D&D

[Chrysophylax Dives]

I'm sure there is a D&D thread somewhere here but I cannot find it.

While I have played before, that was 40 years ago and I remember zilch. But my children have now insisted that we play a family D&D game. So far I have got as far as making a character via a site called D&D Beyond - I am a mountain dwarf and a druid. But i need to fill out a backstory and alignment and this kind of stuff.

Basically, any tips would be much appreciated! Both on how to approach making up the character and anything to look out for when playing. Also, on how to avoid the game turning into a massive family argument if possible.

[The Good Hunter]

D&D you say? I can say I know a few things about it. I learned to play about 10 years ago when 4e wasn't a dirty word yet (seriously don't ask it will open a can of worms) and have done a bit of playing on 5e, the new system.

Pointers: don't get too fussed over alignment, it's not nearly as important as it used to be, being a druid and a dwarf, in my mind, would drift closer to lawful neutral to true neutral, as a "that's just how nature works" kind of attitude. Backgrounds can be a little more important, given that they can offer bonuses to rolls in certain situations. My favorite is the hermit because I'm a cantankerous asshole and getting play something close to that is pretty fun.

As to what to look out for and avoid family arguments: decided beforehand whether the game is gonna be played Rules as Written (RAW) or Rule of Cool and have everyone agree. RAW can be challenging and inconvenient in tense moments so I usually go with Rule of Cool because sometimes cinematic moments and going with the flow of things is more important than following the rules. Make sure everyone knows the boundaries, how much violence is okay, etc., and decide whether the game is going to be more combat oriented, puzzle oriented, or interaction oriented. Once you have those guidelines up, navigating bad dice rolls becomes easier

[Fuin Elda]

I am the GM of two 2 5e games, 1 Starfinder game and I play in two different games so I've learned quite a bit about 5e despite only having started to play it in October of 2021 (I played Pathfinder 1 so DnD 3.75 lol for 3 years and then Gmed for 2.)


Tips: Alignment like Frost said don't fuss too much, and be willing to be fluid with it and you're good - if you swing too far one way you can state that your alignment changed with is a pretty normal thing to do character development wise... I personally for backgrounds take the background/back story part and then I fill in the Traits, and the Bonds and the Flaws etc from any of the backgrounds as long as it makes sense - honestly it's flavour to give you something to RP and doesn't overly actually affect how your charcter is going to be stated the only thing that does is the actual background which may give you a proficiency in a skill or two which is always helpful.

And honestly I know I prefer rule of Cool to most things but a good idea is to 'at DMs discretion' in case someone tries to do something that just isn't doable in terms of their level... There are ways of doing things at level but sometimes you just can't do it. (one of my favourite things to do is a red yellow green card that players can have - that way if you get really into your character RPing and one of you is going off on the other and you're fighting in character you can play a green card each and have each other know that YES this is totally awesome character development lets keep going or if someones not sure of not comfy with it a yellow or red card.

[Romeran]

My biggest suggestion is to have a “session 0” where you sit down with players and the DM and you collectively come up with the characters you will play. I find this is a lot better than the players independently coming up with their own characters and backgrounds. If you do it together you can ensure there’s good coverage of necessary skills without too much overlap. But more importantly you can come up with a hook as to why all the characters are working together. This can be particularly important to avoid half the players coming up with the evil bandit character who only wants gold and the other coming up with the lawful good Paladin who only wants justice and then being forced to come up with some contrived reason why these two are adventuring together. Not to say that you can’t come up with a reason after the fact, just that I find it goes a lot smoother if you start from the beginning working towards a cohesive adventuring party. Ideally with some “hook” or background as to why the characters know each other. I had one DM who liked to ask players to come up with a “bond” with one other player character

[Chrysophylax Dives]

Much appreciated, all! Thank you.
Went over my character with the DM yesterday and set to play this evening (younger members of the family falling asleep in due time, permitting).

Got to say, I have no idea if the DM (aged 14) knows what he is doing. I don't think he has played before. But he talks with total confidence as he explains everything. Apparently, we are in a world where the old gods died but the new gods are living wizards. (Tell me please if that sounds out to lunch.)

[Romeran]

Sounds par for the course if you’re playing Forgotten Realms

[Chrysophylax Dives]

I might have left this a little late because i suspect all who may answer are now asleep and i need to sort this out today.

As a druid, what spells do i want?

[Chrysophylax Dives]

scrap that last question - we have reorganized a bit and, to cope with a baby and a three year old constantly disrupting play, the mountain dwarf druid is being disposed of and me and my better half are going to play one gnome rogue.

a question that i should have asked at the start, though: how many hours are we looking at all told for a campaign? (seems like the logistics is the real challenge.)

[Chrysophylax Dives]

Update. Played a second friday night. By now dim memories have stirred of long ago as it becomes clear that all the magic depends on the 'family' dynamic and we all spent far too many lockdowned days together to want to fight any orcs together these days. But i owe it to the DM, so tomorrow we will try again but with just three of us.

[Fuin Elda]

So Uhhh depends on the DM really in terms of how many hours a campaign might take. If it's meant to be short probably no more than 24 hours total play.

This obviously isn't what I would call a one shot but I can tell you that I have played games with hundreds of hours put into them and the campaigns are not finished... (I've probably played in three different campaigns right now that I personally have put 100+ hours into) The one campaign that I currently have about 13 hours in has been going on for 2 years now. Every thursday for 4 hours every thursday with only one or two missing weeks. so 400hours roughly put into it by other players thus far. And I expect there will be another 800 hours put into it before we come close to the true endgame. We literally started a fight last night that he had been planning for the last two years and we are level 8... And the plan is for us to get above level 20 so 800 more hours seems.... sensible for that.