Getting Started - D&December

[@darkmage07070777]

My preferred "elevator speech" for D&D: Do you remember when you played Make Believe as a kid? That was fun, right? But it was so chaotic, with everyone shouting "I got you! No I got you! I'm invincible to you with my magic shield! You don't have one of those!" and the like; you probably don't want to go through that, right? So to make it better, you and your friends should agree to some basic rules so you don't have shouting matches. That's what D&D is: make believe for grown-ups.

[@sezrekahneldar4058]

My elevator speech is: It's a game where players use their individual strengths and weaknesses and limited resources to achieve a common goal.

[@lydia8226]

Omg it is

[@remixtheidiot5771]

Well said. Role playing games are exactly that. A way to properly role play and tell a story cohesively with no arguments. Role playing was my favorite past time back then but as an adult the chaos is no longer fun. So having rules to reduce chaos reignited me and my friend's play pretend passions.

[@Jeeves_0]

@@sezrekahneldar4058 that doesn't really explain what the game is though :/

[@mikekazz5353]

@@Jeeves_0 it sounds like a lot of games, you can actually use that to describe how rock paper scissors works.

[@NekoiNemo]

"How to get started? Have friends!". Welp. Guess it's Neverwinter Night for me once again.

[@BlackClawJimmy]

+Nemo Nekoi see you there

[@lordlundar]

+Nemo Nekoi He's not wrong though. Despite claims that D&D is for "social outcasts", it is a social game and always has been. So really the first thing you need, above all else is a group to play with. You can't really do anything without other players.

[@BlackClawJimmy]

I rather not deal with other people during a game anyway.

[@CD-zd6zr]

+Nemo Nekoi Find people to play with online: Obsidian Portal, roll20.net Find people to play in person: meetup

[@OneTrueNobody]

+Nemo Nekoi There are ways to arrange online sessions of D&D and other tabletop RPGs, thanks to the Internet.

[@BewbsOP]

Projared: how to play D&D. step one: Have friends Me: FUCK!

[@AshtonSnapp]

TFAegislash 57 Provided you don't mind paying for Pro subscription to get the good features and more than 100 MEGABYTES of storage.

[@ab14967]

Honestly, I do not feel you actually require the pro subscription to play though.

[@CurtisAlfeld]

DnD actually made me a more social person. I remember wanting to play it, so I went to my local game shop, and asked about, found out there was going to be a group starting, and I joined that. First week, we meet, we have a good time, we go home. Either the next week, or the week after, one of the other players walks up to me, and said the DM thought I should talk a bit more, and that really got me to a bit more interactive with the other players. Say what you want about stereotypes, but DnD made me less socially awkward.

[@speahlo4471]

CurtisAlfeld the same thing happened with me. I’m so much more open. D&D is the best game ever.

[@TheHeartlessAlchemist]

Funny how the nerdiest game ever can only be played with friends.

[@loganoates6683]

The Heartless Alchemist Funny how some people don't realize nerds have nerd friends!

[@tefnutstemple7433]

Or family. My family is a d&d nerd family.

[@TheHeartlessAlchemist]

That's so cool, man. I wish my family was into D&D.

[@quantumjoss]

I haven’t thought of it that way... it’s a good thing there’s a nerdy weird group of kids that play DND at school so at least I have them. Don’t know what to do over the summer though.

[@quantumjoss]

KyubeetheEspurr My sister loves DND but I can’t play with her and her friends because I’m not cool enough.

[@DzRocked]

Another big rule Jared forgot to mention is do not let other people discourage you from picking whatever edition of D&D you want. If you want to play 5th edition and someone is telling you not to, just don't listen to them and try it out for yourself. I know some people who will try and prevent you from playing the edition you want and to play their edition instead because "it's better.".

[@DABombComedy]

+DzRocked I think we can both agree that no one should pick up 4th edition though. That being said I still play AD&D 2nd all the time so yeah, just play whatever edition looks the most interesting.

[@TheSpideryOne]

+DABomb actually, coming at it years later, as someone who dispised fourth edition: I'm loving it to death. It's fluid and lovely and quick to use. I dislike it as a fantasy game genre, however, it's muuuuch better at depicting cartoony science fiction, or anime, where there are in-genre rules as to why you can't jump forward and slash someone more than once every five minutes or whatever.

[@DABombComedy]

Being a massive fantasy purist when it comes to DnD I've never really tried anything outiside the normal fantasy, aside from one steampunky campaign that a friend of mine ran. I still think that for a real D&D experience, 4th is way too watered down and the whole magic and skills system is frustrating to me.

[@secthay]

+DABomb Fourth Edition really has a much better combat system than there was anywhere else, it just really wan't suited to storytelling and simulation as much as other editions.

[@Joe90h]

+Brodun Oh, it's terrible to tell a story in. Did you ever notice the rules say you have to roll initiative in NON-COMBAT encounters? So, you could be facing down certain death by the hands of the city guard, and the bard goes to convince them to leave them alone... But the barbarian rolls higher, and starts a fight. Just... no.

[@keejinjohanson]

So after watching all these D&December videos me and some buddies are getting together this weekend for our first session. Wish us luck.

[@llamalord463]

Good luck 😁

[@N8Dawgg314]

How did it go?

[@nicks4802]

Well?…. Did it end up happening? Do you still play? How did it go?

[@paulnoell39]

@@nicks4802 I know, right. Wanna see if my guy is still playing 5 years later LOL

[@AdrianvonZiegler]

Hey there, I'm glad you liked my music enough to include it in the video, but can you please add credits to the video description for it? I always make clear that everybody is free to use all my music on KZbin, but credits are a necessary condition. I haven't heard all the way through yet but "Druidic Dreams" is definitely in there, around 1:55. Thank you in advance! =)

[@brovid-19]

_the crescendo of chirping crickets intensifies to an audience of none_

[@LimakPan]

For online playing, me and my friends are never up at the same time due to different time zones so instead we play with google documents. We just make a document, each picks a color and we write what we do. The pro of playing like that is how gigantic the story ends up. We're writing, not talking, and there's nobody waiting in real-time, so you can reaaaaaly write quiet the response and put in stuff like flashbacks and so on. The downside obviously is that it's far slower than playing in real life.

[@cyanmanta]

This is the very video that got me into D&D. At the tender young age of 32. I started with Adventurers League as a player, then I became a book/homebrew player, then I was a roll20 player, then I learned to DM while on roll20, then I learned to DM with Adventurers League mods, then I started writing my own adventure from scratch. There’s no pressure to go further than you want to; to this day, I still play AL with players who have been playing for years but aren’t comfortable DMing themselves.

[@BoltofShadow17]

Critical Role on KZbin and Geek&Sundry is also another really good source for getting into D&D, it was a major factor in me trying it out. Fair warning, the episodes are a bit lengthy.

[@IMVADER2]

+The Bolt of Shadow Same here! Was bored one day on twitch, saw D&D on the #3 slot in games, joined in the episode where Percy took his first name off the list, just in time by around the cellar into closet sneaking entry they did Recently binged every single episode up to that point, worth every second. Never watched a D&D game or played a game before, and I was wide-eyed at the whole experience. Wish I played it growing up

[@alexpryor2398]

+The Bolt of Shadow And it also be said that even the first episode is an adventure in progress. If you fell lost during the first episode just watch the whole episode to the end and you will understand the characters and there relasonships. Oh and the players and dm are professinal voice acters.

[@marjolielemay-roy446]

I personally had WASD20 push me over the edge and try once I saw his basic guide to DnD

[@drankydrank1]

+The Bolt of Shadow Glad somebody posted this, Critical Role is my jam

[@Deathbykittens11]

also really awesome, ItmeJP has literally 100's of hours of tabletop rpgs ranging from 2e AD&D to Maid RPG

[@MoonPatch]

How to get started: "Have friends" Damn it...

[@UncleExplosion]

He certainly doesn't have any friends now...

[@polaricedragon7052]

He is back now uncle, get rekt.

[@CurrieYT]

Honestly thank you for making this !! Because I've wanted to start for so damn long.. :)

[@somniloguy12]

Same here

[@Kalmana]

+CurriePlays Definitely watch some of the penny arcade DnD sessions. Especially if you go as far back as the first one, where it was just a podcast. Because in the first one, one of the players, Mike krahulik, has never played a game of DnD prior to that, so they will kind of go through the rules as they go and kind of explain some things more. But really, their sessions are a blast

[@CurrieYT]

+Kalmana thank you ! I'll check those out.. On KZbin I'm guessing ?

[@Kalmana]

CurriePlays yeah, you can find all of the podcasts on youtube, and the more recent live sessions on the official DnD KZbin.

[@shawnbolack5703]

+CurriePlays If you want to start I'm looking to start an online game and I want new players to help get them into the hobby so if you are interested hit me up on google plus

[@DoctorLazers]

D&D Encounters at a local game store was among the most mind-numbingly dull D&D experiences I've ever had. It's just so frustrating when NOBODY is interested in roleplaying and just wants to kill stuff. My DM was so unwilling to adapt. I so much as tried to bluff my way around combat (Being a roguish conman type of character) and even though I rolled a 19, on my best skill and he still looked me in the eye and said, "No, you have to fight this guy."

[@MomoFerret]

+DoctorLazers Yeah, that's the double-edged nature of tabletop rpgs. Awesome people = awesome game, dull people = dull game. Kind of sucks sometimes.

[@CasaiAgicap]

+Mora That's why it's so often stressed to try to play it with your friends--if you don't know the other people, things can be a tad awkward and difficult to have fun.

[@GeekyGuy4God_Jason]

+DoctorLazers Yeah, those tables sure to exist, but there are a lot of awesome tables out there too! I found an Adventure League group a couple years ago, and I still play there with them to this day.

[@sci7zo]

+DoctorLazers I feel your pain. I live near 3 game stores and the two closest ones are terrible. I refuse to support a company that sells $35 books for $50. The decent one is really far away unfortunately so i don't even get to go there much.

[@trolleymouse]

Another point of order about Pathfinder: Anything but the latest books falls under the OGL, so there are websites that legally host all the information that isn't about the main setting's (Golarion's) pantheon, meaning you don't have to pay a cent to learn the rules and judge if it's for you.

[@GM_Darius]

+TrolleyMouse This is really good for people to know about Pathfinder. So far, since 3.5, it's been one of the most fun for me and my groups to play. Wish I could give this comment more likes so more can see. Just look up d20pfsrd and you will find a wiki-esque site with everything you need to know for FREE.

[@Msoulwing]

+TheGamerDarius Seconded. I use that site constantly, even though I own something like 10 rule books :p Side note for new players: the majority of those books are add-ons, you do NOT need them.

[@Joe90h]

+TrolleyMouse It was looking at these sites that made me actually buy the books. I fell in love with some of the balances to things like fighter and ranger, to help keep them as relative classes instead of just cross class splashes. Then you get the advanced books, with their cheesy class specializations which I adore.

[@trolleymouse]

Forrest Kaysen Pity about all the caster buffs and rogue nerfs, though.

[@Joe90h]

TrolleyMouse I never noticed any nerfs to rogues...

[@breakinginferno6774]

One thing I have to recommend to new players is this; have a dungeon master who has at least played enough to know the basic rules. I've heard of many groups of people where they buy a starter kit, sit down, and just wing it off of the rule book. these sessions almost always evaporate after one or two meetings because the learning curve seems really daunting if you don't have someone to explain it to you directly instead of learning from the book. I had only been playing d&d for about 4-5 sessions when I DMed the first time. So it really doesn't take much to learn, but it's Far easier to learn the ins and outs by actually playing and just using the books as a reference when you're unsure how something works. I play alot with a group of veteran players and we still learn something knew about the rules each time we play, so don't worry about it and just have fun!

[@Redchocobo]

Have you ever watched "The Gamers: Dorkness Rising"? I loved it and it was really mind opening to what D&D is AND my friends who play D&D frequently LOVED it so much that they quote it in every campaign Really great short movie

[@TheRisingOmega]

+Redchocobo I've seen it, absolutely loved how cheesy it is too :P

[@Msoulwing]

+Redchocobo I got to the first DM/Player argument a few minutes in, then quit because it was such a stupid argument XD I might revisit it someday.

[@Redchocobo]

Msoulwing Definitely worth it! I swear!

[@MomoFerret]

+Redchocobo THE SHADOOWWW

[@gazirelseiryuu7229]

+Mora The shadow? O:

[@10superpower]

Right now me and my teammates have a game that went well at first, but then our DM began scripting our progress to the point where he drew a linear path on the map and said we had to follow it for no other reason than because he said so. For instance, there was a town in a forest that we wanted to see, he asked how we wanted to get there, and I said we should go around a goblin infested dungeon (we got our asses kicked there the last time we went). He said we couldn't go around it, even though it was only a small part of the map (it was maybe 10% of the total map). So we went along with him just because, and then when he throws a broken bridge at us in an area where there are no trees to fix it (by the way his path crossed the broken bridge). When we say we want to go upstream to look for another bridge, he says we can't do that because we hadn't explored that area already. The night ended with all of us mad at him when he called us stupid for not doing the very things he said we couldn't do. If anyone wants to do D&D, never pre-write a story.

[@KerzacTransformed]

Wow, that sounds absolutely awful and frustrating. A good DM, from what I understand, has ideas but is willing to bend them to meet what the players are doing. At worst, you scrap an idea and save it for later when the players are interested.

[@franciscoalejandro7567]

That sounds like one hell of a railroad

[@TheWanderingLPer]

Problems: I have no local game shop, and live nowhere near any. Since neither I nor my friends have any experience with this sort of thing, the DM would probably not be great at their job. More importantly, the DM would be spending their first campaign as a DM, not a player, when everyone really just wants to play. Suggestions?

[@LexSchilperoord]

You can always take turns being DM between sessions, and the guides are downloadable as well. It would be more convenient to have someone be DM though; it can still be very fun + the DM could fit npcs into the party that he/she sorta controls

[@davelltoles2029]

+Issun McGoodmage For the first time DM, don't worry if you mess up a couple of things it comes with the job, start with a Module from WOTC and it will help you along alot.

[@Datacake]

+Issun McGoodmage Hey, well depending upon how you want to begin playing there are some options to solve that problem. If you're playing online, like a lot of us do you can post an ad on roll20.com to seek out a DM who isn't bothered with helping out new players. If you're just playing out of home and you have physical copies and want to play together, I would say draw straws to see who would become DM the first time. And then cycle out because your first campaign isn't going to last very long, the second game can be hosted by someone else who think they might feel better writing an adventure.

[@tomerilan4647]

+Issun McGoodmage Just pointing that out, but being a DM *IS* playing, and it can be amazingly fun.

[@Datacake]

My mistake, roll20.net

[@cyanmanta]

Despite the fact that I've wanted to do so, I've never been able to get into D&D because growing up, I just didn't have friends who were into it. It strikes me as one of those things where you have to start out as a kid; adults who play it seem to be into the really advanced elements of the game and most of them don't want to go back to the basics long enough to teach an adult beginner.

[@MomoFerret]

+cyanmanta I've been playing for over 18 years. It's actually more diverse then you might think. I've played with adults who preferred simple rules and systems, and younger people who played some of the really heavy systems. There are many games on roll20 that welcome new players of all ages, and typically the D&D events at game stores assume you might be new if you show up for them. If it's something you want to play, you just have to bite the bullet and join a game. I've met tons of cool people by joining games blind.

[@trident042]

+cyanmanta Two things of note about D&D players: 1) They were all beginners at some point, 2) There is always room for one more at the table. I was well past 20 before I ever touched a d20, and one of my post-high school friends informed me that some of his friends played, so I showed up to a session with a group of veterans and before the night was through I felt well-versed in the gameplay.

[@GeekyGuy4God_Jason]

+cyanmanta I play in Adventure League every week at my hobby shop, and we just had a gentleman in his late 50's join us a couple weeks ago playing for the very first time. It's never too late!

[@jimmyhill5079]

+cyanmanta I'm 40 and played for the first time 1 year ago. Don't let preconceived notions stop you from trying something out.

[@franciscoalejandro7567]

Not really, a lot of people start playing around college or so, there's also starter boxes and other similar products designed specifically to introduce new players.

[@KokiriKidLink]

A staple of mine is to take BASIC and replace all the classes. After about 2 weeks and 50+ Hours of work, I came out with Dragoon- Fast Tank character. You do not want him taking magic damage at ALL Fighter- A standard fighter, just higher Magic Res and lower Def Theif- An Extremely ordinary thief, but gets lifesteal. White Mage- A healing Wizard. A really weak fighter that has low defense but high Mana and Magic Res. Black Mage- The hurting wizard also very weak, but has a high-ish hit rate and slightly lower Mana and Magic Res than the White Mage. Red Mage- Learns healing, harming and is okay with a sword. An all-rounder that has a unique ability- Expend future turns now and save turns for later (a la Bravely Default, but back in '93) Even though he does all this he is not very good at any of it (Besides turn expending, he's the only one able to do that) And it works really well, even though I tweak some skills now and then.

[@occamsbeatinstick.3076]

I'll probably post this on one of the more recent ones, but this is still a good place to put this. Speaking as a long time DM, a great way to help a player get started who isn't sure what they want to do or if this is even the game for them, is to give them a few scenarios to start with. The best example of this, "how do you open a locked door in front of you?" It's a simple question but it helps a character get into the right mindset. Offer some options that could lead them down paths. If they want to bash it down, perhaps going down the fighter path is a good fit for them, if they want to pick the lock, then something more cunning like a rouge or a ranger, or if they simply knock and hope to talk to someone on the other side then perhaps something bardic or a more charisma based rouge. And if they want to try to burn the door or enchant someone nearby then definitely a mage. It's a bit of an obvious example, but it's obvious with a point. It helps get into the spirit of things and it's a good start that leads to more subtle interactions down the road.

[@thefacelessshadow540]

If you are looking for something to play D&D on, Have you tried Tabletop Simulator Jared? Its on Steam for $19.99 and there are plenty of things in the Steam Workshop that give you D&D maps and different adventures

[@cockynoodle]

Me and my buddies are almost 30, and we bought the 5th edition starter set when it came out. That was our first experience with roleplaying games like this. We went through half of the premade stuff, kind of clumsily making our way through these adventures (and absolutely being destroyed at times), then two of us bought the different books and started making stuff for ourselves. It was kinda bumpy at first, but we've got a pretty good hang of it now, and adventures are just getting bigger and crazier. I never would've imagined that my friends would get so into it, and now we play as often as we can, really immersing ourselves in the world and the characters that we've created. The dwarf fighter is unwittingly throwing himself into danger, and the gnome rogue is constantly trying to steal from the others, because that's what they feel their character would do. It's awesome, and everybody's being super creative. Some nights we sit for six or seven hours, and it's just the best time. I DEFINITELY would recommend everybody to give it a go.

[@inputknifesusesemojisasarg8308]

Hey kids! Do you like D? Do you also like D?! Well now there's 2 D's! All for you.

[@sdewey4152]

+Da JUSTIN You may want to reword that, there's special places in prison for those kinds of statements.

[@limerslimer]

I read that 100% in Baertaffy's voice.

[@AdellRedwinters]

+Da JUSTIN "Ya gotta give me a D, Rick!"

[@JoseJose-sh7fr]

I prefer the Double D's thank you very much.

[@CasaiAgicap]

+Da JUSTIN "I figured out what the D stands for in Yugioh 5Ds! Don't watch it!"

[@CobaltTheCrusader]

I remember how I got started in D&D. I was a member of my Highschool Chess Club and a buddy of mine wanted a place for him, me, and 2 of our friends, to get together and have an adventure. My Chess Club teacher was cool with the idea of us gathering for one session after school to roll some dice so we had our first encounter with Kobolds and Orcs there. I'll never forget it. Then we began meeting weekly to play the game and continue our journey into the first dungeon. My friends the Warrior and Thief mixed in with me the noble Cleric trekked deeper and deeper into the bowels of a kobold and orc infested monestary where danger lurked around every corner. We played it during lunch, until the asshole brigade looked over and caught the nerds doing nerdy stuff and decided now's the time we pick on them. So we moved into the Library to play during lunch and had a good time. Good times. It's probably why 2nd Edition is my favorite because it's the one that I was introduced to. 3rd Edition never resonated with me and 2.5 was just eh. And I never, NEVER, liked 4th Edition.

[@Drunkefox]

to be honest D&D is such a..."staple" game and its been out and going for so long, its impossible for almost anyone to not have at least heard the name, and for the longest time i tho it was like most other table games, roll the dice move your guy kill stuff and beat the other players at w/e the game is doing, i also had the impression that the DM and the players where trying to beat each other, not until you started these videos did i realize how cool and different it is from all other table games :0

[@Msoulwing]

+Drunkefox To be fair, the amount of DM/Player rivalry varies greatly between groups and campaigns :p

[@Drunkefox]

i suppose XD in other words dont let that one friend that is always a dick be DM

[@Msoulwing]

Drunkefox Precisely. And be clear on what the difficulty level is gonna be before you start.

[@SketchBookShortFilms]

I actually had my first game a couple weeks ago and I'm hooked. One of my friends was about to go to my college's traditional gaming club (which is basically the D&D club) and he told me that they were going to be doing one off campaigns because they campaign they were already in had just ended. I asked if I could join despite not knowing at all what I was doing, and he and another member of the club walked me through making my first character (whom I am very proud of).Now that we have a month and a half for winter break I'm actually organizing a game with a couple of them over Skype. SO excited to see how it goes.

[@dreadburnz3522]

I think it would be cool to see a Hardcore series of D&D

[@ethan_sucks6429]

Yessssssss

[@Loots420]

D&D is permadeath there dinkus

[@xarris37]

"its not the players vs the DM" thank you

[@icarusty6481]

Are you going to be doing another D&December this year? Because I would watch that.

[@theyarewatchingalways5678]

*sienfield theme plays*

[@Shinsay]

Man, I am loving D&December so far. I actually would love to see more of it after this month is over though, your stories alone would make it worth it.

[@unstablelala6134]

"Berp" - ProJared 2015

[@rustyshovel7179]

"then a landslide kills the entire party. Role to see how painfully you die" Best DM 42/10

[@ermundwong8840]

You know what would be cool? If there was an online game where you and your friends connect to and either continue or start a new story online, eliminating the need of papers and time to reach the actual venue for irl games. "But what about the outcomes of actions? Or anything that happens in general?" The dungeon master would type/say(if there was voice chat) the outcome, eliminating any fixed outcomes. Same with the players, they are able to do whatever the hell they want.

[@GalXCEyes]

You could take a look at roll20.net :)

[@Frodudus]

roll20.net It exists

[@Gblades13]

You'd probably have fun with roll20 then! You can make a map with it, has built in character sheets, (though you can always just find some to print out or edit online), and has a dice roller!

[@dreadburnz3522]

There is a game like D&D for IOS (not sure about android) it has another name I can't recall, but it is the same concept

[@09philj]

+Jolly Pizza Roll20 aside, there are a lot of forums which host allow people to host RPGs and RPs, although games on them tend to use systems like d6-lite for simplicity's sake.

[@Alcudez66]

Love how free form this video is. feels more personal. Keep up the good work and hopefully this gets some people into D&D. I have countless memories of good times with friends because of it.

[@ahsdrummer2611]

I love the fact that you are making videos on DnD. i absolutely love DnD and well i got started only recently when my friends asked if i wanted to join a campaign they were planning. But it is something that is so cool and creative.

[@PK1312]

you say "linear" weird

[@brycevo]

This was the video that made me decide to try to play this game with my friends

[@StardustWhip]

Is... is that intro music a version of the Back to the Future theme?

[@solidaritytime3650]

I love that Jared keeps talking about how hard social interaction is. It's very telling of the kind of person who normally plays D&D.

[@jacobacon]

super linear

[@XylessBrawl]

+jacobacon super linEAR

[@XajinJian]

Thanks Jared. I've been checking out your content for a while now and I finally got into watching the D&D miniseries you have on. I just picked up D&D and have been using these videos to learn more about the game so thank you for the helpful tips. May your rolls forever be natural 20s

[@130alt]

Since you spoke of 3.5 and pathfinder it made me wonder: What edition of D&D do you recommend to new players? I have easy access to 2nd edition and up at my local game store, and am familiar with the basics of 3.5. I've heard Pathfinder is 3.5 compatible, so can I mix and match between 3.5 and PF? Is 4th really as bad as people say? I've heard good things about 5th so far.

[@projared]

Honestly? 5th!

[@FourNamesFourEyes]

+Projared Lucky me, I decided to jump on it with 4th edition, and not many of my friends want to play it. Got like the complete starter kit too. Oh well, I think I can convince them if I try hard enough. Oddly enough it was my jock of a dad that got me into it, but we never got to play it kuch, I'll have to ask him about how to be a dm.

[@130alt]

***** Wow, I didn't actually think I'd get a reply from you for real. Cool. I'm actually going to be playing 5th for the first time this Sunday.

[@WeaponXYZ]

+130alt Good luck and have fun, it really sucked when my D&D group broke up, miss playing it.

[@LPDummies]

4th is BEST

[@GixMTG]

Watching these really made me want to get into D&D and now I should be having my first game in 2 weeks time. so had to come back and watch these again, really looking forward to this years D&December videos. :)

[@oddluck4180]

VexdWyvern So, how'd it go?

[@GixMTG]

+Cthulhu That original session fell through but I recently found another group with which I have since had my first session with, it was alot of fun I enjoyed it alot and am eagerly awaiting the next episode. :)

[@Jboychoy]

Hey Jared, I wanted to thank you for this video. I had played Pathfinder with a group about a year ago but we couldn't play anymore. After watching this video I organized a group of new players and I DM'ed my first game today. Our first experience was great and it wouldn't have happened without this video! Thanks again!

[@joemandarino115]

I only recently started playing D&D. I began with 5e and played a homebrew campaign with a half-orc rogue. I was the comic relief, chaotic good character named "Torq, The half-orc". I role play very well, and have the luck of the Irish. After the first quest, (just killing goblins), I started looting all of the garbage. My warlock friend took all of the obvious treasure, my cleric friend took all of the herbs and potions, and I got dead mice/toe nail clippings/ a misc. scale. I went around the first town bartering, and selling the garbage. Selling the dead mice to the crazy cat lady, selling the toe nails to a witch doctor, and got the scale appraised by a shardmind. The scale ended up being a blue dragon scale, and I had just enough gold to imbue the lightning magic to my sword. This campaign made me fall in love with D&D, and I haven't been able to have the same amount of fun anywhere else. I tried my local shop, but nobody was role playing. I love D&D now, but I can't find another group that is willing to make stupid jokes, and have a great time just having fun.

[@GeekyGuy4God_Jason]

I cannot recommend playing at your local hobby/comic shop enough. D&D Adventure League is a blast. You can show up without any supplies or any clue on how to play D&D, and the people there are usually super accommodating and will try their best help you have fun. I found my D&D group through Adventure League and we've been having a blast for the past couple of years. We actually just had someone last night who played for the first time. We had a handful of pre-generated characters, dice, and a miniature for him to use, and someone was there to coach him through most of game.

[@U.Inferno]

Hey! Another thing you can do is play it with out any equipment! This is for advanced DMs only but me and my friend, we went camping with our other friends and there we introduced D&D to them. We had nothing and they wanted to play right away so my friend who's in D&D much longer than I have did a rapid set up. He went around asking about what weapon each player wanted and then did a beginner quest that he managed to memorize. The dice rolls were as random as he could make it and he made sure to balance the good and the bad rolls and it was super fun. But like I said, advanced DM's only.

[@gorgatron3924]

You know, now that I think about it I always watch your D&December videos like this one even though I don't have anyone to play D&D with. Guess that just speaks to your abilities as an entertainer.

[@mattvirgo1542]

These vids are perfectly timed. My wife and I bought the starter set last month after deciding to finally take the plunge into D&D.

[@briantimkennedy357]

Hey Jared. I know it's october when I'm commenting this, but I finally joined a D&D group. We've done 6 sessions so far, and I'm having a blast. My character is a Dragonborn Barbarian with a drinking problem and the total inability to manage money. He's a ton of fun to play as. Thanks for introducing me to the game,and good luck on D&December this year!

[@Borutonakkuru]

Tabletop simulator can be fun to use for D&D as well. I use it for Pathfinder. Setup can be really complex and grand by getting some tileset mods, laying out an actual physical dungeon, adding furniture, etc, or it can be really simple by just using the vector line tool and literally hand drawing out a map as you go. Mods are a must, and there are some WONDERFUL tables people have made for play. Some people even made some dungeons and added them as mods in the steam workshop, so you can literally just pick up a dungeon someone else set up and play it. TTS can be a mess at times, but it can also be ridiculously fun and cool if you get things set up right.

[@Ratlegion]

I enjoy most of your content, but I find I appreciate most your overviews on different topics. When you spoke about Monster Hunter, you did a really great job, and similarly and simply shared your passion here as well. Superior work. Looking forward to hearing from you again.

[@Freudig85]

I play The Dark Eye with a couple of friends. The first few sessions we played were quite tough, because we had to look up alot of rules, thus taking away some of the "play" and replacing it with alot of "learn" ... but after 2-3 sessions the most basic rules seem simple and logical and then you get alot more out of each session. So far we've played for more than 3 years and it's a blast!

[@Xarr23]

I started playing with a group of friends about a month and a half ago and, I don't know why, suddenly many people I know started talking about doing groups to play table top MMOs. I'm even DMing a D&D 5e starter pack with some guys who've never played but wanted to because one of them bough the box on a whim in a card shop. A year ago only the Nerdiest of the Geeks played it and had sort of a bad reputation in my island...so I'm glad it's making a comeback and then you and other youtubers started talking about it. Thnx.

[@PauloCoelho99]

Thank you so much for this series. Its making me return to something i liked a lot.

[@kie2]

The way he delivers that last line is oddly comforting

[@zakshaw948]

Thanks for making this, Jared. I recently went to one of my local game shops for a few meetups and had a great time! I found the game to be super fun and interesting, and even made some new friends.

[@Pepinillomaton]

Thanks Jared, allways loved to play D&D (Or some variation of it) with my friends and now seing you making it less obscure its really nice.

[@_korbo_]

Jared I love the effort and commitment you put into always making quality content, it really shows how much you care about your videos and your viewers and really sets you apart from other youtubers. Wish I could D&D too! Not enough nerd friends sadly :(

[@LexSchilperoord]

You don't even need to be a nerd; it's mostly just fun and games, you just need to knoe the rules

[@kylepoulsen5935]

I definitely recommend Numenera! It's a tabletop roleplaying game just like D&D, but it's a little different from D&D. And it's a lot more Sci-fi instead of medieval fantasy, which is nice. I doubt anyone will read this, so I won't go into detail. But if anyone has questions about it I'd love to explain.

[@lukasseidel2354]

Genuinly thanks you Jared. I wanted to start for ages and now I even have an extra christmas wish! Thanks from germany, maybe I can get an D&D group going

[@PhoenixLaw92]

Thank you for mentioning the 5th edition starter set! It was your recommendation that led me to buying it today from my local shop.

[@kyleangus]

Great video! I agree with a lot of it, and as somebody who started with 4e, and later played 5e and Pathfinder, I gotta say... Don't start with 4e, UNLESS you're into a much more combat-heavy, slow paced, WoW-esque sort of game, and aren't afraid of buying or borrowing a crap ton of miniatures. 5e's probably the best place to start as 3.5 and Pathfinder can get a bit overwhelming with how many options it gives you, and while I'd always recommend playing whichever class you'd like, if you're a really nervous beginner, I'd recommend a non-magical class like Fighter, Barbarian or Rogue, or at least a low magic class like Ranger, Paladin or Bard. Sometimes it's a bit harder to deal with so many spells and stuff. That being said, play however you want to play! Be a wizard first time if you think you're up for it! Give your character flaws, like severe arachnophobia or racial prejudice. Make a Halfling Barbarian, or a Half-Orc Sorcerer, there's no limits! I once made a ranger who couldn't swim, and holy crap that made things difficult when we got captured by pirates. Or this one time I played a changeling who disguised themselves as human from the entire party until the 3rd session when she was knocked unconcious and forced to change back, in a setting where shapeshifters were despised, and only the DM knew her true race! Everybody knows the righteous paladin, or the sneaky thief, and they're great because they're timeless heroic archetypes, but sometimes it's fun to subvert expectations and think outside the box! Just go at it! It's a fun new world folks! And you're the creator!

[@thatPUNKdude]

I've been playing D&D for 3 years now. It's an absolute blast getting your friends together, buying some pizza and beer and having an awesome day.

[@calebshade4991]

Well some of us aren't 21 and can't legally drink beer! Check your privilege. *crosses arms and rolls eyes*

[@UrsaMinor-69]

+Dou Bou get outta here dis aint a place 4 little KIIIIDDDDD :oooo Anyway beer sucks drink cider because you don't hate your tastebuds

[@ItsPowie]

+Sligguy Vodka and soda, every time. Only way to deal with the shenanigans my players get into.

[@KokiriKidLink]

I've been playing with the same 4-6 People I always have. Since the first Game, I was GM and the Theif-Tank Class. Now 30 Campaigns later, I play the same Theif-Tank Character with the same 4-6 people and we still have a blast killing and eating every Hobo unfortunate enough to cross our path.

[@punishederic4761]

"You can change the rules, make sure it's ok with your dm or your friends or whatever" That is the best advice for this.

[@zachklepp4664]

Man, I used to play D&D with my friend but since he moved several states away I haven't been able too. I'm interested in playing again and I love your D&D stories. I always loved using my imagination but it's limited because of where I live

[@Halosty45]

For roleplaying tools, my friends and I use Maptool. It's good for anything between just being somewhere to show dice rolls and having complex dungeons. It's got a lot of versatility with macros, if you want to delve into that. Plus, it's completely free, with a ton of pre-made resources available for download.

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

One day I need to get old school DnD and computer fantasy games such as heroes of might and magic, baldurs gate etc. And just go through all of it to catch that magical atmosphere that is lost these days. The music, the architecture, the clear strong colours, the magic, the monsters etc.

[@legndofphoenix]

Digital tools have been the best thing for me learning D&D. Roll 20, D&D Insider, and Fight Club apps are all things new players should check out because it gives you access to maps, compendiums, character builders, and tools that manage your character sheet easier than trying to calculate everything by hand.

[@Zaylin999]

you are the best ProJared! Thank you for all this good info and I hope that in Future D&Decembers to come that we can enjoy watching you play!

[@EdgeyvonKarma]

I have been playing DnD 3.5 for years, and I found this video very helpful since I've been struggling to introduce the game to other people. Thank you, Jared. And just to keep the love going, if anyone wants any help learning the basics of 3.5 or character creation or anything like that, hit me up and I'll see what I can do.

[@ChaosIsaacZero]

One thing for everyone getting interested, but don't want to sink money into yet: You can get almost all Pathfinder material on Paizo's website, no charge, and go through most of the core rulebooks they've made. Furthermore, if you want to make character sheets for different games to see kind of how they work, Mythweavers is another free service that lets you make tons of sheets for many different games online. (Also I think they host games, but i've never used it for that.)

[@samsonfgc3472]

so im just gonna request more stories like the last video, even just outside of D&December. PLEASE. it would make my day, every day

[@ArtGuyCharlie]

On the subject of checking out other people's games to get an idea of how it works, I HIGHLY recommend the D&D real-play podcast called Critical Hit from the guys at Major Spoilers. They do a great job of both explaining the mechanics and telling a phenomenal story. Their players include someone who was brand new to D&D at the time and someone who had been playing since AD&D but was new to that particular Edition. Fair warning, the story doesn't really get going until episode three. The first episode is just them talking about D&D in general and the second is the DM helping the brand new guy build a character and having a short session with just him. But once you get to the point where you meet Torque the story takes off and it's gold from there. Another fair warning is that they play 4th Edition, the least popular of the modern D&D versions (My group and I love it, but to each his own), so there's a good chance the specific mechanical information won't be useful for you, but it can still give you a good feel for what it's like to play D&D in general since the most important aspects of the game, roleplaying, story telling, and interacting with the other players and DM, are the same in every edition. Also, again, the story and the characters are amazing.

[@thekaratekid02]

D&December is a great idea. I love your channel, Merry Christmas ProJared

[@johnappleton3364]

Watching Acq Inc is how I learned to play. Watched those a few times, decided to give it a go, got some friends together and we dove in. I explained the rules as they came up, introducing them one at a time.

[@danhibiki6775]

I've only played D&D very few times, but each time was with a couple of very good friends of mine and some new acquaintances that I met. Almost none of us knew how to play. But I'd be lying if I said that wasn't some of the most fun I've had back in my early teens.

[@MrHeesman]

I have no D&D experience, but getting more and more interested the more I'm watching Jared's videos. Recently one major question keeps coming back to me; Upon playing D&D for the first time; what habits from video game RPGs do you have to unlearn? I can understand the most obvious one, you're not the only important character when playing D&D. ... But then what?

[@thekaratekid02]

I really liked the concept of this game but it was a really intimidating thing to get started with. These videos have taken a huge amount of my apprehension away. Thanks man.

[@MomoFerret]

+Jake Rezac It's the kind of thing you just have to bite the bullet with. Most players/DMs are welcoming and understanding with new players.

[@HamLover17]

I only played this game once, last year with my friends. I was a gnome Druid called Kluntikus the Mystical and I rode on a Badger called Freddie Mercury. I could discern North NBD. We never played since, but I remember it being really fun.

[@ZylethXenocian]

I rocked 3.5 from freshman year until I graduated. Good times. We tried 4th but it really sucked. In one of my favorite campaigns, I was a made up class called an "elementan", which kind of played like a mage, but more or less using elements to adjust your playstyle for your standard class. I was a rogue, but my roll gave me fire, so I learned how to glide and hover, and how to incapacitate enemies from afar by increasing the temprature. I even once used my heat to create illusions, like when you look at the road in the summer and it looks like a mirror.

[@theorypopplays]

Thank you for making a great intro for new DnD players. I've actually ordered the starter box set off the back of this video.

[@XylessBrawl]

For people who want to start with 5e, I recommend the podcast Going In Blind. The show is all about introducing people to how the game works, and the host of it does a great job explaining the process of how everything runs, how the DM wants to think, and the history of D&D and tabletop role playing as a whole. It's also about playing with people who are visually impaired.

[@UndeadGary]

Great short and sweet introduction to what Dungeons and dragons is Jared. Summed it up without being needlessly long or complex. The beginner suggestions were good too.

[@linguini1237]

Thanks! Me and my friends are making a D and D group, and this will help me get the basics down, I've already made a character and we're getting our adventure set up, so I'm excited! Thanks for the lecture!

[@RaumoHansha]

Thank you Jared you really got me into d and d, I learned how to play and it's really fun and now I hate when I have to stop playing. So thank you

[@datdeerdude5139]

I visited my local card shop in Pasadena called Game Empire, last night and had so much fun playing DnD for the first time. Thanks Projared! :)

[@CD-zd6zr]

Ideas for how to find people to play if you don't have any friends who want to play: 1) FLAGs, friendly local games shops 2) Obsidian Portal is a great site to find people to play with online 3) Meetup is a great site to find local people to play with in person 4) Conventions - If there is a place where people can set up for a few hours 5) Roll20.net - A good site for playing TTRPGs (Table top RPGs) online with other people 6) Local community bulletin board (sometimes found in grocery stores) 7) Keep your eyes out for people who have table top shirts (look for d20's), most of these people are friendly though use caution when meeting at someone's house 8) Google groups 9) School clubs (or start your own) 10) Any online community you are part of 11) Any community/organization you are part of

[@RockMongler]

One thing I don't think was mentioned for 5e, is they have a set of free PDFs that include the basic rules. If you search, WotC's site, you can find a players book for basic rules that has rules for levels 1-20 for Fighter, Cleric, Rogue, and Wizard in their "main" archetype, plus racial stuff for Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Halflings. The DM basic book has a short outline of terms and tables, plus a big pile of monsters to use.

[@Noinoi_]

Also, there seem to be RPG groups for pretty much every remotely big city out there on facebook. We RPG players are a friendly folk and wherever you live, you can probably just fit into an existing group easily. Also worth noting is the fact that D&D is definitely no the only RPG out there. There are countless others, some set in fantasy worlds, sci fi, horror and probably anything else you can think of; And many of them are designed to work for any world that you can think of. For a new player, I'd recommend nWoD (new World of Darkness), a horror game with exceptionally simple rules that can easily be adjusted to accomodate any other universe that you can think of.

[@r3v4n21]

I first ggot in Touch with D&D through a video series by a german youtuber. The series was just called "Forgotten Realms" and was mostly about the videogames because the guy who made the videos never played the Tabletop. It was stilla good way to get into contact with the whole world.

[@Amidamaru717]

One of the biggest flaws in all the "how to start D&D" videos, of which there are lots, is the go to your local card/comic shop. This is a mindset of big city gamers, such as Jared bring in Dallas or another RPG youtuber I enjoy Splattercatgaming from the San Francisco Bay area. Not all of are so lucky to have those resources handy. I did play a lot of D&D back in high school but my D&D friends have all since moved away and my new circles of friends are uninterested in the game. The typical response here it "go to your game shop" but I live in the sticks, the nearest game shop is 4 hours drive away, which isn't impossible but is far enough that I cant do it every weekend, I have done it and made a weekend out of it, but it's too far to do every week, and making time as a working adult... It sucks and there are many more in this same situation, we WANT to be part of those campaigns making new friends at the shops and meet up groups, but they just aren't a thing outside major cities in most cases.

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

Regarding the actual topic. I for the most part really enjoy Pathfinder. Pretty fantastic setting, love the linnorms and the lost ancient magical empires. The new classes are pretty nice, the magus is an actual old school fighter/mage if you miss it and the witch got so many fun hexes and such a colourful spell list. The witch has replaced the druid as my to go to class, I love how it blurs the line between divine and arcane magic. Recommended house rule, you can use spears and longspears with one hand provided you have martial weapons proficiency.

[@rumelismorende8177]

Good video overall, some good points here. As someone with two years of DMing behind them, who started with basically no experience-- if you're a beginner DM, do yourself a big favor and read through the rulebook, or at least skim. Try to get feel for how conflict is resolved and how combat flows. If you know even the basics, you're going to get to spend much less time hunting through rulebooks and more time playing the game. Also, in general-- pre-preparation is useful! Not too much is necessary, maybe a half-hour to and hour before every session. When you're pre planning, craft out the world and keep in mind that the players won't necessarily follow a grand, sweeping story just because an NPC told them to. Try to weave the backstories of characters into the narrative here and there to make the world feel more alive, and don't get upset if the players just want to get drunk and goof off in the game! Instead, play off of the players. Did they decide to get plastered? Maybe they insulted somebody high-up, and are now going to need to duel them. Maybe they put off an ally with their drunken antics. Hell, maybe they've just been imprisoned for their silliness, and need to do something for the guards to iron out their reputation! What I'm saying is, be prepared and be ready to improvise. If you get those down, DMing will be less of a job and more of a fun pastime.

[@Tamaki742]

I'm in this group in dA and while it's basically an art - roleplay group, we would have some events that involves DnD elements. We would have one of the group's mods as the DM and they would set our characters in a setting where we would have to fight monsters or rogues. Aside from that, we can also play in what we call mini missions, with one DM and a group of 4 players to kill the monster they set up. While it's not exactly DnD, it does teach me a lot about the basics and more. So I'm really curious about playing an actual DnD. *Honestly sometimes we're scared of the DMs because deaths are possible then we'll lose that character forever, and angst will ensue.

[@jefferyeleason6673]

Hey Jared, Chances are this comment will get swallowed into the sea of the internet, but I really appreciate how clearly passionate you are about tabletop gaming, and how concise you are on what it actually is like to be a part of. I've DM'd for a long time, and I got to say, you took the words right out of my mouth whenever I encounter a new player. D&D is a social game, requiring you to have and make friends, and that's one of the main draws. My circle never ask "gawd, what are we going to do tonight?" Because we can always go and pick a game off the shelf, and everyone can be a part of it. Point is, on the off chance you see this, I would like to know how willing you would be to try and foster a role-playing community within your fan base? I would love to see more people become interested in tabletop, and even glancing at the other comments, I see that there are tons of people interested. I might be the minority, but I would love to run some games for people online, and I'm sure you have other viewers who feel the same way.

[@Gaming_Groove]

I recommend Gametrailers series Tabletop Adventures for anyone new or interested in D&D. Ben Moore is a good DM that really guides a crew of mostly new players very well. The roleplaying is top notch and hilarious...never know what to expect.

[@prototype102010]

I love D&D so far. My girlfriend and 2 of our friends and I just started a while ago with the 5th edition starter set and it's fun. We got hung up on the systems though because our DM didn't study the book so she had no idea how Hitpoints and... well combat worked but from the 2 sessions we played it was incredible!