[Zar]

hi all. i am planning to use my first paycheck ever (whenever i can get a job....markets dead in this town) to buy DnD books....but i have no idea what to get. i know i should get either 3.5 or 4.0, but what books should i get, and furthermore, anyone have any basic tips on the game? the only thing i have to go on is below...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IgVP...eature=related

[BobTD]

Do you RP with a group already, or is it not to late for you?

[enderwiggin]

I'm solidly a 3.0 and 3.5 player.

I have played AD and D as well and I am convinced that 4th edition is far too limiting. Yes, your creative imagination can make up for a lot, but the third edition stuff has enough material to give you more ideas or to just use pre-made things.

Furthermore, 3.5 support is not dead. Paizo.com has decided to continue the system that worked so well intheir Pathfinder series. You can read more about it here http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG.

On the other Pro's of 3rd edition things, you can get the books much cheaper now because they are older. The art is still stunning and the hardcover books are as good as ever. Furthermore, many of the third party "D20" books still work for the DnD adventures (though I would not use the modern stuff in DnD times, of course).

If you want an example of what 3rd edition could bring, then check out http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=763260, it's a still going story of just a commoner! Now imagine the options with everything else you could use with that edition.


If you insist on being a real cheapskate, or are having trouble finding the books... Third edition has both legal and illegal PDFs of every book that you can get! (Legal pdfs obviously gotten by paying for them, albeit at a greatly reduced price)

[IcyCool]

I used to be a big fan of 3.0/3.5. Having now played through at least one 4th Ed. campaign, I'm sold on the new edition. I heartily recommend the 4th edition.

With 3.0/3.5, you'll have a wider audience of players to form a group out of, provided you don't have a group already. This version was built off of the Open D20 system, so you'll find quite a bit of free material for it online.

With 4th Ed., you'll have a superior (IMO) game system to play with, which is far harder to Min-Max or cheese out (the two things that 3.0/3.5 excels at more than anything else). I'm sure that as the 'splatbooks' are added for 4th, it's balance and elegance will be destroyed, but such is life.

No matter which edition you choose, you'll want to get the Player's Handbook (PHB), Dungeon Master's Guide (DMG), and Monster Manual (MM). These three books should contain everything you need to get started with the game.

[Zar]

thanks everyone. this has given me alot to think about.... i was thinking of just playing with a friend of mine, as i on't have a group. that may change. we'll see. at least i know what books i should get!

[Lord Scythican]

Originally Posted by Zar

thanks everyone. this has given me alot to think about.... i was thinking of just playing with a friend of mine, as i on't have a group. that may change. we'll see. at least i know what books i should get!

I have played every edition. I still have all my old books and I always switch to the new system. I really like supporting the game, so I will always buy and use the new edition.

4th edition is a good system, and although it may be limiting right now, there will be plenty of books that will increase what you can do in the system.

3.0 is pretty nice and has a large library of information to use. 4th will never surpass it, (because 3.0 had a lot of crap being massively published), but the information will be of a higher quality do to new standards.

Personally if I had never played any of the games before and this was my first time getting and playing with D&D books, I would probably buy some old collection of ebay or something. Right now you can find a lot of 3.0 books at really cheap prices, but you should research what you are buying.

[Zar]

thanks alot scythian.

[Lord Scythican]

Originally Posted by Zar

thanks alot scythian.

Glad to help.