Does anyone play 5e D&D?
The Blind Eternities forum
Posted on Nov. 8, 2014, 6:14 p.m. by ChiefBell
I'm about to start playing 5e D&D with a few guys over skype. I'm a total scrub - like literally clueless. Does anyone play, have any hints etc?
Yeah, I play. What exactly do you want to know? A lot of stuff is ultimately going to depend on what kind of group you play with, not unlike how different groups do/don't take EDH seriously.
For more general stuff, I would recommend watching a stream or recording if you just want to get a sense of how the game flows - Temple of the Lava Bears.
November 8, 2014 6:51 p.m.
How do I begin? How do I learn what I can and cannot do? How do I roleplay effectively?
How do I learn what I can and cannot do? Write it all down on a word document?
Like if I play a video game it tells me overtly like 'you may cast this magic' or 'this is your strength' or 'these are the swords you have' but in this I don't have like a use interface haha.
November 8, 2014 7:01 p.m.
a lot of this stuff comes with experience. your group should help you out. don't feel bad or scared asking questions. the more you ask the more you learn. ultimately you'll probably want to find an online resource like an srd to skim and read. i've been playing dnd 3.5/pathfinder for 5-6 years, just try to have fun :)
November 8, 2014 7:07 p.m.
How do I begin?
Well first before anything else, you need to get a group of people together. 3+ folks for the party is ideal and 1 GM to run the game. Easiest method to start a game from scratch is to run a pre-written module, it will have all the story and monsters worked out for the GM. Many LGS also run weekly events to play and these are a great way to get involved since they are catered to new players. From there the next step in line is character creation, which the players handbook will have detailed instructions on.
How do I learn what I can and cannot do?
That's kind of the great thing about P&P, there isn't a straight answer to that. Now combat will have its own structure involving how far you can move, attacks you can make, etc, and each class will have a list of their powers and such, but otherwise as long as something is feasible you're generally going to get a roll to try and do it. Freedom is kind of the point, otherwise you'd just play an MMO.
How do I roleplay effectively?
This one is all down to experience. Best tips for starting out is to keep things simple and just try to get into the habit of speaking more as the character instead of as yourself to everyone else. 5e also has a system for giving you some basic background, traits and ideals to play off of.
Write it all down on a word document?
When you're finished with character creation you'll have a sheet with all your stats, powers, and such listed for easy reference.
November 8, 2014 8:50 p.m.
Whatever the Dungeon Master says is law.
Don't piss off the Dungeon Master or who knows, maybe it'll start hailing minivans and you'll just up and die if you fail a reflex check.
For roleplaying, just have a character who's close to you the first few times. I.E., if you're really smart, play a character with high intelligence. It helps as opposed to being a race all about SMASH SMASH. But you know, that's up to you. Just immerse yourself. It's fantastic.
November 8, 2014 9:22 p.m.
I know the DM personally so it should be fairly friendly.
November 9, 2014 5:28 a.m.
Well I've started reading the 5e rulebook / guide thing. I've gone through the races and how to play (largely) but it's taking me ages to go through the classes. I'm actually listening to them right now - so I'm sitting and listening to them play. It's good stuff. I'm thinking about playing a stout halfling fighter?
November 9, 2014 4:14 p.m.
i don't know much about 5ed stuff, but fighters are extremely good for new players as they are pretty simple. idk what kind of player you are or play group you're with, but most people try to maximize their stats so in this case you'll want a race that buffs your strength, constitution or both
Dao says... #2
Most DnD sessions usually take 3-6 hours depending on how talkative people get. Most of everything is really easy to pick up, but the hardest thing is not to metagame. an example ofMetagaming is like strategizing on how to take out a boss while out of turn. Here's an example. You and your group find a Ankle Shanker. during one of your teammate's combat turns, he rolls a perspective check for weaknesses and gets a natural 20. so the DM says that ankle biter is weak to fire. Since only your teammate knows this in game. you cannot say "hey imma use firebolt to smite that midget" because your character does not know that the weakness is fire. so your teammate has to shout to the group (in charecter voice) to tell them the weakness. It is a somewhat vague concept to grasp. (at least it was for me) but usually metagaming receives punishment, so yea. Other than that, the more unique a character, the more unique the experience.
TLDR; Don't Talk out of turn when fighting something or you can get a penalty. try to have fun. and be unique.
November 8, 2014 6:34 p.m.