Redscape - View topic - I'm a first time DnD player, what should i carry?

I'm a first time DnD player, what should i carry?

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GMTom
Administrator

Mon Feb 08, 2010 12:56 pm

a little slow at work right now just before I head home, let me share a funny story about D&D...

Back in college (1982) we had some student union group organize a matchmaking dating "thing" for some weekend event. While we didn't use this service, we did have some fun with it. Me, my roommate and our next door dorm neighbor (Dave) found out a really nerdy girl was awaiting her date result. Dave, a bear of a man who no lie, had a "tattoo" of hair ..he shaved his bicep leaving behind a hair heart, called this girl, Allison from our room. We could only hear Dave speaking and this made the story all the more fun. before getting to the story, let me say I knew a tiny bit about D&D from my youngest brother and his geeky pals playing with their silly dice in the basement, they seemed to prefer dice to girls but I digress....

imagine the following being spoken by this hair tattooed fellow in his burly voice and Long Island accent (quite similar to Joey from Friends)

"Hi Allison, I'm your computer date"

"My name? It's Tony"

"Yeah, I want to meet you and you know, get it on"

"I don't know, we can grab a bottle of giocobatzi and and go down to the lake and we can do it baby"

"What do I look like? I'm hairy ...realllly hairy, you're gonna love it baby"

"what do I like? Besides gettin' it on you mean?"

(note the intentional mis-spelling as follows, it sounds like the way he spoke)
"Dungeons and Daragons, I LOVE dungeons and daragons"

"My characters name? uhhh, Fishman"
we earlier named a goofy kid on the floor "Madfish"

"what is he?"
...Dave covers the phone and says to us, what the F*$% is Dungeons and dragons? I reply "he's a dwarf!"
Huh? Ok, whatever?

"yeah, Fishman the DaWarf"

This went on and on for quite a while, maybe it's not so funny to read but my sides hurt at the time we were laughing so hard, and Allison's room was right below ours, you would think she would have caught on?

posts: 8593 | location: Rochester, NY, North Coast USA | joined: 14 Feb 2000

verbal
Ambassador

Wed Feb 10, 2010 7:02 pm

GMTom wrote:

Then they are using crappy duct tape, it fixes EVERYTHING.
tent pole, check
back pack, check
sword shaft, check
arrow quiver, check
cracked shield, check
nerd Eyeglasses, check
need a tooth filling, check
Dwarf broken heart, check
...The stuff is awesome

Better change your nick to GM Macgyver

posts: 753 | location: Melbourne, Australia | joined: 10 Apr 2002

Magnus
Ambassador

Sat Feb 13, 2010 8:40 am

To the OP - you sould convince your GM to play 4th edition - where the group dynamic is amazing; the whole is much better than the sum of the parts.

posts: 591 | location: Woodstock, CT | joined: 12 Apr 2002 | medals: 1

goblin
Emissary

Tue Feb 16, 2010 1:35 pm

I've been a roleplayer for more than 20 years.
It depends on what you want to get out of the game...
... If you are a problem solver bring lots of in game equipment. Good advice has been given by the other posters, but I will add a SHOVEL.
... If you are a wargamer, (one who likes to kick butt a lot in combat) carry all the arms & armor you can carry. Some monsters require weapons made of special materials like silver. Silver daggers to give to your companions will make you very popular with the party when it is all over. Turn to your DM in character and say "I go to the church elder and ask 'What monsters are out there? What will I need to defeat them?'"
... If you are a ham, and wish to maximise your entertainment bring a bunch of quotes. Plagiarize, rearrange words of great thinkers, make stuff up. Write down a bunch (at least 50) of phrases that will be appropriate for different situations. I was recently playing a bard, and when my character would give a pre-battle speech I would pull out something like "VIOLENCE ISN'T THE AWNSER. VIOLENCE IS A QUESTION,,,,,,, AND THE AWNSER IS YES!!!!!" When I cast a spell that causes the monster to be helpless with laughter I would pull out a new 1 or 2 line joke pulled from the internet. When trying to negotiate I would pull a quote from philosophy, my favorite is the Tao Te Ching.
... If your goal is to make friends refreshments. Something homemade makes the best impression, but chips & softdrinks will usualy do. One of my gaming groups likes to share fancy beers or strong liquors from far away.

_________________
Shoplifting is a victomless crime; like punching someone in the dark.
Nelsen Muntz

posts: 404 | location: cowlumbus oh. | joined: 31 Jul 2006

sendric
Ambassador

Wed Feb 17, 2010 11:10 am

Magnus wrote:

To the OP - you sould convince your GM to play 4th edition - where the group dynamic is amazing; the whole is much better than the sum of the parts.

Personally, I haven't tried 4th edition. No one in my group is interested in switching over. We are, instead, taking a look at Pathfinder which is a modification of 3.5. You can find it at http://paizo.com/paizo.

posts: 396 | location: Northborough, MA | joined: 24 Apr 2003

sendric
Ambassador

Wed Feb 17, 2010 11:16 am

tmssteve wrote:

I spent my entire adult life avoiding D and D. I remember in the Army some guys wanting to play. They knew I played games so they invited me to join them. I asked, "How do I win?"

"You don't 'win,' you build your character."

"Psh! That's what real life is for."

This isn't entirely accurate. Yes, you are building your character, but you can absolutely succeed or fail in the game. Generally speaking, the party has a goal..such as taking down the goblin king bent on taking over the neighborhood. If you defeat him, you win...if you don't...well, then your character probably died which means you are no longer really building it.

posts: 396 | location: Northborough, MA | joined: 24 Apr 2003

goblin
Emissary

Wed Feb 17, 2010 4:36 pm

Sendric, I disagree.
A good DM will create differing goals that will challenge the players' ability to work together. And when the monster wins many characters will escape or get captured, forcing you to deal with failure.

posts: 404 | location: cowlumbus oh. | joined: 31 Jul 2006

sendric
Ambassador

Mon Feb 22, 2010 9:20 am

goblin wrote:

I'm not entirely sure what you are disagreeing with. There are, of course, other possible outcomes to any given adventure than what I stated. Regardless, it is possible to win or lose at any of those adventures, just as it is possible to win or lose in Diplomacy. There are varying degrees of winning, too. For instance, in Diplomacy one can win by soloing the board...or simply being board top at the end of the game..or tying for the most....some might even consider simply surviving as a "win". I'm not really interested in debating what is or isn't a win in terms of Diplomacy, but at the end of the day if you achieve or exceed your goal then it's usually a "win". There are many specific instances within a D&D campaign in which you can win, much like there are many in Diplomacy. An attack on Berlin would be akin to an encounter on the forest road on your way to the Goblin King's city. Defeating the Goblin King is the ultimate goal, just as taking over Europe is in Diplomacy, but there are many encounters/battles that you must win along the way.

Anyway, my original point is simply that you can win or lose in D&D. Generally you are not playing against other players as with most games, but that doesn't really change anything. A "good DM" makes the game fun. Most people find winning to be more fun than losing, so generally the players will win, but a loss here or there certainly makes things more interesting.

posts: 396 | location: Northborough, MA | joined: 24 Apr 2003

sandiegosmith
Foreign Minister

Tue Feb 23, 2010 11:00 am

With a good DM everyone wins in a D&D adventure. Everyone gets new magical weapons and spells, builds their character up a level or two, and participates in building the adventure. In the D&D games I played there was never a clear single winner.

_________________
If there are men in this country big enough to own the government of the United States, they are going to own it. - Woodrow Wilson (WW was Pre-Globalization, parochial, and optimistic by today's standards)

posts: 1700 | location: San Diego, Ca. USA | joined: 19 Dec 2001

RUFFHAUS 8
Sovereign

Thu Feb 25, 2010 10:53 am

A good DM provides an entertaining and challenging experience for the players, not a bag of toys or gifts. Doing so involves the creation of interesting (non player)characters, settings, economies, history, etc. that allow the players to experience the fantasy of existing in that world for a while.

Players create their characters, and they should create their own goals. The DM provide a path to adventure, but he should never approach that with a prescripted formula for success. Teamwork may or may not be a valued trait for characters. Certainly it is necessary to survive challening encounters, but there's no law that says a party of adventures need be blood brothers laying down their lives for each other. Such things are possible of course, but should be int the context of why the party of adventurers has assembled in the first place. Its very unlikely that a thief/rogue aligns himself with a Paladin or Cleric to serve their specific cause, but it certainly makes for a more well rounded adventuring party. But is he attempting to sneak around that Bugbear Shaman for a backstab when things are getting really ugly? Or is he thinking I remember where we stashed the loot from that last haul, and if the Paladin and Cleric go down in this fight I could slip out unnoticed and have it all for myself.

_________________
"May your heart be so pure, it's one that God wants to know."

My Redscape Game History: http://www.redscape.com/forum/.....233#107233

posts: 1776 | location: The Old Dominion | joined: 10 Oct 2002 | medals: 6

goblin
Emissary

Tue Mar 16, 2010 11:54 am

The idea that the "party has a goal" is where I take issue. With most role playing games there are many different factions for your character to belong to, each with its own goals. A good GM will create contradictory goals for the players, and make them deal with real conflict resolution.
I also disagree with the idea that if you don't defeat the monster you are probably dead. Many times a captured character needs rescuing. And escape can be a monumental accomplishment.
When I run a game I like to include plenty of moral/social challenges.

posts: 404 | location: cowlumbus oh. | joined: 31 Jul 2006

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