Need some D&D/Tabletop help and/or advice
 

I have a group of (internet) friends that have been kicking around the idea of playing a game of D&D, or other tabletop rpg such as Pathfinder. However there is one "little" problem: none of us have played a tabletop rpg before.

So I've come to you, NPF, to ask for your wisdom in such matters. Where would be a good starting point for a group of complete tabletop noobs? Should we go with the classic D&D or would Pathfinder be the better choice? I've also seen mentioned in a previous D&D thread something about the "FATE" system (also didn't Brian endorse a kickstarter of that a while back?) so what's that all about? When I searched it the only online resource I found for it was a "FUDGE" version.

Also, is it possible to find the required materials (player handbook, monster manual, all that jazz) online, and possibly for free?

I don't know what else I can say here. We are basically going to be diving into this thing blind (sort of, obviously we'll be doing a lot of reading before actually starting) and any advice would be most welcome.

First, I can assure you that required materials can be found online and "free". Whether that is legal though is another question entirely.

A simple suggestion though might be to seek the help of a GM willing to explain the game and run through something simple for you guys. Basically adding someone to your group who is knows enough of the game to keep things running smoothly as the mediator and to avoid game time from going stale if players are constantly trying to search through the rule-books for rules they haven't fully internalized.
The biggest possibility of failure early on would be for the players to feel bored and frustrated with the system due to constant rule-checking interruptions or arguments before it gets good.

Though to be sure, if a group of experienced players still aren't having rule-checking interruptions or arguments, you must not be playing right.

Pathfinder would be fine for a first-time RPG, it is similar to the other D&D systems (oft-called D&D 3.75e). The rulebooks are well written. However, it IS more complex than...

D&D 4e. Which is much more first-time friendly. I had to shift my DMing style in 4e because of its differences to D&D 3e and below, but that's something you won't have to deal with! I would recommend 4E. The mechanics are simpler, the "how-to-build-a-character/monster/encounter" guides are clearer, and there's official Wizards online tools to help you build characters, though I think you might have to subscribe (not free).

They all follow the same basic gameplay principles though. If you want to do something, roll a d20, add appropriate modifiers/penalties, determine success/failure/hilarity that ensues.

I was also recommended this website if you're running the campaign online: Roll d20.net. The GUI takes some getting used to, but the social integration is pretty good, vs. using an amalgam of other online tools.

FATAL is the best first RPG.

Just dive right into the most terrible parts, so nothing else can ever hurt you again.

Fun FATAL ancedote: The creator of FATAL objected to this characterization of the system as "the date rape RPG" because FATAL has no dating mechanics.

Incidentally, I don't know for certain, but maybe looking through those reviews will help you find something newbie-friendly that's actually offered for free. Tabletop RPGs are a big tent, evidently.

Tabletops are pretty fun, but it does help to have some experience when you're doing them, especially for the GM. If you want to observe a game before you run something, there's a few played in NPF chat between Thursday and Saturday y'might want to drop in on!

Fate is pretty idiot-proof as it only requires one set of dice and has some pretty simple rules. If you're willing to wait a bit, they're actually releasing a stripped-down version of it called Fate Accelerated that brings it to the point that you can literally generate an entire party of characters in 10 minutes and be off.

Oh if you wanted to have absolutely no fun at all and come away terribly confused, fatigued, and intrigued, you could try your hand at Mutants and Masterminds 3E.

I honestly wouldn't recommend diving into a crunch-heavy system like DnD for your first tabletop experience, especially if the person game-mastering has no experience with the system. I especially would avoid pathfinder, as it somehow managed to take everything terrible and pointlessly obfuscated in 3.5 DnD and make it worse, with an extra helping of Caster Supremacy bullshit.

In the end, it all depends on the genre you plan to run.

Yeah we might be snagging a GM off /r/lfg who is willing to put up with a bunch of noobs.

And Steel, do you have specific times when some games are played? Because a friend and I will more than likely pop in to ogle spectate.

Thanks for the advice, we'll look into 4e. And yeah roll20.net was what we were planning on using.

Hmm tempting but...

I'm gonna go with no ;)

Classic fantasy stuff is what we're going for. Swords and magic and all that jazz.