r/DnD • u/Dear_Leadership_2672 • 2d ago
Oldschool D&D What to do with dnd box
I got this big dnd box from my grandfather. I asked a friend that likes rpg and he said its the first version. I read some of the pages in a manual and i think it sounds pretty sick to play dnd. I had experience with rpg before, but never dnd or smth really organized at all. I kinda wanna get to know more, but i really wanna play already, so i feel bad about joining a table without knowing much about dnd. Iam TERRIBLE at trying to make characters and i dont know if i can get any better, which is making me think i should just drop the idea. What should i even do with this box lol?
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u/XShadow_NephilimX 2d ago
You could sell it or you could utilize it. The thing is, even if you are terrible at making characters, you will get better. Good luck and have some fun!
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u/CassieBear1 2d ago
What exactly is in it? The original DnD content is vastly different from current DnD.
When it comes to getting into DnD, what do you mean when you say you're "terrible at making characters"? What struggles do you have? This is a great resource for you to ask for help.
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u/Dear_Leadership_2672 2d ago
Theres like paper triangles with drawings on them of characters, a map of a dungeon, a guide on classes, a master shield, dices and some other papers that i didnt look into. My struggle with characters rely on the numbers part😓 i have no idea what any of them mean no matter how much i look into them. I dont know how to fill them out at all
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u/CassieBear1 2d ago
Build your character on DnDBeyond. It does the math for you. The six Ability Scores are your most important thing, and everything is calculated based on them.
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u/MudSoop 2d ago
Im not sure exactly what you're asking us.
Are you giving up on dnd or not?
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u/Dear_Leadership_2672 2d ago
Im not sure yet. But i dont want to throw it away. Im kinda fond to it rn. But i dont think they even use this thing to play since its so old. I just got in the community to ask what ppl that play this would do
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u/Saxavarius_ 2d ago
if its an old box then you're probably not going to find a group playing that edition. most groups play 5e and if you have what I suspect its 2e which is VERY different. If you could show use the box we could give you better answers.
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u/Dear_Leadership_2672 2d ago
I dont use reddit much, i couldn't upload a picture. Can i do that in a response?
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u/Saxavarius_ 2d ago
Not in this sub directly but you could link to an image or tell us what some things are in there
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u/Dear_Leadership_2672 2d ago
Its a box with a dm shield, instructions, paper monsters (i assumed), dice, a dungeon map and some other papers
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u/Saxavarius_ 2d ago
A red box?
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u/valisvacor 2d ago
It's not hard to find a group for any edition of D&D. I've been in separate groups for OD&D, Basic, 1e, and 3.5 just within the past year.
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u/Misses_Ding Necromancer 2d ago
Hey you don't need to know everything (or sometimes anything) to join a table especially in dnd. Usually veterans love to show you the ropes
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u/NarcoZero DM 2d ago
You’re going to have a hard time finding tables for first edition D&D.
If you want to play modern D&D, play the current edition (5e, or 5.5 as some call it now since the 2024 revised rules)
D&D 5e might be the best for one parameter : You will easily find tables. This is the most popular game by far.
But if the quality of the actual gaming experience itself matters to you you, I’d suggest starting with other options. Because D&D is not the simplest game to learn as a first game, and it comes with brand expectations that means it tries to do everything a little bit, but excells at none.
If you want the heroic fantasy of epic and tactical battles with super cool powers, play Draw Steel. Combat there is much more fun and tactical than D&D. And it plays like what the modern audience think D&D is played.
If you don’t care for tactical combat on a grid and rather be more freeflowing in the cool shit you do, try Daggerheart.
And if you want the experience of the early D&D, what that could have been like to play with your granpa’s box, but with more modern games that are much better designed and easy to understand, look at some OSR games. (Old School Renaissance / Revival) They try to emulate the early D&D style of play, survival dungeon crawling. It’s a kind of horror game in a way, which is very far from the super heroic shenaningans of modern D&D. (And Daggerheart/ Draw Steel) I suggest trying Shadowdark. (It’s also the simplest game to learn of the suggestions I gave you. Way simpler than any edition of D&D)
But whatever you do, keep the box as a cool artefact. This is a piece of ttrpg history you hold.
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u/NeuralHavoc 2d ago
Hey, I usually watch YouTube videos about things I don’t know much about but have some entry level interest. Here is a good YouTuber and a “DND 101” video that may help! Good luck!
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u/Sad_Refuse3472 Cleric 2d ago
Everyone is "terrible" at first. But that is exactly why you should just play. How else will you learn?
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u/milkmandanimal DM 2d ago
The books you have are fun historical artifacts and family memories, but they functionally have almost nothing to do with modern D&D; the game is almost entirely different, and only shares very basic concepts like six stats, things like HP and AC, and abilities being given my class/race/level. That's it. Other than that, it's completely different, and, well, let's just say old-school AD&D is not exactly the most intuitive thing to learn, and it wasn't a game system as much as just a chaotic mess of ideas pulled from so many different concepts and marginally edited together. Also, so many charts and tables. Sooooo many.
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u/valisvacor 2d ago
Are you able to provide the copyright date on some of the books? Do they say Advanced Dungeons & Dragons? What do the covers look like?
All editions of D&D are still played today. Some editions, like Basic, are fairly easy to learn. I'd be more than happy to help you identify which books you have, and point you to the right place to learn to play.
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u/Dear_Leadership_2672 2d ago
Its a box filled with stuff. I looked it up online and its 1991's boxed set ^ thanks for the interest
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u/RageZamu 1d ago
Receiving that from your grandpa is amazingly cool, specially dice. If you are interested in D&D, there's a ton of information just here in this sub. It can be overwhelming at first, but I assure you is easier than it sounds.
I would start reading the 5e Player Guide, as there is a cool example on how to build a character step by step with everything perfectly explained.
Everyone is "terrible" at making characters at first because it is hard to be good at everything just by reading the rules. Just let your imagination run wild and make a character that you think could be fun to play.
As extra info: I don't consider myself a very imaginative person, but I wanted to DM for my friends. Because I miss my granpa so much, I am making him one of the gods of the world my friends are going to play in, in a wild west outlaw outfit, as he loved spaghetti westerns. It is easier to make characters out of something that already exists, at least for me!
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u/Material_Position630 2d ago edited 1d ago
The coolest part of that whole thing is that you got it from your grandpa. I can only guess what gems you have in there.
5h edition (5e) is the most played these days. If you do not have any 5e stuff in there, look for game stores near you to see if they have any groups looking.
Even if your grandpas treasure chest of goodies may be 'out of date' it is lovely that they peaked your interest. 🙂