As indicated above, I have never played an actual game of D&D, but I have always wanted to. I play a lot of video games, and MtG, as well as experience with games like talisman. I found out a friend of mine runs a group every Saturday (I won't be able to play consistently because of work schedule) but he offered to run a one shot adventure. I hate to be a burden to the group so I am looking for advice on what I can do to be prepared. I have just under a week to go (Saturday evening). Thank you in advance.
You want to make sure you're familiar with your character--what they are, and what they can do. If you only have a week, and it's a one-off, I'd recommend asking the DM to generate a character for you (maybe tell him what general kind of character you want to play). But then find time to sit down with the DM and have him go over all the different things your character can do. Very, very often, someone new coming in for a one-off is handed a character with all sorts of nifty abilities and features and given five minutes to look it over. They never notice until the end of the session that they could have been healing people, or doing extra damage, etc.
I'd actually focus on that more than on details like 'how to roll to hit'. I mean, try to learn that stuff too :) But everyone at the table will be able to easily help you figure out which dice to roll. What they won't have time for is looking over your character sheet every time you do something in order to advise you. :)
Even if you don't know all the exact details of the features and mechanics, if you know "What I hit someone with a weapon, I can do extra damage in situations X, Y, and Z", that will help a lot.
Brotherbock covered it pretty well. Read over the player's handbook and make sure that you are familiar with what you can do for actions, bonus actions, movement, and reactions in combat. Knowing what you can do with these will help make your turns in combat more efficient. If you are making your own character, I would recommend a simpler class (level depending) for your first time. Melee heavy classes that don't deal with spells can be easier to understand but if you want to be a spellcaster because that's what attracts you to the game then that's great too. If you are a spellcaster then make sure you read what spells you have available to you ahead of time and understand what they can and, sometimes more importantly, what they can't do. If you have any questions while you are reading over the materials, be sure to ask your DM ahead of time so you know what the ruling is before the game. For spellcasting in particular some classes have set spells while others can prepare from a list. If you can prepare each day then, depending on the nature of the one-shot, you may have the ability to change your spells. If this is the case then its a good idea to come up with one or two sets of spells you definitely want to have to help streamline that process.
Talking with your DM is the most important though. Learn what rules he takes from the books, what rules he ignores, and what rules he might homebrew for the game to get a good understanding.
As indicated above, I have never played an actual game of D&D, but I have always wanted to. I play a lot of video games, and MtG, as well as experience with games like talisman. I found out a friend of mine runs a group every Saturday (I won't be able to play consistently because of work schedule) but he offered to run a one shot adventure. I hate to be a burden to the group so I am looking for advice on what I can do to be prepared. I have just under a week to go (Saturday evening). Thank you in advance.
You want to make sure you're familiar with your character--what they are, and what they can do. If you only have a week, and it's a one-off, I'd recommend asking the DM to generate a character for you (maybe tell him what general kind of character you want to play). But then find time to sit down with the DM and have him go over all the different things your character can do. Very, very often, someone new coming in for a one-off is handed a character with all sorts of nifty abilities and features and given five minutes to look it over. They never notice until the end of the session that they could have been healing people, or doing extra damage, etc.
I'd actually focus on that more than on details like 'how to roll to hit'. I mean, try to learn that stuff too :) But everyone at the table will be able to easily help you figure out which dice to roll. What they won't have time for is looking over your character sheet every time you do something in order to advise you. :)
Even if you don't know all the exact details of the features and mechanics, if you know "What I hit someone with a weapon, I can do extra damage in situations X, Y, and Z", that will help a lot.
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
Brotherbock covered it pretty well. Read over the player's handbook and make sure that you are familiar with what you can do for actions, bonus actions, movement, and reactions in combat. Knowing what you can do with these will help make your turns in combat more efficient. If you are making your own character, I would recommend a simpler class (level depending) for your first time. Melee heavy classes that don't deal with spells can be easier to understand but if you want to be a spellcaster because that's what attracts you to the game then that's great too. If you are a spellcaster then make sure you read what spells you have available to you ahead of time and understand what they can and, sometimes more importantly, what they can't do. If you have any questions while you are reading over the materials, be sure to ask your DM ahead of time so you know what the ruling is before the game. For spellcasting in particular some classes have set spells while others can prepare from a list. If you can prepare each day then, depending on the nature of the one-shot, you may have the ability to change your spells. If this is the case then its a good idea to come up with one or two sets of spells you definitely want to have to help streamline that process.
Talking with your DM is the most important though. Learn what rules he takes from the books, what rules he ignores, and what rules he might homebrew for the game to get a good understanding.
And last but certainly not least-have fun!
So, how was it?