I want to learn to play dnd

[FierceChaos]

Hello I have never played DnD and am interested in learning how to play, I know there are different sided dice, I have watched videos online but those were for the tabletop version, I do not know if its similar or what. If we start a group rp or just a 1 on 1 session showing me the ropes I am ok with whatever.

[RubySlippers]

Does it have to be DnD or would a game like it suffice if you can get the rules free legally?

[Oniya]

Wizards of the Coast actually has the basic ruleset for D&D Next available for free (at least as of this post here).  You might try chatting in that thread to meet other system players.

[FierceChaos]

I do not know what you mean by a game like it, are the they generally the same, what do you mean if i can get the rules legally? isn't that the point  of someone teaching me is learning the rules??

[RubySlippers]

http://basicfantasy.org/

This used elements of a certain role-playing game and mirrors early versions as in is simple to deal with, and free to download. And the mechanics are virtually the same in many areas you can play this you can go to any D20 system.

DnD is a long line of games spanning 40 years there is the original game,1st edition, the boxed sets, the rules cyclopedia, 2nd edition likely the longest running set of one edition fully company supported, 3.0, 3,5, 4.0 and now NEXT. Then the ones off the OGL Pathfinder, Basic  Fantasy etc.

So its not easy if you want to learn the game, I assume later mechanics then I suggest Pathfinder and the rules are on-line free for doing characters and legally there.

[a78745]

Probably the best way to start is the way most of us started: get the books and make some characters on your own. Of course, as Oniya and RubySlippers pointed out, you no longer need to buy the books in all cases - sometimes rulesets are available for free.

DND 3rd edition was OGL (open game licence), which means that the rules were not copyrighted and anyone could use them for free. If you ever hear of d20 rulesets, they're probably based on DND 3.0 rules, which used a 20-sided die for most rolls. DND 4th edition was no longer OGL.

Paizo publishes the game, Pathfinder, which is a d20 game based on the DND 3.0 rules. They had published DND's magazines, Dungeon and Dragon, before DND brought the magazines in-house and online, so they had a lot of credibility with players who wanted to keep playing the OGL rules.

All their rules are available online in the Pathfinder Reference Document (PRD). You can also navigate to them through Paizo's homepage. Look for "Rules Archive (PRD)" under "Pathfinder Roleplaying Game" in the left-hand navigation menu. Start with the "Core Rulebook".

I hope it helps!

[nmorgan64]

id be interested in learning to play

[DreamSailor]

Hm, I might be willing to help.

[nmorgan64]

i am an old school a d and d played how different is it how are the caractors made?

[DreamSailor]

Well, it should still feel somewhat familiar. The ability scores are the same and still represent the same things, but they increase differently (more consistently and sensibly if you ask me). All the same basic classes are still around, though "thief" is now "rogue" and "mage" is now "wizard", and the exact mechanics are different, and there are new classes too. There's also "prestige classes" now, but that's not super important and you can read up on all that later.

If we're talking about v3.5 or Pathfinder (which is basically 3.5, because it's made by a different company using open gaming content from 3.5, but it has all kinds of little changes and additions), then character creation is usually done by rolling 4d6 and adding up the highest three dice for each of the six ability scores, and you assign the rolls freely. There's also an alternate system called point buy though, where you just have a certain number of points that you distribute between your stats.

Here are links to free stuff for 3.5 and Pathfinder (all of the pathfinder content is available online for free): http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/resources/systems/pennpaper/dnd35/soveliorsage/home.html
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/

There's a lot more, more specific stuff, to know than I can just tell you, so you'll want to read sections like "getting started" and "character creation outline", as well as looking over all the classes and skills and everything. It's a big game.

[nmorgan64]

now i am interested in getting into a game this and adnd are very similar what about bathfinder