For anyone that plays, is tabletop gaming worth it?

Ever since I first heard about tabletop gaming, I have tried to stay away from it. This might sound dumb, but I just didn't really want to associate myself with something largely considered that nerdy. I was nerdy enough as was, just from a liking video games perspective, and I didn't want to be considered MORE nerdy.

The only person I knew that played played battletech (and was WAYYY into the lore) and from an outsider perspective all I heard was people thinking he was weird and almost laughing at him behind his back. Needless to say, this totally reinforced my "stay the fuck away" mentality. Be cool, act normal, fit in, etc., etc.

Tl;dr, I found a more accepting friend group, and I'm re-considering the whole thing. I know very little about it, I just think it seems really rad from a creative perspective to play GM. Build out campaigns, construct stupidly elaborate 3-D playing fields, and write storylines that then someone else gets to play. Seems fun, if only from a creative perspective!

Basically what I'm asking is that, for anyone that plays, would you suggest for someone new to get into the genre, or is it one of those things that you do because you're already invested, and it's fun enough that you keep doing it, but you wouldn't really invest in if you could go back and re-do things? Follow-up question: if you would suggest it, which games specifically would you recommend? Kind of trying to stay away from anything tongue-in-cheek (if that even exists) and ideally looking for something that is both deep but simultaneously not so overwhelming to outsiders that I could never find anyone to play with. Genre isn't super specific, but I would lean towards fantasy over sci-fi. Pathfinder seemed pretty cool after watching the videos on GB, but I wanted to know other opinions as to what is worth looking into.

Finally, I guess, would anyone that plays actually be interested in playing with a hyper-commited GM? Does building out tilesets and miniature forests and castle walls add to the experience, or would that totally throw you off if you walked into a game night and that was set up? Curious, as that seems like the most enjoyable part. Obviously, play a little fast-and-loose with the rules just to keep it moving, but how deep is it worth diving on the whole front?

Table top gaming is huge and has many genres. What you're asking is basically the same as "should I play video games".

I would suggest going to a local gaming store and asking them do they have any beginner nights or open play sessions and trying some games out or even just hanging out and checking out what people are playing.

There are table top games ranging from being a bean farmer to being the ruler of the universe to being a half-orc warrior who smashes goblins heads in with his mighty axe.

I'm sure there's something you'd enjoy playing, but you might want to be a bit more specific. Do you mean card games, war games, role play games, board games, miniature games, fantasy, sci-fi, licensed?

I think he means Tabletop RPG from his descriptions.

I highly recommend trying Pathfinder if you can get a group together. I don't have any experience with other tabletop RPGs though since I started with DnD 3.5 (which is basically Pathfinder but more restrictive) and went straight to Pathfinder.

If you're looking for tabletop RPG then it might be an idea to look at the new 5th edition of D&D which just launched. They've a bunch of free resources online to get started with and a lot of stores will probably have groups interested in getting started with the game.

Pathfinder is good. It's based off D&D 3.5 because it spawned from it. The company who makes Pathfinder originally wrote offical supplement rules for 3.5 and when the makers of D&D moved on to 4th edition they allowed the Pathfinder guys some open licensing to keep 3.5 going, even if under a different name.

D&D 4th edition is good but you'll probably have an easier time finding a Pathfinder group or a 5th edition group.

There are loads of RPG games though in all the genres you could think of.

@evermoore: Hey, I'm a GM and my players are all newcomers. We're twenty-something geeks for the most part but two players are not. They don't play videogames much or are not too much into game culture. One likes it quite a bit while the other does not seem to enjoy himself at all. I feel that it depends on the person, but an affinity with "geekiness" is not needed. That said, it is totally worth it to try at least three or four sessions.

Do not start as a GM if you can. It is a little too complicated and it is way easier to learn as a player.

You seem to be interested in doing tileset and decors and figurines and stuff, so I'd recommend Pathfinder. It is the best (that I know) for system-heavy RPG. What is great about Pathfinder is that you can basically play hack n'slash, just slaying monsters with little-to-no roleplay, and still enjoy it as the systems are good enough for tactical depth. If you play Pathfinder then yes, having tileset and figurines totally add to the experiences. Also, it is a great game to start with no roleplay and then add progressively more roleplay later.

If you want a game that is more about roleplay, I'd recommend World of Darkness and one of its subgame (Vampire, Geist, Changeling, Werewolf, etc.). Having maps and tilesets is pretty much useless for those game though, as they're mostly based on roleplay. Most of the games involve talking and politics. There is a combat system, but it is quick and dirty. Adding tactics to it is not worth it.

Hope this helps !

@corruptedevil: @jesus_phish: Sorry, that wasn't terribly descriptive, was it? I meant tabletop RPGs. Board game/ card game nights are already a semi-regular thing.

In regards to Pathfinder, how difficult would it be to start writing custom campaigns? (Once I learned the rules, etc.) I'm guessing/hoping it would be simple enough to do, but just be time consuming.

Pretty easy. There's applicable skills or stats for any obstacle you can think of and then you just need a bestiary for the monsters.

Fair enough! Would you say go ahead and get the bestiary books/guides?

I would... if that stuff wasn't available for free on their own website

Welp, there goes my life. Tyvm!

Since you already have a group together for table top gaming (and not RPGs), you could use a game like Descent or the D&D board games as a transition.

There are lots of fantasy RPG settings and rule sets that are easy to get into.

Sci-fi, not so much. At least, not that I've been exposed to. It's mostly Star Wars and Rifts and the later is a TON of neat lore that's hampered by rules that are ass slow and complicated on a good day.

If steam punk is your thing, and if you have people who play Warmachine, the Iron Kingdoms RPG pretty much uses the Warmachine rules.

My best friend had the same attitude towards DnD. He'd messed with it once when we were kids, but felt it was overall Too Nerdy for him, despite his other nerd qualities. I basically talked him into playing by showing him how he could play a silly, raunchy, over the top character he could dick around as and kill stuff. Then he started getting into the story, and then he became leader of the party, and then he made his own dimension where his madness rules with crazy powerful magic. He'd always been extremely creative, I just showed him a new way to tap into that. Nowadays, he DMs more games than I do, and plays as often as he can. The point is, DnD is crazy fun with a good group of guys and gals, and is only limited by your and their imaginations combined. Only the few games like minecraft and terraria can boast such lofty goals, and even then, the game decides what you truly can do. The game will never shackle you in DnD, because there's a guy at the head of the table who's whole job is to through the rules out the window whenever they aren't fun. I love DnD, it's by far my favorite game ever, and I'm saying that as someone who's been playing video games for 20 odd years. Go for it. Oh, and any DM who puts that much work in should get their dinner bought by his or her players, just saying. Roll20 by the way is a good site for online games if you don't always get to play in person.

@mortuss_zero: Thank you! That pretty much completely sold me, hearing other people basically came from the same place I did. Tbh, the freedom is what seems so appealing about it. That, and the imaginative element. The idea of basically playing an mmo but with your own . . . everything . . . and with face-to-face interactions and idiocy? Sounds awesome.

Oh and yeah, the players would be fronting the food/beer. Seems a fair trade.

That's a really good idea! Probably a much easier sell, too, at least at first!

Tabletop RPG's are awesome, and take very little investment to start. If you already have a group getting together face to face you should be set.

I would get the Pathfinder Beginner Box set, it's only like $35 bucks and it has everything you need to get started. You can go as crazy as you want from there.

Even if you switch to the new edition of D&D (which is nice) or another system, the map and tokens in the Pathfinder box are nice to have.

If you want to see some of the crazier stuff you can get up to, check out http://www.dwarvenforge.com/products

I backed their last kickstarter and have hundreds of these little 3d cave pieces I'm going to hand paint when they arrive in a couple of months.

Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition just came out and is, by and large, being positively received (certainly moreso than 4th edition, which apparently broke into people's houses and stole all their worldly goods, based on the reactions to it), so that's likely a great place to start as D&D threads the needle on accessibility and flexibility.

Overall some of the best times I've ever had with my friends were during tabletop gaming sessions and the only thing I regret is how much I miss it now that the notion of us getting our schedules to line up is comical in its impossibility. It is totally worth it and can be incredibly fun if you find the right group.

@evermoore: By the gods do I love spreading the word of Dungeons and Dragons. And no joke, you basically described my best buddy's former position, so I couldn't help but jump in. I'm real happy to see how excited you are, I hope you have a great time.

I'm 32 years old, so I suspect my viewpoint is somewhat distant to you, but there's no such thing as "cool" or "nerdy"

Do you what you enjoy. Don't let other people dictate how you can have fun. Just because some people aren't into something that doesn't mean there's nobody into it, and who cares what anybody else thinks anyway.