First Session Essentials (Part One): Rules, Prep, and What You Actually Need

Brand new to role-playing games—or coming back after years away? This episode is a friendly primer on what’s worth knowing before your first night. We talk honestly about rulebooks (buy now or borrow later), whether PDFs and quickstarts are enough, and why you absolutely can turn up with nothing and still have a great time.

The Blokes compare different approaches for beginners: learning by doing at the table vs. reading ahead, plus how much “lore” helps without slipping into meta-knowledge. You’ll hear why min-maxing isn’t a must (especially in 5E), how to think about class choices, and why the single hardest step is just walking through the door. We also touch on table culture for first-timers—asking questions, letting others help with rules, and focusing on fun over perfect builds.

If you want a little light prep, we suggest skimming your class features, noting your top three abilities, and bringing curiosity. Everything else—from rules lookups to character optimization—can come later. Part Two will cover the physical kit people like to bring, but for now, relax: you already have what you need.

FAQs

Do I need to buy a rulebook before my first session?
No. Borrow at the table or use a free SRD/quickstart. Buy later if you enjoy the system.

Should I read lore before I play?
Optional. A vibe check on the setting helps, but avoid deep monster stats to keep meta-knowledge out of play.

Is min-maxing important for beginners?
Not at all. Pick something you’re excited to role-play; most modern systems are forgiving.

What’s the minimum I should prepare?
Know your character’s name, class/archetype, and what your top abilities do. The group can guide the rest.

Can I learn purely by playing?
Absolutely. Many new players pick up rules through play with helpful tablemates and a patient GM.

What if I’m anxious about “doing it wrong”?
You can’t. Say what you want your character to attempt; the GM will translate that into rules.

Is Googling rules at the table okay?
Yes, if the GM’s fine with it. Keep it quick—ask for rulings first, look up later if needed.

What if I’m joining a non-D&D system?
Ask the GM for a quickstart or cheat sheet. They’ll share links and highlight only what matters for Session One.

Show Links & Next Steps

Support us by signing up to RPG Blokes PLUS.
www.rpgblokes.com/rpg-blokes-plus/
And get new podcasts episodes delivered to you WEEKLY, and a hell of a lot more.

Join the Blokes on Discord using the following link.
https://discord.gg/JyVcd8PNHn
And continue the conversation.

Want to Listen to us on your favourite Podcast App?
www.rpgblokes.com/follow

Got something to ask us? Get in touch via our Contact Page.
www.rpgblokes.com/contact-us/
We offer campaign and community building consultancy services.

People on this Episode

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