Dungeons and Dragons: got the red starter box, what now?

[EventHorizon]

You enter a dimly lit room, the curtains pulled down over the windows, no doubt to hide the inhabitants inside from the light of the sun. In the center of the room you see 5 short, hunchbacked figures huddled furtively around a wooden table talking amongst themselves excitedly in some strange, primitive tongue. You cannot see what it is they are huddled around but you notice a discarded red packaging on the floor near the table. As terrible ideas form in your mind as to what might be happening, you hear the clattering of dice being rolled, followed by the disappointed moan of one of the shadowy figures. Finally figuring what is going on you take a step into the room, hoping to stop this profane ritual,and as your foot hits the ground with a loud rustle and crack you realize the floor is strewn with sweet wrappers and scraps of crisps and you have stepped on a particularly large sweet wrapper with a particularly dense group of scrip scraps under it. The 5 figures suddenly turn toward you, some of their faces twist into ugly sneers, as if they were going to hiss at you. One of the figures approaches you, a tone of slight desperation in it's voice. Although you can barely understand it's language, you can make out the following:

Hey,

One of my friends over there bought a 4th edition dungeons and dragons red starter set box. We've played through the encounters included a few times over now, and I'm beginning to understand this can't be all. I tried to search for what we should buy next but I am at a total loss.

Could you help me decide what to buy next to expand our dungeons and dragons experience?

EDIT: We've already made up our own adventures, it's just that we don't have enough skill cards to go round, the small bestiary is getting repetitive and once our characters reach a certain (low) level, we can't grant ourselves feats anymore because there ARE no more.

 

[loc978]

Blank notebook paper, some larger paper or cloth to draw maps on, and experience reading fantasy novels to draw ideas from... that's what I use. I don't railroad my players (which is what book campaigns tend to do), I sandbox 'em.
Disclaimer: I've never even glanced at fourth edition material, so the above statement may not apply... I still play 2nd edition AD&D hybridized with elements taken from Star Wars D20 rules (most prominently the vitality/wound system to replace hit points).

 

[hudsonzero]

make some things up, or mix the encounters.

 

[Evil mr dave]

It sounds like you need a campaign, just get yourself a DM, have him make up a campaign and then away ya go

 

[kane.malakos]

Make something up. That's pretty much the most important thing you can do. Come up with a basic story or even just a small mini-adventure, and then have your friends play through it. The Dungeon Master's Guide has a lot of useful resources for coming up with encounters and campaigns, but you have to use your imagination. If you don't want to run a campaign, find someone who will. Pre-made adventures can be fun, but eventually you need a good dungeonmaster.

 

[Link XL1]

DONT BUY 4th EDITION! ok so heres a short summary of dnd: version 3.0 came out and people liked it. then version 3.5 came out and made some good improvements on the 3.0 edition and people liked it. then version 4.0 came out and made some radical changes, a lot of people feel like they dumbed down the game and made it more like a video game. most dnd players dont like 4.0

and because lots of people didnt like it, Pathfinder was made. Dungeons and Dragon is made by Wizards of the Coast (last i checked) and Pathfiner is made by Paizo. i like to think of Pathfinder as dnd 3.75 because it makes lots of good improvements on 3.5, also its compatible with 3.5 rules (which is good and bad).

so if you've been playing 3.5 (like me) then you can buy the pathfinder book and just update the rules. but if you're like you (and i assume you havent played 3.5) then you may find yourself in a situation where the rules of pathfinder aren't specific enough, whereas 3.5 was. this isnt a big deal, especially if you have a good Dungeon Master (DM for short), because they can just make up the rule for what to do on the spot. also you may not even find yourself in a situation where the rules of pathfinder dont tell you how something works.

unfortunately, no matter what you choose to play, pathfinder or 4.0 (i recommend pathfinder), its going to be expensive. pathfinder has one big book that you need to have and it costs about $50 (you might get it cheaper on amazon or something). then theres the bestiary, that has all the monsters in it, that costs about $40 (but you can play without it, you just need a good DM).

4.0 splits that one big book into a Player's Guide and a DM's Guide (thats how it was in 3.5) and you need both to play (idk the price but it'll probably add up to more than the one big Pathfinder book). and then 4.0 goes and makes more books that also cost $40. these books have all kinds of extra stuff in them. they're like DLC for video games, except that 4.0 planned to have these books from the beginning, so they took out important stuff (like classes and races that have been in the game from the beginning) from the original Player's Guide and saved it for the supplement books so as to get more of your money.



long story short, pathfinder is better than dnd 4.0 edition.

 

[GiantRaven]

Just make a bunch of characters, assign someone as the DM, and just...start doing shit.

 

[EventHorizon]

Just make a bunch of characters, assign someone as the DM, and just...start doing shit.

we've done all that, it's just lack of content that's the problem. We don't have enough skill cards to go round and we have one tiny tile map to play on

 

[EventHorizon]

DONT BUY 4th EDITION!

ok, you've pretty much convinced me to get 3.5 and pathfinder. Does this mean my group and I all have to make new characters and start anew? Also, what do I buy? the rules compendium? Is there a package similiar to the starter kit as in it has dungeon tiles, monster stats, races, classes etc?

 

[GiantRaven]

Just make a bunch of characters, assign someone as the DM, and just...start doing shit.

we've done all that, it's just lack of content that's the problem. We don't have enough skill cards to go round and we have one tiny tile map to play on

Skill cards? Map? Back when I played D&D we didn't need no fancy physical objects (other than dice and character sheets) to get our game on.

Good ol' imagination.

 

[kane.malakos]

Just make a bunch of characters, assign someone as the DM, and just...start doing shit.

we've done all that, it's just lack of content that's the problem. We don't have enough skill cards to go round and we have one tiny tile map to play on

Honestly, you can do without skill cards or a map at all. My friends and I never use them, we just imagine the battlefield. It is a lot harder, particularly with D and D, so you might look into some games which require less equipment, like the World of Darkness system or the Dresden Files RPG. Both of those are well-written systems which don't require a map or miniatures, just character sheets.

 

[deth2munkies]

Meh, I enjoy 4th ed. While it's true it's much more simplified, DnD is and has always been only what YOU make it. You can make whatever tweaks you want to 4th ed while still letting the newbie players benefit from its lower barrier to entry (difficulty wise).

 

[Orange Monkey]

First Of All, Play version 3.5

Second, is this the first experience your friends have had with table-top RPG's? If so, you should know that the fun is in making your own stories, your own adventures, not just reading them out of a box. If you're a Dungeon Master, make your own world with your own laws, create characters specifically tailored to your players, take the piss out of them for a laugh if you want do something silly like get into a karaoke fight with a Chaotic Evil Bard, save a princess, tame a dragon, befriend a troll, get thrown off an alarming number of high ledges, set some puzzles that you ripped off from a video game or give them a fight that they can only win by thinking about it.

For players, give life to your characters, accents, quirks and fears, think about each encounter, or don't if your characters a moron. If you've got a problem with a friends play style, deal with it IN-Game, give an inspiring speech for role-playing XP, or do something unexpected like befriends the Goblins instead of killing them.

The fun of D&D is only limited by your imaginations No go have fun!

 

[EventHorizon]

Ok, so the message im getting is: Use your imagination

I AM doing that, we're giving random quests. Last time I was DM I spawned dragons at the most awkward times, another time we set up camp in monster lairs, befriending a boss and using him as a trader. But my friend wants to keep his precious box in near-mint condition (don't ask why) so he doesnt want to cut up the dungeon tiles to make new ones, and how are we supposed to know what skills we acquire upon level up with no skill descriptions/cards etc?

I'm asking, what do I buy next? a 3.5 rules compendium? a bestiary? some canvas so I can draw my own dungeons? halp plox :S

 

[Orange Monkey]

OK I know nothing of the 4th edition rule set so I don't know what a skill card is.

Well the basic 3.5 rules are open game content and can be found here http://www.d20srd.org/

And you can download most of the books as Pdf, the three basic ones are Monster Manual, Players Handbook and Dungeons Masters Guide. But there are a tonne of other supplement rulebooks you can find for additional classes, prestige classes, spells and all sorts (Complete Warrior, Arms & Equipment Guide, Unearthed Arcana, Complete Mage, Complete Divine, Players Handbook 2 and more)

What my group does is print our own grid squares then cover them with a glass rectangles so we can draw on them with whiteboard marker, it's great for improvising.

Also, don't spend all your time in a dungeon, roam the world, go to cities, but keep it flowing in one great adventure, reference to people you've met, bring in characters who come and go, amigous forces who may or may not be deity's in disguise, solve mysteries, work with local law enforcement, go on a world-wide quest for magical mcguffins. What I find most fun about D&D is making this massive, interactive story that everyone contributes to.

 

[loc978]

Ok, so the message im getting is: Use your imagination

I AM doing that, we're giving random quests. Last time I was DM I spawned dragons at the most awkward times, another time we set up camp in monster lairs, befriending a boss and using him as a trader. But my friend wants to keep his precious box in near-mint condition (don't ask why) so he doesnt want to cut up the dungeon tiles to make new ones, and how are we supposed to know what skills we acquire upon level up with no skill descriptions/cards etc?

I'm asking, what do I buy next? a 3.5 rules compendium? a bestiary? some canvas so I can draw my own dungeons? halp plox :S

Player's handbook, DM guide, and a bestiary Monster Manual (couldn't remember what the damn thing was called, I haven't used it in so long) to get an idea for where stats should lie at specific levels.

Aside from that... prep before the campaign. If you're the dungeon master make up a story, a map, and a cultural backdrop. It doesn't have to be complicated if you don't want it to be. Hell, I've whipped up a campaign outline in under an hour and I just winged it from there... it turned out to be one of my best ever, because I used player input to flesh the whole thing out.
Also, I sort of gave a "sky is the limit" approach to initial character creation in that one. The party wound up being a fallen angel shamanic priest and a half-troll barbarian savage (my roommate just reminded me of that little class tweak we used) who got to start at level one alongside a halfling lumberjack {I sort of customized that class as I went along. Basically a non-good anti-Ranger... and yes, he got the idea from Unforgotten Realms) with a steam-powered goblin-made chainsaw and a human thief who got to play the "unwitting hero of legend with amnesia" archetype who both got to start at level 6.

 

[darkfire613]

We've already made up our own adventures, it's just that we don't have enough skill cards to go round, the small bestiary is getting repetitive and once our characters reach a certain (low) level, we can't grant ourselves feats anymore because there ARE no more.

Get the three core books, the Player's Handbook, DM Guide, and Monster Manual. This gives you everything to get characters to 30th level.

 

[Orange Monkey]

Ok, so the message im getting is: Use your imagination

I AM doing that, we're giving random quests. Last time I was DM I spawned dragons at the most awkward times, another time we set up camp in monster lairs, befriending a boss and using him as a trader. But my friend wants to keep his precious box in near-mint condition (don't ask why) so he doesnt want to cut up the dungeon tiles to make new ones, and how are we supposed to know what skills we acquire upon level up with no skill descriptions/cards etc?

I'm asking, what do I buy next? a 3.5 rules compendium? a bestiary? some canvas so I can draw my own dungeons? halp plox :S

Player's handbook, DM guide, and a bestiary Monster Manual (couldn't remember what the damn thing was called, I haven't used it in so long) to get an idea for where stats should lie at specific levels.

Aside from that... prep before the campaign. If you're the dungeon master make up a story, a map, and a cultural backdrop. It doesn't have to be complicated if you don't want it to be. Hell, I've whipped up a campaign outline in under an hour and I just winged it from there... it turned out to be one of my best ever, because I used player input to flesh the whole thing out.
Also, I sort of gave a "sky is the limit" approach to initial character creation in that one. The party wound up being a fallen angel shamanic priest and a half-troll barbarian who got to start at level one alongside a halfling lumberjack {I sort of customized that class as I went along. Basically a non-good anti-Ranger... and yes, he got the idea from Unforgotten Realms) with a steam-powered goblin-made chainsaw and a human thief who got to play the "unwitting hero of legend with amnesia" archetype who both got to start at level 6.

Niiice one! In mine we ended up with a Female Dwarf Fighter/Rogue who basically became an Oracle and a fire elemental , a Lizardfolk barbarian/bear warrior with a fighter cohort and a pet blink dog and gained qualites of a tonne of animals, and a half-elf/half-dragon sorcerer thing who's familiar is the true prophet of god

 

[Jon Quixote]

The short answer, already issued by many: play a better edition of the game.

The story is, of course, a little more complex than it might seem at first. There are more than just four versions of the game. There are four editions of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, but there's also Classic Dungeons & Dragons to consider. This other branch of the D&D family tree is much simpler to play: you'll like it if you prefer simpler rules, but you won't like it if you prefer to customize your characters.

4th edition AD&D, of course, is in print and must be bought. But don't bother; it's not that good.
3rd edition AD&D is available in print, as Pathfinder; or you can just crib the rules from the 3rd edition System Reference Document [http://www.d20srd.org].
2nd edition AD&D is emulated by the clone-game "For Gold & Glory [http://www.feysquare.com]".
1st edition AD&D is emulated by the clone-game "OSRIC [http://www.knights-n-knaves.com/osric/]".

There are five discreet versions of classic D&D, but they're generally more similar to each other than different. Since they're not easy to find in print, I'll direct you right to the major clone-games that emulate these systems, so that you can just download them and see for yourself.

"Swords & Wizardry [http://www.swordsandwizardry.com]" emulates the very first version of D&D, the original game as it was published in 1974. It's a very good pick if you like your game simple as dirt.
"Labyrinth Lord [http://www.goblinoidgames.com/labyrinthlord.html]" and "Basic Fantasy RPG [http://www.basicfantasy.org]" emulate the third version of classic D&D, often called Basic D&D (1981). This is similar to the original game, but a whole lot more streamlined. Labyrinth Lord is easily the most popular of all the clone games you can download, and in my opinion it's the best version of the game out there.
Finally there's "Dark Dungeons [http://darkdungeonsblog.wordpress.com/]", which imitates the fifth and final version of classic D&D (1991). It's midway between Basic D&D and 1st edition Advanced D&D in complexity. Another excellent game, very much worth playing.