So, a combination of Community and this thread motivated to at least get the DnD Starter Set. That was more than half a year ago and I finally got to give it a whirl last week
It was just two of my cousins playing and me DMing. Considering that I decided to do it very spur of the moment, it was pretty clunky, but enjoyable, I think. It helped pass the time at any rate. After that, I read up on my stuff so I'd be prepared for the next time, if it was ever to arise... which it did a few days later. I went to their house for a swim and after everyone had gone home, I brought my starter set out of my car (sneaky sneaky)
It went a lot more smoothly, but they did get me to play a character I'd made when I was trying to work out how games run half a year ago. There were still quite a few things that I didn't know and I even forgot to add weapon accuracy to attack modifiers which made things a heck of a lot harder for us
The included books didn't tell me that I could use heal checks to revive a dying character, though I probably should have been able to figure that out myself
All in all, it was fun, and I was really taken aback by how long our three encounters (including the last one in the player's book consisting solely of goblin minions) took. We started playing at around 7pm and finished a little past 1am. We would've kept going, but my cousins were leaving for New Zealand the next day, so we had to cut it short.
I like that DnD is pretty age-inclusive. One of my cousins is my age, but the other one is only 12, so that both could play on roughly equal footing impressed me. I actually liked it so much that I went the next step and bought a Player's Handbook as well as a Dungeon Master's Kit. I was actually planning to just go get the player's handbook as well as a scenario book to run a campaign with, but then the guy told me that the book was essentially a whole part of the DnD world and that I had to come up with the campaign myself. I don't think I'm quite ready for that
I'm hoping to get a small group of guys (I don't know any girls in real life who may be remotely interested in this game) together, so we can play without myself having to juggle a player character alongside DMing. I also get really paranoid that I'm biasing the gameplay in the party's favour because I'm there, but I have the feeling I'd do that anyway. Don't want them dying outright before they get to the hard encounters
I had to google the d4 to determine how to read the result, hahaha... Before, we'd just been adding up all the numbers on the face down side, so we were there thinking that a rogue was awesome. Now that I've figured out how to read it though, I don't understand how the rogue can be considered a striker with a dagger. Sure, it hits and runs, but I thought it'd do high damage before running
While my laptop was in for repair, I started listening to those Penny Arcade pocasts Twissie linked in the first post. Really great fun
The Jim Darkmagic of the New Hampshire Darkmagics is definitely my favourite
My phone has issues with flash, so I couldn't listen to the I Hit It With My Axe podcasts, but I will start after I finish the Penny Arcade stuff now that my laptop's back.
One thing about the game that disappoints me is the apparent need for physical maps/boards. As I saw it first in an episode of Community (and later an episode of the IT Crowd), I'd assumed that all you needed were dice, paper, pencils, rubbers (erasers, for all you northerners), character sheets, a table, the scenario book for the DM and then the DM's notes. Oh, and maybe a screen. Is it just a 4e thing? I admit that it does make combat simple, but I was hoping I wouldn't have to buy/make the maps.
This game has really helped me pass the time when I was without a computer. I think I survived because of it. It's decent fun and I hope I get to play it more in the future, hopefully as player character sometime instead of the permanent DM.
EDIT: Oh yeah, Asmo: Is your username at all related to Asmodeus?