Is the Original D&D White Box reprint good for new players?

[painted_klown]

Hello all,

I have yet to play any RPG (but will be playing Pathfinder in a few days) but have always liked the idea of playing D&D, as it's the kind of the "granddaddy" of RPGs.

Anyway, with my new found excitement, I decided to order a copy of the original D&D white box reprint (along with the 3 core rulebooks for AD&D 1ed). I got them in today, but was debating on if I should even open them up or not.

Reason being is that I have never played any RPG or miniatures games before and was thinking I may be completely lost if I tried to bust into the OD&D white box without having any knowledge of the games that it branched from (or was influenced by).

Would you say that this box would be good for a total noob to RPGs? Does this box provide everything you need to get a game up and running?

What about adventures, modules, maps, etc? How much of that stuff is needed?

Do I need some minis to make it work best? Do I need to have any knowledge of minis games, or game mechanics?

Sorry for all of the silly questions, but I am truly as a loss for what I should do here?

Thanks.

 

[trancejeremy]

Not really. It was really aimed at people who played a lot of games with confusing rules.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

Being the first of anything doesn't mean being the best for beginners. Maybe take a shot at the Sword & Sorcery: Whitebox Edition to get a feeling for the game. As far as I know it's pretty close to the original but more comprehensive.

 

[Ravenheart87]

Would you say that this box would be good for a total noob to RPGs?

Nope, it's not really good for n00bs - while the rules are basically easy, the booklets are confusing and badly ordered. Better find someone who runs a game or two for you or get a retroclone that is based on it. Those are much clearer and while they are good on their own, they are useful in understanding how OD&D works too. I'm pretty sure if you ask people around here you'll find a group that plays online and would welcome you. Playing is the best way to learn the game and it's especially true about OD&D.

Does this box provide everything you need to get a game up and running?

Yes. It's full of useful stuff. Just make sure you don't try to use anything. There are even several variants and alternative rules for the same thing that don't work together. It's a modular game, you'll have to choose what you use for your campaign.

What about adventures, modules, maps, etc? How much of that stuff is needed?

Write your own. There are plenty of them cheap or free floating around the internet too.

Do I need some minis to make it work best? Do I need to have any knowledge of minis games, or game mechanics?

You don't need minis. OD&D does refer to Chainmail here and there, but I usually ignore that part and use my own rules instead.

Sorry for all of the silly questions, but I am truly as a loss for what I should do here?

No problem. As I mentioned above, get a retroclone like Delving Deeper or Swords & Wizardry (these are free) and that will help you understand it. Learning the game from the original booklets is challenging, but they do have lots of useful content that the retroclones lack.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

No -- there's a reason it spawned multiple follow-on Basic sets.

Pick up a product designed to be a true D&D introductory product, get familiar with how the game plays, and then come back and try to make sense of the OD&D rulebook. It's a classic product, but we've come a long way since then in our ability to teach and present the game.

 

[painted_klown]

Thanks for the honest answers everyone. I guess I made a mistake by buying the white box and 1ed reprints. I suppose I bought them out of ignorance with a dash of excitement thrown in.

My line of thinking was these older versions would be easier to learn or whatever for a new player. I now realize that probably isn't true.

In light of this, I will just keep them sealed up and look at them as the beginning of my RPG collection.

 

[KirayaTiDrekan]

If you want an "old school" D&D product (as opposed to a retro-clone) that's beginner friendly, I would recommend the D&D Basic Set Player's Manual and D&D Basic Set DM's Rulebook.

The player's book, in particular, provides an easy and fun way to learn to play the game, in the form of a solo adventure.

If you aren't a fan of PDFs, you can find the "Red Box" boxed set on Amazon or ebay, though new copies are going to cost a pretty penny.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Reason being is that I have never played any RPG or miniatures games before and was thinking I may be completely lost if I tried to bust into the OD&D white box without having any knowledge of the games that it branched from (or was influenced by).

Would you say that this box would be good for a total noob to RPGs? Does this box provide everything you need to get a game up and running?

As others have said the white box isn't at all written to teach the game in any way. However, once you have a grasp on how to approach D&D in general then it can be a very simple, fun, creative, and easy edition to run and play. Hang on to it. It might end up being the edition you prefer. Meanwhile, it's also good to see some of where the game came from and the different directions it's taken in different editions.

1E makes some attempt at actually teaching the game but there are issues with that. For one, far fewer people actually play the game the way 1E suggests that it is to be played. 1E is also much more rules-heavy and is certain to be daunting to learn it from the books alone. Some key parts of the 1E rules are NOT well-written, with very few people playing them exactly as written. Also, as mentioned the books are not well-organized (it was a set of rules that was assembled over several years and was a work in progress even as it was being published). Despite all that I still love 1E more than ANY other edition.

What about adventures, modules, maps, etc? How much of that stuff is needed?

Until you actually settle on an edition to move forward with for a while you won't want to be heavily investing in adventures/modules. Fortunately there is SO MUCH FREE STUFF available that ought not be an issue. Just ask around and everyone will happily give recommendations. As a DM, however, you're almost sure to get an itch to start creating your own materials. In fact, I'd say that you're unlikely to be the best DM you can be unless you develop some skills along those lines and actually have a DESIRE to do so. An adventure module is not a script that must be adhered to. Players will go wildly off-track, often at unexpected points, and you'll want and need the skills to make things up as you go. But all that comes LATER, after you've established a better basic understanding of the game.

Do I need some minis to make it work best? Do I need to have any knowledge of minis games, or game mechanics?

Minis are not required and can come to be a notable, ongoing expense to start acquiring a good collection. You can use all manner of free substitutes for sculpted minis though. From 3rd edition on the rules are written to be much more minis-friendly but the game of D&D grew out of miniatures wargaming. Although even the more recent editions can be played without minis it's a fun aspect of the game to embrace and always has been.

Sorry for all of the silly questions, but I am truly as a loss for what I should do here?

The fastest way to learn the game is to play it with a few people who already know how. Look around online and you should be able to find videos of people actually engaged in playing. Although they're a bit theatrical since it's being played in front of a large, live audience I'd recommend watching the Acquisitions Inc. sessions from PAX Prime and PAX East conventions. It's pretty close to how _I've_ always played and run D&D (just without the costumes and audience).

Worst case scenario - JUST DO IT. Get some people together and embrace the horror of possibly "not doing it right". If you have fun - you've done it right. Even if you don't have fun but you still want more punishment, well then just keep trying.

 

[painted_klown]

Thanks again all. I appreciate your help and advice.

Well, the Pathfinder game was cancelled yesterday as two of the players had family issues pop up, and the weather did not cooperate. Oh well, this will give me more time to get my character built and familiarize myself with the rules some more.

Jan van Leyden, thanks for the links to Sword & Sorcery. That looks pretty cool, and may be a great place to start as a new player/DM.

 

[LabyrinthLord718]

I'm more of a Labyrinth Lord guy, but I agree with everything said above.

However, regardless of which 'NOS' system you use (LL, S&W, et al), you can DEFINITELY use your 1e material with it!

I ran a 6-month campaign last year with 6 players; some had been playing as long as myself (since early 80s), some since 2e, and some were brand new to roleplaying. We used LL core rules and AEC, and I used the module The Veiled Society as the basic launching pad for the campaign -- but virtually all of the monsters were pulled from the 1e Fiend Folio with little or no alteration.

What makes OSR gaming so much fun is its modularity. (I even created 3 classes for Classic D&D which were published by Kobold Press). You can mix and match elements without having to over-worry about 'balance'.

Now, I may also say that 5e is a great bridge between the old and the new.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of 5e for me is a return to this type of mentality. It is also the first official D&D product in AGES that can withstand a conversion to the new edition of old modules without getting lost in translation (in my opinion).

I played Pathfinder from its official release until 2 years ago, when I went back to OSR gaming because I was completely burnt out on the power creep/rules bloat/fiddly bits.

5e has brought me back to the WotC fold in a major way.