#55 in Crafts, hobbies & home books
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Reddit mentions of Out of the Abyss (Dungeons & Dragons)
Sentiment score: 8
Reddit mentions: 12
We found 12 Reddit mentions of Out of the Abyss (Dungeons & Dragons). Here are the top ones.
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A Dungeons & Dragons adventure for characters of levels 1–15
Specs:
Color | Multicolor |
Height | 11.12 Inches |
Length | 8.55 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | September 2015 |
Weight | 1.76 Pounds |
Width | 0.65 Inches |
You are playing a module called Out of the abyss
The story starts with you as a prisoner of the drow in the underdark. Seems your DM wanted to do a pre-session showing how the characters end up there, so indeed he was not going to give you a choice there.
Overall it seems you DM is just new and trying to follow the module to the letter. It takes time for you to improve and be able to be more flexible and work with the ideas that come from the players, improvising as you go.
These sort of problems are quite common with inexperienced DMs. You have to figure out if you are having enough fun and willing to wait the DM get more confident or if you would rather leave the group and search for a more experienced DM.
In case you decide to stay, try to explain to your DM what certain parts of the adventure you didnt like and why. At the same time, try to mention the parts you did like. DM job is tough and can benefit from friendly constant feedback.
Hope it works out for you
Alternatively, make up something based on DOOM. Believe it or not, that video game was based on a D&D campaign!
So for 5e there are a couple of things you can look at getting:
So the Basic Rules help out a lot, the Starter Set is basically a physical copy of the basic rules (plus some), and then the core 3 books in order of (my personal opinion of) usefulness are PHB > MM > DMG. I'd say you probably want at least everyone to have a PHB, or access if you guys continue to play.
Aside from that, most of the other 5e stuff you can pick up from wizards are modules. Modules are pre-created campaigns that have quests, items, locations, enemies (number, size, etc.) already pre-designed for you. Each of the following books has some sort of extra character information (like more subclasses, new races, etc.), but nothing is absolutely required. Generally if one person wants to play something (say, an Half-Elf Bladesinger Wizard) they should pick up the book to help build their character and to provide the GM with references to how the character works, but it's not necessary.
If you need any other help, please feel free to ask!
I play 5th edition and all advice is for that edition. 5E is pretty wallet friendly if you don't get it all at once. Here's a bunch of stuff you can look at to help your decision, though not all of it is mandatory.
So now that books are out of the way, let's talk figurines. You really don't need them, because ANYTHING can represent things on a board. But they're a fun thing to collect and use. BUT they are a great and fun thing to have. What we do at my table is have everyone acquire their own. I like to buy from Reaper Miniatures, but local comic book and hobby shops might have them as well. Make sure you have bases that are less than an inch wide (A square inch works best), because if you're using miniatures, then you're using a battle grid.
Speaking of battle grids, they're also not entirely necessary, but they definitely help. This is a very reliable one if you take care of it and don't crease it too much. But the fun thing is, if you have a printer, you can print your own Battle Maps! Just set it to print a grid set to 1-inch increments and have as big or as small as a battle mat as you need. 5E technically uses a hex grid for outdoor maps, but we've always ignored that at our games.
As for dice, I think it's the players responsibility to acquire their own dice, but on the off chance you just want to buy the things for everyone, I find a lot of enjoyment in picking through a Chessex Pound-o-Dice, or a Wiz Dice 100+ pack just so everyone has some. Plus, you never know when you'll suddenly need 20d6 for maximum fall damage!
Other than that, just have pencils, paper, and a good way to keep notes handy and you're set.
This is far from a comprehensive guide, and probably the worst thing you could do is buy everything or nothing right at the start. Consider asking friends or checking libraries for these books (And secondhand bookshops near you!) to save a penny or two.
So, in summary, if I were starting out DMing and buying anything, it would be a player's handbook, a set of dice, and if I weren't confident in my ability to homebrew, I'd buy a module or a dungeon master's guide. But you can go further or less far if you like.
If you want to do Forgotten Realms and only have $75 to spend:
5e Starter Set $13.07
https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Roleplaying/dp/0786965592/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488305292&sr=8-1&keywords=5e+starter+set
Storm King's Thunder $31.42
https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Kings-Thunder-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/0786966009/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488305205&sr=8-1&keywords=storm+king%27s+thunder
Out of the Abyss $27.17
https://www.amazon.com/Out-Abyss-D-Accessory/dp/0786965819/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488305481&sr=8-1&keywords=out+of+the+abyss
That gets you a pretty fun sandbox from levels 1 to 5, an epic sprawling set your own pace sandbox across the Savage Frontier, and an alternative hook into the Underdark. Two to three solid years of adventuring.
You also get a ton of information on the Savage Frontier and The Underdark.
You get three different Level 1 to 5 scenarios, two different 5 to 10, then one level 10 through 15.
Lots of replay value. And you can fight a dragon, fight giants, and fight demons.
Also, if you don't want to have to create everything from scratch the pre-packaged adventure books are great. Whether you follow them, or whether you rip ideas from them, they are an amazing resource that can save you a ton of time.
The great thing about these books (and others) is you can take as much or as little from them as you like.
Re: other comments about having friends, make new ones! I got into playing IRL D&D by posting on my local /r/[city] saying I was looking for a D&D group, and that I'd be happy to host. Had a weekly group going two days later. Playing D&D is a great way to become friends with people.
There aren't a lot out there specifically for 5e (assuming you're playing 5e, don't remember if you mentioned it) yet. In fact the only ones I'm aware of are of the campaign variety (a string of 'adventures') and there's nothing wrong with any of them. I've run Hoard of the Dragon Queen, The Rise of Tiamat, Princes of the Apocalypse and I'm currently running Out of the Abyss..
You can always take a module from an older version of the game (or from a completely different game even) but you'll have to do some work to get it ready. The stats for the monsters will be different - you'll need to look up the same or similar monsters in the Monster Manual and have the stats ready. Other than that though the plot, maps and the rest can be used as-is.
DriveThruRPG has some modules that don't cost too much. You get them as a pdf instead of a physical book, but everything you need is there. Again, if you use one from an older version of the game you'll have to do some prep work.
You can find them on EBay as well. Some of the most famous ones are Tomb of Horrors (really though - don't do it. Your players will hate you), Ravenloft (my personal favorite module of all time which a Redditor has converted to 5e) and here's a list that I largely agree with.
Get your guide:
https://www.amazon.com/Out-Abyss-D-Accessory/dp/0786965819
It's an amazing resource for all things Underdark.
For any backround information, just refer to the wiki:
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page
For the adventures, buy either of the following:
https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Wizards-Team/dp/0786965592/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496916563&sr=8-1&keywords=5e+starter+set
https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Kings-Thunder-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/0786966009/ref=pd_sim_14_9?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0786966009&pd_rd_r=G32SS8JKKV8E0RJEWD11&pd_rd_w=q2eos&pd_rd_wg=Fl90h&psc=1&refRID=G32SS8JKKV8E0RJEWD11
https://www.amazon.com/Hoard-Dragon-Queen-Adventure-Wizards/dp/0786965649/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496916592&sr=1-1&keywords=hoard+of+the+dragon+queen
https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Tiamat-Adventure-Wizards-Team/dp/0786965657/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496916610&sr=1-1&keywords=rise+of+tiamat
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_10?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=princes+of+the+apocalypse+d%26d&sprefix=princes+of%2Cstripbooks%2C573&crid=1MNP7K2PCNO3F
https://www.amazon.com/Out-Abyss-D-Accessory/dp/0786965819/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496917649&sr=1-1-fkmr0
You could also learn the lore while playing games like:
Shameless plug...
I helped create this module, The Claws of Madness. It can be scaled down for one player, but she might need NPC help in some parts though, like a cleric lacky who follows her, or let her have an animal companion.
About the cleric lacky, make up a cleric for her who is totally devoted to her, does what ever she says to do, but doesn't offer any advice. This person just follows, heals and fights, nothing more. The cleric will level with her and she gets to pick the spells. You roll for the cleric and your wife gives orders to him/her. "Percy, heal me!" "Percy, kill that goblin!" "Percy, climb up that rope." Etc. Think of him as a squire, like Podrick from Game of Thrones.
If you want to do a full campaign for her, Rage of Demons scales down nicely since you need to have NPCs that can fight with you during a good portion of the adventure. The Adventure's League modules are really good too. You can buy the bundle or an adventure at a time. I ran this for my wife and daughter (2 people) and they had a lot of fun.
angel14995 has a great summary of all the books. This list is more useful as a logical purchasing progression guide.
I've been playing a Dungeons and Dragons Out of the Abyss campaign for a few weeks with some friends now, and i'm really getting into it.
I'm playing a bard storyteller, so outside of the campaign i like to write down the adventures from the point of view of my character. (+- 2 to 3 pages of text per session).
The clue is that when it's all done, my bard would have written the most epic tale in the world.
I'm thinking of posting them to r/DnD when I'm happy with the quality of the text, but i'm by no means a storywriter and it shows: it often looks like a ten-year old telling about his field trip at school. Even if nobody likes it, i'm practicing my writing skills (and English written skills, as it isn't my native language)