What is Reddit's opinion of Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook: Arcane, Divine, and Martial Heroes (Roleplaying Game Core Rules)?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

Yup. Do you have the Player's Handbook? It will tell you how to create your character and what you should roll. Also, your DM should be able to provide some guidance as well. Ultimately, your DM will hold the final word on what is and is not allowed.

A lot of people don't recommend the Red Box(Don't get this from amazon; crazy expensive.), since it is super limited, but I think it's a great way to see if you and your friends would be interested in DnD. If you all find that you enjoy it, you could always move on to purchasing the basics for 4E play; books. It does get a bit expensive here though, Wizards of the Coast gotta make some cash. The Player's Manual, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual. These give you a in depth look at the rules and leveling of the game. There are a lot of people who do confusing things to their own tastes, and that might even be for you, but these books are the basic rules and guidelines to follow.

I'd say buy the 4E players hand book and a few adventure modules for level 1 and 2 characters. If you like it then buy the dungeon masters guide and the monster manual(s) and you can craft your own adventures or keep playing out of the box ones.

So I would need this,http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Players-Handbook-Heinsoo/dp/0786948671/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344111332&sr=1-1&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons+4th+edition, to continue playing after what I bought?

This is pretty broad, but the first thing you need is a group. It could be online (though that's not always the best way to start) or in person. Do you know of any groups locally? Local Gaming Stores (I'm not talking about Game Stop here) tend to have sign up boards for players looking for groups and even events to introduce new players.

The problem with "getting into D&D" is that I may tell you to go out and find X resources for 4th edition only to find out that everyone in your area plays 3.5 or AD&D or Pathfinder or whatever. That's why finding a group is important, you can't just jump in and try to learn everything first.

If you have a specific edition you're interested in (let's use 4th as an example just because it is the most contemporary) the first thing you want is to get your hands on a current Player's Handbook. These can be acquired at most bookstores, the aforementioned local gaming stores, or online. 4th edition specifically has a number of online resources that you can pay a monthly subscription for, but having that Player's Handbook is an invaluable resource.

If you wanted to start a new group for you and your (equally unknowledgeable) friends than in addition to the Player's Handbook you probably want at least a Dungeon Master's Guide and a Monster Manual.

There is also a Quick Start Kit that is supposedly useful but I've never experienced it so I can't speak for it. The 3.5 version of said kit was pretty good though.

Granted, all of the above products were only useful for 4th edition. There are a lot of options to D&D and RPGs in general.

I'm gonna blow your mind with an RPG book!

Ummm curiously where do you live?

http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Players-Handbook-Heinsoo/dp/0786948671/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282077065&sr=8-5

http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Dummies-Bill-Slavicsek/dp/0470292903/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282077065&sr=8-2

i mean yea the D&D for dummies is about $10 cheaper but $24 for a players handbook isn't that much.

This only provides rules for the first 3 levels, so that's like 6-10 sessions depending on what you're running, so after that you'd want to pony up for the PHB (or create new characters and start a new game, or update them using a character generator (although I think this uses slightly different classes, so that will be a bit difficult)). It is pretty sick otherwise.

Other options are amazon and ebay. Shop around for a bit and you can probably find the PHB even cheaper than those.

Also, if you're forming your own group from scratch, you can always go for a free or cheap indie RPG. Check out the Free RPG Blog or ask around here for recommendations for fantasy ones.

> You are mistaken about WotC owning PFRPG. It is owned and operated by Paizo which formerly published Dungeon and Dragon magazine before WotC decided not to renew the contract.

I don't believe I said that. Also, I know about Paizo. I've played pathfinder. Pathfinder is piggybacking on the success of D&D and yet at the same time they and their player base look down on the rest of the gaming community as though they are some how superior. I say that Paizo is milking the 3.5 SRD for all they can.

>These were used to illustrate that D&D's cost of entry is almost double what most of the big players charge.

$66 D&D books != 2x $50 pathfinder books. The PHB only costs $23 on amazon. That's your barrier to entry, that's all you need to get started playing, $60 covers the whole group's starting package.

edit: looked on amazon, $66 for the 3 book set.