Re: OT: am playing D&D light and am having fun
 

well, i'm thinking of starting with D&D, simply because i know there's a 15$ starter box for it. but hey, if i happen to run into any other cheap stuff...

Re: OT: am playing D&D light and am having fun
 

Having played D&D for more than 20 years, here's my advice :

Don't bother to buy the rulebooks. Find yourself a good group first. That is so much more important. A good gaming group will show you all the game has to offer and will let you reach the point where you can read the rulebooks on your own (if you try to do it in the way that seems logical - buy the books, read the books, then go play - it won't work, trust me).

Gaming stores are good places to meet players. Down here, most of the employees play RPGs themselves, although in your region it may be different. Just avoid people who claim things like 'this system we play is the best ever' or 'our group is the best/oldest gaming group' 5 minutes after meeting you.

D&D is a good place to start because it's the common ground for all role-players, whether they like it or not. You will find some things in other RPGs that only make sense if you've played some D&D first and understood that system's strengths and weaknesses.

I wish you a good time !

Re: OT: am playing D&D light and am having fun
 

Yeah, I fully concur with Erax (I will still get you you sneaky Brazilian reprobate, yes you and your little dog too).

I have not played D&D for about 15 years, but what I do remember that it is the quality of the group you play with that dicatates the enjoyment you will get out of it. A good Dungeon Master (ref) is also essential

Re: OT: am playing D&D light and am having fun
 

And watch out for teh guy who knows it all without cracking open a book. I seemed to have one of those guys in every group I've been in. They're also the guys who get sullen and pack up their stuff if things don't go their way. But as far as other games, I've dabbled in quite a few games back in the 80's, but the only ones I remember and still have the books for are AD&D, of course, GURPS (great system, but not exactly cheap with all of the different supplement books you'll need), Shadowrun and FASA's Star Trek rpg. OH, those were teh days. Maybe once my son is old enough (he just turned 3), he'll get involved in rpg's and invite dad to join in. One can only hope

Re: OT: am playing D&D light and am having fun
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I've also been thinking of getting into D&D, but it'll be a year before I'll have the time due to the "career retraining" (aka school) I'm currently in.

In the past I've tried RP games at Origins and didn't like them. But in recent years I've been reading a buncha Forgotten Realms novels and have really gotten hooked on that whole universe.

The RA Salvatore novel "Spine of the World" has a 16-pg "Quickplay" D&D adventure at the end, presumably to give people like me (and maybe you too) a small taste of the D&D universe.

I'd like to get into D&D eventually. I'm not getting any younger, and it sounds like fun. I'm getting too old to hang around bars. Spending an evening with a group of fellow gaming geeks living in a fantasy world sounds quite appealing. That whole escapism thing.

Re: OT: am playing D&D light and am having fun
 

Suggestion.. take your "D&D birth" in steps.

1 - Find a game
2 - Find out what system they are using ( 3.5 and 3.0 will be most common, as they are the current Versions)
3 - Get the players handbook for that particular Version
4 - Do not be a psion


ok that Last is just a personal thing. at low levels, psions are USELESS and die frequently. they are only really good in games where Mindflayers seem to pop up often.

Re: OT: am playing D&D light and am having fun
 

Greg - Many good games have been released since the days of FASA's Star Trek. Check out Fading Suns, Ars Magica and (if you like feudal Japan) Sengoku. These are some of the most innovative / well-written / well-researched titles that have been released these Last few years.

The Star Wars D20 system is also quite good, after you get used to the idea of playing Star Wars with levels and classes.

GT - When I said 'group', I meant that as including the DM. He is the most important element of all, I know many people who hate D&D because they started playing with a lousy DM.

Re: OT: am playing D&D light and am having fun
 

Which publication of Ars Magica do you favor, Erax?

That title has been passed around like an easy ugly girl.

Re: OT: am playing D&D light and am having fun
 

well, me and my brother have decided we like the light Version. unfortunatly, it doesn't contain any information on how to roll up your own character's or advance farther than level 2 and refer's you to the player's handbook for those. so, i guess i'll be looking for that. i figure once the simplified rules get easy, we'll move onto the hard one's.

thanks to all the people who replied.

Re: OT: am playing D&D light and am having fun
 

The rules in the Player's Handbook are not that complicated. There are just a lot. Just follow the book chapter by chapter to create a character; everything is presented in the only logical order to make your character (as some things HAVE to be done before others, naturally).