Table Top RPGS.

So in my endless search to become a better nerd, ive decided to try my hand at table top rpgs.only problem is i have zero idea how any of it works and there doesnt seem to be alot of noob friendly info.atleast none that i can find. right now im neck deep in the STAR TREK RPG. A) Because im a huge trekkie as is my girlfriend. B) It seems the most accessible so far.

Ive managed to get my hands on all of the books and i have alot of the info i need, i just lack alot of the basic knowledge. such as what specific terms mean and even some of the basic mechanics of the process. in short,i have no fucking clue what im doing. ive read through the player creation book and i think i have a grasp of its basic ideas but other than that im lost. if there is some kind soul out there could direct me to some kind of begginers guide or even if sombody could just give me a play by play on how this is supposed to work. sadly where i live there is nobody who is into this type of thing. thanks in advance!!

Man, I hope you enjoy reading. Because there's a lot of it before the more esoteric TTRPG rulesets begin to make any kind of sense.

Were I you, I might start with a more mainstream system (D&D 4E maybe) since there's probably a greater quantity of helpful information being written/video'd about it.

As for playing with real people, I've had decent success with playing over Skype/Mumble with a competent GM. The benefit there is that you don't have to know all of the rules before diving in.

Good luck, wolfman!

@Ravenlight: yeah,there is ALOT of reading involved lol. but thats fine. i enjoy it for the most part. the only downside is im terrible at math and there seems to be alot of it!

But i chose star trek for several reason. my girlfriend loves trek so it would be easier to get her onboard if it was about somthing she likes and i figured it would be easier to learn if i was allready familar with the universe.

The trick to having fun in a role playing game is being a good story teller. The person who is running the game should have a fairly good idea of where the story should, or could go. Think of it as an old school text adventure game. The runner of the game acts as the computer, setting the scene. The difference is that you don't present preset options for what the players can do. Instead, the players use their imaginations and the abilities of their characters to tackle the situations presented. If there is a challenge or struggle involved with an action, dice are used to resolve to what level the player is successful.

It is basically a back and forth relationship in which the Game Master (runner) develops a situation and the the players make decisions on how to resolve it.

As for specific mechanics of the Star Trek RPG. I have no idea. I have not played that one, but if you have read the core rule book, you should have a good understanding of the mechanics. Remember that the rules are there to make it a game, a challenge. You DO NOT have to roll for everything. People can move about and investigate many things without a roll, but if there is some detail that might be missed and the character isn't intellegent or hasn't invested in investigation type skills, then they should get less information? See?

One last thing. I think it's best if you plan anywhere from 2.5 - 5 hours for a session, have snacks, drinks, and realize that not every minute will be dedicated to the game.

Good luck with your future adventures in roll playing!

I've never played the Star Trek RPG. So, with that said, I have a feeling its one of the more advanced RPG systems out there. I mean. RPG and Star Trek. How far down the rabbit hole can you go!

The only table top RPG I played by the rules was Rifts and holy shit balls, it seemed like an evening worth of combat RPG was about 30 second's worth of game time. The few D&D sessions were loose and had a ton of house rules.

If you've never played a table top RPG before, and have never had someone GM a session for you, it might be difficult to pick up one of those books and go. Sitting in on a session would be the best way to learn.

The Gamers with Jobs podcast brought up the Pathfinder box RPG before. One of the hosts plays it with his eight year old, who in turn has been teaching her friends how to play. Learning how to play the basic game opens the door to the more advanced systems. From what I've heard/read, it introduces both the gamer/game master parts of a table top game. Rules are Pathfinder-lite, so the game should move quickly, even if you're slow.

You might want to check youtube as well. I'm sure there are some tutorials out there, as I used Youtube to learn how Warmachine works.

@Zelyre: i would absolutely love to sit in on a game and just watch how its played. but i live in the middle of fucking nowhere in North Carolina and unless im playing a NASCAR rpg theres no one around. i have a few friends who i could maybe get interested in it but i know i would have to know the game pretty well before i rope them into it. i can see them getting bored real quick if im constantly forgetting rules or allways going back to the book to look somthing up.

there needs to be a Personal listings for rpgs players!

@DoctorDanger99 said:

@Zelyre: i would absolutely love to sit in on a game and just watch how its played.

I can't help with watching, but listening to the Penny Arcade D&D episodes is hilarious and informative!

@DoctorDanger99 said:

@Zelyre: i would absolutely love to sit in on a game and just watch how its played. but i live in the middle of fucking nowhere in North Carolina and unless im playing a NASCAR rpg theres no one around. i have a few friends who i could maybe get interested in it but i know i would have to know the game pretty well before i rope them into it. i can see them getting bored real quick if im constantly forgetting rules or allways going back to the book to look somthing up.

there needs to be a Personal listings for rpgs players!

Ask and you shall receive.

Check local game and comic book shops. I know the local shop by me runs RPGs every week. There's a store not too far from me that's dedicated to board games. They run dedicated game/RPG nights.

Oh, one more thing. That Pathfinder box set also has a single player scenario in it as well.

@Zelyre: nascar? REALLY? lol fucking nascar!

I highly recommend talking as a group about what kind of game everyone wants to play before starting to play it.

• What's the focus? Combat/Social/Puzzles/Exploration?
• How is the party structured? Some games work better with a 'main character' the buffy RPG is an example of this.
• What's the threat of death? Will players live and die by the dices or is their safety of bringing characters back?

You're already on the right track, you picked a setting with the Star Trek RPG but depending on your group, you might find Red Dwarf or Farscape or any number of other games fit the theme of what people want. Not that you have to run out and by different rules, but if everyone wants to play a slapstick style game Red Dwarf is a good inspiration.

If you're not locked into a system yet, I'd suggest D&D 4E as the best D&D edition for people who started with video games who are interested in getting started with classic paper RPGs.

And if we're linking pod casts: http://www.rerolls.com/blog

Heres a question i got. my girl and i are getting ready to create our charcters. how important is it to nail everything down right the first time? im having us go ahead and make them because i think it'll help us plan out the rest of the game. my only worry is that we will spend hours making our guys only to later find out we seriously fucked up. is it wise to go ahead and make them and then just kind of learn as we go? or should we wait until ive gotten a better grasp of the overall game?

I got stuck so I wrote my own game with its own rules derivative of DND. Its top!

@Fallen189: ive thought of that but since i have very little idea of what im doing i figured its best to play an established game first to learn the ropes.

@DoctorDanger99: Presumably you are using the more recent Decipher Star Trek RPG system? According to Wikipedia, there is a character builder application available for that game. I would suggest using that to start with, even if it doesn't roll in all the options you might have with later expansions. Using a helper application can greatly reduce the time it takes to put together a complete legal character, especially if you are inexperienced, so the opportunity cost will be lower.

Once you have your characters, see if you can run them through a simple scenario. One of the GM guides probably has something for starter players. Ideally you'd want 2 or 3 more friends around with one dedicated to being the GM, but you could just run through an encounter while you control both the enemies and one player so you can get a feel for the experience. You'll definitely want to have a few more people when you are actually running sessions, but the sooner you start trying scenarios and running into questions about the rules the sooner you'll actually know the rules.

@ChaosDent: so basiclly i need to just jump in head first! sounds like a plan. dammit i wish i lived closer to some of you guys. hearing this stuff in person would be alot easier than on some message board!