Are you familiar with newer RPGs?

I'd actually suggest taking a peek at a newer game, to break into the genre without being overly-frustrated with too many unfamiliar concepts:

Driftmoon - https://www.gog.com/game/driftmoon

And because Driftmooon is a very good game.

I have played several console RPGs. I have played newer Fallout and Elder Scrolls, as well as Fallout 1, which I used a guide for.

I have also started the first KOTOR.

I read the manual and look up non-spoiler but short general guides to get myself started. I did this for Neverwinter Nights 1, Planescape Torment, Fallout 1 and Arcanum.

Another idea is to start the game and pick whatever, play but focus is put on learning the mechanics then you can restart and play something else to learn something different.

Learn the rules I think, read a character setup guide. Often games don't tell you exactly whats happening with things like skills and stats.

Read the hints and tips sections of walkthroughs. Often amazingly useful information that you might not think of. D&D rules are especially weird, like THAC0 and if your strength is not 18 for a melee character is not good.

After all the rpg's I've played, usually focusing on defense and health is the best idea, your going to run into a very tough boss at the end always, you will get killed.

Be patient with the learning curves. A more complex RPG can take several hours to even begin to get used to, then you can run into the 10-20 hour marks before you really start to feel like you have a handle on it all. Give games time to grow on you.

Don't be afraid to start games over, even if you've invested 5-10 hours in a game, you'll almost always be better off for having done so, enjoy your experience more, and the replaying the beginnings over a few times can really prove beneficial.

If you feel overwhelmed, and you very probably will, there are a few things you can do...

1.) persevere and keep on going. sometimes there is just a "hump" to get over, and to do that effectively you just need to plug away for a couple hours to get some momentum and familiarity under your feet, so to speak.

If you've persevered and are well into it and think you are enjoying but still are feeling overwhelmed, that is normal too, and so:

2.) take a breather, go do something else, eat a meal, go to bed, come back to it another day with a fresh brain and you will be amazed the difference you feel about what you're doing and how the game is.

3.) consult a walkthrough or guide. sure it is best to explore and figure out things on your own, but, without being familiar with how a lot of RPGs work, you could be missing out on concepts or options that you'd have been better just having known about more thoroughly. One example I think of is playing Planescape: Torment as a mage, and how I think, for the best/most thorough and deep experience, that is the best way to play the game. Max your INT and WIS and Charisma, tutorial mortuary to completion, then bee-line for the mage-trainer so you can become a mage ASAP and start leveling up your character that way, and nothing in the game will give you that suggestion and I think it is good to know. I also think it's important to know that clearing out the mortuary before existing is a good idea. and many other games with many other examples, from gameplay tips to quest path branches and everything else.

4.) of course, consult the game subforums! there's loads of information there/questions already answered and such

Actually, especially with older RPGs, it's not safe to assume you will run into bosses. In fact, some games don't even have final bosses.

On the other hand, you may run into lots of normal enemies. Also, WRPG boss fights are rarely against a single strong enemy; the boss usually has some help, or there might not even be an enemy in the fight that would be *the* boss. (Example: The first of the 2 "boss" fights in Wizardry 1 is against a group of enemies that are of playable classes.)

In these cases, the best strategy is to eliminate the biggest threat, or alternatively the one that is easiest to eliminate, or perhaps the one that will trigger the end of the fight if defeated. Hence, a good offense is sometimes better than a good defense.

It would be easier if we knew what you were looking for in these games, story vs. combat for example. Assuming you are just jumping in blind and don't know what you're looking for, I might have a few tips.

- Don't start with real-time with pause games a la Baldur's Gate. Specially if you never played D&D in real life, they often assume you know all the basics and don't bother explaining it.

- When you do graduate to real-time with pause, you might want to start with Pillars of Eternity, it's meant to be accessible to new players and, even though the systems are different, they are similar enough that it will work as a good introduction. After playing it I felt ready to give Baldur's Gate another shot.

- Planescape: Torment: it's one of the best stories in gaming and the amount of role-playing in the dialogue is astounding. Yes, it is real-time with pause, but the combat is extremely simple and there's very little of it, specially if you invest your skill points in intelligence/wisdom, so it's not very difficult for beginners.

- Shadowrun: Dragonfall: Turn-based cyberpunk RPG with magic thrown in. While Hong Kong's gameplay might be a little better, this is the pinnacle of writing in this series, it's also cheaper. Like most kickstarter CRPGs, it's also accessible enough to attract people even from outside the dedicated fanbase willing to back a game like this.

- Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines: First-Person RPG. It's almost mandatory to install the fan patches, but when you do, you'll find a game with a rich story, many different ways to play and wide breadth of role playing options. The different hubs where you'll spend most of your time aren't very big, but are very detailed and atmospheric.

- Deus Ex: First-Person RPG. To solve your objectives you can go guns blazing, use stealth, diplomacy, hacking, etc. Whatever you choose to spend your points on, the game can accomodate that playstyle. If the boxy level design, stilted voice acting and graphics that were already bad when the game was released bother you, you can go instead with Human Revolution, the prequel from 2011, for the higher production values. Not as deep as its predecessor, then again, few games are, but if you enjoy this you'll look past any flaws in the original just to get more Deus Ex.

- Legend of Grimrock 1/2: Tile-based first-person party RPG. New game inspired by old classics like Eye of the Beholder and Ultima Underworld. If you really want to get that old school feel you can even disable the automatic map so that you can draw your own. Pretty hard game, but like the batch of new CRPGs inspired by the classics, it's more beginner friendly than some of its inspirations, it's well tutorialized, and you can start on easy and work your way up. If you don't mind playing in order, 2 is a better and has more open and varied environments, but it's your choice.

You would probably know better than me about the older ones. But I would say heaven help you being all la-dee-da with a charisma character or rogue when you do run into them.

He mentioned KotOR, I had 42 wisdom and he brutalized me like I was an apprentice jedi. I was popping health stims like candy.

Baldur's Gate you would be in serious trouble agains't Sarevok. And damn, better hope you don't run into Vampire Bloodlines bosses.

Biggest thing i can say is take notes. Every time i've given up in a rpg its because i took a break and completely forgot what i was doing or supposed to do. Admittedly this can happen in any game but newer ones take notes for you or give big arrows.

Ah, to be a RPG beginner without "baggage"...! You are in a unique position to enjoy games the way their developers intended. Us grizzled old RPG veterans are plagued by the compulsion to complete every sidequest, explore every inch and find every worthwhile item, whereas you can play...naturally. I haven't played games naturally for a long time. :p

Slash the hack with a stab.

RTFM

Thread won.

Read the booklet is the best thing to do IMO.