So I'm trying to start a tabletop RPG....

[pppppppppppppppppp]

Me and my friends thought it would be fun to play a tabletop RPG, but we really have no idea where to start. Most people say you should try to join an existing group, but none of us have any experience.

Dungeons and Dragons seems like the obvious choice, but it looks a bit too complicated for beginners. I want something that's relatively short, simple to play, and more plot/character oriented. I'd also prefer to not spend a whole bunch of money to play it.

So to anyone who's played a tabletop RPG, (especially people who've been DM) what game would you recommend, and what tips do you have about organizing a fun experience.

 

[Basement Cat]

I want something that's relatively short, simple to play, and more plot/character oriented. I'd also prefer to not spend a whole bunch of money to play it.

I can't think of any such creatures, but I haven't been a big tabletop RPG player for quite some time.

I hate to put it this way but D&D Pathfinder is really the way to go. Unfortunately the books cost about $40 apiece. On the plus side you can get a lot of info free off of the internet for Pathfinder at Pathfinder_OGC.

And if you want to see how D&D games run in order to get a feel for the game and pick up pointers then (and I can't believe that I'm actually suggesting this) go to the Escapist's video archives and start watching "I hit it with my ax" episodes.


!!!WARNING-WARNING-WARNING!!!

If you want to avoid complicated then STAY AWAY FROM ROLEMASTER!!!

I kid you not: Talk about complicated!

As a veteran D&D player I could whip up a new D&D character in about 5 minutes, and most of that time would be consumed by looking for the dice and a pen and clean sheet of paper.

As a veteran Rolemaster player it still took me upwards of 2 HOURS (I kid you not) to make a Rolemaster character. It's that complicated.

They're releasing a new version, but if it's still anything like the classic game-->Whew!

 

[Maeshone]

Simplest games to just pick up and learn the rules I think would be either the White Wolf World of Darkness RPGs (Also comes in a lot of flavours depending on what you want to play: Vampire, Werewolve, Mage, Changeling, lots of stuff like that) as it simply uses a D10 system where 8 and above are usually successes and you simply need to accumulate a certain amount of successes in order to do anything. It is also more suited to intrigues and politicing than overt combat and "gamey" sessions.

Another game that is easy to pick up and play are the Warhammer 40k games (I think Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay uses the same gamesystem, so this should apply there as well, but I haven't played it so don't take this to be certain) as that game simply uses a percentile based system. Your stats are all between 1 and 100, and you simply roll a d100. If you are below your stat value, you succeed. There are several lines in this series, namely Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, Deathwatch, Black Crusade and soon to be released Only War.

Dark Heresy more suited for intrigue and suspence as the players take on the role of acolytes to an inquisitor of the Imperium of Man.

Rogue Trader is more about exploration and adventure, with the players taking the role of a Rogue Trader and his closest crew/advisors.

Deathwatch lets the players take on the role of a Space Marine Killteam from the Ordo Xenos Chamber Militant as alien hunting supersoldiers, and as such fits well for more combaty missions, but can easily be turned into politics and intrigue by introducing the right characters.

Black Crusade lets the players be various chaos worshipping heretics, sorcerers and chaos space marines. I haven't actually played this game so I cannot say anything in particular about this game.

Only War will be about a squad of Imperial Guardsmen and as such focus more on covert, behind enemy lines type of action, but a good GM can probably weave some pretty heavy Band of Brothers-type storytelling in there, as well as off-duty RP and other fun stuff

A word of warning for the War40K stuff though, I would definately only recommend it if you're already a fan of that setting, as the lore can be rather complicated at turns. In comparison, the White Wolf stuff is pretty selfcontained in each book, and as such easier to pick up for someone who hasn't heard of it before.

Sorry for the massive post

 

[Jfswift]

Hmm, could check out the new Gamma World edition. It's easy to pick up and relaxed (from what I've heard).

 

[eddyshore6528]

Check out Paranoia if you're not stuck on a fantasy setting, it's pretty quick to pick up and play.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoia_(role-playing_game)

 

[lord.jeff]

If you want to go D&D go 3.5 or pathfinder. Other choices are Tri-stat/BESM very simple, you have only three base stats as the name implies, also look at Yesterday's Tomorrow, it's not great for long campaigns but character creation takes about ten minutes even for newbies and it's a lot of fun with a creative group.

 

[SirNerd]

Pathfinder (known to some as D&D 3.75) has an extensive, easy to use database online that i learned from and run games off of.

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/

 

[Nathan Crumpler]

Well, as far as not spending a lot of money, there's pathfinder: http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/

You can read the rules and whatnot and decide for yourself if it is too complicated or not.

You can also download RP Map tools if you want a free battle map, but that might take a while to learn how to use: http://rptools.net/

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Me and my friends thought it would be fun to play a tabletop RPG, but we really have no idea where to start. Most people say you should try to join an existing group, but none of us have any experience.

Dungeons and Dragons seems like the obvious choice, but it looks a bit too complicated for beginners. I want something that's relatively short, simple to play, and more plot/character oriented. I'd also prefer to not spend a whole bunch of money to play it.

So to anyone who's played a tabletop RPG, (especially people who've been DM) what game would you recommend, and what tips do you have about organizing a fun experience.

Ok, listen to me on this. You need to play Paranoia right now. Specifically the 25th Anniversary edition. It's got the best mixture of stuff from all the previous editions. Rules are simple (practically non-existant), it's all about short one-shot missions where everyone tries to screw each other over and even better, everyone usually dies 2 times in the first 5 minutes.

Paranoia is one of the best games I've ever played. GMing a Paranoia game is an experience like no other.

Info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoia_%28role-playing_game%29
Some extra non-official resources here: http://www.crd-sector.com

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Me and my friends thought it would be fun to play a tabletop RPG, but we really have no idea where to start. Most people say you should try to join an existing group, but none of us have any experience.

Dungeons and Dragons seems like the obvious choice, but it looks a bit too complicated for beginners. I want something that's relatively short, simple to play, and more plot/character oriented. I'd also prefer to not spend a whole bunch of money to play it.

First off, yay! It's a great hobby, and I'm sure you and your friends will enjoy it. Congrats!

Secondly... I hate to say it, but if you're looking for simple then 4th Ed... arg, no I can't - I can't do it.

Okay, look, trust me on this. Pathfinder looks complicated, but it really isn't that bad. I recently taught my mom how to play. That may not sound that impressive, but I'm in my mid thirties and a recent mom myself, so I was teaching Grandma how to play. Playing a first level Cleric - not a simple class, mind you - she managed to pick it up and was swinging a mace with the rest of us over the course of one evening game session.

Here's the thing - the character sheet does most of the work for you. Just print out an official character sheet and you shouldn't have any trouble. Once you get used to the mechanics, you can get a fancier/streamlined version, but to start the sheet itself is a great tool - and free to download on Paizo's website.

Also, ALL of their source books - Core, Advanced Guide, Bestiary 1-3, and Ultimate Magic/Combat are free online on the PRD (Pathfinder Reference Document) on the Paizo website. You never need to give Paizo money to play Pathfinder. You only need the Core and Bestiary 1 to play, by the way - the rest are extras.

So yeah. I'd recommend doing some character generation and testing first - get used to how things work. Pathfinder is complex, but a lot of that is depth - you don't need depth to play, but once you've gotten more experienced, depth helps keep the game fresh and interesting. Get used to the basics, and they can take you far all by themselves.

If you want to go D&D go 3.5 or pathfinder. Other choices are Tri-stat/BESM very simple, you have only three base stats as the name implies, also look at Yesterday's Tomorrow, it's not great for long campaigns but character creation takes about ten minutes even for newbies and it's a lot of fun with a creative group.

Ah, right - or BESM, if you're into Anime and want to run an Anime themed game. Not so good for non-anime themed. Still, a solid system. Also, not sure if BESM is free online anywhere. Legally, I mean.

 

[junkmail22]

The best part of roleplaying isn't the grid based combat - so you may want to just pick one with a theme that suits you. But if I were to start off playing RPGs then I would pick danger patrol- fast paced, funny, doesn't require too many fancy dice, and available as a free pdf.

 

[Pharsalus]

As a veteran DM my prime recommendation is to make the system work for you and keep things fair. If you choose a d20 based system (D&D, Pathfinder) trust the dice more than anything to adjudicate things. You create the scenario, the rules and the dice serve no other purpose than to keep things fair. Help your players to make the game fun while being as impartial as possible so that the players feel that their interactions are meaningful. Running a game is an extremely rewarding experience, it can require alot of work, but if you don't have the time to work out every stat for the foes your players will face then use the dice; against a badass enemy (one a little more powerful than an individual player) a high roll is needed, for a weak foe to hit a player a high roll is needed. It is good to have appropriate values assigned to the attributes of your antagonists, but not necessary, use your judgement, be fair, trust in the dice.

I would also add to be creative in your description of the action; "you deal 28 damage to the iron golem" no, "you (bash, slash, pierce, blow up, etc.) the golem's metal plates, but it recovers ready to strike at you again." yes. You don't have to make a masterful description of every single action in a combat, but at least do something. Combat tends to be the longest segment of table top games due to the nature of turn based combat as opposed to role playing conversations and events, make the effort to make it exciting, your players will notice and appreciate it.