Table Top RGP

[Cortheya]

I've been playing RPG video games for a long time and I've never played a table top RPG. After reading up on it it seems like something I would enjoy but I don't know which RPG to pick or even should I play it. So any advice on if I should play it and which one to pick?

 

[iain62a]

I guess Dungeons & Dragons is a safe bet for a first timer.

 

[sneakypenguin]

RGP sounds like a racing league
/pointless contribution

 

[DrDeath3191]

D&D is usually a good place to start; it's a classic.
If you want a more creative one, there's a game where you're a mutant and part of an underground alliance, and have to hide it from players and a computer. I forget what it's called though =P.
I also had some fun with Changeling. It's emphasis isn't on combat, but on keeping yourself sane.

 

[Swaki]

ive never played table top rpg, and the only rpg ive ever played was fallout, but im pretty sure the most important thing is to have good group, look around and see what games the local rpg players are playing, and try to find a game whit a good gm (btw as far as ive understood a good gm is a evil one) and some cleaver "team mates" who you will also enjoy talking normally whit as a game requires spending hours pr week together. hope you find a good group and have some fun^^.

 

[zen5887]

Start with D&D.

More people play it, its easy to pick up but you can spend ages on a character to make it as good as you can. If you get a good group you will have a mixture of role playing and roll playing (and lets face it, you need a bit of both). I recomend you head down to you local game store and see if they had ads for game groups or if you have friends who want to play as well, think about buying the gear and starting with them.

Good luck!

 

[RagnorakTres]

I started out with (White Wolf's, I believe?) Werewolf, but I can understand if that's not your cup of tea. I continued with GURPS (and still play that in fact; most of the RPGs I've written are based fully or in part on Steve Jackson's work) and recently started to get into D&D (3.0, for those of you who understand the versions). I also play several of my own design, including some based on popular anime (Bleach, Naruto, and Inu-Yasha, all of which are shows I watched fan-dubbed before I watched the American versions, so I have a better feel for how they were meant to be) and one completely original (a post-apocalyptic one with angels and demons and the infernal/divine conflict raging in the background).

So as you can see, I have some experience. I would recommend D&D for a beginner (despite my start), followed by either Werewolf or Vampire (depending on tastes) and finally GURPS for the truly advanced player, though you can play it as a raw beginner (I just feel it's better to have some idea what you are doing before you start screwing with the rules).

On a side note: 400 POSTS! YEAH, BABY, YEAH!! I now feel like I am actually contributing to this community! I think I'll go have a Mountain Dew to celebrate!

 

[Wildrow12]

As a pen and paper RPG player myself I will answer your questions as such:

1. Should you play?
Of course! But you should first observe a session before you decide to do
anything of the sort.Try to go to comic/gaming shops and observe a game or two.

2. What game should you try out?

Depends on your genre of choice. iain62a does have a valid point: D&D is a good starting point (though I would be wary of the 4th edition). But it all depends on what your own style is and the style of the group you find.

http://www.youtube.com/user/pugknowspro

The above link is for a YouTube channel focusing on reviewing different table top games and supplements. A good place to start.

 

[Kiutu]

My brother and I are actually setting up to start playing DnD. I always wanted to play and knew of groups and expressed my interest, but no dice (;P) so now we are starting our own, with his friends and none of us have played, though my brother and I know the stuff so we are spearheading the group with me as DM. Just got some of the books saturday, but not all we ordered.

 

[RagnorakTres]

http://www.youtube.com/user/pugknowspro

The above link is for a YouTube channel focusing on reviewing different table top games and supplements. A good place to start.

Hmmm...a useful tool! I believe I shall review their work with interest! Thanks for the link!

 

[Grumdredd]

D&D is usually a good place to start; it's a classic.
If you want a more creative one, there's a game where you're a mutant and part of an underground alliance, and have to hide it from players and a computer. I forget what it's called though =P.
I also had some fun with Changeling. It's emphasis isn't on combat, but on keeping yourself sane.

I think you're talking about "Paranoia"

 

[Wildrow12]

http://www.youtube.com/user/pugknowspro

The above link is for a YouTube channel focusing on reviewing different table top games and supplements. A good place to start.

Hmmm...a useful tool! I believe I shall review their work with interest! Thanks for the link!

Glad to be of service.

 

[Micah Weil]

Yeah...start with D&D. Nice, simple, famous...even if you've never played it, you know what you're going into. When you're done with that and have gotten used to it, branch out. Palladium's got some nice series out there.

 

[Cortheya]

OK now i looked at the dungeons and dragons and there are alot of different products including miniatures and different types of books and i haven't a clue which one to buy which one would include what I need to get started??

 

[RagnorakTres]

OK now i looked at the dungeons and dragons and there are alot of different products including miniatures and different types of books and i haven't a clue which one to buy which one would include what I need to get started??

I'd go with the 3.0 or 3.5 series: Player's Handbook is a must and if you're going to be doing any DMing later on, it's often cheaper to get the full set of Core Rulebooks (Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual) all at once as opposed to buying them one at a time.

The miniatures are by no means necessary for gameplay, though they can be as much fun as the game itself. I feel that they cost too much, take too much effort and add too little to the experience to be worth it, but this is only true if you play the way I do (on a budget with ad hoc sessions as often as my parents will let me). Some of my friends are way into them.

The pre-constructed worlds are often a good starting point. There are quite a few printable adventures for small parties online at the Wizards of the Coast website.

 

[New Troll]

HoL: Human Occupied Landfill

Easiest rules of any tabletop RPG. Ever. Fun too.

 

[Gitsnik]

I feel that they cost too much, take too much effort and add too little to the experience to be worth it

Budget aside, I really like modelling my character as he takes wounds and gains new armour and experience. Especially when I was new blood to the universe it was amazingly useful to have a visual aide to how my character was looking. I would go as far as to add the runes of protection to a magic users cloak, and every wound would produce a new scar, scrape, buff or rent in armour - creating a detailed, vivid picture that I could then re-paint with myself when role playing later.

But I have a thing for models.

Speaking of, if you liked the DoW series, you could always try your hand at Inquisitor. It is not as old as D&D, and is probably a bit less polished if you notice those sorts of things, but it can be useful to have a pre-defined universe to work within. The campaign settings in D&D can be vastly different, a black dragon in one can have different powers to a black dragon in another (acid vs poison gas vs disintegration etc.), so sometimes it is nice to be able to read literature that sits the same across what you play. Again, YMMV.

 

[DrDeath3191]

D&D is usually a good place to start; it's a classic.
If you want a more creative one, there's a game where you're a mutant and part of an underground alliance, and have to hide it from players and a computer. I forget what it's called though =P.
I also had some fun with Changeling. It's emphasis isn't on combat, but on keeping yourself sane.

I think you're talking about "Paranoia"

You're absolutely right, good sir/madam! Thank you!

 

[DreamKing]

OK now i looked at the dungeons and dragons and there are alot of different products including miniatures and different types of books and i haven't a clue which one to buy which one would include what I need to get started??

I'd go with the 3.0 or 3.5 series: Player's Handbook is a must and if you're going to be doing any DMing later on, it's often cheaper to get the full set of Core Rulebooks (Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual) all at once as opposed to buying them one at a time.

The miniatures are by no means necessary for gameplay, though they can be as much fun as the game itself. I feel that they cost too much, take too much effort and add too little to the experience to be worth it, but this is only true if you play the way I do (on a budget with ad hoc sessions as often as my parents will let me). Some of my friends are way into them.

The pre-constructed worlds are often a good starting point. There are quite a few printable adventures for small parties online at the Wizards of the Coast website.

I found 4th edition a better way to get into the DnD universe because of the streamlined combat. I played a modified version of 3.5 and have a basic campaign of 3.5 and I found that 4 (and now 4.5, which includes races and classes that were missing from the original 4 edition rule book) makes things easier by grouping similar skills under one common skill. My buddy told me that 3.5 is more centered around RP than combat and 4 (4.5 now) reverses that. But the flexiblity in the game makes it possible to inject as much RP as possible. If you find the rules get in the way too much, you can just remove whatever rules you see fit.

 

[RagnorakTres]

Speaking of, if you liked the DoW series, you could always try your hand at Inquisitor. It is not as old as D&D, and is probably a bit less polished if you notice those sorts of things, but it can be useful to have a pre-defined universe to work within. The campaign settings in D&D can be vastly different, a black dragon in one can have different powers to a black dragon in another (acid vs poison gas vs disintegration etc.), so sometimes it is nice to be able to read literature that sits the same across what you play. Again, YMMV.

Inquisitor...rings a bell somewhere...is that a Steve Jackson production? And by DoW I assume you mean Vampire and Werewolf and the others in that series(I can never remember the full name of the universe; I just remember the individual RPGs within it)?

I found 4th edition a better way to get into the DnD universe because of the streamlined combat. I played a modified version of 3.5 and have a basic campaign of 3.5 and I found that 4 (and now 4.5, which includes races and classes that were missing from the original 4 edition rule book) makes things easier by grouping similar skills under one common skill. My buddy told me that 3.5 is more centered around RP than combat and 4 (4.5 now) reverses that. But the flexiblity in the game makes it possible to inject as much RP as possible. If you find the rules get in the way too much, you can just remove whatever rules you see fit.

I guess I'm more of an RPer than a combat dude (though I'm very good at developing what my DM calls "heroics," basically one epic use of a skill or a combo of skills with effects that become epic (I once caromed a lightning arrow off of the inside of a cathedral dome and made it look like a god had just struck a hypocritical pastor down; that was a good day)). I prefer 3.5 over 4 because of the better balance I feel it has in combat situations. *shrugs* or maybe I'm just old-fashioned, I don't know.

As a side note, I'm interested in what kinds of characters people here play, so I'm going to go use the search button and then start a thread if that turns up nothing.