HPR2550: Howto get started playing RPGs

Hacker Public Radio

Have you ever wanted to start playing a tabletop RPG, but weren't sure where to start? In this one-hour episode, Lostnbronx and Klaatu introduce you to role-playing games, including what you need to have in order to get started, how to build a character, what a game session is like, and how to find other people to play with.

Some resources mentioned in this episode:

• The easy way in: Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Player's Handbook

• A collection of free RPG systems Brent P. Newhall's Musæum of Fantastic Wonders

• The OpenD6 system is a free and open and very flexible game using only standard 6-sided die

• is a good, albeit dated, introduction to RPG modules and gameplay in general. It won't exactly fit anything you play, but reading it through might clarify how a typical game works (and actually it's pretty easy to adapt into a modern game like Pathfinder or D&D, if you want.).

• Klaatu has a weekly podcast called Chronicles & Commons, wherein he talks about fantasy [Creative Commons and public domain] folklore in the context of RPG gaming (which in turn is discussed in context of storytelling).