First time
 

I have found a whole new respect for D&D players. I just bought a starter set with "everything you need to play". Yeah, okay. We spent about half an hour preparing, then got stuck when we met the first goblin. My friend attacked, missed, fled, and got struck for 5 hp, leaving him with 2. Then we had no clue how the enemies moved 'cause none of the rules mention enemy movement. So, we don't know if they are supposed to charge us as we enter the room or not.

Can someone help me out with this? Plus, can someone clue me in as to what "reflex" and "fortitude" do? And what books should I buy to get started? And what models should I get, and what are they for? Are they your character, enemies...?

You need a players handbook, and a DM guide.

Monster manual will show you specifics on movement and abilities/hps for monsters. (But chances are you design your enemies from scratch.)


Characters have movement boundaries. A human fighter, for example, can move 30ft. Maybe a goblin can move 30ft (If you don't know, make it up.). So that's about 6 squares on the battlefield.
In battle, moveing over 5 ft. means that the full attack options cannot be used.
Look up Charging.

But you need to read the books, because the information is all in there. and more. Tons more.

This game sounds way too creative. I augment the monsters myself? Then couldn't the DM just make them 1 hp each and give 2000 exp each kill?

To answer: Yes.

If you fear creativity, then get monster manuals, and pre-generated quest books to tell you how to progress the game.

But many DMs just want to run the game like an RP here. They think of a good story, put it in DnD form, and let their friends enjoy the game/story.
RPing can come into play to make it interesting etc... etc...

Yeah...we also couldn't figure out what was with some of the stats...apparently, they are some sort of saves or something, and I couldn't figure out if the creatures could move or what!

In D&D, the DM (Dungeon Master) is responsible for everything in the world. He/she can change rules, create monsters, construct towns, and do whatever he/she sees fit. If that person's a good DM, you'll have a fun and long-lasting game.

Yoy mentioned a charge. Basically, a charge attack is when you run at twice your speed, attack with +2 to attack rating, but suffer -2 to AC for that round. ALso, you have to move at least 10 ft. in a charge, and it has to be all in one direction. I'm not sure if you know about AoO's (attacks of oppertunity) yet, but when charging, anyone using an AoO against a charging charging (not charging at them) gets a -2 to attack roll...I think.

EDIT: Fortitude saves are used against effects that are determined by sturdiness (ex. poison). Reflex saves basically mean the changes you have to dodge something (ex. fireball spell and traps). WIll saves help protect you from things that effect the mind.

All your questions can be answered here. All of the core rules without paying $30 per book. It looks like a lot, but you can ignore the psionics and epic rules, and only skim through the spells and monsters. Enjoy your reading assignment!

My friends and I started with that starter book too. I recommend making the monsters a lot weaker then they're supposed to be. A new group does -not- appreciate being destroyed by every enemy they find.

i highly recommend a pre-generated quest book. they have just about everything planned out for you. so they are great to get you going. but one thing to remember, be flexible! if the group is doing really bad, maybe dont send that troll their way, or if they are getting a little cocky and acting recklessly, have them trip up some traps or something. and also, reward creativity and good rp'ing. make sure if someone's character has a lawful good alignment, they are acting like it, and not acting like themselves.

I dunno, I had a few DM's that go off of pre-generated quest books. I played with a group who was very resistant to narative imparative and we would leave the DM at a loss for what to do.

I mean what are you supposed to do when your players decide they want to stay, and the people their supposed to be protecting want to go; and the players just don't care....

Most of the time its better to learn this game from veterans, then to learn it from scratch.