Hello all! I'm looking for a bit of guidance. Ever since I met my boyfriend almost 4 years ago I've been exposed to a multitude of things I never would have done on my own. His family loves tabletop stuff, mainly DnD and Magic the Gathering. I fell really hard for Magic, and then he tried getting me into the Neverwinter Nights games. Which was really cool. But I wanna experience the real deal.
So to get to the point, my question is, what's a newbie friendly starting point for DnD? From what I understand there's multiple editions with different rules etc etc? I know there's "starting kits" I can buy, but are they worth it? His mom was a hardcore player when she was younger but it's been awhile, so I'm curious if newer stuff is better than the older stuff? I know I sound dumb, bear with me lol.
Alsooo what's some similar tabletop stuff we can play? We just finished our game room and looking to put it to use!
So to get to the point, my question is, what's a newbie friendly starting point for DnD? From what I understand there's multiple editions with different rules etc etc? I know there's "starting kits" I can buy, but are they worth it? His mom was a hardcore player when she was younger but it's been awhile, so I'm curious if newer stuff is better than the older stuff? I know I sound dumb, bear with me lol.
Alsooo what's some similar tabletop stuff we can play? We just finished our game room and looking to put it to use!
Every few years, a new edition of D&D comes out. Every player prefers different editions, but I don't want to overwhelm you by going on about all the differences between them! I have played the newest one (5th edition) a few times, and from what I've seen I really like it, so that might be a good starting point. To get started, all you should need is the player's handbook, though the DM guide and monster manual would be handy too. Ultimately you'll probably wind up houseruling a bunch of stuff anyway.
There are a billion other systems out there too, like you said. I've heard Pathfinder is good but I've never played. GURPS is alright too! I've personally always wanted to play BESM (Big Eyes Small Mouth) which is an anime parody P&P system. Just whatever you do, STAY AWAY FROM FATAL! (and if you want to look up what Fatal is, be aware it's NSFW!)
There are a billion other systems out there too, like you said. I've heard Pathfinder is good but I've never played. GURPS is alright too! I've personally always wanted to play BESM (Big Eyes Small Mouth) which is an anime parody P&P system. Just whatever you do, STAY AWAY FROM FATAL! (and if you want to look up what Fatal is, be aware it's NSFW!)
I've played both Pathfinder, DnD 3.5 and 5e.
I'll say this about them. DnD, like Heimdall explained changes every few years or so but remains fundamentally the same. Pathfinder is more constant as very little changes but some things are added, taken or better defined within the game.
Personally, from a strategy stand point I would say Pathfinder is a cut above merely because of how well defined the game is and how consistent it has remained. It is for people who enjoy the thrills of battles!
On the other hand, DnD, especially 5e has proven to be more superior for storytelling, interaction and problem solving.
For kits, the best and most challenging I've come across was for Pathfinder. The Emerald Spire. It is the meanest super dungeon! But it does lack a lot of up front story.
I hope some of this offers some insight.
I'll say this about them. DnD, like Heimdall explained changes every few years or so but remains fundamentally the same. Pathfinder is more constant as very little changes but some things are added, taken or better defined within the game.
Personally, from a strategy stand point I would say Pathfinder is a cut above merely because of how well defined the game is and how consistent it has remained. It is for people who enjoy the thrills of battles!
On the other hand, DnD, especially 5e has proven to be more superior for storytelling, interaction and problem solving.
For kits, the best and most challenging I've come across was for Pathfinder. The Emerald Spire. It is the meanest super dungeon! But it does lack a lot of up front story.
I hope some of this offers some insight.
If you like who-done-it type games, check out The Werewolves of Miller's Hollow. It's best with a large group. Basically a Werewolf version of Mafia.
I personally don't care for PnP RPGs myself, but my game group plays the heck out of Exalted and Secrets of Monado, which seems to be similar.
Other tabletops I personally love:
Settlers of Catan
Munchkin
Marvel Legendary
Betrayal at the House on the Hill
Ticket to Ride
Powergrid
Acquired
Smash Up
Evolution
Concepts
Tsuro
Timeline
Superfight
Citadels
games that I don't care for much but the rest of the group does:
Coup
The Resistance
Shadow Hunters
Gloom
Dixit
Bang!
Castle Panic
Fluxx
Love Letter
Machi koro
Boss Monster
Elder Sign
Codenames
Adulty-er games:
Cards Against Humanity
Joking Hazard
Exploding Kittens
Kittens in a Blender
Telestrations After Dark
Silly/Stupid/No strategy/Party games
Quelf
Poo
Poop
(Yes, those are two different games LOL)
Zombie Dice
Telestrations
Utter Nonsense
I think... that covers just about everything with my group LOL
I personally don't care for PnP RPGs myself, but my game group plays the heck out of Exalted and Secrets of Monado, which seems to be similar.
Other tabletops I personally love:
Settlers of Catan
Munchkin
Marvel Legendary
Betrayal at the House on the Hill
Ticket to Ride
Powergrid
Acquired
Smash Up
Evolution
Concepts
Tsuro
Timeline
Superfight
Citadels
games that I don't care for much but the rest of the group does:
Coup
The Resistance
Shadow Hunters
Gloom
Dixit
Bang!
Castle Panic
Fluxx
Love Letter
Machi koro
Boss Monster
Elder Sign
Codenames
Adulty-er games:
Cards Against Humanity
Joking Hazard
Exploding Kittens
Kittens in a Blender
Telestrations After Dark
Silly/Stupid/No strategy/Party games
Quelf
Poo
Poop
(Yes, those are two different games LOL)
Zombie Dice
Telestrations
Utter Nonsense
I think... that covers just about everything with my group LOL
Oh, if we're talking about board games too, that changes things. 
I'm really NOT a board/card game person overall, but I'll second Settlers of Catan, which I love--and seriously, if I love a board game, it has to be good 
I also love Cards Against Humanity and its various spinoffs, but who doesn't? Currently my favorite is Bards Dispense Profanity, wherein all the white cards are taken from Shakespeare's plays. It's pretty great.
Other board and card games that are cool:
Goblin's Breakfast
Secret Hitler (I find this one tough to play and prefer The Resistance:Avalon, but the principle is similar)
Aye Dark Overlord (it's like RPing!
)
Red Flags
I'm really NOT a board/card game person overall, but I'll second Settlers of Catan, which I love--and seriously, if I love a board game, it has to be good I also love Cards Against Humanity and its various spinoffs, but who doesn't? Currently my favorite is Bards Dispense Profanity, wherein all the white cards are taken from Shakespeare's plays. It's pretty great.Other board and card games that are cool:
Goblin's Breakfast
Secret Hitler (I find this one tough to play and prefer The Resistance:Avalon, but the principle is similar)
Aye Dark Overlord (it's like RPing!
)Red Flags
Oh yes! We are big board game people! I'll have to look into Settlers of Catan as well. I've been dying to get my hands on CAH but his family is pretty old school religious/against that type of humor so I'll have to keep that one amongst the younger folk lol.
But yes, all these replies were super insightful and I appreciate the posts!
if anyone has anything to add please do!
We have this really cool comic store in the town over that carries all kinds of board games and tabletop stuff so I'll have to make a shopping list hah!
But yes, all these replies were super insightful and I appreciate the posts!
if anyone has anything to add please do!We have this really cool comic store in the town over that carries all kinds of board games and tabletop stuff so I'll have to make a shopping list hah!
Witchcraft is a really good tabletop game, I played it for a couple of years and it was always a great time.
I've played a tiny bit of 4e D&D, quite a bit of Pathfinder, a Pathfinder AP that we used D&D 5e mechanics for, and a couple of games using the FATE system.
5e is fun, great for low-level campaigns, and easy to pick up. However, it doesn't really scale well if you start getting up past level 15 or so. There's not a whole lot of opportunity for getting magic items, unless your GM is very generous, which can be good or bad depending on the group. I can't speak for the story/characters/plots standpoint, since we didn't play official material there.
Pathfinder can be as complex as you want to make it, basically. Paizo sells a Beginner Box which contains simplified rules, a small adventure and a few pregen characters, along with all the things you'll need to run said adventure. If you're looking to dip your toes in there, that might be a good starting point.
Or, if you're interested in something heavier but don't want to homebrew your setting, there are a whole ton of Adventure Paths that are pre-written campaigns. I've found all of the ones I've played so far pretty interesting. Some of the APs are better than others, admittedly (our GM moved around entire sections of plot and scrapped/added things here and there for a couple of them that were not so fantastic) and some contain elements and themes that are not to everyone's taste, but if you're looking for a few solid suggestions, Rise of the Runelords, Curse of the Crimson Throne, Reign of Winter, and Iron Gods are all pretty great.
Or, hey, homebrew! That's always a thing, if you want to make an investment of time. There are a lot of rules that can be incorporated, but the nice thing is that you don't need to buy books if you want to use them - they're all available for free because of Open Game License they were released under.
FATE (which is also a free system) works best for games where storytelling is your primary goal, and you really do need players who understand that in order to make it work out the best - it's not really a good arena for someone who just wants to beat up a whole bunch of goblins or loot all the treasure! (Not that there's anything wrong with those goals; FATE just won't really work well for them.) It's customizeable to any sort of game you want to run (we've used it so far for a White Wolf/SCP mashup and an 1893 World's Fair with the Occult game), and is pretty simple to pick up. It does require a GM that's really quick on their feet to work best, though, especially if you use the Aspects system heavily.
5e is fun, great for low-level campaigns, and easy to pick up. However, it doesn't really scale well if you start getting up past level 15 or so. There's not a whole lot of opportunity for getting magic items, unless your GM is very generous, which can be good or bad depending on the group. I can't speak for the story/characters/plots standpoint, since we didn't play official material there.
Pathfinder can be as complex as you want to make it, basically. Paizo sells a Beginner Box which contains simplified rules, a small adventure and a few pregen characters, along with all the things you'll need to run said adventure. If you're looking to dip your toes in there, that might be a good starting point.
Or, if you're interested in something heavier but don't want to homebrew your setting, there are a whole ton of Adventure Paths that are pre-written campaigns. I've found all of the ones I've played so far pretty interesting. Some of the APs are better than others, admittedly (our GM moved around entire sections of plot and scrapped/added things here and there for a couple of them that were not so fantastic) and some contain elements and themes that are not to everyone's taste, but if you're looking for a few solid suggestions, Rise of the Runelords, Curse of the Crimson Throne, Reign of Winter, and Iron Gods are all pretty great.
Or, hey, homebrew! That's always a thing, if you want to make an investment of time. There are a lot of rules that can be incorporated, but the nice thing is that you don't need to buy books if you want to use them - they're all available for free because of Open Game License they were released under.
FATE (which is also a free system) works best for games where storytelling is your primary goal, and you really do need players who understand that in order to make it work out the best - it's not really a good arena for someone who just wants to beat up a whole bunch of goblins or loot all the treasure! (Not that there's anything wrong with those goals; FATE just won't really work well for them.) It's customizeable to any sort of game you want to run (we've used it so far for a White Wolf/SCP mashup and an 1893 World's Fair with the Occult game), and is pretty simple to pick up. It does require a GM that's really quick on their feet to work best, though, especially if you use the Aspects system heavily.
Ahh thank you guys! Now I have a better idea where to start looking.