D&D novice looking for help

Guys, my friend just messaged me asking if we could try out D&D next weekend. He's suffering from a breakup, and I really do wanna try out D&D, not just because I have always been interested in playing it, but also because I want to cheer up my mate. What can you guys tell me about D&D that could help make our session better?

Also, there will be 5 of us in total. I think that's a decently sized group. Only one of us has properly played it before, which might be a slight problem.

>pic related i guess

>pic related i guess
Frogposting is never related and never approved. Jumping through hurdles just to post your obsession just makes it sadder.

You got infinite options for pictures. That frog needs no more exposure, so why not move on?

Don't be a dick, read the rules, remember your abilities.

Make sure everyone is familiar with how the game works, rolls, basic combat and such. Also, don't overdo it on the first session, give the people time to get into it

Listen to what the DM says.

Have your d20 on hand.

Have fun and try not to sperg.

didn't you guys forget about the roleplaying stuff?

OP, what do you know as of now?

I've DMed a ton for newbies so I've been in your situation a lot OP. Premade adventures are your friend, they're paced well, everything's done for you, you just have to do a bit of reading. As long as you know all the basic rules you'll be fine. And even if you screw it up, your players probably won't tell if they're newbies.

Also, maybe start your players off at level 3 or 4. Doesn't make them overpowered but gives them some cool stuff to do. Might be good for your mate to get some power fantasy stuff going on.

Well, I do know the basics of the system, and I know that the fun the entire game relies on the chemistry of all players, which includes the GM as well.

Better?

As far as I know, my friends have a certain bias against power fantasies. They love starting from the bottom with barely any armor, a rusty sword at their side, an empty sack on their back and only a few coins hidden in their leather boots.

Sorry, I misread that. My breakup friend is against power fantasies. I'm not too sure about the rest, but I think the could be the same way. Some early game easiness could help us get more into it, but I need to make sure that the setting is realistic. All of my friends (including me) love realism. This is why games like The Witcher 3, Mount & Blade, Chivalry, and so on. One of the bigger questions will be magic, as I know for certain that magic is hard to balance out and make fun.

Read the player's handbook for whatever edition your playing and don't interrupt the DM. So many people starting out think they can just ask questions in the middle of a narrative. Don't do that, it's like slamming shut a book someone is reading. If it's in person, try your best to mesh with the group and just focus on immersing yourself in the game. Final thing, get a set of dice(d4,d6,d8,d10, d12, d20) and bring a pencil. Have fun user.

>getting triggered by a Pepe

>>>/reddit/

If you love realism, why use dnd? I'd suggest using the riddle of steel for a somewhat simple but immensely realistic game.

Now you've completely lost me.

THANK YOU! Stuff like this is appreciated, as I would have never known about this. One question though, where can I find these dices?

>triggered
>by a cartoon frog
no refunds, commie lover

You need to head back into the spam boards. Only there will you find other idiots who think spamming a frog isn't cringe-inducing and lame.

Try developing your own personality. Maybe then you can leave those boards without looking so misplaced.

>triggered
Idgaf about pepe, retard. I just get a kick out of special snowflakes like you being triggered by a cartoon frog. It's pathetic really.
I'm sure you've never posted a meme, are super well read on all subjects and of course are rich with plebbit gold

Nice derailing

Have a (You) snowflake

Also
and are spot on. Just keep it simple OP

What saddens me is that you need people to point out that you are a dumb fag, and are unable to come to that conclusion yourself. And, when people bestow the kindness of that knowledge upon you, you shrivel and spout more memes.

It sounds like you are the one being triggered. U mad?

ok? :^/

I will try to keep it simple, I'm just not sure what to do to alter the game in a way that it wouldn't be the most vanilla experience ever.

You made me laugh, almost spit out my morning coffee... just let it go, no one is handing out Reddit gold or karma here man, chill the fuck out you fucking little baby

make sure to have a decent grasp of you character, his/her abilities and what his/her personality is, why is doing what he is doing.
Secondly try to remember the rules, respect the other players and demand respect from the, the DM has always the last say on an argument, not to win, but to make it possible for the game and narrative to work properly.
And most importantly, if there is a problem in group fo players talk about it, do not let it brew under the surface, ask politely to confront the issue, you're not there to prove anything, you're there kill dragons and relax.

Have fun, don't be too hard on yourself and make proper jokes.
Good luck!

Thank you! I will write all this down

If I read your OP correctly, there's 5 of you and 1 person has 'played it properly yeah?

Then my advice is to keep it vanilla at the start till everyone is more comfy with the ruleset.
After a session or two then you can get weird with it.
All in all, just make sure you and your mates have fun, that's the whole point of these things. Laugh at your mistakes, have a good time and help your mate to forget his breakup for a while.
You'll be fine if you just try to have fun user.

We will try, that's all I can really say. Are there any good plots or general ideas that you guys could give me so that the first session would go as best as it could?

ahah, well lol it's just comes down to be a decent human being that doesn't want to make sex jokes and spoil the game for everyone else by rule lawyering or bringing themselves in front of toher's spotlight desu.

Also yeah keep it pretty standard 5e casting classes cna be a pain in the butt to learn.

Well, what could I do as the GM to spice things up? How can I be risky with my decisions?

I'm an old fart grognard, so I play what I grew up with: BX, 1e & 2e, so I'm afraid I'm little help in that department.
Hopefully another user can help you there. In general I'd use a pre made starter adventure. Just use it as a one off to get used to the system and your characters.

Pepe cannot be suppressed.

The effort you put into disguising your butthurt only brings it more to light. But, what else can you expect from the kind of hopeless, mindless kid that still wants to defend his favorite frog, no matter how ineptly?

Don't let your friends dominate the RPing, if your breakup friend doesn't engage in the story, you should force him to engage

The only problem is that our little group is hectic. We're still in our teens, (I'm 18, the rest are 17-19) so simply choosing something premade could feel like a waste as we may not get another chance to just get together and play.

I'll definitely keep that in mind, thank you!

Don't be risky, give them the illusion that you're giving htme extremely difficult scenario. The point of the game is for the DM to bring an interesting narrative to the players that doesn't end up slaughtering them unless they decide to open the dragon's mouth to stick a toothpick in. The dungeon master guid helps a lot with dming.

There is a direct correlation to how shitty a board is and how many frogposters it has.

It's basically the banner of faggotry. Don't wave your "pride", what all others call "shame", here.

>pic related is you
But please, keep on implying who or what I am on an anonymous Taiwanese Macrame Knot Tying board.

Again, the point is to have fun and forget life for a while. It's all about fun and getting together with friend, as long as your friends aren't like this autistic sperg you'll be just fine

DO NOT force anyone to do anything. Re-phrasing what he/she said, indulge them into rping, if you're the dm try asking them from time to time what would their character do, talk directly to them in character but never expect them to do so, it will come with time, or it may never come, they may always narrate in third person their actions.
RPing should not be required, it' should be hinted, believe me not one player is the same from the other. There will be players that will swpoend 30 minutes taling in character and other that just sprung up on their seat when combat starts.

You're breakup friend need to relax, not to be told what to do.

believe me i can tell you from experience, trying to impose rping on someone just makes them uncomfortable and less willing to play.

Alright, I think I've written down everything important. Thank you all so much for helping me out! Though, I would like to play D&D even when I can't play with my friends. Are there any online sites or such that I could visit for this?

(and if so, can someone help me get comfortable with D&D on the given site?)

Roll20 is your best bet, it has a decent tutorial but i personally cannot do maps for the life of me on there.
Also it's free and has a subscription fee if you really wanna do stuff hardcore.
There is fantasyground on stema but it's a fucking rip off, don't even try it. Tabletop simulator ont he other hand it's literally a simulation of tabletop gaming tables, and at least it has somenthing to it for its price, so if you want to try that one go for iot, it's pretty hilarious and you don't onyl play dnd on there.

So roll20 and Tabletop simulator. Now I just need people.

This.

Fuck off, frogposter.

ok

>You're
jfc i typed like shit in this thread.

Hi samefag tryhard

>Are there any good plots or general ideas that you guys could give me so that the first session would go as best as it could?
My old trick:
Take two of your favorite movies, let's say Dark Knight and Princess Bride.
Merge the two plots and characters, adding in characters from your favorite tv show.
Change everything so it fits your intended genre.
Erase the protagonists and replace them with whatever you know about your PCs.
Tweak everything until it fits and makes sense.
Now, go to the beginning of the story, set everything in motion.
Let the PCs change the plot as they go, just keep what you've told them internally consistent.
If they decide to help the Joker kill the princess and frame Gilda, go with it.