Dungeons and Dragons for beginners - The first step in a magical wo...

As a gamer there is a good chance that you have ever (indirectly) been in contact with pen and paper-rpg's, tabletop-rpg's or games like Wasteland 2, Tyranny or Shadowrun. Those who dig a little soon discover that many game mechanics show similarities from their favorite game series. That's not surprising: modern RPGs are mostly based on elements from Dungeons and Dragons (D & D), which is gaining in popularity. If you are curious about D & D, but do not know where or how you should start, you can already use this introduction.

What is Dungeons & Dragons?

You may already have an idea what Dungeons & Dragons is. According to Lead Designer Mike Mearls, friendship and imagination are central to the tabletop RPG. It is fantasizing together, having fun and out-of-the-box thinking. Mearls describes D & D as escapism, but as more than just that: it is also telling, influencing and experiencing unique stories together. Look for a joke at Critical Role, a YouTube series in which professional voice actors together experience adventures with their characters. This gives you an idea of the magic that takes place between the rules, dice and miniatures.

As Mike Mearls wrote, D & D is in the core a social game. We can not emphasize this enough. You go rolling together, exploring, fighting and playing a story. If you are on your own, it makes it a lot harder to actually play. It helps to have someone close to you who is familiar with D & D or other tabletop RPGs, provided that this person wants to help you of course. Otherwise it is advisable to look in your (social) network, at your local game store or on forums to see if you can go somewhere as a newcomer. If that does not work, there is online baking with information and discussion. In addition, D & D is now also playing well together online. More about this later.

Rules and characters

Mike Mearls emphasizes that putting the rules at the center is a misconception. An experienced Dungeon Master (game leader) can also handle players who do not or barely know the rules. Nevertheless, we recommend to at least go through the rules and even use a cheat sheet while playing. This gives you an idea of what you can do, how fights are handled and how your character levels and grows. D & D publisher Wizards of the Coast has a free (limited) demo on its websitefrom the official handbooks for D & D 5th Edition. The Player's Basic Rules contains the most important rules about creating a character and how the game should be played. At the same time, the Basic Rules contain a brief introduction of D & D and provide inspiration when you are going to make a character. The website D & D Beyond also has an extensive database and tools to build a character online.

The art is to empathize with your character

The trick is to create a character where you can empathize. As in other RPGs, you can determine your appearance, but also your background story and character traits. You start with a race, a class and a background and the foundation has already been laid. Ensure that your character already has a place in the world and the party promotes roleplay. In general, a character consists of mechanical aspects such as statistics, weapons and spells, as well as a personality behind it: character traits, ideals, relationships and weaknesses. You can write all this information on your 'Character Sheet', a kind of summary of your equipment, skills and personality.

It can be a stumbling block to work out your character when you're just starting out, so do not hesitate to take over a pre-built character. Both fillable and pre-built sheets can be found on the Wizards site, and the aforementioned D & D Beyond (required Twitch login) is a great tool that helps you fill in your sheet. Do not make it too difficult for yourself. Clichés are okay and easy to play. This is your first character and the goal is that you can easily live in and above all have fun. Moreover, experience is the best teacher: the chances are that you will gradually start to appreciate the process of 'character creation'.

To work

The trickiest part of starting with D & D is probably to find a group. Reading rules and creating a character can all be done by yourself, but as we already indicated, you need others to actually play. There are several ways to find fellow players: friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances and consult the official D & D website you shopping and planned events in your area are . If you can not find anyone, or if you prefer to play online, you can. The subreddit West_Marches links players to permanent DMs and also the more global subreddit Looking For Group can be useful if you are looking for a group.

If you want to play via the computer, you can use the D & D plug-in for Tabletop Simulator that virtually mimics the tabletop experience, but that is not very practical. A fairly new (free) option is Roll20. This is also a tool for playing together, building maps and consulting the rules database. There is also the possibility to search for a group and schedule sessions, although online contacts are not always reliable and punctual. Roll20 is, however, a complete package in which you can experiment together. Advanced users can enter their character sheet and use macros to make the mechanical game elements run smoother.

Then you can choose what you want to play. Usually the Dungeon Master has prepared a session with npc's, locations and samples. That can be a homemade or an official adventure. The latter already contain a setting, maps and npc's, so that the DM can focus purely on guiding players. You can also find maps and adventures on the internet, in the Dungeon Master's Guide, or create your own folder with pen and paper or in Paint. If you play online, Roll20 also offers the possibility to create a folder, although the interface requires some habituation.

When you play at a real table, you have a physical folder and miniatures that represent characters and monsters. You can use pictures printed for now, or figures from other board games. The final step: take out your character sheet, a set of ( digital ) dice, open a snack, pour a drink and you're ready to play your first session. Keep in mind that making mistakes is not bad. In fact, in your first session you might fail and you can even die. When that happens, laugh at it, just start again and keep trying.

What now?

If all succeeded: congratulations! Bitter balls for everyone! Welcome to the wonderful world of tabletop gaming! And now? Even in the beginning, when you mainly experiment and get to know D & D, you can have a lot of fun. Do not forget that the rules are mainly guidelines. If a rule is in your way, adjust it or delete it completely. Living together is what makes D & D fun. So consult your DM if you have ideas or plans. Anyway, if your curiosity is fueled, you will continue to feed them. If you have the tabletop experience a little bit in the fingers and are looking for more, you can look up the widening or deepening.

You can not think of it so crazy or there is a tabletop version of it

D & D 5th Edition functions as a stepping stone to more. Many people still play the older version 3.5, which offers more options but also more complicated. In addition, there are many other tabletop options with different settings, such as sci-fi, post-apocalyptic or cyberpunk. Although the basic rules of D & D are flexible and applicable to non-fantasy settings, many of these tabletop RPGs have their own manuals and rules. Shadowrun, Pathfinder and Call of Cthulhu are a few examples. You can not think of it as crazy, or there is a tabletop variant of it, be it official or homemade. Do not be afraid to broaden your horizons if you are interested in alternatives.

If you prefer to stay with D & D 5th Edition, you can consider looking for the deep one. If you play with a group, you can purchase the full Player Handbook together. In addition, there are several supplements that contain more breeds and classes, as well as options for Dungeon Masters. The most recent of these, Xanathar's Guide to Everything, is a big expansion with new options for classes, spells and magical items, as well as inspiration sources to work out your character to perfection. Take a look at Unearthed Arcana , a series of blogs where the designers of D & D share ideas with which you can experiment. These can end up in future expansions. This way you can get more out of your play sessions with 5th Edition.

Lead a game yourself

Participating in a session is an achievement in itself, but what if you want to lead a session yourself? As a Dungeon Master you are partly a director and partly a referee. Players can let their creativity run free, but ultimately it is up to the DM to decide what the consequences are. Start small, since you have to take into account many things at once. In this way you will have the statistics of monsters that fight players at hand, to distribute your attention to the players and to think about the consequences of their actions. Drawing maps and writing npcs requires some creativity, but do not set the bar too high. Here too, again: you learn by doing it. Making mistakes is instructive, you become a little better with each session. Ask your players specifically for feedback to expand your knowledge and skills.

As a novice DM you can go with the free DM's Basic Rules , even if it only contains the essentials. Then there are several adventures that you can use, both officially and by fans. If you want to make a bigger campaign yourself, the Dungeon Master's Guide can be a good investment. This book gives you insight into how you build, fill and manage a world. It can also help to learn from others. Consult with other DMs and consult blogs, forums and other online sources for advice. The subreddit / r / dndbehindthescreen is a good place to start and also the lessons of veteran DM The Angry GM can come in handy. There are also numerous suggestions, tips and listsabout DMs, much more than we could ever handle here. In any case, always remember that the adventure of players is central and that they must be able to influence the story. This ensures that you experience the exciting, grand and absurd stories that D & D revolves around.

Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it!

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Dungeons and Dragons for beginners - The first step in a magical world