it was before the dawn of computers. You kept track of your stats on pen and paper. A dungeon master would play for the bad guys and push the scenario forward. It used the *honor system* so you would cheat. It used polyhedral dice in order to insert an element of random chance.

[satori]

They just mean playing D&D the way it was before the dawn of computers.

the problem with D&D with computers is that any sense of creativity is taken away. Pen and paper relies on the individual's ability to live in another world. I haven't played in years and years, but it's by far the only method that I'd pick if I were to pick it up again.

[tokenuser]

It's just D&D. You know ummm.... rolling dice and acting like half orcs. If you want to start playing you probably have a friend, of a friend, of a friend, of a friend that plays. Otherwise poke around a comic book shop. Many of them sell the D&D books. You just need to read the player's guide.A lot of comic book and game shops have a "back room" where people get together and play games like this. I occassionally went for a MtG session or three at a local store in SoCal. They also had D&D afternoons (for young teens) and nights (teens/adults) for those that were into it, and other game specific themed nights - WarHammer, etc.

Depending on the DM (dungeon master) and the scenario being played, a game could go for anywhere between one gaming session (a couple of hours) to a full blown quest that I have know people to play for years. The ones that go for years allow you to grow your character, gain experience points, pick up unique items, etc - much more like the PC based gaming experience, but over a much longer time, in a social setting.

D&D can be a lot of fun, but its not for everyone. I couldn't get into it ... a group of us played Cyberpunk 2020 instead, but in the end, its just a variation on a theme - and they are all pen & paper RPG's ... and D&D is the grand daddy of them all.

[muss]

Nvert I know what you mean I grew up in the same type of situation. I still have not had the opportunity to play D&D or any other type of role playing game. I have seen people playing in the back of comic shops, but with my timid nature I find it hard to go interrupt a game to see if they want to help guide a complete newb in joining an adventure. Computer based RPG are to linear and I don't like how no matter what you always have to follow some form of the story line.

Recently I have found myself playing a play by post Role playing game online. www.alleria.com It is a bit slower a pace but it can be a fun way to help make your own story. I just need to get a new group of friends that are interested that type of thing.

[darknessgp]

A couple of friends and I created our own Pen and Paper RPG. It's a medieval fantasy set in it's own universe. With the first main quest being centered in a Feudal Japan type culture.

And honestly, there is no comparing Pen & Paper RPGs to Computer RPGs. Like satori the creativity is taken away with the computer, but also the experience is completely different. There is just something about setting around a table with 5 friends and playing a P&P RPG that you can not get with a computer.

[proglodyte]

I still hold some great memories of me and 3 or 4 friends having marathon D&D sessions back when we were in jr. high and high school. Pitcher after pitcher of Kool-Aid, the late night food runs. So many great times and just sitting around bullshitting when we should have been playing. We ended our last playing session in this big campaign that went on just about every Saturday of all-nighters for about 3 years. The last time we played we were all lost in the depths of the Drow Elfs. It's been close to 20 years since we last played and I still think about those characters wondering around in the darkness sometimes.

PC gaming simply cannot compare to traditional role playing for so many reasons. It was a big part of my teenage years and helped me make some great friends. I would love to have the time and the right group of people to play again, but a big part of me knows it will never be the same.

[masherscf]

I couldn't get into it ... a group of us played Cyberpunk 2020 instead...

I loves this game. Arasaka rocks!

[tokenuser]

I loves this game. Arasaka rocks!I haven't played in years ... but when we did we set our game in a world where the polar ice caps had melted a bit, and low lying land was under water - not enough to sink cities, just enough to make it interesting. Most of our stuff was set in an industrial wasteland ... which funnily enough was the steel plant that we all worked for (we were IT staff, and the plant was the size of a small town).

http://www.uow.edu.au/science/student/school/siemens/2005/steelworks/images/_MG_5055.jpg

Best thing was, we KNEW the place. Knew the short cuts, knew the offices, the maintenance shops, etc. Really adds to the whole thing when we talk about taping into the network, and know that the RF junction was located above the tech services maintenance shop.

[viscountradu]

if you really want to have fun playing d&d create the oddest characters you can think of. pacifist paladins, squeamish necromancers, psionic gully dwarves, kender monks, racist half-elves, geriatric barbarians, gnome warriors, etc.

[nvert]

thanks everyone for the enthusiastic response... so i'm guessing the next step would be to grab a copy of the "player's guide" -- it will have all the rules and such that i need to know?

[kowgod]

Yes, you will probably want to pick up a Player's Handbook as well as a Dungeon Master's Guide. Along with a sack of dice.

One question to ask yourself is which appeals more to you: Dungeons and Dragons, or my personal choice, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. They have different rules, different pros and different cons.

I started out playing regular D&D, and it was great. But, it's a little restrictive in some ways. We switched over to AD&D because it allowed for a more immersive experience, BUT, if you ask me, AD&D requires a much more enthusiastic Dungeon Master to really make the game good.

Research the differences and decide for yourself. They are both the same in general, and both a LOT of fun.

That said... I haven't played in quite a while, myself. When I was 10 or 11, my brother and his friends were 14 or 15, and we started playing. So, I started quite early. It was really great. Every Friday after school we'd hit up the Quick Stop and grab an assload of junk food and like 80 oz tubs of pop, head back to someone's basement, and play non-stop all weekend.

What was really weird was our neighbor was this single dude, probably in his 40s, and he played as well with his friends. He found out we played, and so he invited us to come check out one of his sessions. Man. He was hardcore. They dressed up and had figurines. But we thought it was awesome, because we saw these adults playing and getting into it, and it made us think wow, we're not so weird after all, if adults do it. Plus, they had money, and would order pizzas and shit.

Of course, now, I look back and realize that these were some hardcore nerds haha. But, it's all cool. Still great memories.

To tell you the truth, I've recently started floating the idea of playing again with some of my friends. Just gotta find the time. Could be fun...

Anyways, have fun man.

[viscountradu]

One question to ask yourself is which appeals more to you: Dungeons and Dragons, or my personal choice, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. They have different rules, different pros and different cons.

I started out playing regular D&D, and it was great. But, it's a little restrictive in some ways. We switched over to AD&D because it allowed for a more immersive experience, BUT, if you ask me, AD&D requires a much more enthusiastic Dungeon Master to really make the game good.

wait, are you comparing D&D 3.5 to D&D 2 (AD&D)? or are you talking real old-skool D&D (as in, version 1)? D&D 3.5 is the most recent and is not called AD&D.

D&D 2 (AD&D) is just too difficult for new players, and some of the rules are broken in so many of its rules that i wouldn't suggest playing it. the add-on books all contradict each other and there are so many ways that your character can really become a god if your DM doesn't keep control.

most of the good material and campaign worlds from D&D 2 has been redone for D&D 3.5. the rules now make more sense, the game play is easier to pickup for new players, and the broken rules have been greatly reduced.

i would say get D&D 3.5. buy the Player's Handbook used at a used bookstore if you can find it. and don't get the DM book unless you want to host your own campaigns.

[kowgod]

wait, are you comparing D&D 3.5 to D&D 2 (AD&D)? or are you talking real old-skool D&D (as in, version 1)? D&D 3.5 is the most recent and is not called AD&D.

Shows how long it's been since I played! Sigh :(

nvert, listen to joshua. He probably knows what he is talking about.

[tokenuser]

One thing that was siad that might have been missed - you need a good DM to make the game.

If you *are* just getting into it, try and see if you can sit in on a couple of sessions at a local game store. Depending on the people at the table, they might let you in with a new character, and help you out.

BUT it all comes down to having a good DM, with a well laid out plan of where he is going to take you, and someone that doesn't keep killing the players off becasue they want to go throug the door on the left, and he only has it scripted to go through the door on the right. The enjoyment you get from D&D is intimately linked to the imagination and flexability of the DM.

It makes sense why Alex enjoys it so much - there is a lot of improv involved in a good D&D game. Some people thrive on it, others get hooked up in the rules and lose sight on the fact it is supposed to be fun.

[poltah]

You really need to find an experienced DM, if you don't want to learn to play the hard way.
It's much easier to have a guy who know how to play there to help getting the whole thing started.

Of course you can just gather a bunch of guys (it's best with 4-5 people + a DM), and just start trying to figure the whole thing out by yourself.

Also, D&D is open source, which basically means you can read the Player's Handbook, the Monster Manual and the Dungeon Master's Guide online, legally.

http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/home.html

There you go. It won't have the nice feel of the Player's Handbook, nor the pretty pictures.

[superdeformed]

There are other table top RPG's out there besides D&D. I've played it several times, but it's always felt like a game all about combat and preceptions checks. Yeah maybe I've had shitty DMs, no wait I really did have shitty DMs, well except for once maybe.

7th Sea is the best RPG I've ever played, Star Wars is stupid fun as well, and World of Darkness, so long as the players and GM's are not goth or take it seriously is damn fun too. Honorable mentions go to Rifts (too bad character creation can take a good week), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (which used the game game engine as Rifts), Earthdawn (my first RPG), and Deadlands.

[tokenuser]

For quick "one night of gaming" events, we used to play Paranoia (http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/series.php?qsSeries=19).
Rules were simple, easy to set up, didn't take much effort for the DM.
Drank beer, ate pizza. DIed asnd was resurrected a couple of times.
Good time for all.

[masherscf]

For quick "one night of gaming" events, we used to play Paranoia (http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/series.php?qsSeries=19).
Rules were simple, easy to set up, didn't take much effort for the DM.
Drank beer, ate pizza. DIed asnd was resurrected a couple of times.
Good time for all.

Do you remember "Illuminati"?

[tokenuser]

The card game or the secret society in Paranoia??
Wow - old school geeks :D

[masherscf]

The card game or the secret society in Paranoia??
Wow - old school geeks :D

I was thinking of the card game because they're in Paranoia.

That Steve Jackson, what a great guy!

[babobaka]

For quick "one night of gaming" events, we used to play Paranoia (http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/series.php?qsSeries=19).
Rules were simple, easy to set up, didn't take much effort for the DM.
Drank beer, ate pizza. DIed asnd was resurrected a couple of times.
Good time for all.

Wow, what a coincidence you mentioned Paranoia. My mom got the interior of her house repainted and while moving all the stuff/junk I came across my old Paranoia game books. I remembered I decided to keep them even though I gave away all my other games (D&D, Car Wars, etc.). I just found it to be my favorite game.

It really gave me a sense of nostalgia to look through those books. All the things I highlighted, photocopies I made, I even came across an adventure I made on my own. It was really terrible, I was too hung up on properly equiping players with the most powerful weapons, getting the uber-weapon isn't really the point of Paranoia.

I decided to sell them on Ebay, and I was surprised at the price they fetched. Still popular I guess. I was also surprised to find that they've issued a new version called Paranoia XP.

[masherscf]

My mom got the interior of her house repainted and while moving all the stuff/junk I came across my old Paranoia game books.

Dude, I got a couple thousand dollars worth of hand-painted Warhammer and Warhammer 40K figures from about fifteen years ago when I hardcore into those games. They're taking up space in the closet and my wife has been after me to get rid of them.

[tokenuser]

When I went searching for the link I supplied in my post, I was surprised to see that Paranoia had been resurrected as well. The original dates from the mid 80's, and stopped being published very early 90's I think.

For a bunch of geeks looking for something to do on a Friday night it was a lot of fun.

[babobaka]

Dude, I got a couple thousand dollars worth of hand-painted Warhammer and Warhammer 40K figures from about fifteen years ago when I hardcore into those games. They're taking up space in the closet and my wife has been after me to get rid of them.

Can you bear to part with them? I'm sure you can get something for them over Ebay. How well are they painted?

I've been wondering if Ebay is a good place to sell my old comic books. From what I remember, you really don't get a great deal at a comic book shop.