Hi I'm new!

Hi my name is Adam, and I'm admittedly new to this site and trying out a new hobby.  I have never played a PNP tabletop RPG before in my life.  Ever.  That said, I have however had a long love for video game RPGs and tactical simulation games like X-COM, D&D, Archanox, Diablo, Warhammer 40k, Final Fantasy: Tactics (among others); but I also have a love for  writing, drawing, and other things that associate to PNP RPGs.  I'm a bit shy, and have no idea what to do to be frank! What truly brought me to want to try the hobby was watching (much like some others on here no doubt)  Swansong, Mirrorshades, West Marches, and other shows on Youtube that feature ongoing campaigns and I said to myself, "hey, that looks fun, I bet I could do it too." So here I am.  Hi everyone!

Welcome aboard, Adam. :)

First, Welcome to Roll20! We hope you enjoy your stay here. We have two video series that are at your disposal for help getting started. 1) If you're absolutely brand new to RPGs and want to know the general idea of how they are played, which game to choose and then find a group of fellow gamers: Check out our Introduction to Tabletop RPGs series . 2) If you've played tabletop RPGs before and just want to get a understanding of how Roll20 can be used: Check out our Roll20 Crash Course . This is a step-by-step overview for creating your very first Roll20 campaign. This tutorial uses the Pathfinder RPG to frame itself, but it's not a system specific tutorial and you should be able to follow along without knowing one single thing about Pathfinder. Definitely ask any questions you have, we've got a spectacular community that's always willing to help.  (Paraphrasing user Mark G. 'Where else on the internet can you go and have the users fighting to be the first to answer your questions?'  =D )

I have tons of questions to be honest!  I'm not absolutely new, though most of my experience has been with groups that have fallen apart after the hour mark or failed to show up at all.  I have tested out mechanics in some games, but I have never actually had the experience of sitting through an entire session.   As I said I have many questions, but I feel like most of them will be answered as I play.  My biggest question I suppose would be, how do I go about gathering the supplemental material for the games?  I've noticed that there are a lot of games that use many different systems.  I obviously don't have the funds to pay forward to every single RPG out there -as much as I'd like to- and many of them require guides, or handbooks.  So I guess, my main questions is: do most GMs have information readily available to new players from other people's experience?  Or, is it fairly easy to track down?   I suppose most of my questions will also likely be answered in those videos.  I will check them out when I have the time.  Thank you!

Most GMs will walk you through creating a character for the system they are running. Probably most of them would not expect you to purchase materials starting off. Many systems have free basic rules that can get you started. (DnD5e has basic rules, pathfinder has an online SRD, etc). The GM of your game will no doubt point you in the right direction.  Once you've watched those videos, consider jumping into the Looking For Group system and applying to some games. If you find one that sounds interesting, you might like to see if you can find some videos of actual game play for the system on YouTube or Twitch.