Disclaimer: This is not an actual event, the date/time mean nothing, I am merely using the Community Event setup to gauge an interest in a possible HWM DnD night. Actual date/time of this event, if there is enough interest, will be determined later.

So after a bit of discussion in the Tabletop forum, I thought it would be appropriate to put out a formal interest check in starting a new HWM DnD campaign. It would probably be a bi-weekly or once-a-month event on a non-HWM night (obviously), I'm thinking a weekend most likely in order to help accommodate our non-American members. Session length would be about 2-3 hours? Ish? Maybe? Depends on who signs up. The finer details of that can be discussed.

THE POINT IS, let's see how many of us want to play, yeah? This campaign would also be open to complete newbs, obviously.

What's DnD?

Witney wrote:

What's DnD?

Dungeons and Dragons, a tabletop adventure game played with some dice and a character sheet. All the materials to play can be found online or you can purchase player handbooks from your local comic book store/book shop.

Will this be 5th edition? Because that's what I have in my home.

Criporc wrote:

Will this be 5th edition? Because that's what I have in my home.

Probably. I hope so, at least. 3.5 is fine but I wanna get used to 5

I don't quite have the time to play in another D&D game (I run one and play in another and both meet once a week) but I have all of the 5e books and a lot of experience, so if anyone has questions or needs help and Kitty isn't around feel free to ask me!

Alright, so there's definitely enough interest. What time(s) would work best for everyone?

Every other Friday or Saturday over the summer when Elsa's ex has the kids would be best.

I'm available only at night after 8pm till about 11pm, excluding Sundays

Weekends would most likely be best for me and my brother but someone needs to give me a crash course on what to expect and how to play D&D seeing as it will be my first time particapating.

Saturday would be best before for me as i'm free all day. I'm free Sunday until 5pm EST

Sazed wrote:

Weekends would most likely be best for me and my brother but someone needs to give me a crash course on what to expect and how to play D&D seeing as it will be my first time particapating.

Oh boy, you're in for a wild ride

Okay, if you've played Dragon Age: Origins and/or Dragon Age 2, you've basically played DnD before. You make a character (which the DM/other experienced players can help you do), you come up with a personality for that character, give 'em a bit of a backstory, that sort of thing. Doesn't have to be complicated. Generally I just start with things like Race, Age, Country of Origin, and "My Character's Current Goal Is To ________." Half the time I don't even think of the rest of the backstory until 2 or 3 sessions in.

After that you pick your class and stuff which, pro tip right here: do not spend time fretting about which class is the """best""" to play as. Unlike video games, it's not that important to have a super high DPS or the best, most versatile ability unlocked ASAP. Just pick something you wanna give a go at and if you're not having fun with it, the DM should be able to find a way for your character to change class. Because the first and foremost point of DnD is to have fun, and if someone's not having fun then that's no fun for the rest of the group.

ANYWAY, a typical campaign starts with the DM laying some ground work on why all of your characters are meeting in the same place at the same time, as well as giving you a general idea of where the start of the campaign is going. After this there's usually a chance for a little bit of role play. Characters can introduce themselves, ask questions, give answers, refuse to give answers, lie, cheat, attempt to steal from each other, etc etc. Whatever you think your character wants to do is something you can do. Unless the DM says no. The DM does have the power to "railroad" the campaign, or force everyone to actually go into a dungeon instead of skipping it etc. Don't worry, it's usually for your own good.

Note: You don't have to actually role play your character, or act out all of their dialogue/gestures/whatever. You can just give people a description of how they're thinking/feeling. Someone could be like, "My character asks your character, 'What's your name?'" and you can be all, "Renolds looks apprehensive and says, 'Renolds. You?'" And don't sweat having to be in-character all the time, but having a general idea of what your characters wants, like, and dislikes, and acting on those things is what makes DnD fun, because everybody else is going to be doing the same thing and interests are going to clash, alliances will be forged, bonds will be broken with last minute betrayals...it's awesome.

Actual gameplay works by rolling dice. You will have a character sheet which will have stats, yes, but those stats are to help you weigh the odds in your favor, or to guarantee a certain level of success, but unless you get to Epic levels you're not going to have a 100% chance of success at basically anything.

The main die you will be using is called a d20, or a 20-sided die. This is used to determine how well you perform at actions. So if you want to do something (throw a rock, check for traps, climb a wall, break a window, skin a bear, dance, sing, pickpocket, attack, whatever), the DM will first decide which stat governs the action you want to perform and will say something like, "Roll for Strength," or "Roll for Performance." Then you'll roll your d20 and report the number you get on the initial roll, and you'll look at your character sheet and add whatever bonus you have for the governing stat to that number. So if it's a Strength check and you have a +2 modifier to your Strength, and you roll a 12, you say, "12+2, 14 total." The DM then decides if that's a high enough value to succeed at whatever you were trying to do.

Some DMs don't care if you just skip the math and say the total, but if you roll a 20 or a 1 you have to report, "Natural 20/Natural 1." A natural 20 is called a Critical Success, which is how people manage to cleave orcs straight in half in one swing. A natural 1 is a Critical Failure, which is how groups manage to get lost in a forest that has one road.

Don't be ashamed to report naturals 1s, btw. That's when the game becomes hilarious.

This is just a brief overview of how DnD works. When it comes time to play, the DM and other experienced players will be more than happy to help you with a more in-depth step-by-step guide. It sounds like a lot, but you get used to it very quickly and it'll only take two, maybe three sessions before you're confident in how to play =^-^=

I've never played before but I have 3/4 characters st the moment lined up and ready for when I do get the chance.