[Dra]

I've have a few questions about this game. I was just given the board game version.
1) What rules does the board game version use or has it got it's own customs ones?
2) I know this is a stupid questions but what is DND? I know it's a game but I have heard that there is a pen & paper version as well as a board game.
Thanks to anybody who replys and sorry for being such a newbie.

[Shadowborn]

I didn't realize there was a boardgame version... Huh. You learn something new every day.

Anyway, Dungeons and Dragons was the first of what are called role-playing games, called so because in the game you have several people taking on the personas of made-up people, in a way similar to an actor taking a role in a movie. Each character has their own statistics, quirks, and personality.

Think of it as reading a book. Difference is, you and the other players decide what the characters are going to do. The one other participant, the Dungeon Master, sets the scene. He provides the player characters with environments and people to interact with, monsters to slay, treasure to acquire, all that good stuff.

Intended actions are mostly decided with dice. Your character has skills and abilities which help determine the outcome of the dice rolls. As the game goes on, the characters become more experienced and their abilities and skills increase as time goes on and they overcome obstacles and challenges.

That's about it in a nutshell.

[PlaneTouchedOne]

Well he pretty much summed it up...you have a group of people, usually about 5 or so, called a party that play together. Each person controls one PC or Player Character. You put together a character, mostly of your own choosing...the attribute dice rolls are pretty much the only thing left to chance. You can play as a fighter, barbarian, monk, paladin, druid, cleric, sorcerer, wizard, rogue, or bard. Of course, it gets much more complicated, but that's a summary.

[Dra]

Ok. Thanks for the replies guys although I have a few questions left.
1) I've just been reading this post and I can't even guess how you were meant to play with a board? Can someone fill me in on how you where meant to see the room you where in?
2) What is the Forgotten Realms? I went to the site and it doesn't really have an about page or anything. So far I think it's a campaign for DND with new weapons, creatures and everything. Am I right or am I totally wrong?
3) I really confused with all these versions. What are all these ones with twenty sided dice and all? The one that I have just around twelve d6 die.
Again thanks for any replies.

[ladyofdragons]

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Ok. Thanks for the replies guys although I have a few questions left.
1) I've just been reading this post and I can't even guess how you were meant to play with a board? Can someone fill me in on how you where meant to see the room you where in?

with the pen-and-paper version, there's no board. there's two ways people play this.
a) use your imagination.
B) use metal or plastic miniatures and a 1" grid. Local gaming stores sell grids on vinyl mats, or you can get a giant graph paper pad from an office supply place. You draw the room out on the grid and place the miniatures within the room. Minis do help you conceptualize what's really going on in a battle.

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2) What is the Forgotten Realms? I went to the site and it doesn't really have an about page or anything. So far I think it's a campaign for DND with new weapons, creatures and everything. Am I right or am I totally wrong?

You are mostly right. The Forgotten Realms is what's known as a "Campaign Setting". It's basically a description of a fantasy world, where you can place your game. It was written by a guy named Ed Greenwood, who had way way way too much time on his hands and wrote an incredibly expansive, detailed world. It's not that everything there runs different, you can still use all the basic monsters and classes and races and equipment, there are just some additional ones available in the campaign setting books. You also have a ton of history and characters and cities and cultures and religions already available and well described for you.

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3) I really confused with all these versions. What are all these ones with twenty sided dice and all? The one that I have just around twelve d6 die.

The Dungeons & Dragons pencil-and-paper game is played with a set of polyhedral dice. The set consists of a 4-sider, a 6-sider, an 8-sider, 1 or 2 10-siders, a 12-sider, and a 20-sider. Different dice are used for different things. For instance, attack rolls use the 20-sider (D20), while damage for a longsword uses an 8-sider (D8).

The board game you have shares the basic fantasy concept and artwork with the pencil-and-paper game, but that's about where the similarity ends, rules-wise. the P&P game goes into great detail about rules, creating a backdrop for your group to role-play (act) and create a grand adventure storyline.

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Again thanks for any replies.

No problemo. Always happy to help.

[dragonhand777]

Welcome to the world of D&D, Dra.

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3) I really confused with all these versions.

3.5 is the only edition currently in print.

I would answer further, but Shadowborn and ladyo' have done excellent replies already.

I ownly recently (last month) learned of the board game D&D, and it was through subscribing to Dragon Magazine (it was in Junes issue [#320]).

I've known for years that Ed Greenwood was the creater of F.R. What I didn't know until reading an article in that same issue (#320), was that he originally began creating the world so he had a setting for his own fantasy novels.

[Dra]

Ok. Thanks for your replys guys & gals. Anyway the P&P version seems alot more complex then the board game version. Anyway are there box sets for the P&P version or is it a couple of rule books you must get to learn the rules? Anybody know a place I can buy this prefarably without a credit card? Thanks alot.

[dragonhand777]

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Anybody know a place I can buy this prefarably without a credit card? Thanks alot.

That depends on the city you live in. I gew up in a small and (very) conservitive town (in Kansas), and until the lat '90s there was no where in town (we had to drive 45 min. to an hour) to buy any D&D stuff. However, here in Oklahoma City, we have a store on the southside called Game HQ. It specializes in pen and paper RPGs as well as card games (Magic the Gath. etc), and on the northside we have (I forget the name) Comics and Games, wich sells dice, minis, and books.

In short, just look around (Feist, yellow pages etc.) for 'gaming stores' or better yet click this link,

http://www.wizards.c...dcore/175240000

and click the button (under the book) to find a local retailer. Book stores might sell the books, but for other accesories you'll want to find a more specialized store.

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Anyway are there box sets for the P&P version or is it a couple of rule books you must get to learn the rules?

Yes and yes. There is a new starter set called "Basic Game" that would be a great help. But eventually you would want to get the books.

[Dra]

Ok. I been looking around for some more infomation and found this, a tutorial P&P adventure which has been a great help in understanding the P&P version but I now do have a few more questions.
1) Lady of Dragons said in her post that some people use a grid when playing the P&P version. It doesn't matter where about the players where on the grid does it?
2) I just been too the official site and found something called DND Miniatures? Is the board game version and all others DND that are played on a grid called DND Minis while the P&P version is called just DND? If not is there a name between the two?
3) In that Caves of Shadow Adventure what rules does it use or since it's a tutorial has it got it's own custom ones? And is there any big difference about each versions of the rules so you can tell which ones which?

Thanks for all your help and I'm quite sure that those are all my questions. Once again sorry for being such a newbie.

[Darklook]

1. People somtimes use grids to basically keep track of movements and the distance between the combatants. You see in D&D, The DM(Dungeon Master) needs to keep track of lot of things in combat such as: player movements, monster movements, the distance between a player and a monster , initiative, all the players/monster's Armor class etc etc, so it often becomes stressful for the DM, and that is why boards with grids or graph papers, or even chess/checker boards are often used to resolve some mathmetical problem with ease. In essence 'grids' are basically notes, because instead of remembering every feet of movement a player takes, the DM/Players are using grids to remember their last position. Keep in mind that in P&P version ( I have never seen a D&D board game ) grids are used only in combats or race.

2. DND Miniatures have many uses. Some people use them to represent their character when using grids, some players uses them to show how their character looks like, and some simply collects them. However, They are not required.

3. Cave of Shadows does not have it's own custom rules, every adventure module from WOTC that have 'Dungeons & Dragons' logo on front, follows the core rulebooks rules (because there are different versions of core rulebooks, older adventure modules used older version rules, but currently all D&D adventure modules that are being published by WOTC follows 3.5e Core Rulebooks, since that's the current version). And yeah, the different versions of core rulebooks are quite different and easy to discern.

And you really don't need to apologize, we were all beginners once.


Also, if you are really interested in learning more about P&P version of Dungeons and Dragons, i recommend you start with 3.5e books, and then when you have the hang of it, you can try and learn other versions. You can find the 3.5e SRD here:

http://www.wizards.c...0/article/srd35

They basically put the whole PHB (Players Hand Book) in document format there along with some stuff from Dungeon Master's guide and monster manual . Start reading at Basics and Ability Score and you should be able to understand how to play P&P D&D pretty soon.

[MiaKRZZ]

Dra...

I'm a bit late in responding...and everyone has it pretty much covered. My only addition is that currently in print in the 3.5 Edition...is the Box Set of all three...Player's Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master Guide. While it's a pretty good buy, unless you can find them used or you have a discount, if you're just starting out and curious about the game and think you want to give it a go...All you need to play is the Handbook. That'll give you all the base rules that you'll be following in the game...Race...Class...how to make your character...Spells...Feats...Skills...everything that goes on your character sheet is in that book and it goes through everything you will need to know.

Monster manual is just that...all the monsters DnD has come up with...and the Dungeon Master Guide (DMG) has things in it used for if you are running your own game. If you're interested in running your own game, those two books pretty much go together.

Everything in DnD is imagination based. You've got your Player's Handbook and your dice...and if you want...the minatures...but other than that...your imagination takes you the rest of the way. There is so Barbie Dreamhouse to buy, or in DnD's case, Mordenkain's Keep or something like that, just too keep Barbie, or Mordenkain happy. The game's contents and details are in you...the player's...hands.

Good luck to you...and trust me...it looks a lot harder and intimidating than it really it. Give it a go and you'll be pleasantly surprised how entertaining pencil, paper, a book, and some dice can be. Have fun!

[PlaneTouchedOne]

To be honest I don't see how you could use the advanced rules for combat and not need miniatures (or tokens) and a grid. Too easy to screw up and drop a glitterdust spell on a team mate or end up with an evil girl with a knife behind you.

[MiaKRZZ]

yeah...grids are definitely useful...there's one at the back of the DMG. Just get the sucker laminated and use vis a vis markers on it. Use it over and over and over again! If you get really creative...you can draw out the dungeons in detail. Keeping movement in check is tons easier.

[Dra]

Ok. Thanks alot for your help everybody. DND seems like a fun game and I'll try to hunt down and buy those books. Thanks again.

[ladyofdragons]

Dra, on Jun 26 2004, 03:20 AM, said:

Anybody know a place I can buy this prefarably without a credit card? Thanks alot.

If you're in the U.S., you can check your local book retailer or book mega-store. Most Borders, Barnes & Noble, Waldenbooks, B. Dalton, etc. carry a basic line of Dungeons & Dragons material. This also lets you look before you buy.