A little help plz? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

A little help plz?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
duralon
Jan 25, 2011 21:43:05 Greetings I'm going to try and keep this as brief as possible as I am on an iPad and typing os not ideal.

I am not new to gaming at all, in fact I LOVE RPGs and have played a ton of computer games including baldurs hate, ice wind Dale etc, not to mention 10 plus years of moms.

I finally wanna see the other side of things and get into d and d! I love roleplayomg and in feel like I have a pretty good imagination.

I went to my local hobby shop today and am feeling kinda lOst. I noticed 4th had 3 or 4 player handbooks?

I vameback home with all 3 3.5 edition core rulebooks as I got them all at a cheap used book store for around 10 bucks, so here is the question. Should I just learn 3.5 since I have the books or should I get 4th? Which edition is more noob froendly?

My local hobby shop knows me well and offered to give me all 3 deluxe 4th rulebooks for 65 bucks!

Thanks guys. I look forward to hearing your opinions and Tips!

(sorry for errors, again, I'm on an iPad)
#2
droma
Jan 25, 2011 23:43:47 If you don't have a group to play with then you should probably pick up either players handbook 1 or heroes of the fallen lands, if you can afford both I would get both if you can afford one I would go with players handbook 1 as some groups can be strange about which they allow.

Personally I would wait to buy anything until you find a group of players to play with and then see what books they use. If you're looking to start your own group with a couple friends then I would look into the new essentials material which is heroes of a fallen land, rules compendium, and dungeon masters kit. The monster vault can be a cool extra if you have the money. That will give you everything you really need to run a game with.

Heroes of a Fallen Land and any of the players handbooks are used for character creation, and the rules compendium/dungeon masters kit are mostly for dm's and talk about campaigns, encounters, xp, and things of that nature.

As for the differences between all the players handbooks well ph1 gives the basic races and classes as well as basic rules(HoFL gives this too). PH2&3 give more races and more class options but the players handbook should keep you/your group busy for a while.

Hope this helps some, ask more questions if you need more stuff clarified.
#3
Fireclave
Jan 26, 2011 2:21:22 Having played both 3.5 and 4e, I would say the latter is more newbie friendly. 4e is a lot more rule-lite and much more balance compared to 3e, and has virtually none of the "trap options" that riddle 3.5. That said, both can be very fun to play.

As for where to start with 4e, there are two entry points. The Player's Handbook and the newer Heroes Of books from the "Essentials" line (more of those in a moment). The Player's Handbook is 4e's the original player manual . It contains all the rules you need to know to player a character, including classes, races, items, and so on.

The recently released Essentials books, Heroes Of The Forgotten Kingdoms and Heroes of the Fallen Lands, are also entry point books. Like the Player's Handbook, each the Heroes Of books contains all the information you need as a player to get started. The biggest difference is that the Essentials books use a different style for the classes compared to other 4e books, with the goal of being a bit easier for beginners to learn. In a nut shell, the builds present fewer options compared to the standard classes while still being robust, so you still have plenty of abilities to play with with necessarily being overwhelmed by the wealth of options available to all the other classes. Personally, I found the PHB classes no harder to learn, so YMMV.

If you pick up any of the three books, you have all you need to make a character and join a game as a player (though there are other books you need to consider if you want to run a game as a DM). And though you only need one of these books, if you decide to pick up more than one of these, keep in mind that, since all three of these books are intended have all the rules you need to get started, there will be some overlap in the material covered.

As for the Player's Handbook 2 and Player's Handbook 3, they're optional. While they add more material to the game (more classes, races, items, etc), they do not contain the full rules information you would need to get started, so you'll want to pick up one of the entry books first. They can be good buys for later.
#4
winterhaven
Jan 26, 2011 22:03:41 I would tell you to buy nothing.

You have the rules for 3.5. That will get you into the game. Read the rules for 3.5 and then find a group to play with. This will give you an idea of the class and race you want to play.

I know there are people who will point out all the difference and the benefits for each system but what it really comes down to is what is the group you join going to play with?

If you buy books and get too involed with the versions and rules you might decide you love Forgotten realms 4E but the group you like is playing 3.5 Raven Loft.

The group is going to be more important the rules to begin with.
#5
thekafka
Jan 29, 2011 12:27:19 stick with 3.5 u can get the books cheap off the net and u will have a blast. 4.0 is just a money maker and remember that the book are a guide line for the dm, NOT THE RULES. the DM has the final say, so if something is dumb, change it.
#6
tequila_sunrise
Jan 29, 2011 20:46:26

The group is going to be more important the rules to begin with.

Yeah, this.

stick with 3.5 u can get the books cheap off the net and u will have a blast. 4.0 is just a money maker...

Also, WotC told Hitler to kill the Jews, then WotC took my first born child and now it plans to steal alien technology from Area 51 in order to create a wormhole to go back in time, resurrect Tharizdun and dominate the world.

Seriously, chill dude, you're giving all of us gamers a bad name.
#7
oxybe
Jan 30, 2011 12:40:15
stick with 3.5 u can get the books cheap off the net and u will have a blast. 4.0 is just a money maker and remember that the book are a guide line for the dm, NOT THE RULES. the DM has the final say, so if something is dumb, change it.

i wholeheatedly agree, since that's what i did: as DM i put 3.5 on the shelf and used 4th ed and my game has done nothing but flourish since.

in actual advice: honestly, go to your local gaming store, check out what people play. the 3.5 rulebooks are useless if everyone plays 4th and vice-versa. sit in a few sessions to get an idea of what's going on and take notes. after the session ask the GM and players what you don't understand.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 duralon Jan 25, 2011 21:43:05	Greetings I'm going to try and keep this as brief as possible as I am on an iPad and typing os not ideal. I am not new to gaming at all, in fact I LOVE RPGs and have played a ton of computer games including baldurs hate, ice wind Dale etc, not to mention 10 plus years of moms. I finally wanna see the other side of things and get into d and d! I love roleplayomg and in feel like I have a pretty good imagination. I went to my local hobby shop today and am feeling kinda lOst. I noticed 4th had 3 or 4 player handbooks? I vameback home with all 3 3.5 edition core rulebooks as I got them all at a cheap used book store for around 10 bucks, so here is the question. Should I just learn 3.5 since I have the books or should I get 4th? Which edition is more noob froendly? My local hobby shop knows me well and offered to give me all 3 deluxe 4th rulebooks for 65 bucks! Thanks guys. I look forward to hearing your opinions and Tips! (sorry for errors, again, I'm on an iPad)
#2 droma Jan 25, 2011 23:43:47	If you don't have a group to play with then you should probably pick up either players handbook 1 or heroes of the fallen lands, if you can afford both I would get both if you can afford one I would go with players handbook 1 as some groups can be strange about which they allow. Personally I would wait to buy anything until you find a group of players to play with and then see what books they use. If you're looking to start your own group with a couple friends then I would look into the new essentials material which is heroes of a fallen land, rules compendium, and dungeon masters kit. The monster vault can be a cool extra if you have the money. That will give you everything you really need to run a game with. Heroes of a Fallen Land and any of the players handbooks are used for character creation, and the rules compendium/dungeon masters kit are mostly for dm's and talk about campaigns, encounters, xp, and things of that nature. As for the differences between all the players handbooks well ph1 gives the basic races and classes as well as basic rules(HoFL gives this too). PH2&3 give more races and more class options but the players handbook should keep you/your group busy for a while. Hope this helps some, ask more questions if you need more stuff clarified.
#3 Fireclave Jan 26, 2011 2:21:22	Having played both 3.5 and 4e, I would say the latter is more newbie friendly. 4e is a lot more rule-lite and much more balance compared to 3e, and has virtually none of the "trap options" that riddle 3.5. That said, both can be very fun to play. As for where to start with 4e, there are two entry points. The Player's Handbook and the newer Heroes Of books from the "Essentials" line (more of those in a moment). The Player's Handbook is 4e's the original player manual . It contains all the rules you need to know to player a character, including classes, races, items, and so on. The recently released Essentials books, Heroes Of The Forgotten Kingdoms and Heroes of the Fallen Lands, are also entry point books. Like the Player's Handbook, each the Heroes Of books contains all the information you need as a player to get started. The biggest difference is that the Essentials books use a different style for the classes compared to other 4e books, with the goal of being a bit easier for beginners to learn. In a nut shell, the builds present fewer options compared to the standard classes while still being robust, so you still have plenty of abilities to play with with necessarily being overwhelmed by the wealth of options available to all the other classes. Personally, I found the PHB classes no harder to learn, so YMMV. If you pick up any of the three books, you have all you need to make a character and join a game as a player (though there are other books you need to consider if you want to run a game as a DM). And though you only need one of these books, if you decide to pick up more than one of these, keep in mind that, since all three of these books are intended have all the rules you need to get started, there will be some overlap in the material covered. As for the Player's Handbook 2 and Player's Handbook 3, they're optional. While they add more material to the game (more classes, races, items, etc), they do not contain the full rules information you would need to get started, so you'll want to pick up one of the entry books first. They can be good buys for later.
#4 winterhaven Jan 26, 2011 22:03:41	I would tell you to buy nothing. You have the rules for 3.5. That will get you into the game. Read the rules for 3.5 and then find a group to play with. This will give you an idea of the class and race you want to play. I know there are people who will point out all the difference and the benefits for each system but what it really comes down to is what is the group you join going to play with? If you buy books and get too involed with the versions and rules you might decide you love Forgotten realms 4E but the group you like is playing 3.5 Raven Loft. The group is going to be more important the rules to begin with.
#5 thekafka Jan 29, 2011 12:27:19	stick with 3.5 u can get the books cheap off the net and u will have a blast. 4.0 is just a money maker and remember that the book are a guide line for the dm, NOT THE RULES. the DM has the final say, so if something is dumb, change it.
#6 tequila_sunrise Jan 29, 2011 20:46:26	The group is going to be more important the rules to begin with. Yeah, this. stick with 3.5 u can get the books cheap off the net and u will have a blast. 4.0 is just a money maker... Also, WotC told Hitler to kill the Jews, then WotC took my first born child and now it plans to steal alien technology from Area 51 in order to create a wormhole to go back in time, resurrect Tharizdun and dominate the world. Seriously, chill dude, you're giving all of us gamers a bad name.
#7 oxybe Jan 30, 2011 12:40:15	stick with 3.5 u can get the books cheap off the net and u will have a blast. 4.0 is just a money maker and remember that the book are a guide line for the dm, NOT THE RULES. the DM has the final say, so if something is dumb, change it. i wholeheatedly agree, since that's what i did: as DM i put 3.5 on the shelf and used 4th ed and my game has done nothing but flourish since. in actual advice: honestly, go to your local gaming store, check out what people play. the 3.5 rulebooks are useless if everyone plays 4th and vice-versa. sit in a few sessions to get an idea of what's going on and take notes. after the session ask the GM and players what you don't understand.