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It's really easier to help if you have understood the basics and just have problems with details.

That said, searching google, I found this: greywulf.net/2010/11/greywulfs-guide-to-...

Sep 20, 2012 -- 2:15PM, Arcane_Guyver wrote:

First off, welcome!

1. What rule book are you working with? (This will make it easier to suggest things for you.)
2. Is there a particular race and/or class that appeals to you?

To answer your last question, a game 'starts' when there are five or more people all ready to play - one who will act as sort of a 'referee' and four or more who will play using a character they created.

i like elves and i like orks.. O.o are there wood elves, dark elves etc? Or just one type? Are orks playable? Umm, i've actually lost the page i was reading the rules from, i'm pretty sure it was on this site, but now can't find it :/

In the current version of D&D, there are technically four kinds of elves:
- Elf (wood elf)
- Drow (dark elf)
- Half-Elf (or half-human, depending on who you talk to!)
- Eladrin (high elf - these are elves who mainly live in the land of Faerie)

Orcs are technically playable, but as Mysteria mentioned, you'd be better served playing a half-orc.

This may seem like a cop-out, but I really do recommend picking up 'Heroes of the Fallen Lands.' It's $13.57 at Amazon and a really nice book for beginners. It has all the classic races (Human, Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, and Half-Elf) and classes (Cleric, Wizard, Rogue, and two types of Fighter).

So...making a character. The two primary things you need to choose are your race and class. Your class sort of determines how you fight, what skills you can choose (and how many), among other things. For instance...

• The 'Fighter' can wear most types of armor and use most types of weapons and shields. They're tough, can hit enemies hard with melee attacks, and are capable of keeping the enemy's attention away from weaker allies. Their skill list is limited mostly to physical acts.
• The 'Cleric' can wear armor almost as well as a Fighter, but have a more limited selection of weapons and shields. They use divine prayers to heal allies, smite enemies with melee attacks, or blast enemies with ranged magical attacks. Their skill list includes more knowledge-type skills, like Religion. As a bonus, they can use some non-combat magic called rituals.
• The 'Rogue' wears lighter armor than the Cleric, and are even more limited in terms of weapons. They are physically vulnerable, but use a combination of melee and ranged attacks to hit enemies really hard. Their skill list is expansive, covering stuff like thievery & street-smarts.
• The 'Wizard' wears the weakest armor, and hasn't much of a weapon selection. They are the most vulnerable of the four listed here, but can wield arcane magic to blast, charm, or trick large groups of enemies. Since wizards are bookish, their skill list is mostly focused on knowledge. Like clerics, they also can use non-combat magic.

Once you pick your race & class, then you can generate about your Ability Scores - six numeric scores, ranging from 3-18, that define your character's base capabilities. The text for your class will flat-out tell you which ones are important for you.

• Strength is how physically strong you are.
• Constitution is how tough and durable you are.
• Dexterity is how agile and coordinated you are.
• Intelligence measures how quickly you adapt / learn, and how well you remember.
• Wisdom measures awareness and empathy.
• Charisma measures your strength of personality.

In the book I mentioned above, they give you a few basic 'arrays' to work with - six numbers, enough for you assign one to each ability score. There are two other options to creating ability scores, but I'm not sure I can mention them.