Table top enthusiasts assemble!

[Trololo Punk]

So for a while now I have been interested in getting into tabletop gaming but have never took the actual step to find others or encourage friends to play with. Now I do but I need some help. Specifically I need recommendations on games for a noob to start with. Anything from strategy war games to DND.Open to pretty much anything.

 

[Nathan Crumpler]

I suggest pathfinder. It's pretty similar to 3.5 D&D so if you are invited to play 3.5 you won't have to learn a new game in order to play. It can seem daunting when you look at the rule book, but you can learn as you go and being a human fighter, which what I would suggest for your first time, will allow you to get a hang on how the game is played with out worrying about spells DCs and caster levels and what not.
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/gettingStarted.html

You can also play online with complete strangers.
http://rptools.net/

One more thing:
In my experience, games can go on for four or more hours so it's not like a video game where you can just play for forty minutes and be done with it.

 

[Blunderboy]

New World of Darkness!
So far it's the only kind of table top I've tried and it's amazing.
I've been a human fighting Zombies, a mage and I'm currently in an amazing game of Werewolf.
Starting a Hunters game soon (think Supernatural).

It's a great laugh and you only need some D10s so it's easier to get started.
It's a very adaptable system.

 

[Griffolion]

So for a while now I have been interested in getting into tabletop gaming but have never took the actual step to find others or encourage friends to play with. Now I do but I need some help. Specifically I need recommendations on games for a noob to start with. Anything from strategy war games to DND.Open to pretty much anything.

For TT you'll find that [a href="http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/"]Warhammer[/a] is the most popular at any gaming club (at least in the UK). You can pretty much guarantee everyone who does TT has a Warhammer Fantasy or 40K army. The rules are simple (40K more-so than Fantasy) and a game can be as short or lengthy as you fancy, with a multitude of game modes.

If you fancy going off "the beaten track", try out [a href="http://www.hawkwargames.com/"]Dropzone Commander[/a] or [a href="http://www.infinitythegame.com/infinity/en/"]Infinity[/a]. I especially like Infinity as you literally only play with 1-10 models on the board and it's hyper realistic. Just imagine (bad analogy as it's a bad game to compare) Call of Duty but in TT. 6 (on average) players aside going over a close map with plenty of buildings etc.

If you're looking for board game/TT hybrids, a new release is called [a href="http://www.dreadball.com/"]Dread Ball[/a]. I've seen this played at my club, and it's a really interesting system to play.

 

[Fappy]

I suggest pathfinder. It's pretty similar to 3.5 D&D so if you are invited to play 3.5 you won't have to learn a new game in order to play. It can seem daunting when you look at the rule book, but you can learn as you go and being a human fighter, which what I would suggest for your first time, will allow you to get a hang on how the game is played with out worrying about spells DCs and caster levels and what not.
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/gettingStarted.html

You can also play online with complete strangers.
http://rptools.net/

One more thing:
In my experience, games can go on for four or more hours so it's not like a video game where you can just play for forty minutes and be done with it.

Listen to this guy. Every time one of the these threads crop up it warms my heart to see everyone suggesting Pathfinder

 

[Nathan Crumpler]

I suggest pathfinder. It's pretty similar to 3.5 D&D so if you are invited to play 3.5 you won't have to learn a new game in order to play. It can seem daunting when you look at the rule book, but you can learn as you go and being a human fighter, which what I would suggest for your first time, will allow you to get a hang on how the game is played with out worrying about spells DCs and caster levels and what not.
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/gettingStarted.html

You can also play online with complete strangers.
http://rptools.net/

One more thing:
In my experience, games can go on for four or more hours so it's not like a video game where you can just play for forty minutes and be done with it.

Listen to this guy. Every time one of the these threads crop up it warms my heart to see everyone suggesting Pathfinder

Well, that's how I started. I played a fighter in a pathfinder game and I died a lot. One of the other players could not for the life of him figure out how a fighter in pathfinder was dying so often.

 

[barbzilla]

Hmm, my personal favorites are as follows.

Fantasy: Pathfinder, this game has pretty well wiped out every other fantasy game we've tried.
Cyberpunk: Shadowrun, I've been a fan of this game since I started TTRPGs years ago. Very fun
Steampunk: Arcana, I am not sure if it is official or not, but we found the books in a digital format for it
Mech: Mechwarrior, obvious reasons
Horror: Call of Cthulhu, with the proper location and DM, this game can be absolutely amazing.

 

[Johnny Impact]

Pathfinder (best hack-n-slasher out there, plus there's oodles of D&D 3.5 material you can use with it)
Shadowrun 3 (professional crime in a dystopian cyberpunk future. I know nothing of version 4, you can still get the books for 3 online)
White Wolf 2nd or 3rd edition games (Mage is the best game they made, but very hard for noobies, try Werewolf or Vampire)
Silver Age Sentinels (superhero theme, uses the Tri-Stat system)

 

[DoPo]

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/gettingStarted.html

Wow, didn't know of that website. Good resource. I was going to suggest the SRD [http://www.d20pfsrd.com/] but the two would overlap, I suppose. Maybe there is something in the SRD that would be an extra, dunno. And here is the SRD for D&D 3.5 [http://www.d20dsrd.org/]. You won't need both, but it's there for completeness' sake - it should have everything you need to start playing 3.5 (if you really want to). Finally, my favourite "unofficial addon" for D&D 3.5 9should work the same in Pathfinder) is Epic 6 (E6) [http://www.myth-weavers.com/wiki/index.php/Epic_6] - it is basically all characters stop levelling at level 6 - that's the highest they can go. It helps with balance, makes the game feel less of a rat race, makes it easier on DMs and turns removes the enormous (and stupid) power discrepancies). I love it!

New World of Darkness!

Yeah. That's a solid choice, too. And, hey, the new Mummy gameline is coming out soon..ish - the Kickstarter for it was launched a couple of days ago.

It's a very adaptable system.

Yeah, sort of. I mean, nWoD is great if you're after gritty urban fantasy/horror kind of game. It might not even need supernatural stuff - you can just play as mortals, still facing some kind of horror challenges. You can extend it into cyberpunk, if you wish, for that low gritty feeling. Or other similar stuff (fantasy game but not of the scale of D&D). I won't really say it's "very" adaptable, as it can do such a high range of games, but I won't really say it's not, since it's easy to mod and retool into other games with vaguely the same sort of feeling. I also recommend Mirrors if anybody tries to use nWoD for other stuff (and if they aren't as well versed in RPG mechanics) - it's a great resource for how to breakdown and rebuild parts of the system and how to actually go about using it elsewhere. If you don't know how to do that, or need some pointers - it's a good book, otherwise, it might not be as interesting.

But what nWoD excels in is urban horror, as I said - modern day vampires, werewolves, mages, demons, spirits, etc. Pretty much any supernatural critter you can think of is there, in the shadows, ready and waiting to bite your face off. If you want to play spin of these, I highly recommend checking with WoD first, then maybe moving over to other systems, just tin case there is something that does these better.

Fuck, I can spend my whole post only on nWoD (or WoD in general, but I'd prefer to constrain myself somewhat). I'm a junkie. I love the system. I'm a huge fan of the setting, and I adore the mechanics. But let's move over to something else.

GURPS - that's the truly adaptable system. Another one of my favourites. It's just generic mechanics for running a tabletop RPG - the setting, premise and so on is up to you. here is a free sample to check what's it about. [http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/lite/] But generally, you can run a dungeon fantasy game as easily as you have one set on some distant space station. Or whatever you want, really. It's great, it's adaptable, the mechanics are solid. It might also be somewhat bland, since it can do a fantasy game, but, in general, D&D would be better for it. So GURPS is a jack of all trades but master of none, in a sense, since it usually isn't better than the specialised games.

Dark Heresy is set in the Warhammer 40K universe, and again, it's favourite of mine. It's dark and gritty futuristic setting. Actually, the mechanics are great for a dark, gritty and quite bloody and deadly game of all kinds.

There is a Dresden Files RPG, if you are a fan of that. Or if you want another urban fantasy setting. It's using the FATE system, which is pretty adaptable, too, however it emphasises different things than, say, nWoD or GURPS. It's more about the story being given to the characters.

Shadowrun was mentioned, but seriously good for cyberpunk, crossing over with fantasy. Cyberpunk 2020 is the definite cyberpunk game, though. Both are really good.

Paranoia is just general insanity and a great big laugh. You are in the future and a psychotic friendly computer is issuing commands, while you try to dick over the other players. It's just funny as hell.

Dunno, I can go on, but I guess I'll just leave these here as highlights. The question is what do you want to play? I can just keep suggesting stuff, but it's better if I give suggestions based on what you want, not waste, say, half or all of them on stuff you're not interested in.

 

[Blunderboy]

SNIP

Yeah, it's the only system I've experienced but the sheer array of those experiences so far, with very little change in terms of how I play has been amazing to me, especially as a newcomer.
I didn't feel that the very experienced group had to carry me (for long).

 

[DoPo]

SNIP

Yeah, it's the only system I've experienced but the sheer array of those experiences so far, with very little change in terms of how I play has been amazing to me, especially as a newcomer.
I didn't feel that the very experienced group had to carry me (for long).

I so read that "especially as a necromancer". For some reason, that led me to believe you've played necromancers in whatever games you've been and found it easy enough in each. XD

Anyway, yeah, it's quite easy to learn and play. In fact, I've had people being amazed they learned it all, from a single post. Well not exactly "all" but everything you'd need for playing the a game, at least.

 

[exp. 99]

oWoD fanboy here, nWoD is for pansies.

Getting that out of my system, I'd definitely give a thumbs up for pathfinder; it's a good entry level RPG for people wanting to try medieval fantasy. The mechanics are solid and well fleshed out, and everything you need to get a game rolling is the one corebook. Referencing rules is easy, the corebook is laid out in a fairly intuitive manner which makes searching for rules or information simple.

For Sci-Fi I'm a big proponent of Dark Heresy, not just because I'm a flagrant Warhammer 40k nerd, but because once again the system is designed in a simple, easy to adjust to fashion. Learning the basics is the matter of an hour, and they cover most everything you need to keep things rolling. Given that the system is so straightforward, anything a GM needs to do that isn't covered by the corebook you can handle on the fly with few problems. Once again, one book is all you need to get going (though anything with the warhammer logo on it tends to be costly) and the book is set up rather intuitively. As an added bonus, the mechanics and the fluff are compartmentalized enough that you can use the system even if you're not into warhammer. Additional plusses are how well it can be used to run a modern horror or investigation style game, both elements being well fleshed out.

For cyberpunk and post-modern, I'd like to say Shadowrun, but there's a few caveats here. While I love the fluff and the mechanics are solid, they're not as easy to pick up at first. The game has a lot of stuff in it, and while it's not complex, the information overload that happens to a new player (or worse, a new GM) can be daunting. Worse still, the corebook you need to run the game is horribly organized; quick references are a frustrating scavenger hunt through pages and pages that give you a runaround. If you can get past those entry barriers, it's actually a fun game that lets you be operators operating on operations, or just goof about and cause explosions. The tone of your game will greatly depend on what you and your GM are wanting, and you can mold the near future to how you want to play. Throw in the established lore if you want to have a rich setting to play about it; it gives plenty of places for a GM to come up with hooks to reel players into doing things.

For modern horror, I've got three games I'm fond of, though I don't get to play them as often. The first is Call of Cthulhu. This is a game that requires an interesting outlook: you will lose. The trick is to lose as little as possible and try and prevent the bad before you go insane/get killed/are brainraped by horrors from beyond. You're playing investigators, not warriors or soldiers. You'll need to have a solid head on your shoulders to play, but it lends itself well to intrigue and lets a GM be a devious bastard in all the best ways.

Second is All Flesh Must Be Eaten, which is a game wholly dedicated to zombies. Small scale outbreak to worldwide apocalypse, whether the kind from the movies or something from aliens or worse, the whole point is you're playing normal people in very abnormal situations. I wish I had more experience with this one to talk about it, but sadly, my gaming circle has different tastes.

Lastly is the World of Darkness. This one is a different taste of horror, because it tries to focus on the darker side of the human psyche. You play a monster of some kind, be it a vampire, a werewolf, one of the fae...and you're in the modern world, where you have to hide from normal people what you are for one reason or another. The thing is, you're not a normal person, and your interactions with your peers and the common folk tend to be...well, they don't necessarily go off well. The important things about WoD you need to keep in mind is that there are several games that make up the World of Darkness, each named for the kind of creature you play. They all have an established lore the developers set up to give you something to play with, but they can and do all interact with one another. Pick which one suits you and run with it. Just keep an eye out; you'll notice there are two of a lot of them (Vampire: the Masquerade vs Vampire the Requiem, etc). The WoD franchise had a setting it worked with which came to an end, with the devs wrapping up the line of games. They then went on to make a new WoD to see about making more games with a different twist. Old World of Darkness (oWoD) and New World of Darkness (nWoD) don't mesh together, so make sure the games you're getting are from the same series. Also, be warned, this is where edition wars get nasty. Most WoD players I know prefer one to the other, and heatedly debate their choice with their peers. Honestly, it's a matter of opinion, so give the books a look and make one for yourself.


I'd offer thoughts on wargames, but all I have experience with is 40k, so I really can't.

Happy gaming!

 

[DoPo]

oWoD fanboy here, nWoD is for pansies.

Hey, don't start that!

Most WoD players I know prefer one to the other, and heatedly debate their choice with their peers. Honestly, it's a matter of opinion, so give the books a look and make one for yourself.

That's better.

Yeah, a few words about this. I used to be a oWoD fanboy. I figured out I was wrong, and I'm now a WoD fanboy. Both are excellent, sometimes in different ways. For example, nWoD is superior mechanically, while oWoD has great backstory. There is a bit more to it but that's a general outline. There is absolutely no reason to not just take the mechanics and use the story. Or do other combination from both. Frankly, the two are very compatible, since you're looking for story seeds more than anything, the mechanics aren't as important. I hate to slag another game, but D&D does that - you get the book for that shiny new class or spell, next edition rolls around and it's useless or mostly useless. I ran a Vampire game, using Requiem, where my characters were Sabbat shovelheads. I even worked in some of the old merits and flaws - my Nosferatu player had patagia, while the Ventrue guy, was actually from a Lasombra bloodline. But you can go the opposite direction, too - in Night Horrors: the Unbidden, there is a self aware cell phone that is powered by the fear of its owner, so it tries to drive them into a paranoid state (you start receiving texts "They are after you. They know!" for example). I'd love to see this go in the hands of a vampire, especially a Malkavian. And the Slashers would be kickass to turn up in any game - Vampire, Werewolf - you name it.

Bottom line is, it's useless to go with only one of the WoDs, since both are good and both can work together. Heck, take the Vampire Translation Guide and you'll see many good stuff that can be done using ideas from both games. My favourite one, something I'll probably do if I run a Masquerade game, is to say that the actual Tremere clan is either nonexistent or very limited in numbers - the Tremere would be a covenant, and any vampire can attempt to join it. If they are interested in the occult, also if they prove their loyalty - they'll even get access to Thaumaturgy but after getting enough status (and there is the Transubstantiation of Seven to go through). So you can have a Brujah Tremere and a Toreador Tremere, etc. Same goes for the Assamites - they do, after all, want to convert other vampires. No reason not to function as a covenatnt. Again, same goes for the Setites.

 

[Agent Monocle]

One word: Eclipse

Probably one of the best well-rounded strategy war games out there right now. Half the time of Twilight Imperium due to focus on combat than senate voting.... You pretty amass fleets to take over sectors while managing your economy, researching new tech and also customizing your units. It does take a little time to learn the game, but it is well worth it. The rules aren't that complicated and they make a lot sense once you know them.

If you want a great intro game to European table top games that would be Lords of Waterdeep. It'll teach you common traits of European games. Also it's based off DnD Forgotten Realms universe. You basically represent a major lore character and you manage the city of Waterdeep ranging from buying building for the city, enlisting heroes, initiate schemes against your fellow lords and completing quests. It's simple and fun game.

 

[ProtoChimp]

So for a while now I have been interested in getting into tabletop gaming but have never took the actual step to find others or encourage friends to play with. Now I do but I need some help. Specifically I need recommendations on games for a noob to start with. Anything from strategy war games to DND.Open to pretty much anything.

I've been playing 4th edition D&D. It's very easy to get into since I only started playing since October, and I feel I have a decent grasp of it. I haven't needed to buy any of the books as if the DM is good at what he does he should have some startup books. My friend bought one on impulse and let me borrow it, lucky for me he's letting me borrow it indefinitely since he seems to have completely lost interest in it. Disappointing yes since that means I have no friends I can play with, however the whole point of encounters is to meet players and it usually has a place to play in most cities.

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/event.aspx?x=dnd/4new/event/dndencounters

Enter your post code, or zip code in america I don't know the term in america, anyway it will show you a bunch of places closest to you where you can go and play. Even if you're strapped for cash so far I've only ever had to spend money on dice, and that was only £5, oh and the game fee for the DM is usually £1, but that ain't much either.

The good thing about D&D Encounters is that even if you find you don't like the setting or the way it is played its a great way to get started and learn the etiquette of tabletop roleplaying, and from there you can move on to other stuff that you are more interested in. One thing, come early to the game if you are creating a character or levelling up as no one likes to be kept waiting. If someone has ninja'd me and already suggested this then I apologise for not reading the whole thread.

 

[exp. 99]

SNIP

True, the mechanics did get refined. At this point feel free to insert a shit eating grin and a humorously intended jab of choice; it's tricky to do without getting misconstrued in the forums. Ultimately, I stand by the fact that WW still makes a good game overall.