D&D First Session Essentials Part One

D&D First Session Essentials – Part 1

Starting your first D&D session can feel overwhelming. However, with the right approach, you can dive in confidently and enjoy the adventure. In this episode, the RPG Blokes explore everything new and returning players need to knowbefore their first session. This is Part 1 of a two-part series designed to ease you into tabletop roleplaying and help you make the most of your first experience.

How Much Preparation Do You Really Need?

Many players wonder whether they need to memorise rules, study lore, or build an in-depth character backgroundbefore playing. Fortunately, extensive preparation is not required. Instead, understanding the basic mechanics and having a general character concept is enough to get started.

Key topics include:

• Do you need a rulebook? Understanding the basics is helpful, but you don’t need to know every rule.
• How much lore should you know? Learning about the world can be beneficial, but discovering details during play keeps things exciting.
• Should your character be fully mapped out? While some planning is useful, allowing character growth in-game often leads to more engaging storytelling.

Character Creation – Planning vs. Spontaneity

New players often struggle with how much effort to put into character creation. While having a strong concept helps, flexibility allows for organic roleplay. The Blokes discuss:

• Arriving with a concept vs. developing as you go
• Focusing on fun instead of “min-maxing” stats
• Why personality and motivations matter more than mechanics

Balancing Game Knowledge with Discovery

Understanding the setting enhances immersion. However, overloading yourself with too much information can be overwhelming. Instead, the best approach is to learn key details while leaving room for in-game discovery.

Final Thoughts – Just Take the First Step!

Ultimately, you don’t need to memorise everything to enjoy your first session. By focusing on collaborative storytelling, group support, and having fun, you’ll ease into the experience naturally.

This episode provides essential guidance on what to prepare and what to leave for the game itself. Whether you’re brand new or returning after years away, the Blokes offer practical advice to help you start your D&D journey with confidence.

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Episode Transcript

Mark:
[0:00] Welcome to the second part of our First Session Essentials podcast. In this episode, if you’re gearing up for your very first in-person RPG session And wondering what you should bring or feeling a bit nervous about showing up Without something important, Don’t worry, we’re going to talk about what really matters and what will help You walk into your first game room ready to jump right in. So this is about First Session Essentials, everything you need to bring or not Need to bring and not worry about. We’ll be right back. All right so today uh we’ve got an angle on how we’re going to approach this Podcast i’ve researched and put together the most common items people do bring To the rpg table a lot of them you’d probably be aware of or be thinking about already. And I’m just going to go through these items and we’re going to discuss the merits of them. I think we should start by saying that you can just turn up by yourself and Come into the room and play and get on with it. But if you want to do a little bit of research, a little bit of prep and come In a little bit better prepared, let’s go through the other common items people bring. Okay, so obviously you plan a role-playing game. You know there were dice involved.

Jon:
[1:23] Almost all the time.

Mark:
[1:24] Almost but generally speaking especially if it’s dungeons and drags we don’t Dice are one of the joys of role playing aren’t they i think they were for me When i started playing they still are for me as an adult is that sort of fascination With dice and there’s an industry now would you deny, Somebody sort of saying before their first session you know i want to come along With my own dice set it makes sense they do doesn’t it’s better but just make.

Jon:
[1:49] Sure that especially if it’s a new group starting up if they all turn up and Say i thought you bought the dice i thought you bought even if you’ve got one Set of dice between you all that That that’ll work fine but just make sure someone’s got some fucking dice.

Mark:
[2:03] It’s not going to be long until you get some is it right.

Barry:
[2:06] No so i mean this was one of the things that surprised Me about myself oh i like dice Dice gobbling the first session I came I didn’t Bring dice and you put a Full set of seven polyhedral dice In my hand and immediately I thought oh I like these like straight Away next week I have my own set you know and I’m not a dice goblin it’s not Like I buy tons and tons of dice and I don’t look after them I’ve probably got Four five sets of dice three of them are incomplete because I’ve lost one but As objects I think they’re really good fun I like the sound they make when you Rattle them in And I like the sound they make when they hit the table.

Mark:
[2:44] Yeah.

Barry:
[2:44] You know, it’s, yeah.

Mark:
[2:45] I agree.

Barry:
[2:46] I mean, I have a, I should probably pitch this to you, but I’ve got a business Idea. Online gambling is huge.

Mark:
[2:53] Yeah.

Barry:
[2:53] There isn’t as far as I can make out a single casino game. Game based on polyhedral dice there isn’t no so i think we could be rich but.

Mark:
[3:01] You need to get precision dice when you’re dc.

Barry:
[3:03] If you get those precision online yeah you don’t you don’t actually need the physical dice you’re.

Jon:
[3:07] Here at the birth of the evil empire.

Barry:
[3:09] The day i mean obviously gambling websites has come out of the earth but if It meant i could retire fuck them are we sponsored by one we could be now we’re Not we have to edit that out this is steam dice.

Mark:
[3:21] Uh what do you feel as you’re you’re coming along to your first session it’s Easy in it where’d you get your dice from yes.

Stephen:
[3:28] Well in models.

Jon:
[3:28] Yeah 40 years ago we could be sponsored by him he’s not in business but.

Stephen:
[3:34] Um yes definitely dice if you don’t bring it for the first session you definitely Will be bringing it to the second yeah it’s going to happen eventually yeah do.

Mark:
[3:40] You come along with dice and people know that’s that’s.

Jon:
[3:42] And there are some very very very pretty shiny clacky math rocks out there that’s Some really expensive math rocks it’s not the old solid one so you had to color In with the crayon like we started with pesky and whippersnappers.

Barry:
[3:54] Do you know what i think that’s worth pointing out as well steven’s just said There there are some very expensive ones i mean they’re Expensive because they’re beautiful and crafted Expensive dice are no more effective Than inexpensive dice i think the most expensive set Of dice i bought was my metal ones and i think They were about 20 quid generally speaking i’ll be looking At spending five to ten pounds on a set of dice that’s it when you look at them It seems like a lot of money five to ten pounds but you know like you say some Of them are gorgeous um i know people who buy a dice set for each character They’re they’re playing which i think is quite i think that’s quite good fun so you know like um Um i played with someone who’s playing a wood elf and they bought this really Nice kind of foresty green set of dice specifically for that character you know it’s.

Mark:
[4:40] My dice in ice wing dale.

Barry:
[4:41] I have noticed your dice and ice ring down.

Stephen:
[4:43] And this is why the dice industry are doing so well.

Jon:
[4:46] I’ve coveted other man’s dice.

Mark:
[4:48] My dice are like icicles, and they’ve got this icy feel about them. They roll shit.

Barry:
[4:52] I’m going to come out and say it. I actually don’t like them. They’re too pointy.

Jon:
[4:57] Yeah.

Mark:
[4:57] Some of these modern dice are very sharp.

Stephen:
[4:59] Sharp dice, yeah.

Mark:
[5:00] Like cow chops.

Barry:
[5:02] So the problem I have with pointy dice is that if you’re not rolling them in A dice, if you’re on a table, they will chip.

Mark:
[5:09] Chip the table?

Barry:
[5:10] No, they will chip.

Stephen:
[5:11] You need a dice tray. Dare I go on to the next subject?

Barry:
[5:15] Oh, we segway into dice trays.

Stephen:
[5:17] Can I segway that?

Barry:
[5:19] Now, I like a dice tray, but the problem with a dice tray is that they deaden The sound of the dice rolling, and I also really like the sound of the dice rolling.

Mark:
[5:27] Yeah, what’s your feeling on dice trays then, Stephen? You feel the same? I don’t like them.

Stephen:
[5:30] I used them briefly, but mine broke, and I didn’t replace it, to be fair. I think as a DM, I like to roll in the open, and I think dice trays kind of Sometimes hide them a little bit.

Jon:
[5:39] Maybe that’s what they’re for I don’t know I’ve got like yeah.

Stephen:
[5:42] It depends how big it is but some people have little ones and think.

Jon:
[5:44] The other thing is if you’re playing online dice can be problematic if you’re Expecting anyone else to listen, Because having stuff clacking off in your ears like that, especially if you’ve Got a handful of dice and you’re shaking it in front of the mic.

Mark:
[5:56] It pisses me out. Yeah, it’s always virtual dice. But no, we’re sticking to An in-person session. That’s where we’re focusing.

Jon:
[6:02] I think the main difference between the expensive, really, really flash nice Dice is you’re going to pause the session for another 15 minutes when the sofa Eats them rather than the buckets of dice under your mum’s sofa that we just, Yeah, no, we’re not going there. We might not get out ourselves.

Mark:
[6:20] So yeah other paraphernalia involving dice dice Bags are my favorite so we’re going to detail it But we’re going to name our favorite a piece of role-playing paraphernalia At the end of the podcast but yeah i love a dice bag so moving on to tablets Laptops do people i mean i’m seeing around the table more and more people sit In there with a tablet or even a Laptop screen open and That’s how they’re handling their character sheet. Even in an in-person session, they’re using digital toolkits to run their character’s Sheets rather than pen and paper.

Jon:
[6:54] So D&D Beyond is the main reason for that. Of course, I mean, we’re not sponsored, but, you know, we might be up for that. But, yeah, it makes it so easy. You just touch, point, click. I don’t like it on the mobile, to be honest. So the laptop is needful.

Mark:
[7:12] In fact, if you’ve forgotten your character sheet or you don’t have your laptop, You can still use your mobile to look at your character. I love it. We as a society, we invest collectively into a D&D Beyond Account, Which means we buy all of the add-ons, all of the scenarios and rules. So everybody can use that. It’s expensive, right? We’ve spent five or six hundred pounds.

Barry:
[7:35] Is that an ongoing cost?

Mark:
[7:36] Well, yeah. But it’s ongoing as in they release new things and you continue to add to it.

Barry:
[7:40] Okay, so I think if you’re a community, That makes sense. I think for an individual, that’s a bit of an ask.

Mark:
[7:44] Yeah.

Barry:
[7:45] Do you know what I mean?

Mark:
[7:45] But you use a different type of that, don’t you? You don’t use that.

Barry:
[7:48] So I use my… Right, so I’m dyslexic and I have dysgraphia and there’s a lot Of stuff going on up there that holds me back or doesn’t hold me back, That makes life a bit more challenging sometimes. Times i hate picking up pen and paper pen and paper and pencil and paper is Is just like death to me you know the the advent of the online Form was one of the most liberating experiences of my Entire life so i have a third party um not licensed if we are going to get sponsored By dnd beyond maybe i should shut the fuck up um it’s literally called fifth Edition character sheet um it’s an app on um the iStore and i think it cost me £3.99.

Stephen:
[8:29] I was gonna say um i’m gonna predict in a few years Time that yeah nobody will be bringing a pencil and paper to a dnd game Which is a bit of a shame because i do like the paper and pencils but i Find with people who use dnd beyond they’re the people that really don’t have A clue about the rules it’s i think in the end players just become people just Push buttons on a screen things happen for them yeah and yeah if that’s fine If that’s way you want to play the game but i i think you know owning the physical Copies and and looking into yourself gives you a more broad depth of it but Dnd beyond is superb don’t get me wrong, I find players are just sort of like go off level, just pushing the button again.

Mark:
[9:02] It’s helped me.

Stephen:
[9:02] Okay, great.

Mark:
[9:03] That’s what I was doing. And eventually I thought, you know, I don’t even know. I don’t know what my character can do. I’m asking people and put it on paper And I’ve then kind of separated everything that you can do.

Stephen:
[9:13] It doesn’t necessarily have to be paper and pencil. You can do something like Barry’s got maybe a PDF or form fillable. But something you have actually made the effort to go from one stage to another, You understood the process. It’s not essential. It isn’t because you could just press the buttons and just be happy. But if everyone’s doing that, the DM’s just pushing his buttons on his screen, Players just pushing their buttons it becomes automated but i think that’s what They’re after if i’m honest yeah.

Mark:
[9:33] But for advanced players people that know the system well that works better I think but for new players perhaps not.

Stephen:
[9:39] Yeah yeah it’s true yeah because it does stop it is a barrier for you to learn The rules again that we’ve.

Jon:
[9:44] But it is a good quick start thing if you’ve got.

Stephen:
[9:47] A new and then of course.

Barry:
[9:49] I suppose you have to point out that that something like dnd beyond presumably Isn’t available for every system. So, you know, this choice might literally not be in your hands if the first Game you play is going to be, you know, an indie. Absolutely.

Mark:
[10:03] You do get, like Stephen said, you do get other means to like a Google Sheet or something.

Stephen:
[10:08] Google Docs, yeah, there’s lots of people doing Google Docs.

Barry:
[10:10] I think that was what you did when we played Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay online. And that worked, I think that was when it started. That worked really well for me.

Mark:
[10:17] I think people prefer that. Even though it’s a bespoke, handmade Google Doc, People nowadays prefer to have that and use that than have it on paper in front of them and.

Jon:
[10:26] I play online I’ve got the one on screen but also copy or print one out that’s.

Mark:
[10:33] Got that yeah.

Jon:
[10:35] The internet can go down.

Barry:
[10:37] Financial point of view, a pencil and a piece of paper is pretty cheap.

Mark:
[10:41] Yeah. You’ve got to rely upon somebody else printing that out for you. I suppose nowadays, you could come along and play your first session and who’s Got a character sheet? I found that. Somebody comes up to me, he’s, you’ve got a D&D character sheet. Yeah, I think I’ve got some left.

Barry:
[10:53] You’re the only person I know in the world who has always got a D&D character sheet on them.

Stephen:
[10:57] I’ve got loads of them as well.

Barry:
[10:58] I reckon I can ask you in a Friday night in a pub and you go, Yeah, hold on a second, back pocket. There you go.

Stephen:
[11:03] What colours do you want?

Barry:
[11:03] Our advice might be if you’re not.

Mark:
[11:05] Going to come along with a laptop and and you want to do it on paper you could Always print out your own character sheet before you arrive at least you’re guaranteed to have.

Barry:
[11:12] Yeah no and again again talk to whoever’s organizing your table if because you You know people not everyone has a print mark you know those that like they’re Becoming more and more redundant as time goes on just say to your dm can you Have some character sheets please you know a good a good dm should have a couple Of character sheets tucked away somewhere right.

Jon:
[11:31] When I thought I was doing Shadow on the other night, I went down the library To use their photocopier. That’s even a lot of photocopiers.

Stephen:
[11:39] Photocopiers, wow.

Mark:
[11:40] I still love photocopiers.

Jon:
[11:41] Loved it.

Stephen:
[11:42] Yeah.

Mark:
[11:42] How many times do we…

Stephen:
[11:44] A lot.

Mark:
[11:45] Very fun.

Stephen:
[11:46] Like whole rule books, photocopies.

Jon:
[11:48] Well, yeah, that’s why they put all that really dark artwork in. That’s the only reason they put…

Mark:
[11:55] And chargers, of course, most places. if you go to community centers Uh if you need if you’ve got your laptop won’t be a bad idea to bring a charger Along so other things that people might bring along this one will be fairly Quick it’s stationary and pencils if you’re going to use you know you can’t Rely upon other people having those things so bring along you know a rubber And or an eraser whatever i just i.

Barry:
[12:16] Know i say this a lot but i’ve just been so lucky with the people that i’ve Played with because i’ve i like i can turn up with fuck all and i know that I can turn to have you got a pencil yes right have You’ve got some dice, yes. And I’m set up to go. And don’t bank on that. But it is quite likely that you’ll be… We’ve got a player at our table who I think she brings 10 pencils every week. She’s just a player. But she’s just part of her contribution to the community is if someone doesn’t Have one of these, I’ll make sure they’ve got it. And I love that about it. I love that about it. It’s like we’ve got another Player who is a… Most people are dice goblins. He’s a dice tray goblin. And if you haven’t got a dice tray, he’ll just go, do you want one? And he’ll open a little box. He’ll have like nine dice trays.

Stephen:
[13:00] I might have to have a word with him.

Barry:
[13:02] It’s one of the things I find interesting about the types of characters that You get playing this game because people have different hyper focuses. And if you’ve got a well-balanced table, and I’m not talking about well-balanced Characters, I’m talking about well-balanced players, you will have every resource At that table between you. Because everyone has taken it upon themselves to say, well, I will be in charge Of books. I will be in charge of dice. I will be in charge of pencils. and like we should be running the world damn it that’s on there.

Mark:
[13:28] Snacks is on the list don’t worry we get there probably the Most important to our last actually with the snacks uh so the next Uh we’re going to move on to our miniatures you know it’s unlikely you’re going To know enough about what you’re doing and what character you’re going to have To come into the session with a miniature but hey most people have one eventually Don’t they but you um we wouldn’t worry about it too much in your first session, Slim?

Stephen:
[13:51] Well, unless you’ve redone your character and you know exactly who he is. No, not first session. Again, you probably have one. Maybe not in the second Session, but maybe the third or fourth, you’ll probably have one. Even though I know some players that just use the sort of standard ones we have on hand. Yeah, I mean, there’s many places you can get them from these days.

Mark:
[14:11] Yeah, you can print them, of course. That’s now the main industry these days.

Stephen:
[14:15] Isn’t it? Yeah, if you’ve got a 3D printer, well, go for it. If you can use it and get the patterns. So I think we were talking about Hero Forge. Was that on there?

Jon:
[14:23] And that does coloured ones as well, doesn’t it?

Stephen:
[14:25] I think that you can get a basic paint range on it.

Jon:
[14:27] Not sponsored, but up for it.

Mark:
[14:29] I think we need to focus on what this podcast is about, is what you might feel Obliged to turn up with on your first session.

Barry:
[14:36] I think, again, considering who this is aimed at, and I always struggle to remember What we’ve spoke about in the past, but I think we should, you know, A miniature is a physical representation of your character. There are some amazingly talented and skilled people out there who paint them. There are some other people who play with them blank. But when you’re in combat Situations, that’s like your chess piece. That’s you’re moving that around the board. It is a physical representation of where you are.

Jon:
[15:09] The main use for them in game is if there’s any questions about range, So if your ref’s done a square or hexagonal layout and drawn a map over it.

Stephen:
[15:22] A battle map.

Jon:
[15:23] Yeah. Then you can tell how far, providing you’ve got it to scale, Of course, not an aerial view of the continent, But you can tell how far they are for things like missile ranges, melee, spells. That’s the main reason for them.

Barry:
[15:42] I have a really weird relationship with miniatures. I absolutely love them. Again, really lucky. We’ve got a guy at our club who his painting is absolutely phenomenal. And as soon as I get a new character, I buy a miniature. He does a fucking amazing job. But then when I’m finished playing that character, it goes into the club’s community Pile of… Do you know what I mean? I love it for that period. But I don’t keep them and display them and have them at home. And once that character’s either dead or the campaign has come to an end, I’ll just put it into our collective pool of miniatures so that other people Can use it if they happen to be playing it and they don’t want to get their own and get it painted.

Mark:
[16:19] And we’ve got that resource, haven’t we, in our community. Well, We must have 300 or 400 figures across maybe a five boxes.

Stephen:
[16:25] I assume it’s all about D&D then with these figures. There’s many games that Are not so vital to have a miniature.

Mark:
[16:29] Yeah, check what game you’re playing. I suppose that’s over to John. So miniatures, figures within your independent games.

Jon:
[16:35] The ones that you’re talking about.

Mark:
[16:36] Usually.

Jon:
[16:36] Bother that partly because i’ve got no artistic capabilities whatsoever So can’t paint my paint but even maps personally i struggle with i like playing Uh well enough if ref does one it doesn’t matter how rough it is but yeah you Can use you know a token a coin a dice but figures are nice.

Mark:
[16:58] Yeah if you bring one you’ll be the exception to the rule on your first session To enter the room with a with a miniature representing the character that you want to play i.

Jon:
[17:07] Mean i like.

Mark:
[17:08] Them well.

Jon:
[17:08] Enough they’re very pretty and it can maybe help you visualize on your character it’s a nice focus.

Mark:
[17:14] Okay so again something non-essential something you may want to integrate or Pick up later as you as you play more sessions you.

Barry:
[17:23] Will minis aren’t expensive.

Mark:
[17:25] So there’s two more things left to discuss this one Is now reference cards for feats abilities and spells i’m Seeing these more often on the table these are physical things that people quite Enjoy turning up with and if you Knew what character you were going to play it might give you a bit of confidence Perhaps to either purchase these or create your own on card i don’t know how Useful it’s a good idea i think really for a new player potentially it’s if You want to do a bit of homework and come along and have a better idea especially If you’re playing a more complex character yeah.

Stephen:
[17:55] I think a game you’re saying about the cost of the hobby depends how much you Want to spend on it but it certainly isn’t requirement to get these cards. They’re pretty much quick reference rules. Rule cards aren’t they so it’s um so you’d have to fiddle through the book or Look on your tablet you’ve got them right in front of you so they are useful Uh certainly not essential um i think yeah a lot of people have used them in Dungeon dragons when i’ve played it.

Mark:
[18:15] Do you see the appeal with them Over so barry said it just reaches for google which most of us do i do.

Stephen:
[18:21] As well i don’t i guess this is more of a luxury purchase it’s just if you’ve Got money to spend and you want to spend it on something dungeon dragons related Or whatever game and then these are these are an option they are certainly not The only way you can access your spells in fact if you have a player’s handbook That is equally as valid yeah.

Mark:
[18:37] Search through the player’s handbook.

Stephen:
[18:38] Is the old-fashioned way exactly um so but.

Barry:
[18:41] Not everything’s in the player’s handbook though is it because you know wizard Of coast expansions and stuff like that i like the prompt cards i quite i don’t Use them but um i’ve seen some other people some of them are beautiful man do You know i mean it’s like if you like the if you like the genre you like the Artwork they’re a perfectly reasonable treat for yourself. Go ahead and do it.

Stephen:
[19:00] It’s a luxury, I mean.

Barry:
[19:00] Yeah, you can’t take it with you. Spend the money, if that’s what you want, you know?

Mark:
[19:04] Yeah.

Jon:
[19:04] Although they had a third edition Warhammer. It was a bit of a… But they did have cards for everything.

Stephen:
[19:10] Yeah, all of that was physical cards. Everything was placed on a physical card.

Jon:
[19:13] It was nice. It was nice, yeah. Once you get used to it…

Stephen:
[19:16] Logistically, getting it around, it was tough.

Mark:
[19:18] Well, yeah, that was up to the GM to buy all of that, wasn’t it? Individual players really had no route in as a new player. You were dependent upon the DM having those reference cards.

Stephen:
[19:27] There might have been character packs somewhere you could get for your character, But it was very few and far between. A lot of it was just basically don’t print The rulebook, just put everything on small cards, which is awesome. But until you had to find it, and then it’s more tricky.

Jon:
[19:41] Whereas I found index cards, people just keep them with their character sheet And flick through. Yeah. Fill it out like it is in the book it doesn’t have to be the ones you can buy Are really pretty and everything else that’s great but if you want cheap and cheerful great.

Mark:
[19:58] Idea so just come along with some blank ones of those and then during the session you can.

Jon:
[20:01] Make those people fill out what they want because you buy the pre-made ones And a lot of time it’s a pack it might have everything but you might also never Need more than half a dozen and it tends to work it saves wear and tear on the books as well yes.

Mark:
[20:17] Which are growing in value all of the time yeah.

Jon:
[20:20] Yeah because the stuff i’m looking at because i tend to play older editions They’ve gone from startup cost of 10 20 quid some were in the 50s and that’s A bit for me but i’ll probably end up doing it but i don’t know it uh.

Mark:
[20:35] One of my copies of warhammer fantasy roleplay second edition to your gaming table.

Jon:
[20:39] Yeah and.

Mark:
[20:40] That that’s worth over hundred pound in the condition it used.

Jon:
[20:43] To be before you could it was a bit fox when we first but i.

Mark:
[20:49] I don’t mind right because we bought them to play the game listen yeah i’d like that.

Barry:
[20:54] That’s where his real value is let’s be honest.

Mark:
[20:56] Absolutely yeah yeah no regrets not well as long as you can cover it i’m good stick it on ebay.

Stephen:
[21:04] You’ll be fine.

Mark:
[21:04] Okay so we get to the uh to the last point the the the most common item you Might want to bring to the table food and drink uh john do you want to start us off on food and drink.

Jon:
[21:14] The fattest shall lead um yeah i always try to bring along a couple of savouries A couple of sweets a bottle or two of different types of fizz uh, You’ve got dietary considerations. Some people are on diets all the time, So you’ve got to have the sugar-free instead of the full fat. You’ve got allergies. Be aware. And some people just don’t like the smell of certain things. So if you know your group, don’t piss anyone off.

Mark:
[21:43] You’re at a very considerate table if everybody’s considering those things, eh?

Stephen:
[21:47] Absolutely, yeah. What’s going on?

Jon:
[21:48] I mean, you’ve got to remember my missus had severe allergies, So you tend to factor that in. Most of the time you won’t have any problems and you and you’ll find out if Someone says they really don’t like the smell of I don’t know some particular Type of snack don’t bring the fucking snacks in.

Mark:
[22:07] General munchies are a big part.

Jon:
[22:08] In a.

Mark:
[22:09] Game you’re going to want something at the table too.

Jon:
[22:11] Your basic food groups are your chocolate your savoury crunchies none of it’s Healthy your five a day oh fuck no are.

Mark:
[22:19] You meant to feed your GM is that a thing.

Jon:
[22:21] By being the GM is definitely something i absolutely encourage and endorse and barry your experience.

Mark:
[22:29] With food and drink you’re right you bring bring along a bit don’t you.

Barry:
[22:32] So so i’m that guy as well quite often quite often because I work shifts this has come up before quite often i’m coming straight from work So i’m like actually i need dinner i don’t need snacks this like a packet of Crisps and a can of coke i’m still going to hurt someone um so you know i’ll Grab a meal deal on the way there some tables have superheroes at them who will Cater for the whole table. Every now and then someone will bring a treat along for everyone. I get what John’s saying about be considerate to others. I wouldn’t rock up with a lamb madras. Do you know what I mean?

Mark:
[23:02] Some people do, don’t they? Order at the table.

Barry:
[23:04] Yeah, I’ve seen people ordering from Uber Eats.

Mark:
[23:06] That’s a little bit anti-social as far as the smell and the feel about it.

Barry:
[23:10] Hot food stinks, man.

Mark:
[23:12] It does, yeah.

Barry:
[23:13] I get that.

Jon:
[23:14] But if we’re playing over at someone’s house…

Mark:
[23:17] It’s off the scale.

Jon:
[23:18] The aspects are a different thing.

Barry:
[23:20] Aren’t they? Yeah, yeah, definitely. If you’re a guest in someone’s home, You shouldn’t become an empty-handed.

Jon:
[23:23] Exactly.

Mark:
[23:24] No, that’s true. So do you integrate food into your enjoyment of the hobby, Or is that something that’s important to you?

Stephen:
[23:29] It’s been traditionally so. Buying a cup of Cherryade, back in the day, I remember.

Jon:
[23:34] Oh, yeah.

Stephen:
[23:34] And then spilling it all over your paper carrot sheets. Never gets old.

Barry:
[23:38] I mean, it’s still better than spilling it all over your laptop.

Stephen:
[23:41] Well, it really is. At the time, it was pretty grim.

Jon:
[23:43] It’s a tradition, damn it.

Stephen:
[23:45] Luckily enough, nobody had them at the time.

Barry:
[23:47] But yeah i’ve been lucky we’ve had people at our.

Stephen:
[23:49] Table that bake before they come along and uh okay bring cakes and stuff which Is awesome but i think you know the other sort of antisocial thing you could Bring in drinks wise is being the only one drinking alcohol potentially and Getting it absolutely wasted i can imagine that being quite a yeah a tricky one but.

Barry:
[24:04] No no no i’m playing a drunken monk there’s nothing you can do about it yeah Yeah i guess there is that but i’m thinking if you’re the only one.

Stephen:
[24:11] If you bring it for everyone it would be interesting yeah that’s.

Mark:
[24:13] That’s more of the etiquette of food.

Stephen:
[24:15] Really i guess alcohol is that sort of like Sabu kind of subject when it comes To role playing is it should you or shouldn’t you but very.

Mark:
[24:21] In our experience over all of the years very little alcohol.

Stephen:
[24:24] Probably shouldn’t I think we’ve kind of have agreed it kind of it changes the games.

Barry:
[24:27] An old acquaintance of mine he did a podcast that Was called Drunkards and Taverns and the idea was Their unique their USP was that one player Was shitfaced and the player that was shitfaced got An extra D4 on every D20 so the Story was more likely to go in the direction so he Was permanently blessed isn’t it just so just so one and it was a different And it was a different character each week it was different player stroke character Each week so the rest of them had to remain sober and that player had to get Drunk before they started playing now I’m not suggesting we should be encouraging Stuff like that but it was really good fun it could be fun if somebody was up for it would you be up.

Mark:
[25:04] For it at our table.

Barry:
[25:06] I mean I’ve said in the past and I mean this as well it’s like I need more wholesome Things in my life and one of the things one of the things that this hobby does Do for me is give me wholesome times times where at my socialising isn’t, You know, revolving around pubs.

Stephen:
[25:20] I was just thinking, one of those players wasn’t the DM one week getting drunk, Because that might be interesting.

Barry:
[25:25] Do you know what I can’t remember? I don’t think so.

Stephen:
[25:27] Because that would just be a different dynamic in terms of all.

Barry:
[25:28] I can’t remember. So I know that there are some games that are held in pubs, And in those games, if I’m in a pub, then I’m having a fucking pint, And there’s nothing anyone can do to stop me.

Mark:
[25:37] So soft drinks and crisps and Junk food really is what you should be bringing along to a gaming table.

Barry:
[25:42] Or healthy snacks are available.

Mark:
[25:45] But bring food and drink, good idea. Agree?

Jon:
[25:47] Well players would appreciate it yeah.

Stephen:
[25:49] Definitely as a player I would I eat a lot more as a player than I do as a DM I just want to put that out there as a DM I generally don’t eat anything at all because.

Jon:
[25:57] You’re talking more I guess but.

Stephen:
[25:58] As a player you’re sort of watching them a bit more so you end up just tucking Into whatever’s there so it’s a big difference DMs are slimmer.

Jon:
[26:10] As it’s worked my calorie intake.

Mark:
[26:13] When I’m DMing a game is far far less.

Barry:
[26:16] Another good reason for me not to dm it’s a diet apparently apparently i’m not Slim enough it’s fine it’s fine it’s fine.

Jon:
[26:23] So uh so back in the late 80s I was reffing and i was with a coven and we had a game night and it was kind Of codified that one person bought wine one person bought chocolate one person Bought a virgin there were no virgins so hard to find these days um and one person bought the weed, Different sort of game, Often we didn’t necessarily remember the last sort of hour of it we weren’t Smashed it was sociable passing round that was about the only time that I’ve Mixed and matched all of those things in a game session it was a brilliant game It was a long running campaign we did that for some years, Really good but again not at a social venue this was at someone’s home and it Was very different set up so yeah.

Mark:
[27:21] Find one of those games if you can i suppose would be absolutely where was our Invite put some links at the end of the podcast if you we’re going to get more Questions about that shit than anything else we’ve spoken about very.

Stephen:
[27:32] In the 80s we was told we was demon worshipers you’re doing nothing.

Mark:
[27:34] To all the while he was actually he was actually a demon.

Jon:
[27:37] Father my fucking hell no no if i don’t know okay so we thanks guys we’re at The end now we’ve gone through the most.

Mark:
[27:44] Common items that people might feel they’re obliged to bring to an RPG table. I want to finish off today by just giving each of us the opportunity to tell Us about their favourite item in all of their role-playing years, Which item that they treasure the most, the one that they… Maybe want at the table right now or they in the past that they’ve they’ve treasured And maybe lost i start by myself because i already said it really it’s dice Bags for me i love it john here, Knitted a chainmail dice bag for my 30th birthday and it’s great i love it and I’ve got a few other dice bags since that i treasure just as much i even very Recently a friend of ours playing at the table had this wonderful dice bag i Asked him about it and his partner made it for him, And he passed on my compliments of the dice bag to his partner and next week She turned up and gave me a version of the same thing it’s just such a wonderful dice bag so yeah i.

Barry:
[28:39] I spoke to her this week she’s making me one as well.

Mark:
[28:42] That that i’m.

Barry:
[28:47] Afraid is privileged.

Mark:
[28:48] Information i got to follow you jump out there’s some good.

Jon:
[28:53] Ones out there there’s like beholder dice bag mimic is quite popular.

Mark:
[28:57] Oh, don’t tell me. I’m going to end up having to buy them.

Jon:
[28:59] With the teeth, you zip it open, that’s the mouth. Yeah, there’s some…

Mark:
[29:03] They’re my favourites anyway. And one of my favourite things of all time is That chainmail dice bag. Barry, what would be your favourite item?

Barry:
[29:11] This is an absolute doddle for me. My favourite item is my custom-made-by-the-club wooden dice box.

Mark:
[29:19] Fantastic.

Barry:
[29:20] So our club, it’s one of the things that reinforces how much of a community it is for me. At 50 sessions you get a t-shirt and when You’ve done 100 sessions you get a a wooden dice box and that was when i went Out and bought my metal dice because i was like this box needs special dice And it is by far and away my favorite item at the table i had it engraved with Dirty 20 written on the bottom because that’s my favorite saying at the table yeah.

Mark:
[29:45] That’s a new saying for me as well do you want to.

Barry:
[29:47] Okay so um when you’re making ability Checks and attack rolls etc etc in dnd you’re you know Virtually always using a 20 sided dice but You have your um character’s attributes lets You add or minus numbers to that depending on whether You’re skilled or unskilled obviously the highest you Can roll on the dice is 20 but with Your modifiers let’s say you had a plus two you could roll an 18 that Would then be what’s known as a dirty 20 as opposed to a natural 20 and you Know far better dirty is better than natural that’s just i like filthy 20 i Might start adopting that.

Mark:
[30:31] I see dirtier yeah sorry yeah won’t go down those routes we’ll end up we’ll end up in covens.

Barry:
[30:37] Different podcasts different podcasts steven.

Mark:
[30:40] What’s your most treasured item.

Stephen:
[30:42] Yes well i used to own this d20 i think I still do somewhere um and it Wasn’t quite rolled it doesn’t roll it didn’t roll naturally but it Didn’t roll high it rolled really low some of the Games i was playing at the time it was incredibly useful some games you needed To roll ones and anything under 10 is great and this thing was pretty consistent In rolling under 10 even though it did occasionally roll above just to keep Its kind of um cover but it’s it wasn’t loaded it was just an awesome dice that Just wasn’t quite rolling as it should i have questions But I have questions.

Barry:
[31:12] Right? Because this may be touching onto a seriously pet peeve of mine. So are you saying that this dice was, quote, unlucky?

Stephen:
[31:19] No.

Barry:
[31:20] Or are you saying that it was manufactured poorly?

Stephen:
[31:23] I think it was manufactured poorly.

Barry:
[31:24] Right, okay.

Stephen:
[31:25] I didn’t do a scientific thing.

Barry:
[31:25] Okay, so we can still be friends. That’s fine.

Stephen:
[31:28] I appreciate it. It wasn’t anything to do with luck. I’m pretty sure it was Manufactured badly. But it was running low. Normally in D&D, that would be a bad thing. But some systems, It’s a great thing. And I remember I abused it in that one. It was brilliant.

Mark:
[31:39] Is that legal? You know that it’s rolling without a true random result.

Stephen:
[31:45] More for them for using the virtual dice. That’s what I’m saying. Go out there. Get yourself some dice. Find out which ones are great.

Mark:
[31:50] But it’s your most treasured.

Stephen:
[31:51] Well, it used to be absolutely brilliant. I couldn’t do anything without a dice. It was awesome. But yeah, absolutely.

Jon:
[31:56] For what it’s worth, a test for those things is hot, salty water in a cup. And you roll the dice in that. And it should just keep. It should afloat. It’s plastic. Not metal, obviously. And it should. sounds like witchcraft, Call it what you will I call it science and you would be right to the primitive And uninitiated do I have to put it at the stake if it doesn’t well you can get dice jails, Oh paypal for dice please we’ll.

Mark:
[32:27] Come back to dice paraphernalia we’ll leave that one unexplained John what’s Your most treasured item.

Jon:
[32:33] Books.

Barry:
[32:34] Yeah, that’s a good shout.

Jon:
[32:35] Actual physical. I mean, I’ve got my dice pouch, which is plain black leather. I’ve always wanted just that. Certain dice. Yeah, sure. But being surrounded by a mountain of books. Not just game books, just a mountain of books. That’s my happy place. That’s the way to be.

Mark:
[32:55] And they’re well-used books as well, aren’t they?

Jon:
[32:56] Oh, fuck yes. They’re no good for resale. Not that you’d have to pry them from me. Yeah. Yeah, well, once you get a system you really are invested in, Or if it’s fiction, just, you know, the series that you absolutely love, Yeah, a Kindle or whatever, it just doesn’t cut the mustard. Holding the books, smelling the books, being surrounded by books, And in case I haven’t said it, books.

Stephen:
[33:24] Do you have to explain what books are for the listeners? I think we’re okay now.

Jon:
[33:27] Let them find out.

Mark:
[33:29] No, not quite there yet, but that’s how we began with books. And so we end with books and, you know, buying your first rule book, Your first player’s handbook is a fantastic experience. Hopefully you get to that point. Excellent. Right. So that is the end of our podcast. And hopefully you will Be able to turn up to your first session knowing that you don’t need really Any of these things, but lovely to bring one or two along with you as you come.

Jon:
[33:50] I’m sure everyone brings something off that list.

Mark:
[33:52] So we’re at the end. Stephen, you know your job.

Stephen:
[33:57] So let’s slice and dice.

Episode Transcript

Mark:
[0:00] Welcome to RPG Blokes. If you’re new to role-playing games, curious about the Hobby, or maybe just returning after a break, you’re in the right place. We’re here to help middle-aged newcomers get into or back into the world of RPGs. Each episode, we’ll break down the essentials, tackle common questions, And share the joy of this brilliant game. This is the first of a two-part podcast. We’re going to look at things that you might want to bring along To your first session physical things in the main when in reality There is no requirement to turn up with anything we Should be clear about that from the start but this podcast the first one we’re Going to talk about the rules now do you want to buy a rule book do you want To download the pdfs what would it be to your benefit to know in advance what Elements of the game will make it easier for you to integrate, To settle in, to enjoy yourself on that first session. Introducing the RPG books. First of all, to my left is Barry. So when it comes to dice, he’s the least superstitious amongst us and therefore the least likely…

Stephen:
[1:08] Washer machine’s finished?

Jon:
[1:11] Forgot to turn the machine.

Mark:
[1:14] When it comes to dice, he’s the least superstitious amongst us and therefore The least likely to be able to reverse a bad run of luck.

Barry:
[1:22] Probabilities and luck aren’t the same thing.

Mark:
[1:24] Okay, and across from me, no, I’m going to go to Stephen next.

Stephen:
[1:28] Whoa, what was I expecting that?

Mark:
[1:30] So you can’t pull the wool over Stephen’s eyes. He’s a very shrewd DM. He can spot a cheat faking dice rolls from about 30 feet away, Which is great until he starts calling you out and you’re not even sitting on his table.

Stephen:
[1:41] Well, I was going to say, yeah, 30 feet is a long way for a table. If someone’s playing my game 30 feet away, they didn’t like it.

Mark:
[1:46] Yeah and john think of a number put a d in front of it and john will have that In his dice bag in fact he has dice for everything random weather alignment Treasure even randomizes relationships In game only i think not so much my name is mark i am the host

Music:
[2:05] Music

Mark:
[2:19] With everything, I suppose, the first thing is the rules of the game and rule Books, PDFs or physical books. We know that you can turn up without having any of these. You can get straight Into the game and rely upon what other people have. But what would you consider to be the merits of a new player? Buying, say, the player’s handbook before they come along, if it was Dungeons & Dragons games, the main rules. Or at least browsing a PDF or getting familiar with the rules before they turn up out. How important do you think that is and how much better would that have made You feel, potentially, I say, Barry, on your first session?

Barry:
[2:57] So I own the player’s handbook and that is literally all I own. And I think I probably bought the player’s handbook after I’d played about five or six sessions. I mean, I think we’re very lucky in that our club has essentially library copies of everything. So it wasn’t like there’s always a player’s handbook at the table, Whether it belongs to another player or whether it, you know, Belongs to the club in our case. I don’t think it’s essential. In fact, I barely refer to it now. It’s, I suppose it’s a double-edged sword, but I think I’m more likely to Google something these days.

Mark:
[3:31] Yeah, the information’s always there. So there’s a rule that needs clarifying.

Barry:
[3:34] Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely, absolutely. And, you know, if I’ve decided to Play a character class, I will Google that character class as well, And you get loads of advice from people across, you know, not all of it’s good. But you know on how other people have built that character class and what the Pros and cons are and i don’t think that’s a bad place to start yeah

Mark:
[3:52] Come in helps you integrate with other people as well you’re immediately talking To people and socializing and asking yeah

Barry:
[3:58] But again not essential but you Know feel free to just i mean on my first session i knew Nothing about the game i mean i knew i suppose the the The broad concept of what we were going to be doing taking a Character and playing them out but i didn’t know any of the rules i Didn’t know and you know again maybe I was lucky I was at a really supportive Table we had a couple of new players at my table as Well so it was very much a mix of you know experienced and New players and I had kind of just Picked it all up by osmosis yeah like I’m a keen aesthetic learner I learn through Doing and I think that’s a very if if you know that about yourself then don’t Get hit up on the prep you can turn up get a few sessions under your belt and End up with a broad understanding of what you’re doing, at least for the class that you’re playing.

Mark:
[4:42] Yeah. Stephen, what do you feel about new players turning up with a player’s Handbook in their hands and kind of having already a fairly decent idea of the Rules? Would that be something that you would encourage or look positively at As a DM when you see a new player walking into the room?

Stephen:
[4:56] Yeah, if someone comes with a player’s handbook, say playing D&D, That shows that they’ve done a little bit of homework on it, And that’s great. But I definitely don’t think it’s essential. In fact, I would probably, yeah, say probably don’t, Potentially before you come along and come along with an open mind And the dm would potentially explain what it’s about and you’d and the other Players will help you as well and then maybe after a few sessions then maybe Look into getting the rules and then you can look into it yourself which kind Of helps the dm out as your character develops then you can look into the rules Of the ones that interest you but initially i think maybe just come in with open mind you’d.

Mark:
[5:32] Find that easier to interact with i think so

Stephen:
[5:34] Well if someone’s got a great idea of what they want then And fine, It’s not a problem, but it’s nice if they come along and you can explain the breadth of the game. They can have a broad understanding of it, and then they can hone down the rules By themselves if they wish to.

Mark:
[5:48] So we’re talking D&D primarily here, and your experience with that system is There’s no disadvantage to a player just coming in cold, both of you.

Stephen:
[5:56] No, I don’t think it’s a disadvantage. Obviously, you can if you’re keen coming In. You know exactly what you want, but it might not fit in exactly what the group wants. So it’s potentially best to come in with an open mind and let the DM kind of Explain what’s going on. If you’re a new player, that is. It might be different if you’re experienced.

Barry:
[6:12] Or a returning player. I think that’s a distinction worth making because we Know that a lot of people fall out of the hobby and then come back into it. I think if you’re a returning player and you’ve got that stuff, why not take it with you?

Mark:
[6:22] Yeah, although the rules that may have changed, but you could always pick up The latest rules and refresh your knowledge of them and you’d have a good basis to start.

Stephen:
[6:28] I would definitely treat a player differently if they turned up with a player’s Handbook under their arms saying I’ve read it all and then one that didn’t said I had no idea what’s going on. I mean, they’re totally different people.

Mark:
[6:37] So definitely in what way would you look at them both favourably or would you Sort of be a bit wary about the person that came in?

Stephen:
[6:43] No, if they’re new players and they’re generally new players, You think, okay, that’s great. He’s got a great idea of what he wants then you just let him have it. I mean, it’s…

Mark:
[6:51] Yeah. Like I say, John, I’ll come to you last because your system that you would Be introducing new players to wouldn’t be Dungeons and Dragons. They would… I mean, you’ve already said how big your backpack is as you’re Coming up to a session nobody’s going to walk in with that kind of rule set And some of them are quite old rules are you like the older editions of certain games So you wouldn’t expect at all, really, would you, anybody to come in, A new player that never played the hobby before, to have done a bit of homework?

Jon:
[7:15] It’s all on you prep time. So if people have signed up before, You can let them know the sort of books to have a glance at if they want.

Mark:
[7:25] Do you provide them with access to those before?

Jon:
[7:27] Always, yeah. When I was doing Werewolf, there was always links to the source materials. I put up links for the Horspice books, Which are similar to classes uh the Tribe books which are almost different races Or you know clan books if you’re playing vampire something like that if they Don’t read them that’s fine if they do they’ve got a head up it’ll make character Generation faster if there’s stuff they don’t like like in advance and they Know in advance we can tailor stuff

Mark:
[8:03] Yeah so you see it as quite an advantage for Somebody to have done a little bit of work before they they hit that kind Of gaming session which i don’t know you’ve played dnd So would you apply that yourself as a dm to a player if you were running dungeons And dragons do you see the difference between maybe a more complex more involved Independent role-playing game to dungeons and dragons where you’ve got the player’s Handbook you just come along with The players can’t you and that kind of covers all your bases as far as

Jon:
[8:29] So so much depends if it’s a new ref they’ve got a whole different set of challenge It. It might be the first time anyone’s played the game at all. This looks cool. We’ve seen this on YouTube, you know, Critical Role’s the main And they want to give it a go. Maybe they collectively buy the books or something like that, And you can end up with some real out there self-made stuff. It doesn’t have to be within the rules.

Mark:
[8:55] That’s the point, I guess, there is that we’re assuming that the player’s coming Into a room where everybody is experienced, particularly the DM with the system. There’s less on that person then to have mastered anything before they turn up. But if it’s a brand new gaming table with a new ref or a novice ref, Then anything you can do in advance would be helpful. I mean, Barry, you’ve always played with very experienced DMs. Haven’t you so you’ve I mean you’re not you don’t like sort of swatting up on Things in advance anyway do you you’re more kinetic with everything you do

Barry:
[9:25] Yeah yeah you know so I give it some thought In between sessions but yeah I’m not I’m not I’m not A studious person generally in like you know all Most aspects of my life I think I’ve again I say this a lot I’ve been very lucky that I’ve always had Really experienced and friendly dms and I’ve always Had people other players at the table and still do To this day who are generally speaking more experienced than me But you do wrap your head around it you don’t need To study it like you can learn the Game by playing the game and you know i’d like to think that you know now you Know four or five years in i’d consider myself to be a relatively expert player I haven’t played every class so it’s not like i know everything about every Class every character but you know if i if i generate a character i’ll play That confidently from day one now yeah

Mark:
[10:13] You don’t need to ask too many people now i

Barry:
[10:15] Mean and it’s interesting as well because sometimes as well if you like especially If i’m playing a class i’ve never played before and someone else has played It i will listen to what they’ve got to say about it i would much rather do That than read the book i’d much rather listen to someone saying listen i took These options and it was really good fun and

Mark:
[10:32] That’s the point i suppose if you come along with less knowledge you’re more Likely to to talk and integrate and talk to other people and maybe on a social Level that can be some of some

Barry:
[10:41] Of this you know one of one of the things that i’ve always like Adored is the level of Expertise of those people that do study and And do play a lot more than me and I love watching people’s minds work in that kind of Geeky obsessive way you know when someone knows when Someone’s put their 10 000 hours in you know to become truly expert At something i think that’s a joy to behold you know Not just not just in in in not just in you know role-playing game context in In all skill contexts yeah i really enjoy you know getting the benefit of someone Who’s put those kind of hours in and i will listen to them and if they tip me In a certain direction saying it’s guaranteed i’ll go that way but i’ll certainly Consider it something to

Mark:
[11:24] Look up to isn’t it so you’re coming along and then you can you can rely upon These people you get to appreciate exactly what they know rather than coming In and thinking you know what i’ve read the books i kind of got a good idea what it’s all about You’re never going to know more than some of the people that have been playing There for even for six months I mean it’s just going to be six months real gameplay yeah Yeah is is it and it really that’s the only thing you pick up from that yeah beyond what you can

Barry:
[11:47] Well and i think i think i think the thing as well is we like we’ve talked About the community aspect of it as well and we are lucky in the sense That our club is is is particularly you Know community orientated people want you to Have a good time people want you to enjoy the hobby and people will Do everything they can to help you enjoy the hobby You know including but not Limited to helping you out with the rules pointing you In the direction of sensible ways to build your character um I mean sometimes i quite like building a character stupidly but that’s you know For the experience of playing a kind of underpowered character i think that Can be quite good fun but if you want to get the glory out of it which you know When we’re role playing i think there is an element of that we want the vicarious Glory then you know have a little look to how to build that character to optimize it that might

Mark:
[12:33] Be one of the reasons maybe to come in strong if you’re worried about having A character that’s not as powerful as potentially it might be if you haven’t Done so already i don’t know if you’d enter the room already that competitive What do you find it depends

Stephen:
[12:45] Yeah how familiar you are with the game before you’ve come in i suppose if you’ve Watched like critical role or something like that you might have an idea exactly What sort of character you want which is fine.

Mark:
[12:54] Um we call it min max in in some respects there’s always any system yeah some systems

Stephen:
[12:58] Sort of like lean themselves to min max in i guess dnd is one of those systems because.

Mark:
[13:03] Explain min max in just just so people understand you

Stephen:
[13:07] Just put if you’ve got things like statistics, you put your lowest statistic In something that you’re not going to be using very often, and the highest one Is something that you do use a lot of.

Mark:
[13:15] You apply that to everything.

Stephen:
[13:16] Everything, yeah. So you just put minimum in something you’re never going to Use, and put maximum in something you definitely are going to use, Then just choose all the things that, you know, sort of like complement to that In your character. But that’s…

Mark:
[13:27] If you saw a new player coming in and doing that, I wouldn’t look positively at that person.

Stephen:
[13:32] Some systems, definitely, it breaks them, but others, I don’t think it does in D&D so much because they’ve kind of Equalized a lot of that system into everyone’s pretty pretty Similar no matter what you choose you can’t really go far wrong with your choices In that but a lot of systems is not that that’s not the case they’ve definitely Built them in a very very sort of lopsided way that you can certainly min max And it can definitely break a system if someone has not done that i mean it’s Definitely not so easy to do in dnd5 but fifth edition is but, It’s definitely doable and i wouldn’t advise it as such but if everyone does It then it’s great but if you’re the one person that hasn’t done it yeah it could be an issue you.

Barry:
[14:08] See you guys have a lot more experience with other systems than me but one of The things i like about min maxing in dnd is that like if you’re playing a barbarian And your dump stat is intelligence at some point you’re going to have to make An intelligence check whether you like it or not like it is going to come up That shortcoming is going to end up being relevant to the story

Stephen:
[14:26] There are less stats in dnd technically to some other games certainly a lot Less prevalent in dnd fifth edition to min max i think so as previous editions You could certainly there’s different builds and different career paths you Could go but it’s i think they’ve kind of ironed it out to be honest a little Bit so it wouldn’t worry me too much in dnd no but other games maybe so.

Mark:
[14:43] It depends on why you want to pick up a rule book or do a little bit of research Before you turn up if your if your intention is to do so in order to then be Able to have the biggest advantage to create the strongest character as you Arrive i’m not sure i’m sure they’re the right that’s the right intention i Don’t think that will go down particularly well amongst the gaming group you’re Entering either like you say it could

Stephen:
[15:01] Upset balances. Find out what sort of group you’re coming into I guess you know If everyone’s doing it then you probably should but you.

Mark:
[15:07] May worry that people are and we’ve found that there’s normally one or two in a group that does.

Stephen:
[15:12] I’ve not come across many brand new players that come into me Max it’s something You learn I believe after sort of dying a few times.

Mark:
[15:18] This is the trouble with some games and some gaming tables but for you John like you’re literally you’re telling people what you Want them to know on a more kind of on a Universe level there’s a sort of understanding the world and the and the genre And the game that they’re playing because it’s not quite so vanilla in in respect Of you know it’s Dungeons and Dragons every kind of idea you’d be a warrior A wizard for you there’s more complexities to it so a little bit of reading And advance is definitely an advantage it

Jon:
[15:44] Helps but uh I tend to obsessively read the crap out of whatever I’m reffing So uh I’m more than happy to take people through it because then you can interact, Find out what their expectations are and work with that. A general rule for games I run is your looks, your charisma, Your social skills are not dump stats. You won’t get far, unless you’re playing a game where it’s a dungeon crawl. In which case, yeah, kick the doors down, kill the monsters, that’s fine. I was reffing on the Dragon Warriors weekend and it was literally that. So the role play side was very much by the by because it was a one shot just For the event you know what happened before or after that was utterly irrelevant

Mark:
[16:31] It just reminded me of something you just did to one of my characters in one Of your games I put a divide of three I think on 3D6 I stuck it in looks and let’s say My character found it difficult then to move.

Stephen:
[16:44] Did John do that to you as well? Did it to me? Yeah, I put three in looks. He said I had some sort of disease.

Mark:
[16:49] And I couldn’t find it.

Jon:
[16:49] Well, yeah, I mean, three is a lot worse than I thought.

Stephen:
[16:53] Oh, I rolled with three. That’s the thing I couldn’t hear about.

Barry:
[16:55] Roll for leprosy.

Stephen:
[16:57] Basically. I thought, well, I’m not using looks.

Mark:
[16:59] I put it in looks. But nobody loses looks. It was Dragon Warriors again, And looks was a very, very much underused characteristic. So why not? But we found out why not. Yeah. That’s true. So keeping with you, John, as well, the rules, One thing, background knowledge and buying certain material and coming in sort Of having read a certain amount on the world itself and the genre itself. Do you see that as an advantage? I mean, that’s not worrying about the rules. That’s just saying I want to know A bit more about the world I’m about to enter and about what might be Forgotten Realms in terms of Dungeons and Dragons or as you’ve explained with the werewolf clans.

Jon:
[17:37] Yeah, so it’s a whole backdrop that you don’t tend to get so much in D&D and the fantasy stuff.

Mark:
[17:45] So reading up a little bit in advance, specifically with things that you’ve Asked them to do as far as Lynx are concerned, is going to really help kickstart Their experience on your table within those games. And these are different types of games, but quite easily you could end up finding Yourself playing one of these. I mean, we have options to play these games in our own community.

Jon:
[18:05] So some of the more important stuff that comes up with Modern Era and onwards, Contact the people your character knows. It’s not just the bloke down the potion shop, but some of them become as important To the story as the players themselves. If you know the world… Then you can have that adapt with the characters in it.

Barry:
[18:29] One of the things that comes up a lot is, and that was an excellent description From John, about how you can benefit from understanding the lore and the world And it can make for a richer game and some systems lend itself to it. I’m not a lore guy. I couldn’t tell you much about the lore in D&D and someone like John would probably Consider that to be quite lore-like. Obviously, it’s different for different systems. I would caveat that completely. But the little bit of lore that I do know I’ve also Picked up by osmosis from just playing the game you know And again from playing the game with people who are more experienced Than me and they’ll tip you a wink but that can be difficult as well Like I’ve seen I’ve never heard the Word meta so much and it’s a word I enjoy but I’ve never heard it so much until I started playing RPGs and I think if you know too much lore and you know too Much you go into it with information that your character doesn’t have but the Player does and I think that’s a real risk for DMs when DMs are playing because DMs, You know, you’ll come up against a creature and it’s going to be combat and I’m going to use this because it’s the most obvious example. Straight away that DM goes, well, that’s probably got, you know, 60 to 80 hit points. But the character doesn’t know that and it’s really hard. I think it takes a Really good role player to not use that inside information. Oh, They’re going to have resistance to bludgeoning so I’m going to get my dagger out. And you’re like, no, but your character doesn’t know that. You’ve got to let Your character… So I think it can if you’ve got someone who can’t separate Their character from themselves, it can actually be problematic knowing too much about the game.

Mark:
[19:56] Yeah, so it might be too advantage not to know anything.

Barry:
[19:59] Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. You want your character to learn those things Rather than you going to it as a player already knowing them. And maybe it’s because I’m a bit lazy, but that has also worked for me.

Jon:
[20:09] You’re right. When I was first started playing Vampire, I never read anything Other than what my character would have encountered or known. And I didn’t read any of the other clan books or anything like that. Enjoyed the fuck out of it. But as opposed to that, I know a lot more about the world behind it.

Mark:
[20:30] But we’re not encouraging people to read the Monster Manual here, right? No.

Jon:
[20:35] No, that’s all.

Stephen:
[20:35] It’s been meta reading and then just background reading. I think background Reading is great if someone wants to do it and… As I say, I’m running a 40k base, Warhammer 40,000 base, which is a vast world, And it’s got so many things out for it. So there’s loads of things you can immerse yourself in before coming to play The game. It’s not essential, but If you did, it would make the game more immersive for you. It just would.

Mark:
[20:56] Yeah, you’d get more out of the game, you’re pretty sure.

Stephen:
[20:58] It would, yeah, but it’s not necessary. You will pick it up, Like Barry says. You will pick it up by osmosis, but if you want to have a little…

Mark:
[21:05] There’s a lot of information that you can read. One of your players recommended A series of books to another, I noticed, on your community channel for the game. And there’s a lot of literature, isn’t there, in 4K?

Stephen:
[21:16] 4K, yeah, guys, yeah. Black Library and Black Industries and Games Workshop.

Mark:
[21:20] And none of that would be a spoiler?

Stephen:
[21:22] No, there’s no spoilers. It just gives you an idea of how the world works. Yeah, they’re all different to each other. But, yeah, there’s a certain set Of books that these game systems are based on. And reading those wouldn’t give Any spoilers whatsoever.

Mark:
[21:34] Any disadvantage not to have a certain level of knowledge?

Stephen:
[21:37] No disadvantage really because you’ll pick it up but you certainly would you Know if you’d like you’re into it you’ll like it more it’s as simple as that But there’s no reason you’ll be into it quicker shall we say I think you’ll Get into it eventually if you like it just by playing it there was no requirement to do that but if.

Jon:
[21:51] You’re playing Hive Ganger you wouldn’t have an in-character reason to know About the intricacies of the Inquisition’s hierarchy or

Stephen:
[22:01] Anything like that but it’s still more flavour than it is actual knowledge for Your character because I think if you know that thing you’re capable of not Having, you know, you could get into your character and do what he would think Is the idea, but it’s flavour. I think it’s the idea that you kind of know what’s going on and you kind of get the vibe for it. It just makes it better for me as a player as well.

Jon:
[22:20] I think what Barry said, it’s what can lead you to reffing as a default setting Because things like Earth’s Dawn it’s got this world meta plot behind it. Most of the time you won’t encounter that, but once you see the strings and Then you see them turning up in other things, it’s Yeah, you know too much, man.

Barry:
[22:39] You’ve got to riff.

Jon:
[22:40] That’s how it goes.

Mark:
[22:41] Yeah, exactly. So I think the rule books and what you might want to come along With law and knowledge before your first session.

Barry:
[22:48] Yeah. I’m just, look, like completely and utterly, hand on heart, 100% seriously. The hardest thing you’ll have to do is walk through the door the first time You walk through the door. Everything else is gravy.

Mark:
[23:01] Okay. Just get there. so the second part of this and first session essentials Podcast will be about bringing things along common things that people bring To the role-playing table so tune into that and we’ll see you next time so let’s oh slice and dice

Music:
[23:17] Music