(Part 3) Top products from r/rpg

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!

>I'd go buy a standard price book (RPG books tend to be waay more expensive where I am than in the US).

I'm not sure where you live efrique, but the above description meets the description of Australia pretty fair and square (where I live) so I'll throw some bitlets of info out and if you're in Australia and it helps it will be cool, and if you're somewhere else you might get some ideas nonetheless.

So, on a long ramble during my break from study, please see the below screed of 'maybe knowledge' ... although, first:

TL; DR

I'd go Dungeon World, OSRIC, Fate/FAE in that order ... but thats just me ...

Anyway:

Fate

Fate is 'setting neutral' ... a lot less crunchy that D&D and Co, and is a story game with supplementary rules rather than the other way around. Its made by the nice folk at 'Evil Hat' who provide it on a pay what you can basis (incl. $0) right here. There is also a 'condensed version' of the rules called 'Fate Accelerated' which is similarly 'setting neutral'.

Fred Hicks from Evil Hat will be better at explaining "why Fate", or you could also look at this thread from /r/rpg

Dungeon World

Its good that old school D&D feel with a 'to do it, just say it' kind of new school story telling mechanic. Its $10 as a pdf from here. I like it, its good for beginners to role playing and its collaborative story telling as you go.

OSRIC

OSRIC is a re-release of what is basically the original D&D rules under an open game licence. There are kind of a lot of different versions of this kind of thing and, to be fair, I have no idea what the actual differences are. Someone might pip in and tell us hopefully. You can get the book for free as a pdf right here at lulu.com or apparently to get them to print, bind and post it to you it costs only $17.81 which, as an Australian, seems far too good to be true ...

Pathfinder


I've used bookdepository.com in the past to get the hardcopy of Paizo's Pathfinder Core Rulebook ... which at around $50 and no postage is a lot better than the $80-110 I'd have to pay if I bought at a local bookshop, and better than you can get directly from Paizo who charge $40 for the book and $40 for international postage.

Pathfinder Core might be a bit too complex for what your looking for at this point though, but bookdepository is by far a cheaper option if you can find what you're looking for compared to buying local (which seems counter-intuitive, and while I'd like to 'support local' I just don't have that much cash!).

D&D


D&D 4e (which I've never played to be honest) has a bunch of 'essentials' A5 size books which summarised the preceding years of rules glut down into some basic books: See the 'frequently bought together bit half way down and also there is a Rules Compendium - apparently that's D&D 4e, the summarised version ... $60-ish the lot if you are in Australia, and I've seen them for $20-$25 each at the "FLGS" so you saving a bit there ...

Alternately, Wizards of the Coast are currently 'playtesting' the 5th edition of D&D and you can sign up to be a beta tester and download the lastest test version for free here

I'm going to interpret your question a little bit differently and provide some books that are not directly RPG related but will help you to be a better role-player or Game Master. Then, I will finish off with some more RPG specific suggestions.

The essential reads are the following:

• All of HP Lovecraft
  
• Anything you can read from Tolkien
  
• Robert E. Howards stories about Conan the Cimmerian
  
• Fantasy/Sci-Fi Art Collections (subjective based upon the styles that inspire you and that reflect your campaigns)
  
• Collections of Legend or Mythology
  
• A book or two about acting and/or improvisation, I recommend Impro: Improvisation and the Theater
  
  For GM-specific materials, I really love the spirit conveyed by Dungeon World and Fate Core (and the Fate System Toolkit for that matter). If you learn nothing else from Dungeon World, learn the GM principles and how to set up Fronts. Fronts (or something similar) are the way you should be preparing as a GM that very few other books convey. The Alexandrian has a lot of amazing materials. I know that Play Unsafe was recommended here, but it was a little short and basic for my taste... much of the same principles will be covered by reading the other recommended texts in my post. If you absolutely must learn about improvisation as a skill in and of itself, read Impro. The author of Play Unsafe drew heavily from this text and most of the truly unique ideas can be found within Impro.

By Starter Kit, I'm guessing you mean this? If so, it's going to have an adventure along with the rules and whatnot, as well as pregenerated characters for you to pick from. The adventure, Lost Mine of Phandelver, also has lots of advice for whomever's GMing the game. It is, after all, a starter set for them as well :)

For a more complete game, you'll need to drop some doss on the holy trinity - Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual. All in, around $100 new, a bit less used. The PHB is going to outline most of what you need to run the game - character creation (all the options for races and classes and spells and whatnot), the rules for task resolution and combat, equipment, spells, and a lot of miscellaneous bits and bobs. The Monster Manual has a bunch of monsters in it, without which it'd be pretty boring to roam the world. The DMG is sort of a catch-all of everything else - magic items, extra/alternate rules, and a lot of generally helpful advice about things like what to do when the players go off the beaten path and designing worlds and campaigns. While it's helpful, I'd say it's the least crucial of the three to actually playing the game.

There's also a bunch of adventures and campaigns, published by both Wizards of the Coast and third party publishers. You might check some of those at as a good starting point for your adventures. While it's probably not as fun as making everything up yourselves, it'll be handy to play for awhile with the safety net of "here's what comes next" laid out in print.

You might check out Geek & Sundary's Critical Role, which is actual D&D being played by actual overly attractive people in a manner which is both fun and informative. Matthew Colville's channel has a lot of really great advice for people just starting out, especially related to running the game.

Hopefully that answered some of your questions. If you have anything specific, toss it out and I'll see if I can answer it.

If you want something intended for gaming a pretty good book is the D20 Critical Locations sourcebook. It has a lot of system agnostic locations fitting a number of different themes. Besides using the maps wholesale you could use them as inspiration or mash them up into new locations.

Another option option is to use Google/Bing maps. For outdoor shots you can use the maps themselves. For buildings just trace the outline of building and then fill it in for whatever you need. Office buildings (offices, police stations, etc) are usually pretty basic in terms of architecture. They have offices lining hallways, elevators clustered somewhere, and stairwells typically connect to emergency exits. You've been in buildings before, you know what are inside of them. Once you've got a general shape it's really easy to fill it in with details and shouldn't take you too long.

You can also find some maps for video games set in a similar setting to your game. There's all kinds of maps on game tutorials on the web. You can crib a professional game designer's work to use in your tabletop game. There's nothing wrong with doing that and it makes for a useful resource.

A major aspect of making locations interesting or memorable is to imagine them in realistic detail. You as a person who has been in buildings have an intuition as to what you'd expect to see in a classroom or office. Use that intuition to fill a location with details. Once you've got some contents you need a setting. What are the weather, light, temperature, smells, and sounds in that location. If the character fails to sneak around do their footsteps echo in the hallways or do they bump into a janitor's mop in the dark?

A technique I like to use in games where I don't need a map for miniatures is to write up an outline of details for a location on an index card. When I think of cool things I want in a location I can add a few bullet points to the card. So a location card will look something like this:

> Gangster's Warehouse
>
> Vehicle entrance with rolling steel door on main street
> No street level windows
> Office on second floor in the back
> Back entrance in alley partially hidden by dumpster
> Inside lots of crates stacked on steel shelves in long rows
> Forklift parked near street entrance

I might draw a little diagram showing the general outline or outside entrances or just describe them with cardinal locations (north, west, etc). In addition to locations I write up "condition" cards which look similar. They look like:

> Moonless Winter Night
>
> Biting cold, need a heavy jacket to be comfortable
> Outdoors away from lights are very dark
> Very few animal/insect sounds
> A light breeze easily pierces light clothing

So if I want to use a warehouse in the winter at night I grab those two index cards and set them out. When I'm setting the scene I can use details I already came up with to save me some time and effort. Not only can I describe locations with a lot of detail I can answer questions players might have easily as I have a pretty good mental image of the location rather than just a 10"x10" room. For me each of those points listed on the index card gives me a description of how the particular location appears to the characters. The details aren't too painstaking since I might be using the "Gangster's Warehouse" location as a military depot or inside of a Costco.

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).

Hi!

Most importantly - don't panic! It's OK. Every experienced RPG player was new once.

If you have a local RPG group - that's great. Do they play at a store? At someone's house? A community center? If it's a store, then you can just go to the store instead of to the group because - hey, they're a store - their whole job is to get you comfortably into the hobby so they can sell you stuff, right?

Also - just to be clear: There are many tabletop RPGs, not just D&D or D&D + Pathfinder. There are literally thousands of games available today. I mention this because "D&D" is kind of like "Kleenex" - sometimes one brand gets used to refer to the whole range of options. So you should know that there are LOTS of choices. And many of them are less about giving experienced players advantages than D&D / Pathfinder are.

If you want to learn and play D&D, that's great. Here are a few things I would point you towards:

• The D&D Essentials Kit is designed to get you playing without any prior experience, and only requires ONE other player. It has everything you need except a pencil - it even has the dice! You could read the rulebook and be ready to play with your local group, or recruit a friend and jump right into the fun of being the DM!
  
• The Basic Rules are free to download and have the real meat of the game. What you won't get are all the variants that the main rule books have - but the basic rules will let you understand all those variants. If you read just Part 1 (making a character) and Part 2 (playing the game) you'll have done more homework than most 1st time players do before they show up to play. These rules are fully playable, but you'll need dice at least.
  
  If you want to play TTRPGs but not D&D, then there's a whole world of games out there for you to choose from, but that's kind of a larger discussion.
  
  Welcome to the hobby!

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.

Either the Pathfinder Beginner Box or the D&D Red Box Starter Set will give you everything you need to start playing a simplified version of the full games, all in one box. Buy it, invite friends over, unwrap the box, start playing.

The rules are written in such a way as to let players get started immediately, but the person running the game (the Dungeon Master or Game Master) will probably want to look through it for a few minutes beforehand.

If you like the tutorials, you might move on to the full games. I like Pathfinder, so I'll focus on that one.

If you want to play the "full" Pathfinder game, you don't need the Beginner Box, instead you need:

• One copy of The Core Rulebook
  
• One copy of The Bestiary
  
• One set (or more if you want) of polyhedral dice, such as this.
  
• One character sheet per player [PDF]
  
• Some pencils
  
• Some tokens to represent characters and monsters (pennies, nickels and dimes will do)
  
  All other books you will see listed are optional: they provide more options, more content, more ideas. Don't buy them until you need more. You may never.
  
  You only need one set of books and dice, but having more copies will make life easier. It's totally optional. All of the important Pathfinder content is available for free on the internet in multiple locations, so technically you could skip the books altogether if you needed to. In practice it's nice to have a hard copy.
  
  Also, there are thousands of RPGs out there you could play instead of D&D or Pathfinder, but I would say try them after you've gotten your feet at least slightly wet.

You seem like you want to prepare. I'm also a person who prepares, so here are things you can do to come feeling like you have:

Email (or text or whatever) the GM and ask what version you're playing.

4th edition, D&D 3.5, Pathfinder or 5th edition are all very likely candidates, and all play different enough you will want to know a bit of the difference. The first night you don't necessarily need to have your own copy of the book, but it will be a lot easier if you do going forward.

If the group is totally new, everyone will be rolling characters. If you meant the group is new to you, and they're already playing, ask what character classes they have already.

You may be happy looking up what 'good' character classes are for that edition are (depends on how competitive you are)

Bring a cheat sheet on it the edition you're playing, a small notebook, 2 mechanical pencils, and a set of polyhedral dice

Cheat sheets:

5th Edition: http://www.enworld.org/forum/rpgdownloads.php?do=download&downloadid=1042

4th Edition: http://kassoon.com/dnd/crib-sheet/

Pathfinder Edition: https://sites.google.com/site/paolospathfinderpage/cheat-sheets

3.5 Edition: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?231897-3-5-Rules-Cheat-Sheets

You really need to look into which version it is to get specific recommendations from /r/rpg that will be at all helpful. Once you do get that answer on what edition you're playing, find 2 easy to play classes by asking here, or looking up "tier lists" on the internet.

If you're really up for it, after finding out what version it is, go buy the players handbook for that version, read it, and watch an hour or two of "Actual play" on the internet for that version.

__

Most of D&D is about 1> Standing in the right place 2> Hitting the baddie with your big stick/magic spell 3> Not falling into traps 4> Getting loot. The game is incredibly oriented on loot and small magical items that give bonuses to attack and defense. So when an item comes up that's appropriate to your character, ask for it! Don't be a hog, but don't make the mistake of not taking enough.

When making your character, there are a lot of okay choices, a couple really really bad ones, and some superlative ones. You're unlikely to figure out the superlative ones without looking them up, but you'll probably be able to avoid the really horrible ones.

If you're worrying about the Roleplaying part, instead of the game playing part, the book "Impro" is excellent at explaining how to play characters well (the chapter on status is worthwhile on life in general)

It can be done, but it'd be tough. I once played in a treasure hunting game where there was a competing group going against us. Sometimes we got the treasure, other times they did.

I'd recommend writing a really episodic campaign. Make sure each session is a self-contained story. It will need plenty of paths to the same session climax. Maybe treat the campaign like a string of one-shots with all the same reoccurring PCs.

A good game for two groups, same campaign would be Monster of the Week. It's intended to emulate a Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Killer style of play. You can have themes that carry over week to week, but each session is it's own story. The chapter about writing your adventure notes is top-notch. I've heard of GMs running the same MotW session for several different groups before.

All Flesh Must Be Eaten. Super easy system and good zombie game.

AFMBE (Unisystem) is d10+relevant attribute and try to get a 9 or better to succeed. The higher your result, the better you succeed.

easy.
Here's one on Amazon.

Hm... I'm not sure what to do about transitioning into a Fallout RPG system. I'll share with you what's worked for me to acquaint new-comers to tabletop games:

• Buy one of these: One, Two, Three, maybe Four
  
  
• Schedule a "game night" where your group just picks up and plays one of those games. Work together to understand the rules and the process and gauge the how much fun everyone has doing these sort of games.
  
  
• After a few games nights, ask your friends if they're interested in trying something a little less pre-made. Buy this and upgrade your game night.
  
  
• After a few sessions of that, if all goes well and the general consensus is positive, expand your game night to your desired game system.

Playing KOTOR or SWOTOR (now free?) will likely give you some great ideas. I'm running a D6 campaign set in Legacy era and it's been pretty awesome so far--but I've been playing the first KOTOR to get a general grasp of the universe and it's definitely been helping a lot. You might also want to check this out.

If you want something more like a traditional pen-and-paper RPG that still has part of the 4e feel, I would recommend 13th Age. You have classes with a clear purpose, feats and levels. You have three "tiers" of play just like 4E.

There is something sort of like the 4E healing surges. Skills are easier and more thematic since you declare a background (Pirate of the Ruined Sea, for example) and then you can get a bonus whenever you make a skill check that could draw from that background. This game doesn't use a grid, but instead uses range bands so you can just sketch out the battlefield or use theater of the mind with the rules equally well.

Gamma World was an adaption of the 4E ruleset to an older TSR property. All the games in that version come in box sets that include all the combat maps needed and monster tokens. You don't get to pick roles as much, however, since you are randomly determining mutations that take the place of race and class. You still gain gain powers, levels and use the grid the whole way.

If you want a board game that fits the same general idea, I'd say give Descent a look. Just know it won't be the same as playing a more open pen-and-paper RPG.

EDIT: Here's another time someone asked a similar question here, so you can take a look.

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 suggestion: I think you guys may all need to chill out a bit. A game of Fiasco would be a great break for a game instead of hopping right back into this system/scenario. It might also teach you how to meta game WITH each other as players for entertainment even when your characters are at odds.

I'm guessing you may get a little too attached to your ideas of how things will go, and don't roll with the punches an optimal amount (and I'm guessing your DM could use a trip through Play Unsafe)

Impro is a good book for you to learn to accentuate people's changes like this.

I know you said no D&D, but 5th edition is definitely the easiest one to understand. The D&D Starter Set or the D&D Essentials are both good places to start.

> And then we shell out $150 for the books at some point before we can even use supplements.

You don't need the GM's guide. However:

Player's handbook: $28

Monster Manual: $34

GM's guide: $30

Total $92. These are all Amazon prices, and other vendors are cheaper - eg Wallmart has each of the books for less than $30.

I still think you only need the Player's handbook plus an online 5e monster list, however. But even if you want a player's handbook and a monster manual the total would only be: $62.

I mean, if you want 'cheap,' then Fate Core is free and there are pay what you will scenarios for it on drivethrurpg. But it's not as universally accepted/popular as D&D and I personally think the D&D starter set does a better job at handholding a beginner through the learning experience. So I'd still recommend that.

I thought D&D: Legend of Drizzt was fun. There's no windspeed or line of sight kind of stuff, and I think if you buy other games similar to this one, like D&D: Temple of Elemental Evil, you can combine the cards/tokens/characters to make the playthroughs more interesting.

As per amazon:

• Designed for 1 to 5 players
  
  
• Features multiple scenarios, challenging quests and cooperative game play
  
  
• Contains: 42 heroes and monsters, 13 sheets of interlocking cardstock dungeons tiles, 200 encounter and treasure cards, scenario book, and 20-sided die
  
  
• Rulebook and scenario books
  
  
• 20-sided die
  
  The Descent game mentioned by u/lordfeint32 looks similar to the D&D game too. I bet it would be really fun as well.

Technoir

Apocalypse World (review)

Gamma World (review)

Of the three, Gamma World is the weakest despite having one of the best/funnest character creation systems I've seen in years.

Apocalypse World is its own special kind of brilliance. It's worth checking out for the GMing advice alone.

Technoir is a bit more STG than RPG, but it features a truly fantastic system for running prep-light campaigns that are still filled with convoluted mysteries.

I've heard a lot said about buying a premade adventure. If you are running 4e, might I suggest Dungeon Delve?

http://www.amazon.com/Dungeon-Delve-4th-Supplement-Adventure/dp/0786951397/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241077629&sr=8-1

It's a great way to get a bunch of basic encounters ready fast. Just jump in and play, and learn the rules as you go.

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/

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)

There is a system out for zombie apocalypse. Its called all flesh must be eaten. I have yet to try it because one of my gaming group members refuses to play in any game that has zombies. I believe there is a trial version available for free from the makers of the game. look around for it if your are interested.

http://www.amazon.com/Flesh-Must-Eaten-Core-Afmbe/dp/1891153315/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332955451&sr=8-1

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!

BESM: it can get seriously goofy with some of the splats, it's under the d20 system and is relatively easy to find. Big caveat is you and your players need to like anime in order to really get anything out of it.

If you want people to get into roleplay then I wholeheartedly suggest The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen or Everyone is John.

All Flesh Must Be Eaten. You can pretty much run it in any setting and tone as you like. Maybe check out Zombies!!

the starter kit is 15$ on amazon and should contain everything you need to give it a shot one night.

The essentials kit is 16$~

you can get several extra sets of dice for 10$

the starter kit and the dice is like 25$ total and can easily get you started.

No, US. I can work with u on the shipping if it means you'll get to try a game that your group might like. After getting home, this is the game I have, I'm sure you can look up reviews: https://www.amazon.com/Revised-Core-Rulebook-Star-Roleplaying/dp/078692876X

Edit: again, check out gurps lite too. Short rulebook, many translations, universal setting, and free

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

http://www.amazon.com/The-Extraordinary-Adventures-Baron-Munchausen/dp/1906402159

Hmmmmmmm looks cool...if you like that, check this game out...it might be something you like!

Gamma World

This game is more a hybrid of a RPG and board game, but so you can learn the basics better than starting with a normal RPG. Plus, it has a post-apocalyptic setting.

I recommend going the boardgame route. There's plenty of miniatures boardgames out there that get you a decent selection of minis for a reasonable price, plus the option to play another game. I'm more a sci-fi guy, but here are some fantasy options (no particular order):

Dungeons and Dragons boardgame

Generic fantasy: here or here

Steampunk fantasy

Chibi style if you are into that.

Other somewhat cartoony style

I would recommend:

• Pathfinder Core Rulebook
  
  
• Pathfinder Bestiary 1
  
  
• A set of dice
  
  Or
  
  
• Pathfinder Starter Set
  
  

How about something like this?

Stand alone D&D board games like: https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Castle-Ravenloft-Board/dp/0786955570/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1504049722&sr=8-2&keywords=ravenloft
are really solid and even if he hates it, he get some good minis out of it.
Or, Lords of Waterdeep is really good, but to deep for a 4 year old.

Invest $15 in a flip mat. Folds up to fit in a book and works with wet or dry-erase markers. (Also available in other colors.)

I recommend that you pick up Dungeon Delve for getting started with pre-made encounters and Masterplan to keep it all together.

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

These

are at least


a start

Note: I am only posting legal ways to acquire these.

What you do with a book title is your own buisness

The D&D board games are actually really good for 1-5 players, it's short campaigns no DM needed.

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.

I bought one of these at gencon, while practical the fold areas distract. Nice and compact if you don't have a lot of space, but for an everyday mapping tool, spend a few dollars more for a chessex mat(http://www.amazon.com/Role-Playing-Reversible-Vinyl-Gaming/dp/B00OCYO8XK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1451556892&sr=8-3&keywords=chessex+gaming+mat) or the Piazo ones http://www.amazon.com/Pathfinder-Flip-Mat-Basic-Terrain-Multi-Pack/dp/1601255578/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1451556939&sr=8-2&keywords=paizo

Link on Amazon

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

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

I think Decent might be more what you are looking for.

So your saying all I really need to buy (for 3.5), technically, would be the core rulebook and some dice? EDIT: what about the Bestiary?

One of the D&D board games, they're reduced RPG experiences that can be run in short time with only levels 1-2 covered and come with everything you need in one box.

ex: https://www.amazon.com/Wizards-Coast-Dungeons-Dragons-Legend/dp/0786958731

Old Republic Campaign Guide

Basic Game

Just buy him this of course.

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.

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...

Googled "luxury holocaust shelter map"
Found this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/47666171@N05/with/4369569617/#photo_4369569617

Those pages say "d20 critical locations" so I googled that:
http://www.amazon.com/d20-Critical-Locations-Modern-Supplement/dp/0786939141

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.

Oh! I see, I misinterpreted what you were looking for.

Since this is more battle-mats than dungeon maps, the generic solution that everyone does is a Chessex wet-erase Mat, but you could also try Paizo dry/wet erase flip mats. If you're not pleased with the $20 range and want even cheaper, Gaming Paper for $4, or Graph Paper Notebook for $6.

They are literally a direct port of d20 Star Wars already. And there was an official KOTOR source book made for it.

https://www.amazon.com/Knights-Republic-Campaign-Guide-Roleplaying/dp/0786949236/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503709139&sr=1-1&keywords=knights+of+the+old+republic+role+playing