Welcome to Bravo, Bard. This is a place for roleplayers of all types to come and learn more about the games we all love. It is here that I will offer advice to those of you who are new to the realm of roleplaying. There’s a lot to cover, so don’t get too discouraged. For those of you who already have a handle on the basics, I will be sharing advice for the more complex ideas as well.
Who am I to be teaching such things? Well I’ve played my fair share of games, both as a player and a game master. I’ve been playing for about a decade with various groups in various campaigns. I’ve run many different settings, my favorite being Dark Sun. I’ve also played around with a number of different game systems; although I keep coming back to Dungeons & Dragons. Over the years my love for tabletop games has grown immensely. I love the stories you create, the friends you make, and all of the memories that come from it. I’d like others to share those feelings and so here I am to introduce you to tabletop gaming and teach about all it has to offer.
Are you not the learning type? Would you rather swing your sword at the world until it starts to make sense? Does adventure call to every fiber of your being? Well I’ve got that too! I also write up adventures of various sizes, from one shots that can be done in a day to campaigns that can take over a month. If you’re looking for something to play and you need it fast, don’t worry. I’ve got all of your adventuring needs covered.
So what needs are there to be covered? Well first you’ll need the tools of the trade. You’ll need dice of course. These come in many sides, some going up to one hundred and beyond! But what you’ll really need is a standard set. This set consists of dice that come in four, six, eight, ten (regular and one that has double digits per side called a percentile), twelve, and the almighty twenty sided die. These will allow you to perform the checks needed to play roleplaying games. You can either choose a full set that speaks to you, or just grab a bunch and share among your players. Beyond this you’ll need figures. These small statues are usually made out of plastic or metal, and represent the characters of the world you are acting out. If you are planning to just play, then you’ll really only need one figure per character you play. If you plan on running a game, you will need a good selection to represent everything you throw at your players. If you want to start off small, you can just use tokens, then upgrade to figures later. Plastic figures don’t cost all that much, but if you want a unique figure for every encounter it adds up fast.
As you continue to roleplay and play all of the games available, you’ll come across some terms that you may not know yet. Some of the common terms are:
Game Master: Shortened to GM, this is the showrunner; the story teller. He controls all of the characters that the players do not. He decides what to throw at the players. He creates the world and it’s rules. It is also his duty to enforce those rules. It’s a big responsibility, but someone has to do it and they have a lot of satisfaction to gain from doing so.
Encounter: Conflict of some sort. The challenge can be a fight that must be overcome with brawn, or a puzzle that can be overcome with brains.
Check: A check usually comes in the form of a roll added up with an appropriate number from your character sheet. This lets you know whether or not your character is able to perform an action, like cutting off an orc’s head or intimidating him into standing down.
Critical failure: If you’re unfortunate, your dice check may land on 1. This is the worst possible outcome. A benevolent GM may just treat it as an automatic failure, nothing more. Some of the more sadistic GM’s will have embarrassing things happen to your character. At the very least, this will earn a collective “oooh” from your table.
Critical: This is where your check lands on 20, the best possible outcome. This is where the magic happens. In fights, your character will land a deciding blow. He will see the switch needed to stop the dungeon’s death trap. Basically, anything can happen.
With these terms in mind, you are ready to dive into dungeons and defeat the dragons within. So please join me as we delve into these games that are truly magical. Let us discover together what makes them so special. And above all, let’s keep those dice rolling high!
