4

Lately I've been wanting to get into the whole table top RPG scene. I briefly played Dungeons & Dragons with very little understanding of the game; it was rather fun, even if it was over Skype. I managed to pump my friends up to try out a table top RPG with me, and I'm concerned that if we start playing something that's just too complex from the get-go, it wouldn't last very long. My question is, knowing almost nothing, what table top RPG would be the most appropriate for me and my friends to play?

As requested: We all enjoy a world with elves, humans, dwarves, orcs, etc. A friend of mine loves either dual-wielding swords or having two-handed weapons in MMOs, I myself prefer sneakier classes, or magic-users. So something of the like.

Re-edit: Okay. To solve the issue of the vagueness. I wouldn't like the combat to last decades, but I wouldn't want it to be over in just a few turns. My friends can be a little too much into instant gratification, so if there's too much complexity in how a battle is played out, I'm afraid they're going to not want to try again. I'd like a nice amount of lore, but not so much that it is overwhelming to us. Something that's a little bit lax on the rules, but not so lax that I'll just have a horrible time trying to manage the game as their GM. Something that would be rewarding medium-paced and that wouldn't require us stopping every few minutes to check if we can actually do something. I hope this removes some of the vagueness.

In essence, something a bit more action-oriented, with a moderate amount of lore.

Aside from this, if possible, could you include what I need to get started with, material objects I might need to venture forth.

Fran
  • 91
  • 4
  • 1
    For us to even start giving an answer, you'll need to tell us more about what sorts of games and fiction your friends enjoy. (I don't mean just table-top RPGs, but any type of games.) What stage of life are you all in? High school, college, married with kids, etc. Even then, I'm not sure if this question will be specific enough for the site, but you need to at least try narrowing things down. :) – starwed Apr 07 '13 at 04:04
  • The question you are asking is technically a duplicate of http://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/18619/what-role-playing-games-should-i-pick-for-an-absolute-beginner-group?rq=1 but you should probably start with this instead: http://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/4457/what-is-role-playing-and-where-do-i-start?rq=1 – mxyzplk Apr 07 '13 at 04:18
  • 1
    Welcome to the site! The question still looks a bit vague. I like what you have in the first paragraph about not wanting something complex. The requested information is pertinent to you but it doesn't narrow down the list of possible answers very much at all. Could you elaborate more on guidelines relative to the system you are looking for instead of the setting? Then there could be an objectively "best" answer, instead of just a large list. – LitheOhm Apr 07 '13 at 05:13
  • Fran, Welcome! Take a look at the questions that mxy linked. Do they solve your problem? If they don't, what specific question do you have after reading those questions? – Brian Ballsun-Stanton Apr 07 '13 at 09:28
  • 1
    The linked answers do a good job of answering, I was having the same problem and I tried D&D Next playtest. Changed my life, you should give it a try. – TheDungeonMaster Apr 07 '13 at 15:15
  • 1
    The listed "duplicate" isn't; this is somewhat less broad, at least with the details present in this one. After all, this one looks like WFRP 1e or 3e might be a good answer, while the other is less so. mxyzplk, you're too eager to hit the kill-as-duplicate... – aramis Apr 08 '13 at 20:10
  • @aramis One of my friends had mentioned Warhammer as an option, he knows pretty much nothing about it, we were just throwing suggestions at ourselves. Which is why I came here, to find out what would be more suitable. Could you tell me a few differences between 1e and 3e that could possibly strengthen my decision towards either? – Fran Apr 11 '13 at 05:38
  • 1
    1E is a simple, stat driven game using d100 and d6 for most things, with occasional use of d4, d8, d10,d12, d20 in a few odd bits. WFRP3 is a dice pool using custom dice (marked with symbols) Both are grity, fantasy renaissance, with LOADS of support materials for the setting. 1E is out of print, and 3E is in PDF plus dice boxes. 1E has grid-based combat, 3E is narrative combat but still quite tactical. It's got the tropes requested in either edition, but 3E has more to buy to get the magic users fully fleshed out. Both work really well, for both me and my friends, where 2E didn't. – aramis Apr 11 '13 at 09:48
  • Thanks a bunch for the suggestion. I think I've made my choice. I think I'll go with 3E, hopefully it isn't so difficult to pick up. I'm also worried about running a good campaign so my friends have an enjoyable first experience. If you could give me some pointers on that front, I would appreciate it greatly. Also, I'm thinking of just getting the core set to start out with, after all, I don't think a small group of amateurs will need all the goodies to get started. Please do correct me if I'm wrong in that aspect. – Fran Apr 11 '13 at 11:32

0 Answers0