DnD

[HappyBerserker]

Hey me and a few of my friends were thinking of playing Dungeons and Dragons, only problem is that none of us have ever played it before. Any suggestions for a newbie?

[Jamfalcon]

The first question is do any of you have any D&D books already or are you still looking to buy them?
We've actually had a couple of threads on the topic recently, so you could take a look over those to see what advice has already been given. The first link in particular has a pretty good discussion about some of the core ideas of D&D.
Basically my advice is to get a hold of the books (get at least one paper copy. PDFs are all well and good for referencing, but you're going to want to read over it in detail). Make sure everyone has a chance to look over the rules and that whoever wants to be the Dungeon Master has a decent grasp of them. Then he can just throw together a plot that's as simple or complex as he wants, everyone can make their characters, and you can get going.
If you have any more specific questions, I (or one of the others if they get here first) will be happy to help.

[General Meh]

Play Pathfinder. Also I'd advise getting an adventure module for your first few sessions, creating your own without having a grasp on the rules would be quite daunting.

[RedNightmare]

Well, this would be a great place to start. the free adventure from wizards: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/h1.pdf
Grab some pregenerated characters here: http://dungeonsmaster.com/pre-generated ... r-library/

And get cracking!

Edit: Quick start Rules might also come in handy http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/quickstartrules.pdf

[HappyBerserker]

Thanks! You guys have been a big help!

[DuelLadyS]

My advice? Watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmTINEnGwnc

[Jamfalcon]

How have I not seen that before? And where did that last two hours just vanish to?

[Geoff_B]

My advice? Watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmTINEnGwnc

Wow yeah that was fun to watch. Also the podcasts on the WoTC site with the guys - Mike losing his rag at Jerry at the end of the second series was a moment of pure awesome.

[RedNightmare]

there are two of these, 2 PAX primes back to back. Also, Chris DMed for the writers of Robot Chicken (great watch if you haven't played D&D yet) and some British guys. Oh and R.A. Salvatore, Ed Greenwood and friends.

[Geoff_B]

Chris Perkins: Dungeon Master to the Stars

[benvoliothefirst]

This is an amazing thread. I've played AD&D for a few years and this was a lot of interesting info for me anyway. Thanks to all involved!