(Part 2) Top products from r/rpg

1. You can use pretty much anything for figures. You don't need actual minis to play. If you still want tot go that route, there's a couple options. The first option is to grab a box of Paizo's Pawns. They're meant for Pathfinder, but they're just pictures of monsters printed on card stock slotted into a plastic base. The Beastiary box is $36 on Amazon right now. The other option is to buy miniatures for creatures as you need them. There's no real "complete" set of minis and they are much more expensive than pawns or flat tokens for obvious reasons. If your players really want models of their characters, they can opt to have them made or find ones that are "close enough" for their taste. For maps/boards, you can draw your own on paper. Get a pad of 1" grid paper and draw your dungeons on that. Most pre-made D&D modules will have gridded maps that you can replicate on your own paper. A slightly more expensive option in the short term is to get a dry/wet erase battle mat. Use vis-a-vis markers to draw your map, then a damp paper towel to wipe the lines away when you want to put down a new dungeon. Battle mats are expensive on Amazon. Maybe try to find one in your local game shop?
   
2. The core rulebook has options for this. Basically there's three ways to do stats: Array, Point Buy, and Roll. In Array, you are given a specific spread of stats from the book and you decide what attributes to put those values into. In point buy, you have a set number of points (27) that can be dropped into stats, but it isn't always a 1:1 increase. As stats get higher they cost more points to buy. You can use a Point Buy Calculator to plan characters. For Rolling, you roll a number of dice and that determines your stats. What dice you roll is up to you, but the two most common ways are 3d6 per stat with no re-rolling or 4d6 keep highest 3 with no re-rolling. For beginners, I would recommend the Array option for stats.
   
3. Ok, so it sounds like you have nothing invested in the system so far, so here's the stuff you absolutely will need: The D&D 5th Edition Players Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master's Guide. These three books have everything you and your players need to play a full game. However, none of these have pre-made adventures for you. You will either have to make it up as you go along, or buy pre-made adventure modules. If you're worried about being able to tell a story on your own, I heartily recommend grabbing a pre-made adventure module and running that before you try anything homebrew (homebrew meaning made entirely by you) The two that are widely regarded as the best out so far are Storm King's Thunder and Curse of Strahd. Read their synopses and pick one to run.
   
4. No, but a "Session 0" where you create characters and set the tone/expectations for the campaign is a very good idea, especially when you're just starting out. If you can, make the Player's Handbook available to all of your players before you begin the game, so that they can start getting an idea of what kind of character they want to play. Then, during Session 0, make your characters together as a group and talk about what each person wants from the game. What kinds of things interest them and what stories do they want to tell, that sort of thing. Pay *close* attention to what they say. As the DM, it's your job to help them tell their stories and explore topics they're interested in. Most players, however, will not tell you exactly what they want, instead they'll tell you something related to it. For example, if a player says that their character is descended from an ancient tradition of spellcasters and takes proficiency in the history skill, then they're probably interested in the history of the world even if they never told you that's what they're interested in. This is what game masters will typically refer to as a flag.
   
5. Generally speaking, all of the classes in D&D are pretty well balanced, especially before you start adding extra supplements. The Dungeon Master's Guide has rules for awarding treasure to players. Use them. Keep in mind every player and their class when awarding magic items. For example, a +1 sword is a great, useful upgrade to a Fighter, but is nearly worthless to a Wizard. There's tables for awarding magic items in the Dungeon Master's Guide. Those are great guidelines to help you think of how to give out magical equipment, which will be the deciding factor of if a player gets overpowered or not. If you only hand out magic weapons and armor and one player in your group is a fighter, then they will naturally be overpowered. It's also really easy to fall into the trap of just handing out stuff that is really useful in combat but isn't very useful elsewhere. Keep utility items in mind and hand those out just as often if not more so than magical weapons. Give players utility items and support them using those items in weird situations.
   
6. The Player's Handbook gives you a guideline for each class's starting equipment. After that, players may spend their gold in towns to buy additional gear (but not magic items!) As for quest rewards and other loot, the Dungeon Master's Guide has rules and tables for that sort of thing.
   
   As for #7, I've got a whole list for you.
   
   

• Read the player's hadnbook and the dungeon master's guide cover to cover. Make notes in them, bookmark them. If you're making up your own scenario, read the monster manual too.
  
• Read adventures cover to cover before running them. Important advice for them may be further back than you might think. Read the adventure several times.
  
• During play, if there's a rules question, make a judgement call on it, then make a note to look it up later. Ruining the momentum and pacing for something just to make sure you're following the rules isn't fun for anyone.
  
• You are the final arbiter of the rules. If a rule in the adventure or rulebook is ruining your fun, toss it out. This is an RPG where you can just ignore encumbrance rules.
  
• Buy a Pound o' Dice. You'd be amazed how often having extra dice is useful. By buying one of these 100-die packs, you get at least one full set (1 each of 4/6/8/10/12/20) for each person in your group and extras for higher level rolls.
  
• Don't discount online tabletop services, even for in-person games. Having big maps is just not feasible in my apartment, but setting up a map to display on a TV works great.

I didn't actually include a lot of resources to read, there are many more out there, really as many resources as there are different ways to play "old school". I'd like to rectify that in this follow-up post (and if it seems like a lot of research, well, it is forty years of RPG history after all!), in addition to covering a few topics I forgot! What use is an incomplete guide, you know?

Old school play originally came from war-gaming (OD&D was a basically a game created as a supplement to a fantasy supplement for a medieval miniatures war-game - it often referenced the Chainmail rules and basically assumed you owned them already), and therefore the very original way of playing was as a sort of "world commander" (GM) creating a scenario that the players, taking on the roles of one or more individuals, would attempt to "defeat" (in this case working together, rather than against each other, as war-gaming usually went instead). This style of play is most evident in so-called tournament modules like Tomb of Horrors, or, in a more recent incarnation, the fourthcore movement, which endeavors to bring this sort of gamist challenge to 4e D&D's more modern ruleset.

Over time, the players usually began to think less of themselves as being a commander of a crew of soldiers and more as a puppetmaster acting out the role of a single person or rarely a few people, and thus the more modern (as early as 1980 of course!) method of playing RPGs came about. There have been varying levels of character immersion since then, but basically old school covers the whole gamut of "DM vs players tournament module" to "collaborative story telling and high adventure".

Dice, or at least random results to do with luck, are very important to old school gaming. Gygax was known to consider diceless RPGs to be fine enough games and good fun, but to not actually be RPGs (and as he invented the genre can we truly argue? I mean we can but that's neither here nor there :p), which required elements of luck represented by dice.

As old school RPGs evolved, their rules-lite nature became their defining factor. Things like weapon vs armor tables and weapon speed tables were mentioned by Gygax himself to be detrimental to the core rules of AD&D since they were too complicated, and that it was better to have a fast-running fascimile of reality than a slow-running slightly-better fascimile of reality. (Notably he said that he would've considered releasing them in a duelling supplement had he it all to do over again, but that even though he could've made truly complicated rules for combat, being an avid miniatures war-gamer, he avoided it on purpose for the above reasons).

Finally, "old school" sort of straddles the gap between "give the players what they want by breaking the rules" and "are you kidding? Stop powergaming by ignoring the rules!" as a result of the broad mix of above attitudes. The best way to qualify this, I think, is to consider each breach of the rules a magnanimous gift by the GM to the players, and that at any time you can simply say "nah, not this time". You'll find the level of rules adherance that is the line in the sand for you and your group sooner or later, though, so don't worry about it.

So, with all of those things I sort of forgot being covered, without further ado an OSR resources list:

The Dungeon Alphabet - A product from Goodman Games (the same people who brought us the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG) shows a serious understanding of what makes an old school dungeon, well, old school. It's in easy A-to-Z format, complete with tables (there's those darn tables again, I told you!) and tons of great information.

If you're at all familiar with 4th edition D&D, or really even if you're not, the items on the fourthcore site listed above is a good glimpse into the kind of mindset behind creating tournament style dungeon experiences. It also brings to the table a fourthcore alphabet, which is inspired by the above dungeon alphabet text, which is basically an A-to-Z on how to create a dark and deadly dungeon experience a la tomb of horrors. The two alphabetical tomes go well together, and neither is particularly reliant on system statistics but rather contain ideas.

Any of the Grimtooth's Traps books (some also available in PDF I think) go well with the above content for providing, well, traps, obviously. These are traps of the sort of fiendish DM-vs-players tournament variety, but by using the "rulings not rules" mentality can easily be softened as appropriate by just changing out some damage dice or making deadly effects merely debilitating as necessary.

The random esoteric creature generator is something that you can really get a kick out of for creating weird-ass monsters. As mentioned, stranger things are better, and sometimes even campy material is ok (random tables lead to a lot of this kind of thing :p). I highly recommend using it to generate a few critters and then place them in roughly appropriate areas or on roughly appropriate tables and just see how things go.

This post on ENWorld - This thing is brilliant because it breaks down dungeons to their simplest possible components. Applicable to any sort of level design, really, including for video games, but if you're going to make a megadungeon that's something to consider as priority #1.

This blog post - Contains really good ideas about how to fight giant critters using a few house-rules in an old-school framework.

This site may have some overlap with megadungeons.com, but it's also another good megadungeon resource and old school site.

This post has more of those lovely random tables, this time for making random idols. Very helpful for creating the strange and unexpected.

Finally this post brings to bear an analysis of how to make magic systems that are a bit less ordinary by making them difficult to quantify scientifically. This is extremely hard to pull off without seeming entirely arbitrary, but being arbitrary is also sometimes part of being old school, so there you go.

By reading what each of these links and their related content have to say I'm sure you'll have your next few weeks full of burning your eyes out from staring at your monitor, but hey, I did say I'd try to be exhaustive!

And now, appropriately enough, I'm exhausted from typing so much, so I'm going to go to something else. Hope that all helped!

There's a lot in this space and it's mostly pretty damn good.

• Savage Worlds - $8.68 - As /u/HuddsMagruder mentioned, Savage Worlds is a great bang for your buck purchase. Lots of supplements and it's genre agnostic. You don't need to pick up those supplements if you don't want to.
  
• Basic Fantasy RPG - $5 - This is an old school RPG. It's honestly really well done. You can pick up the base book and all of it's supplements in hard copy for about $35. Note, all of it's supplements are around $5. It should also be mentioned that the base game and all of it's supplements are available as free PDF's.
  
• Dungeon World - $20 - The hard copy is temporarily sold out most places, but a new batch is on the way. Despite arguably being the worst Apocalypse World hack, there's so much damn fun to be had here. Me and my group love it, though admittedly we've rewritten significant portions of it.
  
• Monster of the Week - $22.37 - Oh man, this one is loads of fun. It's what it says on the can. If you've ever watched shows like Buffy, Supernatural or even X-Files, you already have a fair idea of what's in this. Fantastic fun.
  
• Urban Shadows - $20 - Kind of a cross between World of Darkness and The Dresden Files. High emphasis on debts and relationships in a sort of noir style. Honestly, it's probably my second favorite tabletop game.
  
• Fate: Core System - $20.54 - Another genre agnostic system that's a little easier to work with. Note, this game is very GM dependent. It's great, but without a GM that's on the ball, games tend to stagnate.
  
• Fate Accelerated - $5 - A condensed version of Fate. Easier to understand and arguably plays a little better. Still the same problem though, you need a GM that is on the ball.
  
  Honorable Mentions:
  
  
• Mouse Guard - $22.93 - This can be a bit of a hard sell for a group, but man it's a lot of fun. The general premise is that mice have evolved over time to be more intelligent, build tools, etc. They have their own towns and such. Sort of a medieval mouse society. The heavily emphasis teamwork and problem solving over straight up combat. Great fun for all ages.
  
• BubbleGumSoe - $21.90 - Teen mystery game based on the Gumshoe system. It's a hard sell but can be a ton of fun if you can get players invested. Sort of a primer for playing Trail of Cthulhu.
  
  As much as I love Mouse Guard, I just can't quite fit it in the list with a budget of $100. In any case, that's a lot of great tabletop fun for ~$100!

These are my usual reccommendations. I'v struck some i think you'd be less interested in.

OSR Games

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Retro Clones

• Swords and Wizardry(ODnD) Almost a direct rehash of the very first edition of DnD
  
  
• The Black Hack (ODnD) A very modern hack of ODnD. Fast and streamlined.
  
  
• Labyrinth Lord (BX DnD) - Almost a direct rehashing of the old BX dnd system. There's a separate Advanced Edition Companion which makes it more like ADnD.
  
  
• Lamentations of the Flame Princess(BX DnD) - This is the current OSR hot stuff. Dark and Mature with a great ruleset. Lots of the best supplements coming out are based on this system. Veins of the Earth, Vornheim, and Deep Carbon Observatory were built with this system in mind.
  
  
• Basic Fantasy RPG (BX DnD?) BX dnd with race separated from class.
  
  All of these have complete free versions on their websites(usually minus art)
  
  
• I would also recommend the Rules Cyclopedia as one of the most complete versions of dnd ever created. It's now available as print on demand!
  
  New Stuff
  
  
• Maze Rats Even if you don't play it, get it for it's amazingly useful tables. Made by /u/ludifex aka Questing Beast.
  
  
• Shadow of the Demon Lord Starts with a basic Character and then builds in complexity over time. My favorite class system. Horror/dark setting but easily stripped out.
  
  
• Dungeon Crawl Classics Beautifully done. Every class feels really unique. A bit of a gonzo Aesthetic
  
  
• Stars without Number Possibly the best sci-fi RPG you can get right now. Bit of a cross between traveller and B/X Dnd. Free Version Here
  
  
• Godbound High powered OSR style game by the same guy who made Stars Without Number.
  
  
• Index Card RPG 2e What it says on the tin. Check out the youtube channel of the guy who made it.
  
  
• Freebooters on the Frontier Great for short campaigns. Requires Dungeon World, a great game in it's own right, and The Perilous Wilds
  
  
• World of Dungeons 1 page OSR-like Dungeon World hack. I feel it's OSR so fight me.
  
  -----------
  
  Non-OSR Games
  
  ----------------
  
  
• Chuubo's Marvelous Wish Granting Engine Diceless System with a slice of life and Ghibli-esque adventure feel. Beautiful Art.
  
  
• Numenera Discovery + Numenera Destiny - One of the most unique Sci-fi settings. This is the newest version which will release in July 2018.
  
  
• Eclipse Phase A transhuman sci-fi setting, focused around the solar system. Really well fleshed out setting. Second Edition is in playtest and the quickstart is available here. All books available as free PDF's.
  
  
• Blades in the Dark The new story game baby. Interesting ruleset, strong victorian-fantasy setting. Clocks galore!
  
  
• Shadowrun 5e Cyberpunk+Fantasy. Love the Setting, put up with the subpar sub-systems.

More quick tips:

• AnyDice.com will show you exactly what the percentages are for many common dice expressions used in RPGs. Use this to examine games you like and games you don't like to find patterns.
  
  
• Ask yourself if the ideas you have are minor tweaks or best practices for running a game. If that's where your focus is, then there is no need to create an entirely new RPG to express those ideas.
  
  
• Remember there is nothing wrong with making supplemental material for existing games (new and old). You are not more or less of a game designer because you used PbtA as a base for something else or because you came up with an interesting variant magic system to bolt onto D&D.
  
  
• Check out multiple online forums and gaming communities to get an idea of how people feel about the hobby, specific games and the types of things you want to make. The goal here is to avoid duplicating other people's work and making sure you don't fall into common pitfalls that have bedeviled others.
  
  
• Listen carefully to all advice, good and bad, that you receive. Figure out what applies to you, make changes that you feel are needed, and ignore the rest. No set of rules will please or delight everyone; don't make pleasing people your goal.
  
  
• Don't spend more on the game than you can afford to lose. Don't assume you will make the money back through online sales. Only commit money to your first project that you could just as easily burn.
  
  
• Start small. Jason Morningstar of Fiasco fame started with a small game he and a friend packaged and mailed out by hand. Each new game was made using whatever money was left over from the previous venture.
  
  
• Don't try to imitate the major publishers in terms of art quality, the amount of art and graphics, the type of paper, size of books, etc. Start with what you can afford, which likely will be PDFs or print-on-demand options.
  
  
• Do take advantage of free-to-use art if you need it. Look for commercial licenses that are available for items. Many people resell art for low prices or make items available for the general public to use.
  
  
• Make sure you do have the legal right to use whatever you publish, including fonts. Don't assume that because you have a font on your computer that you can use that in a book that you sell to others. That's a great way to get sued.
  
  
• Do consider using things like Adobe Creative Cloud once you are very far along in the process. Or hire someone to handle layout, design, editing, etc.
  
  
• You will need an editor at some point. There are no ifs, ands or buts to this. Editors have other people go over their work, too.
  
  
• If you employ freelancers, pay them! Don't do things like "pay on publication" or "pay when we make money". Make sure you have the money to pay a freelancer set aside before you commission work, that way you won't wind up short.
  
  
• Only focus on what you need. If don't need detailed rules on swimming because the game takes place on spaceships, then don't bother with it.
  
  
• Don't use a game mechanic or idea just because it is popular. Making your game with the Powered by the Apocalypse engine is no more likely to make you a success now than making a game with the d20 license was a decade ago.
  
  
• If you have a game that you want to playtest, consider going to local cons to show off your game. Play it with anyone who shows up and make a note of every rough spot that comes up in play.
  
  
• You can run your ideas past people on /rpgdesign and /tabletopgamedesign.
  
  
• Crowdfunding is not the key to free money. Make sure you fully understand the tax implications and legal requirements you assume before running a Kickstarter or IndieGoGo campaign. Many backers won't even consider fronting money for a project that is not mostly complete, since their money is not necessary for you to write rules. Backers are more comfortable giving to projects where the money is mostly going toward art, layout, and other technical work required to make a physical or digital format of the rules.
  
  
• Make sure you contribute to the online sources you use if you want to be paid attention to by that group. That means commenting on forums, backing Kickstarters or sharing information to communities on Google+ about things beyond just your projects.
  
  
• Consider attending Metatopia. This game design festival has panels from people who have been able to make and sell indie and traditional games. You can find some panel recordings online as well. You also can play many other people's games in various states of design, offering your feedback and getting feedback from other platesetters in return.
  
  
• Keep in mind many of the game designers talked about online still have day jobs and don't expect to be able to provide for themselves and their families just through their work in RPGs.

4e is pretty simple. Even simpler than that is Swords and Wizardry which is made to resemble old school DnD. Microlite 74 is similar but does not hew as closely to any incarnation of DnD. All of these are free.

Swords and Wizardry has quick start rules here. I listed some beginner modules for it.

>Is there a D&D "basic" set in its latest incarnation?

You mean like this?

The Red Box, then Rules Compendium, Heroes of the Fallen Lands, and then the Monster Vault.

The Red Box comes with some premade characters and a quick adventure. Its pretty cheap and will help you determine if this is the system you want (note your free options.)

If you like it, then:

Then the Heroes book will help you guys build characters.

The Rules Compendium contain all the... rules. (What happens on each players turn, etc etc).

Monster Vault has monsters for the DM.

Not a lot of good adventures available for 4e though, though if you like 4e and want to run premade stuff for it, some options are laid out here.

You also have the option of subscribing to a service called DnD Insider, which will give you access to, among other things, an online character builder for the players and a monster builder for the DM with all the stuff from the books,. It costs like 10 bucks a month... but its an option that you should be aware of.

You might get some recommendations for Pathfinder, because redditors love them some Pathfinder (which is based off DnD 3.5 so if you know that, you know PF). It's a good system--I'm playing it right now--but its so complex that I have some trouble recommending it to absolute beginners in good conscience. You can look into it here. If you do go with it, I highly highly recommend a character builder like PCGen.

EDIT: Fixed some links.

The best thing to do is have a good time preparing the material, but don't drive your players crazy sticking to the script. For a first adventure, an open setting like a city adventure can be very rewarding. Let your players develop a character according to whatever restrictions you like, but make sure you outline them clearly.

I am always nervous when DMing; my biggest fear is keeping all the PCs involved and doing something special. My main concern is keeping each player happy by keeping them involved. Obstacles and challenges for each character can be tough to integrate, so make sure you know know their skill sets inside and out. Once again, especially for low-level characters, a city adventure is a great way to get this going.

I have read a few excellent DM / Storyteller books over the years. GURPS Campaigns and the Mage: The Ascension Storyteller's Handbook are both good intros to running a game in general; lost of solid advice.

I will always be a little on edge DMing; for me, it's actually comfortable. You'll find your own comfort zone after a while. Good luck!

I have the Savage Worlds Customizable GM Screen, and it's awesome. If I have enough prep time, I can print any charts -- like random encounter tables -- I'll need for that session out. It's so much more useful than the standard GM screen, which is typically loaded with the charts you use most often and thus are most likely to have memorized. Plus it's landscape orientation, so it both spans further across the table, while being easier to see and reach over.

But my favorite feature is that I can put artwork reflective of my campaign on the player's side, instead of the sort of generic artwork most screens feature.

Some other really useful toys I've picked up over the years include:

• Alea Tools magnetic status tokens. These are basically just 1" plastic disks, maybe 1/8" tall, with a rare earth magnet inside so they stick together and can be stacked. You can glue magnetic film to the bottom of miniatures and then they'll stick to the tokens to, or you can just balance them on top of the tokens, or put the tokens next to the mini. They're very useful when you need to track who is on fire, invisible, or suffering a long-term status effect. They're also very useful as elevation markers -- I use the dark blue and light blue token to represent 25' and 5' respectively, so I can keep track of exactly how high flying characters are flying.
  
• The Pathfinder Combat Pad is super useful for keeping track of initiative and ongoing effects, regardless of the game you play.
  
• The GameMastery spell templates are very useful if you play a game system that uses a grid map. They're no longer available however.
  
• Litko makes Horse Character Mounts that are SUPER useful for dealing with the issue of mounted characters on a map. Litko actually makes an insane number of extremely useful products, and I've used their custom tokens service to produce token sets for a lot of my favorite games.

The Star Wars RPG beginner boxes have great "learn the system as you play adventures". The adventures are broken down into a series of "encounters" and each encounter is designed to help the players learn the system in some way, and combat is typically reserved for the third or fourth encounter.

Force and Destiny

Age of Rebellion

Force Awakens

Also those beginner adventures tend to be challenging enough for a new party of those who don't roleplay, but not so challenging as to not make them want to continue playing RPGs (which Lost Mine of Phandelver in DnD 5e starter box has issues with). Each adventure also has a free adventure followup. AoR Followup. These follow up adventures don't read as easily (they read more like FFGs pre-published ones, but are still really excellent).

For GMless and a one shot I recommend Fiasco. Which can also be found in PDF form here. It's a system more geared towards actors and story tellers, and less for those that want heavy combat. There's even a video of Wil Wheaton playing it with some writers/actors. And there are tons of free playsets.

For one shots with a GM:

I recommend Dread. It's a horror system that uses a Jenga tower instead of dice rolling for any sort of check. In Dread the idea is you're playing in a horror movie, there's even an Alien (Ridley Scott) playset for free on the website, and the goal is to survive. The GM has the players pull from the Jenga tower when their character does something out of their normal skill range, or under duress. A good Dread GM will get the tower to fall at the most dramatically appropriate moment. It takes skill and practice, but it's also an excellent system.

Tabletop Dread Episode.

For beginners, those are my recommendations. Star Wars FFG is a more traditional, but easy to read RPG, while Dread/Fiasco are one shots that are incredibly fun.

If you play Pathfinder, then note that they put all their rules and bestiary online for free and so you can save some serious dough. You can then spend your money on things like battle mats, paper miniatures, and adventure modules. They have an upcoming beginners box that would probably be perfect for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KPv80QsBfI

If you play D&D 4th Edition, you kind of have to choose between the original line and "Essentials" line (it's very confusing). Personally I say go with the Essentials line because it is easier, cheaper, and (to me at least) "feels" more like what D&D is supposed to be like. WotC doesn't publish anything online for free like Paizo, so you'll have to buy some stuff. I recommend:

• At least one copy of Heroes of the Fallen Lands (class book for fighters, clerics, wizards and rogues: ~$14 on Amazon
  
• Optional: At least one copy of Heroes of the Fallen Kingdoms (class book for rangers, druids, paladins and warlocks): ~$14 on Amazon.
  
• Semi-Optional At least one copy of the Rules Compendium:~$14 on Amazon. The reason I list this as semi-optional is because most of the rules you'll need as a beginner are contained in the class guide books
  
• Monster Vault. This contains monster stats and a whole bunch of tokens. ~$20 on Amazon.
  
  If no one wants to play a ranger, druid, paladin or warlock at first you can skip the one book and meet your $60 budget. Eventually you'll probably want to get a Dungeon Master guide of some sort. The kind of information in those books is mostly generic advice on how to run games and handle personalities, so it's possibly to buy an older used copy from the original line even though you are playing Essentials. Hell, since it's just generic advice, you could even buy the Pathfinder guide (which is amazingly well written) and use it for D&D.
  
  In summary - I think it's easier for you to meet your budget by going with Pathfinder, since they publish a lot of material for free, leaving you to spend your money on the adventure modules which is where all the fun is anyways. It's unanimous that Pathfinder does a much better job on published adventures too, since they are a company that started off as an adventure publishing company and that is their strength. However, D&D 4e (especially Essentials) is much easier to play, but you won't have as much money left over to spend on adventures (and those adventures kind of suck).

Well, here are my thoughts:

1. Price. Critical Hit Die, Jumbo D20, Set of foam dice all run about 10-15 dollars, and fall into the "Novelty dice" category. I think a entry level popper should be available for that cost, at lest under 20.
   
   
2. I haven't tested it, but I don't see any reason why you couldn't put more then one die in one of these, so large ones made for multiple die would be cool.
   
   
3. Readability would be a concern here. It's important the dome is clear enough to easily read through, and doesn't distort the die to the point of making it unreadable unless you are above it. How low the dice sits in it would also be a concern. Looking at the pictures, it looks like this is all covered though, but I would have to have one sitting on my game table to be sure.
   
   
4. Feet. Here some testing would need to be done. I'm thinking of two separate approaches to this, but I'm not sure which would be more popular. First approach is standard foam feet in each corner to keep it from scratching the table and from sliding. Second approach is, why not embrace the sliding? You are going to be passing this back and forth, so why not put a Teflon base on it (like on the bottom of a good mouse). Not only would it prevent scratching, it should give it a nice glide action to push it back and forth across the table between players. Maybe a felt bottom? Lots of possibilities here.
   
   
5. Customibility. Shapes, sizes, colors...themes. Obviously this would come later...but a Numenera themed one with a d20 and d6 already inside would not only fetch you more money...but it would also mean that people are more likely to buy more then one, since they might want one for all the Tabletop games they play, or if a GM received a themed one from his group as a gift, he might want to get a regular one for other games if he likes it.
   
   
6. Super deluxe digital version. It has special die you have to use for it, and it can tell what the roll is, and announces it in a programmable, selectable voice. Would it be cheap? No. Would people buy it, just to put there voice laughing manically when their player rolls a 1? Of course. Also, no more "roll and grab" or debate on what the roll was or any of that.

The old DC Heroes system (published by Mayfair at the time) has held up great. Look for a book called Blood of Heroes. It's the DCH system with improved magic, but with DC's trademarked material removed. Completely compatible with old DCH modules. The art in the book is butt ugly, but it's a great system. It's easy to use, but still capable of handling any power or power level you throw at it. And it has a thriving online community.

Blood of Heroes on Amazon

Writeup.org: Biggest DCH community online. Very active, updated at least once every week or so, with THOUSANDS of character write ups and tons of updated, tweaked, or optional game material.

List of Influential RPG Titles

Dungeons and Dragons - By TSR and WotC

Dungeons and Dragons 1st Edition - TSR

• Core Rulebooks
  
• Adventures (Keep on the Boarderlands, The Tomb of Horrors, The Temple of Elemental Evil)
  
  Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition - TSR
  
  
• Core Books (PHB, DMG, MM)
  
• Unearthed Arcana
  
• Campaign Settings (Dragonlance, Ravenloft, Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun)
  
• Arms and Equipment Guide
  
  Dungeons and Dragons 3.0 - WotC
  
  
• Savage Species
  
• Deities and Demigods
  
• Stronghold Builder's Guidebook
  
  Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 - WotC
  
  
• Core Rulebooks (PHB, DMG, & MM)
  
• Expanded Core (PHB2, DMG2, MM2, 3, 4, 5)
  
• Psionics Handbook
  
• Unearthed Arcana
  
• Complete Series (Arcane, Adventurer, Warrior, Divine, Champion, Scoundrel, Mage, Psionics)
  
• Campaign Settings (Ebberon, Forgotten Realms)
  
• Adventures (Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil)
  
  Dungeons and Dragons 4e - WotC
  
  
• Core Rulebooks (PHB, PHB2, PHB3, DMG, DMG2, MM, MM2, MM3)
  
• Essentials (Heroes of Forgotten Kingdoms and Heroes of Fallen Lands, Rules Compendium)
  
• Settings (Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun)
  
• Adventures (Tomb of Horrors)
  
  Pathfinder - Paizo Publishing
  
  
• Core Rulebook
  
• Advanced Player's Guide
  
• Advanced Race Guide
  
• Ultimate Magic
  
• Ultimate Combat
  
• Ultimate Equipment
  
• Game Mastery Guide
  
• Ultimate Campaign
  
• Mythic Adventures
  
• NPC Codex
  
• Bestiaries 1-4
  
  Not Dungeons and Dragons
  
  World of Darkness - by White Wolf
  
  
• Vampire the Masquerade - Vampires are so mainstream now...
  
• Werewolf the Apocylypse - Where there are vampires there are werewolves.
  
• Mage the Ascention - and witches and wizards.
  
• Hunter the Reckoning - and someone to hunt them.
  
• Changeling the Dreaming
  
  "New" World of Darkness
  
  
• Core Book
  
• Expanded Core (Vampire, Mage, Werewolf)
  
  AEG
  
  
• Legend of the Five Rings 4th Edition Core Rulebook
  
• Legend of the Five Rings 1st Edition Core Rulebook
  
• 7th Sea
  
• Deadlands
  
  Other
  
  
• Shadowrun
  
• Savage Worlds
  
• Dungeon World
  
• FATE Core
  
• Call of Cthulhu
  
• RIFTS
  
• GURPS
  
• Paranoia - Super expensive on Amazon, not sure why.
  
• Elf Quest - Also a very popular graphic novel.
  
  Authors to Look for
  
  
• Gary Gygax - Role Playing Mastery and Master of the Game
  
• Monte Cook
  
• John Wick
  
• Dave Arneston
  
  RPG Related Non-Fiction
  
  
• Confessions of a Part Time Sorceress - Shelley Mazzinoble
  
• Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and The People Who Play It
  
  RPG Fiction, also essential
  
  
• Dragonlance - Chronicles Triligy by Weise and Hickman - Set in a D&D campaign Setting
  
• Drizzit's Series - By R. A. Salvatore. Icewind Dale Trilogy and The Dark Elf Trilogy
  
• The Riftwar Saga by Raymond Feist - It's allegedly the story of the author's long running D&D game.
  
  Other Lists
  
  
• Good Reads Popular RPG titles.
  
• Wikipedia timeline of RPGs
  
  Honorable Mentions
  
  
• Star Wars - d6 Edition, d20 Edition, SAGA Edition, Star Wars RPG (Fantsy Flight)
  
• Star Trek - Various Incarnations
  
• Serenity the RPG
  
• D&D Comic Books
  
• Buffy the RPG
  
• Whatever the heck "Demon" is...
  
  *Please add suggestions below, I'll add to the list as I revisit this thread throughout the day. Adding Amazon links now.

Are you doing a remote game, with players that can't get together? Cause if not, I'd go with a mat, preferably double sided with both grid and hexes, so you can support multiple games and modes. You don't need proper minis (though those are particularly nice for players to have something for there character), when I first got a mat, we used chess pieces. You can also find free printable paper minis that look pretty good. If you want something a bit more durable, I'm like Pathfinder Pawns, the stands in it are great for paper minis too.

Overall, my group has greatly preferred grid combat. Since everyone knows the distances and sizes of everything, it makes the game feel more tactical and less arbitrary. And it is just cool to see everything laid out.

I'd recommend taking a look at Basic Fantasy Roleplay. The rules are based on D&D. They're free and complete (and very cheap if you just really want a paper copy) but more importantly for your players - they're short.

There are free adventures to download and you can also use the system to play older D&D modules from the DM's Guild.

As for extras - a nice luxury item I use all the time is a sleeved GM screen. I can pop in screens from PDFs of whatever system I want to run. If you do individual initiative, I'd grab a pack of index cards you can chop in half and tent them over your screen in order with each character's name, AC, class, perception score, that sort of thing.

For up-to-medieval era combat, you have (in my opinion) four top contenders for great combat systems:

Blade of the Iron Throne:

• Single pool per turn to allocate between attack and defence
  
• Turns only switch when something "dramatic" happens — feels like movie fights
  
• Good amount of manoeuvres to choose
  
• Hit locations
  
  Rolemaster Classic, you will need Character Law, Arms Law, Spell Law and for non-human opponents Creatures & Monsters
  
  
• Every weapon affects different types of armour differently — rapiers destroy chainmail
  
• Very granular damage
  
• Critical hits can create many different effects
  
  Mythras, with Classic Fantasy if you want classes back
  
  
• Fatigue tracked separately from hit points
  
• Hit locations, with actual hit points spread across them
  
• You can choose "special effects" when you succeed well enough — e.g. choosing location, disarming etc
  
  GURPS, with Basic Set having Characters, plus Campaigns. You can also use the older third edition, which is a single book.
  
  
• Only uses 3d6, easy to calculate modifiers
  
• Weapon types affect not only effect on armour but actions available — e.g. axes unbalance after a swing, needing a turn to be brought back in position
  
• Turns are 1 second long, and feel fast. You can shiv someone multiple times before they can rearm a crossbow or switch weapons if disarmed
  
  Out of all of them, I would suggest the following guidelines:
  
  

• Blade of the Iron Throne if you want hits to count and be meaningful, with whiffs being more tense than boring
  
• Rolemaster if you want to choose who attacks which enemy and how to approach them based on strengths of team, and granular damage — print the weapon tables for each character and give it to them. It should be considered part of their character sheet
  
• Mythras if you want a middle-ground experience, with enough detail and a focus on where you get hit and how to protect those parts
  
• GURPS if you think the flow of actions should correspond to expectations — you can’t fire an arrow every time someone swings a sword
  
  I tried to not play on stereotypes for each system but more on actual gameplay feeling. People will say GURPS is too crunchy, but it will only be if you choose every optional rule (it's super modular). Start with basic combat and choose components from advanced as you find them useful. They will say Rolemaster has too many tables, which is why you print the subset you use and give to players, but because of them it plays super fast. Mythras has a strong following, so there will be praise and hype. Plays really great, but the text is awfully tiny on print and gives me a headache after reading too long. Blade of the Iron Throne is a successor to the out-of-print Riddle of Steel, which was also legendary, and improves it in many ways. Its only disadvantage in my opinion is that it uses pools of d12s. You should find cheap bulk packs. You want 2 colours, so you can count attack and defence easily.

I've never played the d20 version, but I play the standard d100 game. If you want to just give the game a try, you can download the quickstart rules, which come with a sample scenario. You can print out the rules, character sheets, and scenario, and run a game off of just that.

The only book you really need is the Call of Cthulhu rulebook. This book is pretty much a player handbook/DM guide/monster manual built into one. The great thing about Cthulhu is that the game is so basic that you only need 1 copy of the book (for the DM, or keeper) and can give the rest of the players quickstart rules that you can print online. Cthulhu is such a simple game that I think about 70 percent of the book is just flavor text and sample scenarios.

In that book, you can get some beginning sample scenarios that you can run with your group, which will give you a sense of how the game is run. One of the great things about Cthulhu is that the game is very story driven. Combat has very simple rules, and there are no experience points or levels, although you do increase skill points. The whole point of the game is that you are presented with a mystery, and the players must gather information and solve the mystery, at the risk of their own sanity. So don't expect any monster mashes or anything like that, unless that's how you want to run your game.

Dungeon World and Fate are great games if you want to cut wargaming completely out of the equation. Both reduce combat to more a narrative exercise than a tactical one.

Savage Worlds is a great, and cheap, generic system that reduces combat to snap, and really amps up roleplaying.

As other suggested, 5e D&D would probably fit your bill too.

As for the story with Pathfinder, it is D&D 3.5+

When Wizards made 3rd edition, they invented something called the Open Game Licence (OGL). They wanted other people to be able to publish material for D&D while still protecting their copyright. So they put out a bazillion books, realized the game needed tweaking and then put out 3.5. At this time a bunch of companies, Paizo, Bad Axe Games, Kobold Press, etc were also pumping out adventures, rule books, and setting books, and Wizards had no control over what got published and the quality of what was out there. So books like The Book Of Erotic Fantasy came out and killed 3.5.

The jump to 4th edition came, and it was not smooth. Wizards changed the game in many radical ways, and a lot of people didn't like it. Some of them never actually played 4th edition, and just bitched about it on internet forums, some of them played it and hated how videogamey it felt, and some were just pissed at the hundreds of 3.X books they own representing thousands of dollars for a now defunct system.

Paizo decided to publish their own game. Interesting thing about copyright law is that you can't actually copyright game mechanics, only the specific words and phrases you use in your rulebook. So if someone came along and made a game where you had stats representing various character abilities, which gave you numbers you add to d20 rolls to check vs a target number, it would be perfectly legal. Furthermore, the OGL states that Open Game Content is defined as

>the game mechanic and includes the methods, procedures, processes and routines to the extent such content does not embody the Product Identity and is an enhancement over the prior art and any additional content clearly identified as Open Game Content by the Contributor, and means any work covered by this License, including translations and derivative works under copyright law, but specifically excludes Product Identity....

So the rules are Open to everyone to use, but the Game Identity of D&D is not. So Paizo made their own game, used all the rules, and left all the D&D fluff behind. Tensor's Floating Disk became Floating Disk. Tasha's Hideous Laughter became Hideous Laughter. They cleaned up the rules, and packaged it into a neat, new edition. But it still had the heart of D&D 3.X inside.

I bought this from Amazon some time ago and it has been a great product. Wet-erase only, but super durable, huge (but not unwieldy), and durable as hell. It rolls up for storage quite simply, and is overall a great buy. They sell smaller ones as well for slightly less. Check them out. I highly recommend them.

There are some dice with larger numbers, and some quite large dice, if you look around.

When I go into decent game shops (not much lately, there's none local any more), they usually have a few dice that look to be about double normal size with large numbers.

Here, for example, are images of oversize (34mm) d20s, that show the kind of thing I've seen regularly in stores:

http://www.dnddice.com/cart/index.php/oversize-d20-s.html

Those are really quite big.

These are a little smaller - about 25mm, which is still pretty large:

http://www.mathartfun.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/PolyDice.html

They're not too expensive and have good contrast.

Amazon's site has a seller jumbo polyhedral dice from koplow (you see koplow dice in most game stores):

http://www.amazon.com/Jumbo-Polyhedral-Assorted-Colors-KOP10827/dp/B002IXM1EK

You can find those dice online in many places. Here's koplow's own catalog page :
http://www.koplowgames.com/page82.html

your local FLGS can probably order them in for you if they don't have them in stock already.

Those, IIRC are about double standard size (but don't forget if you double the dimensions, they weigh 8 times as much).

For really large dice you can go to Learning Resources foam dice:

http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Jumbo-Foam-Polyhedral/dp/B003IHTZGW/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t

Those are designed for classroom demonstrations. They're probably bigger than you want.

Here's a kickstarter that was recently funded, which has less gigantic but still large 2-inch foam dice:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/miniongames/giant-2-inch-soft-foam-polyhedral-dice

This would avoid the table-damaging weight of overdoing a roll with a big plastic die.

And you can often find specialized dice that are relatively large. Some 'spindown'-type dice are fairly big

-- here's a 55mm (!) d20 that koplow sell:

http://www.koplowgames.com/newitems.html or http://www.koplowgames.com/17970.jpg

-- for d10s, for example, SJG's Munchkin dice are really pretty big. I wouldn't want one to hit me. They have a munchkin-head instead of a 0 but that should pose little problem. They went out of print but you can still find them here and there.

My white one has great contrast. Edit: It looks like they have reprinted them more recently:

http://www.worldofmunchkin.com/leveldice/ (those are expensive, if you shop around you can probably find the old ones much cheaper)



You can also look at improving contrast (choosing lighter colored dice with dark ink or dark dice with light ink, or even re-inking dice in stronger-contrast colors).

Another possibility is that with dice-rolling programs, some of those may be induced to display rolls nice and big, also.


(All those links took only a few minutes with google, by the way... what the heck were you searching on? I started with big|large|jumbo|oversized polyhedral|roleplaying dice and went on from there)

My group prefers to play the West End Games d6 version, but I've read through the SAGA edition for d20 and like it quite a lot more than the first d20 Star Wars RPG.

The thing I like about SAGA is that it is all fairly balanced and is very easy for a D&D player to get into due to the core rules being d20. A great many of the subsystems have commonalities with 4e D&D for speed of use, which I also like.

d6, however, has potentially much more lethal combat and allows for Force-users to really shine. That said, it can be a struggle to integrate a full-fledged Jedi knight with a regular party and not have him outshine everyone else. Depends on the story, of course, but we manage.

I'll once again be the lone voice for DC Heroes/Blood of Heroes. and www.writeups.org


The scaling is fantastic. Captain America can fight alongside Thor.

The system was originally made for DC's heroes, yes, and Writeups doesn't have many of their stats as they were published in copyrighted materials, but you can find them with searches.

Sorry. My love for this system is beyond all reason. It's my fave. I can't say I've played them all, but this is the best of the ones I have.

Thanks again, you've convinced me to get the DM Kit and core rule book (hopefully it supplements the D&D for dummies book i got). Theres been come conflicting advice but your reasoning makes sense.

But for players we'll need at least one players book between them if they want to level and stuff or create new races right? So This?
Or what others have been recommending

Lastly 3 Gameplay questions.

• As a DM when i role for initiative, if theres like 6 minions do i role once for all of them and they all go in a row or is it always a separate role for each creature?
  
  
• When the players enter the room i put down the goblin or two they see. but behind a door or around the corner theres some more. I read i should roll initiative for them from the start. but when do they engage? Would they hear the battle or 'war cry' from a goblin being attacked or is it eyesight or do i make it up based on the environment/creatures?
  
  
• Lastly how do i divvy up treasure? I've found a lot on this and apparently everyones got their own way so im curious as your thoughts? The end of the adventure in red box lists 9 parcels with 3 of them being magic items and i am to divy them out across the adventure. 2 of them are story based and can be unlocked so i assume they count, but there are 7 possible encounters. The others i throw in here or there? some people say its easiest for the party to have a collective bank so i might just wait till the end and let them sort it out. At least my first game so i can concentrate on other stuff.
  
  Thanks again

For D&D4e, I recommend starting with Essentials. Personally, I prefer 4e because it has balance and encourages working together. You can get the 4e Red Box, but it is slightly inconsistent with everything else and will only take you so far. Anyway, here's a minimal shopping list:

• Heroes of the Fallen Lands
  
• Rules Compendium
  
• Monster Vault
  
  The Essentials DM kit is also good. With the exception of the Red Box, all 4e material is compatible across the board, so adding in new player options or DM stuff is as easy as picking up a supplement or getting a DDI subscription.
  
  If you've never played before, WotC holds an "Encounters" programs on Wednesday evenings at local gaming stores. It is specifically designed to introduce players to D&D as well as sell their latest product. If you live in the DC metro area, I can give you some pointers on where to go, if you're interested.

This would appear to be relevant to your interests, but you need the DnD insider subscription thing. I don't have it, so I can't tell you how good/bad it is.

The Stronghold Builder's Guidebook could be helpful, but it's for 3.0, not 4e. Could be useful as guidelines/inspiration though.

I think it would work better to keep the castle related stuff plot-driven, as 4e's mechanics don't really mesh well with the kind of gameplay that having a castle implies.

I always suggest Reign for my fantasy go-to. The Enchridion edition is $10!

You roll a pool of d10's (never more than 10), and look for matches. A match indicates success, where you hit, and for how hard you hit.

It's pretty freaking fast, and there's a lot of fan support. Greg Stolze also has a bunch of extra books for free in pdf on his website.

> I am currently playing a custom adventure under the 4th edition D&D ruleset.

The Star Wars Saga edition is pretty much 4.0 beta, but because it is out of print it can be a bit expensive. I am running it now, and enjoy it. There is also a campaign setting book for that era.

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Roleplaying-Rulebook-Edition/dp/0786943564/ref=cm_lmf_tit_1

http://www.amazon.com/Rebellion-Campaign-Guide-Star-Roleplaying/dp/078694983X/ref=cm_lmf_tit_9

As for inspiration, I personally draw them right from the EU books. I am doing Legacy setting now, and took the campaign right out of issues 57+

Gaming carry bag - like the Bag of Holding.

Battle mats, maybe a big one.

d20 socks, cause who doesn't need socks?

One Round T-Shirt would be good - gamers love shirts. Penny Arcade has a bunch. They also have some cool prints that are table gaming related.

Just giving some non-dice suggestions, as I have a crap-ton of dice myself.

I suggest Traveler http://www.amazon.com/Traveller-Core-Rulebook-Gareth-Hanrahan/dp/190610333X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325250640&sr=8-1 It gives you resources to make your own setting, the combat and skills rules are pretty simple, and the character creation method is pretty fun. As an example to the character creation process you can listen to these guy's (no video available sadly) http://www.generationd20.com/roleplaying/

In all seriousness though, as Fomorian said you might want to use a generic system and build from there. There has been one made specifically for the setting though http://www.amazon.com/Dragonball-The-Anime-Adventure-Game/dp/1891933000, maybe you should look that up. :) good luck!

Man softcover from approved retailers is really hard (no sarcasm), so many good games only come in hardcover. If you give me more information about his preferences I could help you narrow the list down.

https://www.amazon.com/Esoterrorists-RPG-2nd-Robin-Laws/dp/1908983523/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1494289945&sr=8-1&keywords=Esoterrorists

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Rose-AGE-Romantic-Fantasy/dp/1934547743/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1494289980&sr=8-2&keywords=Blue+rose+rpg

https://www.amazon.com/Microscope-Ben-Robbins/dp/0983277907/ref=pd_rhf_dp_s_cp_9?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0983277907&pd_rd_r=Z3RJ2JPXJQYDRYA06S2Y&pd_rd_w=hHGH4&pd_rd_wg=W5G5p&psc=1&refRID=Z3RJ2JPXJQYDRYA06S2Y

https://www.amazon.com/Bully-Pulpit-Games-BPG-005/dp/1934859397/ref=pd_sim_14_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1934859397&pd_rd_r=JBAWXXB309ERX5KH0PXT&pd_rd_w=Eunmp&pd_rd_wg=OTd2y&psc=1&refRID=JBAWXXB309ERX5KH0PXT

https://www.amazon.com/Monster-of-the-Week-EHP0009/dp/1613170920/ref=pd_rhf_dp_s_cp_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1613170920&pd_rd_r=WFVTZB7V8R3S7S8F462W&pd_rd_w=HYjgo&pd_rd_wg=K0zZT&psc=1&refRID=WFVTZB7V8R3S7S8F462W

https://www.amazon.com/Evil-Hat-Productions-EHP0002-Accelerated/dp/1613170475/ref=pd_sim_14_8?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1613170475&pd_rd_r=JBAWXXB309ERX5KH0PXT&pd_rd_w=Eunmp&pd_rd_wg=OTd2y&psc=1&refRID=JBAWXXB309ERX5KH0PXT

https://www.amazon.com/Urban-Shadows-Softcover-MPG007-Truman/dp/1987916166/ref=pd_sim_21_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1987916166&pd_rd_r=DKP8DTTM0N8MT2HDRFPZ&pd_rd_w=i0nmQ&pd_rd_wg=KPg28&psc=1&refRID=DKP8DTTM0N8MT2HDRFPZ

https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Ben-Robbins/dp/0983277915/ref=pd_rhf_dp_s_cp_13?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0983277915&pd_rd_r=A9ZZTCT4BD1KY3DA9ZYW&pd_rd_w=jRFtT&pd_rd_wg=biDau&psc=1&refRID=A9ZZTCT4BD1KY3DA9ZYW

https://www.amazon.com/Bully-Pulpit-Games-Durance-Playing/dp/0988390906/ref=pd_sim_14_26?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0988390906&pd_rd_r=T0HFDYG416QT8CZBM6C7&pd_rd_w=ljUZO&pd_rd_wg=hK410&psc=1&refRID=T0HFDYG416QT8CZBM6C7 (I think)

Character playbooks for pbta might be hard to print off.

https://www.amazon.com/Havenshield-Complete-RPG-Rulebook-Myers/dp/154258356X/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1494291018&sr=1-7&keywords=Rpg (this seems like its worth a look)

/u/amightyrobot speaks truth. I'd mentioned CoC yesterday, but I guess it was easy to miss around all of the other posts. It's very simple to learn, has a ton of good adventures and setting books, and all of the published material is 99% compatible across editions.

You can even get the core rulebook for cheap.

Here's an Amazon entry.

Here's DriveThruRPG's PDF of the same.

You could no doubt find cheaper ones with some effort, but that was just off the top of my head.

I seriously don't understand how this is cost effective considering it's going to cost at least about the same as a battlemat (unless you somehow get the whiteboard for free). If you did get the whiteboard for free that doesn't mean it's a "cost effective solution" that just means it's a "recycled solution". Not only that but the time and effort involved in making the grid, maintaining the grid, and dealing with all that saran wrap makes this far from a cost effective solution.

34" x 48" battle mat $31.64: http://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IUAAG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1331743125&sr=8-2

36" x 48" whiteboard $51.88: http://www.amazon.com/UNVSL-Dry-Erase-Melamine-Satin-Finished-Aluminum/dp/B000J0CARW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1331743143&sr=8-3

Edit: found a cheaper brand whiteboard, still not cheaper than a battle mat of similar size:

36" x 48" whiteboard $35.62: http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Dry-Erase-Melamine-Aluminum-Plastic/dp/B0015ZW7H8/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1331743143&sr=8-6

I ran a game of this: http://www.amazon.com/Traveller-Core-Rulebook-Gareth-Hanrahan/dp/190610333X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368208549&sr=8-1&keywords=traveler+rpg

with zero clue of anything creepybob is talking about. I just thought it looked cool, and the rules were quite straightforward. My campaign didn't get anywhere because of unrelated issues; the system itself is fine. I didn't feel compelled to find any more story or background than what is provided in that book, so don't feel too pressured to buy a bunch of side-books. Though of course do so if it's fun for you!

If you want to go all out I'd recommend these books:

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Monster-Rulebook-Roleplaying/dp/0786965614/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1549840456&sr=8-6&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons

https://www.amazon.com/Xanathars-Guide-Everything-Wizards-Team/dp/0786966114/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1549840456&sr=8-10&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons

https://www.amazon.com/Volos-Guide-Monsters-Wizards-Team/dp/0786966017/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1549840456&sr=8-14&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons

Enough dice for you and whoever you're playing with:

https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Pack-Random-Polyhedral/dp/B01KN7REWQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1549840537&sr=8-4&keywords=1+pound+of+dice

If you want minis:

https://www.amazon.com/Pathfinder-Roleplaying-Game-Codex-Pawns/dp/1601254725/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1549840982&sr=8-4&keywords=monster+codex+box

https://www.amazon.com/Paizo-Inc-Pathfinder-Pawns-Bestiary/dp/1601255616/ref=pd_sbs_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1601255616&pd_rd_r=d89745e3-2d8a-11e9-bc59-4fcf3b72f982&pd_rd_w=Ip8Jz&pd_rd_wg=d87AF&pf_rd_p=588939de-d3f8-42f1-a3d8-d556eae5797d&pf_rd_r=CQ2TM4MZQSVKFXX2GYRS&psc=1&refRID=CQ2TM4MZQSVKFXX2GYRS

https://www.amazon.com/Pathfinder-Pawns-Villain-Codex-Box/dp/1601259255/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1549840982&sr=8-3&keywords=monster+codex+box

Your best bet is to combine Pathfinder Pawns with D&D Dungeon Tiles Reincarnated.

You may want something to track initiative. This Pathfinder Combat Pad looks similar to the one my group uses, I'm not sure if it's the exact one.

You could use paper, but from watching my GMs it's much easier to be able to set the magnetic labels in order every time initiative is rolled, and you can write enemy status in the notes section, and save yourself a lot of scratch paper.

Alternatively, some people just fold index cards in half to make tents and put the tents on top of the GM screen, with the names on both sides. That way they can be rearranged as needed and everybody sees the order. So, you know, you can just add index cards to the order.

>Also interested in the idea of critical causing effects like scars and trips rather than a simple number modifier.

FATE might be something to look in to. It is genre-less and it doesn't deal with hitpoints etc so much as it deals with consequences of success and failure.

The Stronghold Builder's Guide was a thing back in the day. You can pick it up pretty cheap now.

Check out FATE Core and FATE Accelerated. They are both "pay what you like (including free)". FATE Acceleratedin booklet form is only $5. FATE Core is less than $25 shipped.

http://www.faterpg.com

I've found just the 3.5 book for you, OP!

Remember to LARP as appropriate ;-)

Reign is all about this. It's got rules for running groups of various people from merchant houses to empires to village factions and having players/gm controlling them as they pursue their various individual interests. It's fairly generic in scope, check it out. The REIGN Enchiridion contains all the relevent rules without the campaign setting stuff of the full reign toolkit, so if you're just after the fantasy gaming with faction handling pick up that one. http://www.amazon.com/REIGN-Enchiridion-Greg-Stolze/dp/1907204652/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367939316&sr=1-1&keywords=reign+greg+stolze

On Amazon, only $7.99 used!!

http://www.amazon.com/Dragonball-The-Anime-Adventure-Game/dp/1891933000

I don't know if it was ever released in PDF form, sorry.

I recommend Traveller. Everything you want in one book. All of its supplements just add more variety, but the basics for anything and everything are in this core book.

Sorry, I linked to the Chessex website, but I actually ordered it via Amazon. Here's the actual link.

So this isn't Pathfinder canon, but there is a softcover book called Stronghold Builder's Guidebook. The book was released for D&D 3.0 and covers the costs of building a stronghold that can be as small as a 1 bedroom hovel or as large as a castle.

On Amazon it's only $24.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1568821816

I pre-ordered mine from Amazon a few days ago.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1936685329/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1405574602&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40

Ok I was an idiot. Direct links gone now. If you want those books you can purchase them legally from Amazon.

Traps

Traps Too

Lite

Fore

Ate

Bazaar

Dungeon of Doom

Basic Fantasy Rulebook

The Chaotic Caverns

A cheap set of dice

That should run you about $15, and it's enough for a few months of fun sessions.

Wizards of the Coast did it for you in 2002. http://www.amazon.com/Revised-Core-Rulebook-Star-Roleplaying/dp/078692876X

Just buy him this of course.

Old Republic Campaign Guide

Basic Game

Grimtooth

For PURE Eeeeeeeevil though, design your own module, liberally sprinkled with additions from the Grimtooth's Traps series of books...

Might I suggest that you check out: Blood of Heroes

Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game 3rd Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/1503334945/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Je0iDbPTCYHTX

These?

Or, on Amazon.. this and this?

http://www.amazon.com/Book-Erotic-Fantasy-Gwendolyn-Kestrel/dp/1588463990

(EDIT) it's d20 Erotic rules

That would be this.
http://www.amazon.com/Book-Erotic-Fantasy-Gwendolyn-Kestrel/dp/1588463990/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334732963&sr=8-1

I use one of these: https://smile.amazon.com/Pathfinder-Combat-Pad-Paizo-Staff/dp/1601255470/

$19. That gets you both the board and a bunch of dry-erase magnets.

There's also this system. It's set during the Saiyen saga, which technically would be amidst the reign of Freiza.

Mongoose Traveller core rulebook is available at your FNGS. Most of the ones by me have it in stock. Also on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Traveller-Core-Rulebook-Gareth-Hanrahan/dp/190610333X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369788115&sr=8-1&keywords=traveller&tag=r601000000-20

Not exactly, friend.

If you're really serious about it, get the Stronghold Builder's Guide book:
https://www.amazon.com/Stronghold-Builders-Guidebook-Dungeons-Roleplaying/dp/0786926554

You've purchased a setting supplement for Dungeons & Dragons, 4th Edition. 4th Edition (aka D&D4e, 4th, 4e) is very different to earlier editions and isn't particularly compatible with them.

There are many others in this thread recommending products and games that are not compatible with the product you've purchased, because they are different games (and thus the rules are different, in the way Scrabble and Monopoly are different). Be aware that The Shadowfell box is not compatible with non-4e games.

My suggestion is to start out with the Red Box that you've looked into already, and also the "Essentials" books -- Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms, Heroes of the Fallen Lands, and the Rules Compendium.

After that you'd want to look into the Monster Vault box.

Each of these (including the Monster Vault box) is about $20. The MV box is well worth the money.

I’ve never played it or even checked out reviews but there is The Firefly RPG

There's an ASOIAF RPG alreay that might be closer suited to your needs. Pathfinder and D&D are so geared around the presence of magic items and wizardly/clerical magic and fighting non-human enemies that removal of those changes the balance considerably.

But I'd actually recommend REIGN over either of those. It has some very interesting rules for running armies and nations. And since so much of Game of Thrones is above the individual level, that stuff is crazy relevant. The magic system is easily altered to the minimal and subtle magic in ASOIAF. Plus, it's written by Stolze!

Why, the DBZ roleplaying game of course!

No, really, I wouldn't bother with that. Ancient, unsupported, and awkward (if I remember the copy I flipped through years ago accurately). BESM is the usual go-to engine for anime, and my own experiences with it have been positive.

For $9, Reign: Enchridion.

Super fast combat, unique rolling system, fantasy based w/o levels, and it's a steal at $9.

http://www.amazon.com/REIGN-Enchiridion-Greg-Stolze/dp/1907204652/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395144501&sr=8-1&keywords=reign+enchiridion

Been tempted to get a set like this for my little one. He's a bit too destructive still, would try and rip them apart, but maybe someday...

No. I mean D100/percentile.

Was that Firefly line in your post originally OP? I missed it.

Check out the Firely RPG: https://www.amazon.com/Firefly-Core-Rulebook-Margaret-Productions/dp/1936685329

Or Scum and Villany: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/198681/Scum-and-Villainy

To clarify, KotOR 1 and 2 are direct ports of the original d20 Star Wars game. The link above is to a later version of the game that doesn't match exactly.

This is the version KotOR used.

jumbo polyhedral dice these might be a little over kill, and I don't trust them to roll fair, but at about 3 inches a piece they should be readable.

Looking quickly over your document, it looks very similar to the D20 Star Wars RPG that Wizards of the Coast put out a while back.

You might want to use that instead of coming up with your own. I agree that the FF version is radically different than DnD players would be used to, but the D20 version is basically DnD 3.5 with a Star Wars veneer plastered over it.

> min bekanta! I started filling this in but when I got to question 4 I realized something was wrong. Smallest storage option of 200 miniatures? That box would be huge! Not to speak of a 1000! What am I missing?

It's for papper pawns
https://www.amazon.com/Paizo-Inc-Pathfinder-Pawns-Bestiary/dp/1601255616

GURPS is a generic system that uses a simple skill system plus an Advantage/Disadvantage mechanic to define characters. There is a basic rulebook for 4th Edition GURPS (Characters) but there's also a GM book (Campaigns).

***

Unisystem is similar, except that there's no generic rulebook, rather it's broken down by genre (or IP). There's also two flavors of Unisystem: Classic (Rules Heavy) and Cinematic (Rules Light).

If you're looking at Unisystem for Fantasy, I would suggest All Flesh Must Be Eaten + Dungeons & Zombies, or Ghosts of Albion.

http://www.amazon.com/Pathfinder-Roleplaying-Game-Paizo-Combat/dp/1601255470/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397558469&sr=8-1&keywords=combat+pad

It's for pathfinder but in reality you can use it for literally any game you choose.

I feel your pain. I joined this subreddit recently because I had been lurking and because I had been reading threads and picked up Star Wars: Edge of Empires, Numenera, Eclipse Phase, and Delta Green.