Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 travito Sep 04, 2009 18:07:21	Me and my friend want to get into DnD, and the core books are kind of expensive for us at the time.  I was wondering if people would find it unacceptable to not bring your own books OR bring a printed version of the books that we got off the internet(only until we get the actual books of course)?  Thanks.
#2 cigarette Sep 04, 2009 18:10:11	I personally wouldn't care at all. However, if you and your brother where not familiar with atleast most the rules and skills for your class, your deity, and so on, I would be a bit unhappy. ut if you guys go in there knowing your character, all the rules of combat and non-combat encounters, and how to play the game for the most part, then go for it, in my opinion.
#3 pluisjen Sep 04, 2009 18:14:21	I couldn't care less; just try to pen down the relevant stuff from the books (like your powers) on a sheet of paper and make sure you know what you're doing and it's all fine.
#4 travito Sep 04, 2009 18:14:23	Oh yea, we inted to get up to date with everything before going in...we've both read about the classes we want to play, and will continue to read until we feel comfortable.  Thanks for the feedback.
#5 inferiae Sep 04, 2009 19:32:00	From my time in DMing 3rd Ed and a little 4th, I was usually the one who owned the books.  As long as people copied down the info relevant to their characters, I was happy. I'm going to assume that by getting into DnD you are going into the new edition, and not 3 ed.   If you already have characters made, make sure to have their feats and special abilities (Hunter's Quarry for rangers, for example, or Dragonbreath for Dragonborn characters) copied onto a sheet of paper.  Make sure to copy your characters' Powers (at first level you'll usually have: 2 At will powers, 1 Encounter power, and one Daily power), onto notecards.  The reason for notecards is that you can flip them over for the encounter or daily powers when they've been used, and keep easy track of that. All of the other information is pretty standard character stuff that you'll likely already have written down: Attributes, Trained Skills, Race, Class, Level, XP... &c. If you're new to roleplaying, I suggest picking a personality cliche for your character to have.  Just remember that you're part of a group!  Having a 'Loner' cliche is a bit counter-productive for group play.  But... Greedy,  Honorable,  Cautious,  Superstitious, Self-Righteous,  Empathic are all good for developing a quick character trait.   IF you will be playing with others, and NONE of you have DnD books, you can play using the quick start rules for free, though they won't give you much beyond a fast, short adventure, IIRC.
#6 october_darkness Sep 04, 2009 20:54:13	I find it difficult to play without the books, because of the specific wording for a lot of the rules. For the immediate time, not having the books is ok. Quick start rules can help out. Long-term, when you bring your stuff(pencils,paper,books,dice) to the game, it shows to the DM that you're actually making a serious commitment to be involved in their game. Example: We used to have this one guy who never brought anything to the game, just himself. I didn't have an issue with it, but the DM always noticed the guy was asking us for food and drink. Then he would ask us for a pencil, or to borrow some dice. After that, he would ask the DM to print out his character sheets. It became too much for my DM. We gave him the boot.
#7 palomon Sep 05, 2009 8:27:27	simple, short answer: i've been playing for five years now with various groups, and i have never played in a campaign where every player owns their own books.  if you have at least one (preferably a couple) copies of the core books (the player's handbook is especially important) and everyone does their homework, you'll be fine.
#8 Krusk Sep 05, 2009 11:16:35	In my groups it is acceptable, but not prefered. It really helps if each player has their own PHB at least. Check ebay or amazon for a cheap copy, and the two of you split the cost. THat said I still have some players who after many years haven't bought a single book. So I doubt a group would throw you out for not bringing books.
#9 tigereye504 Sep 05, 2009 23:11:05	Dude, I'm the ONLY person in the group with any core books... but we still play. you'll be fine if the group has atleast one of each book.
#10 dragonsblood Sep 05, 2009 23:20:59	If someone else owns the books you can just borrow theirs. I don't think I've ever been in a group where everyone had a copy of the PHB.
#11 CCS Sep 06, 2009 0:13:38	Me and my friend want to get into DnD, and the core books are kind of expensive for us at the time.  I was wondering if people would find it unacceptable to not bring your own books OR bring a printed version of the books that we got off the internet(only until we get the actual books of course)?  Thanks. You'd get laughed away from our table if you showed up with whole printed out copies of the books. Why??  Because you'd have just wasted more $ in (someones) printer ink than the real books cost to begin with....  Just buy one book & share it.  Or if you're lucky enough to have the book on PDF, & have access to a laptop, maybe just bring that.
#12 Pangur Sep 06, 2009 6:28:19	Why??  Because you'd have just wasted more $ in (someones) printer ink than the real books cost to begin with....  This. Please don't print out entire D&D books to attempt to cut costs. You can be cheaper off, but the difference isn't worth it (unless you can print for free at work or something). I doubt that it's the case, but if the group you're joining plays 3rd edition you can always use the SRD, a (legal) online version of the bare mechanics. It's one of the reasons we stick with 3.5 for Garic's City.
#13 gargs454 Sep 06, 2009 10:50:57	I wouldn't have a problem with it per se.  However, when I DM, I do ask that my players bring a copy (or a printout from Insider) of any power, feat, etc. from something other than the Core books.  This is so that it can be referenced if an issue comes up during the game.  That being said though, if you are only looking at the PHB anyway, and are going to be well-versed in your character, then I don't see how it would be a problem.  Heck, I just ran a session on Wednesday that introduced 4 new characters to party (2 of whom had never cracked the 4th Ed books) and it worked fine because a) the other players were happy to have the extra bodies and b) everyone else at the table was well versed enough in the system that we were able to get them up and running pretty quick.
#14 Thazar-De Sep 06, 2009 22:37:09	D&D Insider subscriptions come pretty cheap.
#15 Novacat Sep 06, 2009 23:47:08	In My Game™ I appreciate players that bring their own books (or laptops with pdfs on them), but I don't require it. The "punishment" for not bringing your own book is inherent in the lack of books: that you have to share with everyone else, and wait until someone is done using the book you need. Since all of my party use races and classes out of the PHB, and there's only 3 PHBs to go around (including mine, in a party of 5), that can be a lot of waiting.