D&D 4th Ed is Out

[Kamakazie]

The only book you need to get started is the Player's Handbook. You also need a set of dice and a mini or token to represent your character.

If you want to DM I also recommend getting the Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual.

PS: I've seen a lot of people claiming the DM Guide is unnecessary and several reviews on Amazon saying it's useless, but as someone who has never DM'd before, I found the book to be incredibly useful.

[Timman_24]

Thanks Kama, I may try to make it down to Barnes and Noble this week to pick up a copy. It seems like it would be a blast with the right group of people.

I didn't know several sharkies were DnD players. You guys should post your stories

Hmmmm, seems that there are 3 different handbooks for the 4th edition, each is around 20 bucks. Do I need all of them or do they just contain different adventures?

[taggart6]

Thanks Kama, I may try to make it down to Barnes and Noble this week to pick up a copy. It seems like it would be a blast with the right group of people.

I didn't know several sharkies were DnD players. You guys should post your stories

Hmmmm, seems that there are 3 different handbooks for the 4th edition, each is around 20 bucks. Do I need all of them or do they just contain different adventures?

There are 3 core handbooks:

Player's Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master's Guide

With the exception of game modules (pre packaged adventures that DM can run), all the other books are just extentions of the core 3.

As Kama said, the players handbook is a must regardless of what role you are playing. This book outlines the core mechanics, player info, and game rules. The other two are only really needed if you DM, but many users like to go through them to get a better understanding of the D&D world.

FYI, I found each of the core books brand new for $12 to $13 on half.com.

I also purchased the module the Keep on Shadow Fell, which is a pre-made adventure that takes you from level 1 to about 5 or 6.

If your not DMing, I would suggest getting the player's handbook and starting from there. Check out a few games at your local game store and see how you like it. When you get the DM bug, you can move on from there.

For miniatures, I use Mini Mates. They are cheaper then the D&D pewter figures and they are more posable.

Our thief uses the green goblin figure, our cleric uses jet suit batman, and our warrior uses the Rhino.

http://www.minimatescentral.com/

EDIT: Player's Handbook 1 is a must. Player's Handbook 2 and 3 introduce additional classes, jobs and skills but they still build off 1. you might see some power books like Arcane power, martial power, divine power, and etc. these are supplements that add additional feats and skills to already established class. For example, divine power introduces new skills and feats usable by divine classes like cleric, paladin, and etc.

Start with Player's Handbook 1. Learn the system and then go from there. I think its more helpful to take your time and explore how you want to play the game.

[Kamakazie]

Thanks Kama, I may try to make it down to Barnes and Noble this week to pick up a copy. It seems like it would be a blast with the right group of people.

I didn't know several sharkies were DnD players. You guys should post your stories

Hmmmm, seems that there are 3 different handbooks for the 4th edition, each is around 20 bucks. Do I need all of them or do they just contain different adventures?

The different Player's Handbooks each expand on things a bit and introduce new races and classes. They do not contain adventures. :P

PHB 1 is the one that contains all the rules, the basics, and the standard races/classes. I say start off with PHB 1 and if you want to explore further races and classes, then consider getting the other ones.

[Kamakazie]

For miniatures, I use Mini Mates. They are cheaper then the D&D pewter figures and they are more posable.

Our thief uses the green goblin figure, our cleric uses jet suit batman, and our warrior uses the Rhino.

http://www.minimatescentral.com/

Oh man those are awesome. I suddenly have the urge to use LEGOs as stand-in minis! Do they sell just LEGO minifigs without the bricks?

3 of the 4 players in my game use a fancy metal figure painted by my buddy Mike and the other is using a D&D plastic figure which is a pretty good representation of his character. When I play LFR games I use a plastic halfling rogue figure that came out of an old D&D box Mike had and in the current Encounters season I'm using a plastic bug mini that the DM had to stand in for my Thri-Kreen battlemind.

Mike actually had two old D&D boxes that happened to have about 8 Kobolds between them, so I've been making use of those in addition to these awesome little tokens that were included in the D&D 4e Starter Kit (we bought this just for the tokens, actually). The tokens include orcs, kobolds, beetles, skeletons, stirges and a few others, but most of the time I'm just using them as a placeholder and telling the players what they should really look like. As an example, the party currently has a horse-drawn cart to bring them around long distances and the horses are represented by a dragon, a gelatinous cube, a dire wolf and a large drake (we sometimes shorthand this to just one token per pair of horses).



Here you can see the cart with one pair of horses leading it, the other pair were incapacitated. The paladin, Cyrus, decided to head out to investigate and found himself a few kobolds waiting in ambush. At the point this picture was taken, it was time for initiative to be rolled.

[Timman_24]

I will probably use my warhammer figures

Also, taggart can you link to the half.com handbook that you found for 12, I can't find it.

[Kamakazie]

I will probably use my warhammer figures

Our Ardent:

[taggart6]

Oh man those are awesome. I suddenly have the urge to use LEGOs as stand-in minis! Do they sell just LEGO minifigs without the bricks?

3 of the 4 players in my game use a fancy metal figure painted by my buddy Mike and the other is using a D&D plastic figure which is a pretty good representation of his character. When I play LFR games I use a plastic halfling rogue figure that came out of an old D&D box Mike had and in the current Encounters season I'm using a plastic bug mini that the DM had to stand in for my Thri-Kreen battlemind.

Mike actually had two old D&D boxes that happened to have about 8 Kobolds between them, so I've been making use of those in addition to these awesome little tokens that were included in the D&D 4e Starter Kit (we bought this just for the tokens, actually). The tokens include orcs, kobolds, beetles, skeletons, stirges and a few others, but most of the time I'm just using them as a placeholder and telling the players what they should really look like. As an example, the party currently has a horse-drawn cart to bring them around long distances and the horses are represented by a dragon, a gelatinous cube, a dire wolf and a large drake (we sometimes shorthand this to just one token per pair of horses).



Here you can see the cart with one pair of horses leading it, the other pair were incapacitated. The paladin, Cyrus, decided to head out to investigate and found himself a few kobolds waiting in ambush. At the point this picture was taken, it was time for initiative to be rolled.

I use what I have lying around. The Lord of The rings Risk pieces are great for general enemies.

[taggart6]

I will probably use my warhammer figures

Also, taggart can you link to the half.com handbook that you found for 12, I can't find it.

It's not there all the time. You just have to keep a look out since the sellers are independent.

[Timman_24]

It's not there all the time. You just have to keep a look out since the sellers are independent.

Ahhh, I mistook your post. I thought you meant you just saw them.

[taggart6]

Ahhh, I mistook your post. I thought you meant you just saw them.

Ah naa...this was 8 months ago when I got mine for cheap. it was awesome.

[Timman_24]

I had a cool idea. Have you guys ever heard of chat roulette? I've never done it, but I've heard how it works. You have a webcam and it randomly matches you up with someone else, then you talk. What if they did something like this with DnD? Have an app (java or something) that opens a video and audio chat. Flag yourself either DM or adventurer and hit match up. It will find a random match of people waiting and form a group. The DM would then start the campaign. An interactive display will show dice rolls and could even track level ups and such. Maybe it would even keep long term character sheets.

It could be really fun to get matched up with total strangers from other countries. You would have the random flasher showing you their penis... but if it had a ban feature to black list IPs then that could be taken care of.

[taggart6]

Thats pretty cool though I think D&D insider has something that allows people to D&D remotely over a computer.

Either way it would be sweet to do a virtual D&D session with interested people. All you need is something to show the dungeon and what not.

[Kamakazie]

Thats pretty cool though I think D&D insider has something that allows people to D&D remotely over a computer.

Either way it would be sweet to do a virtual D&D session with interested people. All you need is something to show the dungeon and what not.

There was a virtual game table program advertised for DDI but it's never come out and development has gone silent. There IS a program called MapTool with which you could play D&D online and have it handle the map and tokens. I think a combination of MapTool and Google Wave could be the best way to handle long term online D&D.

I've actually wanted to try running a game using MapTool or Wave but I have not found sufficient people to test it with me... would anyone be interested in trying this? It will be a test, just a quick run through a dungeon.

[taggart6]

I'd be down for trying it out.