I want to get into D&D

[zenoaugustus]

So a couple days ago, one of my roommates came up to me and asked if I had ever played Dungeons and Dragons. I had, about ten years ago (I would've been 10 at the time). After I asked around to a couple other roommates and friends who come by often, it seems like we have a few people who are trying to play.

But it has fallen to me to organize and figure out what to do. I recall some rules and with my experience playing complex RPGs I'm sure I can read the handbooks and determine how to play appropriately. What I am worried of is that I'm not sure all the materials we are going to need. Here is a list of stuff I was planning on getting, can someone verify to me if I should get more or not. I was planning on getting the third edition, because that is the one I played, and I've heard grumbles before regarding the 4th edition.

-The Player's Handbook
-An Expansion Set
-Graph Paper

I know I need dice, but I'm not sure how many or what kinds. And should I get the Monster's Handbook, so I can create an adventure of my own? Is there a treasure handbook?

I would appreciate any and all information you can share with me. Thanks for your help!!

And in case you were wondering, yes, I'm making a druid.

 

[sanquin]

Get version 3.5. It's basically just a 'bug-fixed' 3.0 in my opinion. Or very maybe, if you want something that's in my opinion even better, get Pathfinder instead. The D&D license got bought by someone else and 4.0 is made by the new company. Pathfinder is from the people that made D&D 3.0 and 3.5, so it's basically their version of D&D 4.0. And it's even better to play with than D&D 3.5 in my opinion.

If you want to start out and still need everything then I would suggest at the very least to get the three main ones. Player's handbook, Dungeon Master Guide and Monster Manual I. With those three you have everything you need for a normal D&D campaign. And I believe you also get a map with squares on it with the DMG. I did at least.

About dice. I would get at least one of those small sets that has 1 of each D&D die type in it. It has a d4, d6, d8, d10, d% (or sometimes called d100), d12 and d20 in it. Then get a few extra D6 ones. Or if you don't have miniatures to use on the map with squares, you can get a set of 36 d6's and use those to indicate who's standing where on the map. We used to do it like that for a while.

There is a magic item compendium, though it's not really a treasure book but more a book that has all pre-made magic items in it and gives directions on how to make your own. The DMG has directions on how to decide on what treasure the party might be getting.

Extra:
The dice is a tricky one really. How many you need is up to you and the party. But I usually go by the idea of "6 of each one should be enough". Since you need several dice of one type for certain things. Like a magic missile can need 1d4, or 3d4 or higher. It's probably not really cost effective to buy at least 6 of each though, so you can just start out with re-rolling the same die when you need several of the same one. And maybe later, if you do get more into it, you and your fellow party members can buy more.

 

[Rylot]

Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide are pretty essential. If you get a module (which I'd definitely recommend, creating an adventure from scratch without much DM experience is difficult) it has all the encounters and monsters your party will face so a monster manual isn't required. Also modules usually have all of the treasure you're libel to find so a treasure compendium isn't needed either. As for dice I'd say get a few sets of 4,6,8,10,12,20 and tens dice. Only having one set for like five people doesn't really work, I'd say have at least one set for every two people and the DM should have their own. Also if you're DMing I'd suggest not running a PC if at all possible.

 

[sanquin]

Running a PC as a DM is really no problem. It also depends on the party size. If there are only 3 players it's probably good to play a fourth character. But you have to keep in mind to stay on the background, and not actually do anything to advance the plot. Well, unless the plot demands for you to advance it with your character of course. It should be the players that do most of the roleplay work.

As for a module instead of a monster manual. For a first try that's definitely a better idea. It's already hard and takes quite a bit of time to come up with a good campaign on your own. Even more so when you're new to DMing.

And the dice thing, of course it's better to have more dice. But it all depends on how much money he can spend on such things. Not everyone has enough to buy several dice sets each costing 10 dollars or so. Especially when you also have to buy at least the two most essential books and a module to go with it.