D&D

My wife and I are attempting to learn D&D, after many years of various computer game variants.

We started at the bottom - the Dungeons & Dragons Board Game. Now, everyone I've ever spoken to has referred to this as "useless" - it doesn't follow the d20 system, it doesn't use the rules, it's pretty hard-and-fast for the DM, etc. We didn't find it so bad, and it serves as a great introduction to the world, play style and general rules for those who have never, ever, played a role-playing game before.

On the weekend, we found a copy of the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set in a bookshop in Trowbridge. We leapt on it, of course; so far we've played a few hours worth on it, and it's a lot of fun. Yes, it's better than the board game, and certainly it's more forgiving of our restrictions, which require us to be able to play for an hour or so and then stop. It has a much-condensed rule set from the standard rules, but it maintains the free play. It also contains a dice set (well, almost - just the one 6-sided die).

I think that in a couple of weeks we'll probably splash out for the 3.5 basic rule set (Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, Monster Manual), and maybe another dice set (to get the cool cloth bag). And maybe an adventure or two. Hmm. This could get expensive.

Of course, part of the point is to play with others... but there just doesn't seem to be any others in the vicinity. Does anyone actually play D&D in Oxfordshire? Or is anyone interested in learning to do so?