D&D's

[MasterBaiter]

Hehe, did your 20'sider always roll 20's like our DM's does?!?

One day he lost his 20 sider (a black one with red veins in it).... we called it the "Demon Die"
We took it up to the mountains, and each had a turn pulzerizing it into tiny bits (think the golden skull from the Temple of Elemental Evil).

 

[mkillio]

So where should I get D&D's at? I tried their website but it was incredibly confusing. Should I go for the latest version or not?

 

[Captain Chickenpants]

In the uk the best bet would be to go to either a comic store, or more likely go to Games Workshop.

The advantage of going to an actual store is that you can talk to the people there to see what they recommend, and they can tell you what you need in order to get started in a particular system.

I would suggest you would get the basic rules for whatever system you are going for, and if they have any a preprepared story, as that will take the pressure off of making up a story whilst you get used to the mechanics of the system.

CC

 

[Zaphod]

Paranoia requires a really good game master and players with the right mindset. Not what I'd recommend for newbies.

I disagree (in part). Paranoia should generally be a relatively easy game to run. The players aren't allowed to show any knowledge of the rules, so the GM has total and undeniable authority in the world. There are lots of introductory texts that can be used for a quick 5 minute read to get newcomers quickly into the mood of the game, and the mechanics is leaning favourably towards pregenerated characters. The players should then be able to entertain themselves by plotting against each other instead of pondering technicalities. In fact I think that this makes Paranoia a game where 'newbies' might do better than seasoned roleplayers, simply because they'll be less prone to be caught up in a conventional RPG mindset. Also the game is well suited for short sessions, one-offs, and/or short campaigns, again something positive for those new to roleplaying.

What you need is an imaginative GM, not a stick-in-the-mud 'experienced' one that have ruined himself as a Paranoia GM by gaining said 'experience' running more serious RPGs.

 

[Captain Chickenpants]

I disagree (in part). Paranoia should generally be a relatively easy game to run. The players aren't allowed to show any knowledge of the rules, so the GM has total and undeniable authority in the world. There are lots of introductory texts that can be used for a quick 5 minute read to get newcomers quickly into the mood of the game, and the mechanics is leaning favourably towards pregenerated characters. The players should then be able to entertain themselves by plotting against each other instead of pondering technicalities. In fact I think that this makes Paranoia a game where 'newbies' might do better than seasoned roleplayers, simply because they'll be less prone to be caught up in a conventional RPG mindset. Also the game is well suited for short sessions, one-offs, and/or short campaigns, again something positive for those new to roleplaying.

What you need is an imaginative GM, not a stick-in-the-mud 'experienced' one that have ruined himself as a Paranoia GM by gaining said 'experience' running more serious RPGs.

I would have thought that the nature of Paranoia would possibly put newbies off. From what I understand it is supposed to be quite unforgiving, and if your character keeps getting killed off just when you are getting used to them then it can get quite annoying.


I would still recommend trying World of Darkness, as it is set in this world in modern times it is much easier for a newbie to role play. If you like it you can then try some of the expansions, the Vampire one is fun.

 

[Zaphod]

I would have thought that the nature of Paranoia would possibly put newbies off. From what I understand it is supposed to be quite unforgiving, and if your character keeps getting killed off just when you are getting used to them then it can get quite annoying.

You really shouldn't have time to grow attached to them. If you do, then something is wrong. Not that they can't last across sessions, but there are no levels as such, so there's really nothing to be gained or lost (other than giving your teammates more reasons to conspire off you if you outrank them). It's mainly a device for encouraging conflict.

Death shouldn't be completely arbitrary in Paranoia, that's a misconception. Rather it's a combination of reward and punishement. Ingenious plots to kill someone, or simply good roleplaying should be rewarded with a high likelyhood of success, while 'unwanted' (read: dull) behaviour should be conditioned away by the GM. Clever mayhem is fun, random acts of violence is not.

 

[Simon F]

I would have thought that the nature of Paranoia would possibly put newbies off. From what I understand it is supposed to be quite unforgiving, and if your character keeps getting killed off just when you are getting used to them then it can get quite annoying..

A successful mission in Paranoia is one where you survive but all your team mates get killed due to incompetence.

 

[pocketmoon66]

The one thing that you need to think about is: don't EVER try to play with busy people. Because you'll end up tearing your hair out trying to get 4-6 packed schedules to coincide.

So true. Me and my mates are 1/2 way through Call of Cthulu session that we started at college. That was 17 years ago and we still talk about finishing it one day