I'm planning to try tabletop roleplaying with a few of my friends, and they like the idea. I'm fairly new to the field, though, so I don't know much about what tabletop systems are appropriate for us. There's a place in my city that sells various roleplaying resources, including the classic DnD, so I can check the website for anything you recommend.

Suggestions? If we do settle on Dungeons and Dragons, should I consider buying the $25 (au) starter set or the $60 fifth edition manual? Should I look into finding manuals as .PDFs online or is that unviable?

We've heard that pathfinder is a pretty easy system to play with... Our experience with it supports that. To run a pathfinder campaign, you only need a single book. The core rulebook has everything you need for the basic stuff, whereas D&D 5e requires both the player handbook, the GM book and a bestiary.

You can download the pathfinder core rulebook (legally) free too, but its often easier to also have a papery version, as a 600+ page pdf can be slow to move about in.

I've been playing tabletop games for about... 12 years now, I think.
For new players, Pathfinder is often harder to get a grasp on, if they've never used the d20 system before. PF is essentially an updated version of D&D 3rd Edition. It's better for people who are already familiar with d20 mechanics, as the transition is pretty smooth.

5th ed D&D is very new-player-friendly. I've been play-testing it since it's initial release, and the rules are much less bulky than pathfinder, though you do incur a greater cost in book resources as Ellri mentioned.

But, if you just want 1 book, a simple rules systems, and an interesting setting, look up Numenera. It promotes more roleplaying and less roll-playing, and combat doesn't takes an hour or more to complete (like Pathfiner/D&D); in fact, you can run through 3-5 combats in one session and still have time leftover to explore, discover new things, and roleplay with NPCs. Streamlined mechanics makes things easier as GM and as a player.

@BurningDaisies@Ellri Yep, I'm hoping to get a paper copy of something for convenience.

I'm looking at the Numenera website videos and summaries and it's an appealing idea, so I'll bring up both Numenera and Pathfinder when I next see my nerd crew. I'm more interested in the Numenera setting concept right now, and if I order from the US via Australia Post, the Numenera core manual costs the same as the DnD 5e rulebook from the resource shop, so it'd be about what I'm expecting to pay anyway without being at a disadvantage for lack of extra resource books. Pathfinder also appears to be in my price range from overseas ordering (or pricier locally).

Question about Numenera- How much depth is there concerning character creation and advancement? The system I'm seeing is, like you said, very neatly streamlined. Is there a fixed list of descriptors and focuses? How much diverse do custom characters feel to make and play?

@First 2 questions: Monte Cook addresses this with "GM Discretion". The foci and different paths available are ready to use, but also serve as guidelines for players to make their own stuff (subject to GM supervision/discretion, of course)
The creation process can be as in-depth or bare bones as you want it to be.
Cool thing: if you want to shoot lightning from your hands. you dont necessarily have to explain how it works. The mystery is part of the fun. Do you have latent magical pontential or a colony of bizarre super-scifi nanites coursing through your veins? you can pick either and neither is wrong, because numenera is that open.

As for the feeling of diversity.... I played the numenera-equivalent of a devout priest who prayed to the great machine sprites and did ritualistic sacrifice of cyphers to get visions of the future. i also had a combat yo-yo with monofilament garotte wire...

So go nuts xD

@First 2 questions: Monte Cook addresses this with "GM Discretion". The foci and different paths available are ready to use, but also serve as guidelines for players to make their own stuff (subject to GM supervision/discretion, of course)
The creation process can be as in-depth or bare bones as you want it to be.
Cool thing: if you want to shoot lightning from your hands. you dont necessarily have to explain how it works. The mystery is part of the fun. Do you have latent magical pontential or a colony of bizarre super-scifi nanites coursing through your veins? you can pick either and neither is wrong, because numenera is that open.

Alright. That sounds like, with effort, it could lead to building long or complex stories without being restrained by canon resources, which suits me just fine. Optional explanation sounds fun for nerdy worldbuilding, too, going into depth with only what the roleplayers see most interesting. Thanks!

As for the feeling of diversity.... I played the numenera-equivalent of a devout priest who prayed to the great machine sprites and did ritualistic sacrifice of cyphers to get visions of the future. i also had a combat yo-yo with monofilament garotte wire...

So go nuts xD

A garotte yo-yo. I'm sold, man.

They also have some premade story modules, like Devil's Spine and some other stuff. Worth looking into fo'sho~