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I've been getting into DnD computer games and the like in the past few years, and i've read many of the FR books; and so a friend and i were thinking of beginning to play PnP...

... and so we are wondering how to get started. Obviously we need to get the DMs and Players guides and probably the Monster Manual but we were hoping for a little advice on that subject.

As in, what stuff will we need, (not figurines) but to have a real DnD aventure, we will need 4-8 sided die right?...

..and whats best for making maps. Can a begginer DM start a campaign easy? And how hard is it to get started if no-one has played before?

Thanks for any advice you can give us, we hope to be joining the ranks of DnD gamers soon.

[QUOTE=RBitG]As in, what stuff will we need, (not figurines) but to have a real DnD aventure, we will need 4-8 sided die right?...[/QUOTE]

You need 4-20 sided dices (4, 6, 8, 10, 12 a percent dice and a 20)

Yeah. A few dice, a players manual, DM's guide and lots of paper is all you need to get started. I don't know about 3rd edition but in the first edition a few monsters were included in the back of the DM's guide.

What you need-

1 Players Handbook
1 Dungeon Masters Guide
1 Monstrous Manual
1 Set of Dice

Then your all set. Just study the rules of whatever edition you get, then begin playing. Be sure the DM is someone fairly adaptive with the rules and can story tell pretty decent.

@ Siberys. Doesn't the DM's guide have the basic monsters in it? If we are just getting started, does that mean that we just need the DM's and the players? Also, what about the Forgotten Realms guide, is that only nessicary for advance action?

[QUOTE=Siberys]1 Monstrous Manual[/QUOTE]

I think you mean the Monster Manual.

@RBitG, the DM Guide doesn't contain any monster desriptions or stats, it's more based on creating adventures, things like working out treasure, possible story ideas, traps, etc etc.

D&D itself is more based in Greyhawk, tough you can buy the relevant books for the Forgotten Realms and/or Eberron settings if you wish. If you know quite a bit about FR, then you may not need the book, you can just take monsters from the Monster Manual and adapt them to your storyline.
The newest books are in version 3.5, so make sure you check that you have that and don't accidentally buy books for different versions (the Monster Manual comes in quite a few versions I think). The 3.5 ones should all have core rulebook written at the bottom on the front cover and say v3.5 on the spine.

The Dungeons & Dragons for Dummies book is also a very good reference guide.

Oh, there's also the d20 SRD, which has much of the content of these books online too: http://www.d20srd.org/

And good luck.

Monstrous manual is the name of the 2nd Edition Monster Manual, and I like the name better, but otherwise, I meant for any edition.

Now, there are no stats in the DMG for "monsters." That's why they have a book called the monster manual.

In terms of getting started as a DM, you could consider downloading a published adventure from the [url="http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/welcome"]D&D website[/url] (the link to the actual adventure download page is [url="http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20030530b"]here[/url]), or purchasing one from a gaming store. I'd suggest downloading, as it's free.

Alright, we have the Forgotten Realms guide and the version 3.5 player manual, and are waiting for the 3.5 DMs and Monster Manual to be in store. So, for a small beginner adventure, we can just use a small plastic/paper grid?

actually, you dont need a grid at all. i've played for many years without one

but if you want one, thats ok as well. i think that it comes one with the DMG, and you can use coins, or small tokens etc for figures.

i usualy drew my own battle grounds on grid paper when I just started

Pssst...Don't forget your imagination. It's helpful.

I should hope not, i mean, coins on a piece of paper? That requires some extreme imagination, but don't worry, we have it.

I was wondering what sessions with only 2 characters and a DM are like. How limited are they? Does a decent session require more players, or can you get by with just that?
At the moment there are only three of us in on it and it could be difficult to find more.

It can work out well.

See, the math for an adventure for 2 people is always -1 character level equivelant.

So, if you are 5th level, 2 of those 5th level characters can do a 4th level adventure. 6th level can do a 5th level, etc.

Otherwise, it can still work out just fine. It's not as fun as 4 people, but it's not bad, not even close.

sometimes less people is better, as there is less arguing between players to slow the game down

also, more people requires the dm to keep track of more info