A Beginner's Guide to Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition: How to Play Dungeons and Dragons 

Interested in playing dungeons and dragons 5th edition? Then don't miss this DnD for beginners guide so you can start playing with confidence! Here we'll teach beginners how to play Dungeons and Dragons and you'll find a complete beginner's guide to playing D&D 5th edition.  You're joining 20 million other brave adventurers across the world fighting monsters in the legendary fantasy game. Before you start swinging swords and shouting spells, there are a few things you need to know about this great game. This Dungeons and Dragons guide for beginners contains all the basic information you need to kick-start your first D&D game.

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Getting Started 

Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition is a tabletop roleplaying game. The many rules of the game can make it very overwhelming for a dnd beginner. That means that each player will play the role of a character in the fantasy world. Before getting started with Dungeons and Dragons, players first make a character, for which they'll pick from a number of classes and races. Classes include magic-users, clerics, warriors and many more. Elves, dwarves, humans, halflings are just a few of the playable races. 

Each class has strengths and weaknesses. For example, magic users (as their name suggests) are great at using spells, but they don't have many hit points. This means that they are relatively easy to kill. Warriors, on the other hand, are fairly rubbish at using spells, but they can take a lot of damage before going down. So you need to think about which type of character you'd like to play during character creation.

The Players 

The Dungeon Master 

The Dungeon Master is a special kind of player. They're the person running the adventure and don't have a character as such for themselves. Adventures can either be bought ready-made, or developed by the DM. They will present situations to players, manage combat, and use dice to figure out the results of each character's actions. It's not always the easiest job and requires some patience. 

 Their main job is to make sure all the other players have a fun time. So, a good Dungeon Master won't give out spoilers. But they will know how drop subtle hints or inject the fun back into the game (for example, with a random wandering monster encounter) if the characters have reached a dead end. Some great Dungeon Masters even make a living out of running games! 

The good news is that there is a book, the Dungeon Master's Guide, that will help them plan and execute your adventures. This is useful if they're making their own adventures, or if you're using a module or campaign setting for this roleplaying game.

Adventurers/Player Characters 

The adventurers or player characters in your group are the people who will be doing the dungeon crawling and choosing how to react to situations. As the Dungeon Master presents situations, players choose how to react. The Dungeon Master then calculates the outcome using their own knowledge of the dungeon, and dice where situations are based on chance. Characters will level up as they become more experienced, and you can take them from adventure to adventure with you. 

You'll track their progress on a Character Sheet. Keep this safe, and take a picture of it with your phone from time to time, in case another over-exuberant player knocks their drink over the table. It happens! 

If you're playing for the very first time, check out these Top Ten Tips for New Adventurers. 

When getting started with Dungeons and Dragons, knowing how to play a character, and getting properly involved in the game, will make it a whole lot more fun.

The Rules 

The rules of D&D are perhaps more complex than this D&D for beginners guide has revealed so far - but don't worry. The DM will always be happy to explain how things work, or don't work, to keep the game running smoothly. 

Really though, you should pick up your own copy of the Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition rules and give them a good read. For your first few games, you might also want to keep a copy beside you as a reference guide. 

You can also find a pdf file of basic 5th Edition rules on the D&D website, which you might want to flip through before buying the book. 

The nitty-gritty 

There are a number of things you need to know about your characters, such as their speed, abilities and combat capabilities. 

They also have a carrying capacity, meaning that you can't necessarily take all the great treasure you loot from a dungeon at once. Some of these riches may have to be left behind for further adventures! Even the languages your character speaks could affect a game. For example, if your party comes across a wood elf who only speaks Elvish, an elf may be able to talk to them and parley. If your party has no elves, and no one else who speaks Elvish, the interaction will be radically different. The DM will decide what actually happens. But this could be anything from the elf completely ignoring you, to attacking you. It'll depend on the circumstances of when and where you meet, or even what races are in your party. Lots of little details like these can drastically affect gameplay, so do your best to be aware of them. 

How Combat Works

 The part of the game that a lot of new players look forward to are the fights. These are round-based encounters where you'll face off against all kinds of monsters, from monstrous ogres to bizarre gelatinous cubes. 

The Dungeon Master will figure out if either party has surprised the other, which will give them an advantage. They'll then look at who gets to go first (this is called 'initiative'), and then runs through each player's turns. They also play the part of the monster(s) by rolling dice for them. 

Some players may use spells or ranged weapons from a distance and others will rush head-on into battle - these decisions will probably be determined by their class. Combat outcomes are then determined by the DM according to your character's equipment, bonuses, and the roll of the dice... 

Where to Find Dice For Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition 

The beauty of Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition is that it doesn't require much equipment. It's mostly just pens and paper. The one thing you will need is a set of special dice. As a new player, you may not have realized yet, but dice don't only come in six-sided shapes.

 To play D&D, you'll need dice with everything between four and twenty sides. Grab a durable metal dice set complete with a protective case before you set out on your first expedition. 

Don't forget to share this D&D for beginners guide with a friend who might be interested!

Good luck, and happy adventuring!

Huzzah!

Ted & Team SkullSplitter