Long post incoming; some of this stuff is copied from other posts I've made:

Getting into D&D is going to be a lot simpler and easier to rolling your own RPG system, unless the system you design is ultra simple and rules-light. And unless your friends happen to be game design experts or prodigies, what they come up with probably isn't going to be as fun, balanced or robust as a system designed and iterated upon by professionals and the RPG geek community.

D&D isn't rocket science, but the first few sessions will almost certainly be fraught with confusion, rules referencing, and/or people getting the rules wrong... but all that's OK. The key is to keep a relaxed attitude and for the DM err on the side of what seems most fun and entertaining. After a few sessions, everyone will probably have a decent grasp on the fundamental rules and things will go a bit more smoothly.

If you do decide to play D&D, you have to decide upon an edition to play, as there are several and they aren't compatible with each other. Right now the two most popular and recent editions are 3.5 and 4th edition. A 3rd party spin-off of 3.5 called Pathfinder is also popular. A big advantage to Pathfinder if you're on a tight budget is that pretty much the entire system is available online for free. For your conservative friends, the fact that it's not called D&D may also eliminate some of the social stigma, making it an easier sell.

My preferred edition though, and the one that is most newbie-friendly, is 4th edition. A slightly dated and incomplete overview of 4e's rules is available in this free quickstart guide. This tells you about 90% of what you need to know to sit down at a table and play as a player, and includes some pregenerated characters, but lacks the rules for character creation and progression.

A free 4e adventure, Keep on the Shadowfell can also be downloaded and perused by the DM, but KotS is not the finest example of adventure design, though you can find fan suggestions online to improve and tweak it.

As far as what products you should or need to buy, the Red Box Starter is probably the simplest and most straight-forward route. Avoid paying more than $25 for it new (a lot of 4e products seem to have spotty availability, which means sometimes they are overpriced).

Like the free quickstart guide, however, the Red Box does not you access to the full rules, but rather a simplified and stripped down overview. It almost follows the model of a choose your own adventure book in some respects rather than true D&D, which can make it a good stepping stone, though some players are impatient with it. It does, however, include some items that will remain useful to your game even when you outgrow the rules and content of the box: a double-sided poster map which can be reused, punch-out cardstock tokens to represent player characters and monsters and a set of dice. At $20 shipped, it's a good value if you feel your need a really gentle introduction into D&D.

However, if the members of your group are not averse to doing a couple hours of reading before their first adventure, and would rather skip the frying pan and jump straight into the fire, you can safely skip the Red Box.

What you really need is: a book that descriptions character creation and level 1-30 character options, an encounter design guide for the DM, a monster resource, plus some physical tools/props.

As for as the player resource goes, any one of the following will fulfill the need: the Player's Handbook, Heroes of the Forgotten Lands, Heroes of the Fallen Kingdoms. I would recommend the latter two, as they are 4e "Essentials" products, which are more up to date and feature more newbie-friendly steamlined design. However, all of the books are compatible with each other, and you can use them all.

You also need a book that tells the DM how to design encounters, run skill challenges, and reward teh players. You have basically three options here: the Dungeon Master's Guide, the DM's Book from the DM's Kit or the Rules Compendium.

Each has their pros and cons. The DMG is written with the new DM in mind and gives you all the rules info you need that isn't include in the players' books, but as one of the originally published books in the edition, it's less refined and does not include the latest errata (which you can download online, though it's a bit of a pain to read through all of it). It's probably your least expensive option.

The DM's Kit seems to be out of print (or on a reduced print run) so it's selling at above retail price. IMO it'd be the best option for a new DM, as it contains useful goodies (tokens, maps, and two quality published adventures) like the Red Box, plus a more up to date version of the Dungeon Master's Guide. But if you have to pay $55+, that's kind of difficult to justify.

The Rules Compendium has all of the rules information a DM needs, and it includes most of the latest errata, and it's generally a handy reference that you'll probably want to get eventually anyway. The problem is just that: it's a reference, and is light on insight and advice on how to build entertaining adventures and run a fun game. Like the DM's kit, it may be out of print, but it's still a good value. The Rules Compendium may be the best option if you're willing to read forums and web sites for DMing advice, which can be system neutral.

The DM also needs a monster resource. Hands down, the best option here is the Monster Vault. It's basically a far superior revision of 4e's Monster Manual, and contains an adventure, a ton of tokens and a battle map to boot. It's a steal at $20.

Another recommended product would be a D&D Insider subscription, which will give you access to the Character Builder, which as the name implies, makes building/progressing characters a cinch, and the Compendium, which gives you access to every bit of crunch in the entire published history of 4e: all the classes, powers, feats, races, monsters, items, themes, etc. as well as a glossary which describes much of the rules. You also get access to Dragon and Dungeon magazine archives, which contains a lot of flavor, design advice, and many pre-made adventures (see this thread for some highlights). It also has a handy monster builder tool. A subscription is $10/month or less if you commit to a longer subscription. Getting one subscription and sharing it among the group can be worthwhile.

Finally, you also need some physical things:

• A sufficiently large playing surface and seating.
  
• Pencils, paper for character sheets.
  
• Dice. You could get by with a single set (including 1d20, 1d12, 1d10, 1d8, 1d6, 1d4) but you probably want a full set for every player plus some duplicates. A pound of dice would likely suffice.
  
• A blank/customizable gridded map. There are at least three good options for this:
  
• A basic Paizo flip mat to be used in conjunction with erasable markers
  
• Gridded easel pads which work equally well for preparing detailed, pretty maps before a session, or whipping up something quick and dirty at the table -- a single pad will last you a good long time. This is what I use.
  
• Gaming paper which is like a compromise between the previous two options.
  
• Miniatures, tokens or other markers to represent monsters. As previously mentioned, several 4e Essentials products include tokens (if you get the Monster Vault, you're set). You can also buy miniatures from gaming stores, on eBay, etc. or you can use just about anything that's roughly a square inch in diameter -- coins, polished stones used in aquarium bedding, dice (though this can get confusing), etc.
  
  Finally, as for convincing your friends, as you've said, D&D is essentially no different from Skyrim, World of Warcraft, etc. D&D is pretty much the granddaddy of those games. If you can tolerate the "occult" elements in those other games, there shouldn't be anything offensive about D&D. And ultimately, the DM and players have full control over what they want to allow in the game. Have a discussion and decide if there's any subject matter that is the party finds offensive and exclude it from the game (or re-fluff it so it it's not so offensive).

Amazon in my experience is one of the best places to buy the books when it comes to price. The books are almost always constantly on sale for 20% or 30% off.

It also depends on his role. Is he mostly just a player? An aspiring DM? Either way, if he already doesn't have it he should have the players handbook. Probably the Dungeon Masters guide, and a few others. The top books I'd say he should have (in order of priority) are probably:

1. Players Handbook
   
2. The Dungeon Masters Guide
   
3. The Monster Manual
   
4. Xanathar's Guide to Everything
   
5. Volos Guide to Monsters
   
6. Mordenkainens Tome of Foes
   
   There's also a bunch of other books and adventures, but these are most important. For adventures I highly recommend Tales From the Yawning Portal, Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Curse of Strahd and Storm Kings Thunder.
   
   
   
   Now, if you want to make the gift more special, there are a few of the more prestigious (or at least cool) items.
   
   
   
   The Rook and the Raven makes superb notebooks. I use them, my wife uses them. I highly recommend them. They are a bit pricey for a notebook, but they are well made, disco-bound so you can add pages and customize your layout, and there are pages with special prompts to help you brainstorm and organize. Whether you are a DM or player, I highly recommend them. Start with either a player diary or DM planner, then go from there. Warning, your skills order these right away. They makes each book custom from scratch, so fulfillment can take a while (sometimes 8 weeks or so).
   https://shop.therookandtheraven.com/
   
   
   Want to get him the books, but make it a bit more memorable? Get the Core Rulebook Gift Set with Limited Edition Covers. Very nice looking, has the players handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide, and Monster Manual with special edition covers, as well as a special edition Dungeon Masters Screen. You can find it on Amazon (see link below) or sometimes at your local game store.
   Dungeons and Dragons RPG: Core Rulebook Gift Set Limited Alternate Covers https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HFG969C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_IiERDbMK8RT3K
   
   
   
   Dice. Dice. Dice. Players and DMs alike love Dice. Especially cool or special dice. You can look around on Amazon for large sets of regular dice (Wiz Dice Bag of Devouring: Collection of 140 Polyhedral Dice in 20 Guaranteed Complete Sets for Tabletop Role-Playing Games - Solids, Translucents, Swirls, Glitters, Alchemic Oddities https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KP4T6TQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_rlERDbMH5C6AB), miniature dice (Wiz Dice Halfling's Haversack - 140 Mini Polyhedral Dice, 20 Colors in Complete Sets of 7, Miniature 10mm Pocket Size is Portable and Great for Travel https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BWK7HVB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_HkERDb6P484G7) or some sets of special material dice, like metal dice (TecUnite 7 Die Metal Polyhedral Dice Set DND Role Playing Game Dice Set with Storage Bag for RPG Dungeons and Dragons D&D Math Teaching (Shiny Black and Blue) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CVT3RZR/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_GmERDbQ090HDB).
   I would also check out Artisan Dice. Very pricey, but VERY nice. There are some dice from here made from ACTUAL stones like Malachite, and some even made from Bison Horn.
   
   
   If he's a fan of Critical Role you should of course check out their Merch Shop. Plenty of cool items there, like apparel, maps, tankards, etc.
   https://shop.critrole.com/
   
   
   If he likes using digital tools at the table, you can always get him a subscription to D&D Beyond. It can be a very useful, intuitive tool.
   
   There's so much out there, it's hard to choose. And everyone has different tastes, so its hard to make specific recommendations. If you have any questions, let me know. Getting new players more involved in the hobby is one of my favorite things. And honestly, you sound like an awesome mom. I would have loved for my mom to have supported my hobbies like this when I was younger, and it's impressive the kind of research you are doing. Hes a lucky kid.
   
   Edit:
   Just remembered a few more things. Reaper makes excellent miniatures he can use in his games, and mini painting is a great hobby he can get into. Check out Reaper Miniatures (https://www.reapermini.com/) and some sets of paints. I recommend Vallejo or Citadel for paints, but Reaper also has some nice starter kits. For tutorials, have him look at YouTube, especially channels like Goobertown hobbies, Miniac, Black Magic Craft, etc.
   
   Also, right now Reaper has a kickstarter going on. They've done this a few times before and it's been quite successful in the past. It's going in now and will end Nov. 1st. Basically, you pledge a certain amount of money and they give you a TON of minis at a much lower cost per mini. I think the core set is like $120, but I think you get well over a hundred minis, so it's a great value. If you don't mind waiting on the actual gift (fulfillment is expected around Feb 2021?), it can be a great way to quickly get a ton of cool minis.
   Reaper Miniatures Bones 5: Escape from Pizza Dungeon, via @Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/reaperbones5/reaper-miniatures-bones-5-escape-from-pizza-dungeon?ref=android_project_share

Phew This'll be a long a post, but certainly reward to read by the end of it. Don't worry about 2E replacing anything, as that takes time to do and is at least two years aeay from being a thing, even if it's fulling released this year. Playing D&D/Pathfinder really is the Nerdiest, Nerd thing I've ever done, and it is a lot of fun! Watch +DawnforgedCast's Session 0 video and download his checklist here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0FmGxmJLiw That checklist will help you out greatly in starting out as a GameMaster/Dungeon Master or as a player to learn what you want in a game, for a new group, with or without veteran players. However, if you're one as the GM and you have a vivid imagination, or are good with thinking on the fly (believe me, it gets better with time) then you'll already have a headstart on the majority of GMs out there. A great beginning module that has a little bit of everything, adventure hook (i.e., reason why your players should be doing this), NPC interaction, wilderness adventuring, dungeon crawling, is the Hollow's Last Hope module for 1st Level Players as it works for both D&D and Pathfinder. You don't really need the print version, since you can download it for FREE at Paizo's website https://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Hollow%27s_Last_Hope

I greatly recommend you get the Pathfinder RPG: Beginner Box ($25-$35) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601256302 it is a different game, but the rule set is uber-simplified and honestly, superior to the D&D Starter Set ($15), and is worth the extra money. The Beginner Box literally has the all of the beginning needs for play. Pre-generated characters, blank character sheets for the four classes (Wizard, Rogue, Cleric, and Fighter) with either of the three races (Elf, Dwarf, and Human) that are easy to introduce new players to, a flip out map that you can use dry-erase- or wet-erase markers, and permanent markers on (all of which can be erased off, I use these wet-erase makers that are $9 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006IFGW because I'll draw camp fires with brown, yellow, orange, and red colors, green helps with trees and shrubbery, blue for water, and black for everything else), a Hero's handbook, and really, really, good GM guide, plus thick, cardboard punch-out marker pawns of various Monsters, NPCs, Player characters, and other creatures, that amount to a wealth of miniatures that would take a lot of money and time to paint them all up, plus they're easier to store in the box. Unfortunately, it only comes with one set of dice, so it wouldn't hurt to get these on these 7 sets ($12) on the cheap https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MDJNE93 and pass them out to your players, or if they have their own, then you'll have plenty of extra multiples of dice, which will come in handy during combat with spellcasters and sneak attacks by Rogues. I handed them out to my players after they told me what their favorite colors were. =P

That'd would be all you'd really need to start, $30ish Beginner Box, plus $10 for markers, and $10 more if you or your players need dice. Now, what follows is what I used for my first GMing of a game, based on many different people's recommendations. In order to make combat work in a logical way that I could understand, I bought the Pathfinder Combat Pad $20 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601255470, along with those wet-erase markers from earlier. It's usefulness has been far better, and worth it's price in gold, to use than a cheap $1 store notebook, when I would have to erase or rewrite when players would defeat monsters or would hold their actions, or would tell them the wrong initiative bonus to start (lol!). Again, rather use a dollar store binder, I bought the Pathfinder GM Screen $16ish https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601252161, because it was short enough for me to look over rather than 3-ring binders or a paper folder at the actual game table. Speaking the table, I bought the Chessex Battlemats https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015IQO2O this is a link to the smaller one ($20), since I bought the Megamat ($35), only because I had a large table, and players could use it as a coaster for drinks too (even though I did have coasters, to prevent spillage). As an added bonus, I recently discovered the Condition cards $10 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601252854, to use with Pathfinder, and they are great to hand out to players (as you would already know these conditions since it's written behind the GM Screen) so they know what condition they are in at a glance. Keep in mind though, you only get 4 or each, so if you are lucky enough to have more players, it wouldn't hurt to buy an extra set (however, it would be strange if all of your players had the same condition).

Now, let's say you enjoy Pathfinder, and you bought the Core Rulebook $20 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601258879 (if it's a hardcover, always look inside for the Sixth edition printing, the paperback will already be that edition) but are getting tired of looking up Monster stats online, then grab the Paperback version of the first Bestiary $16 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601258887 which has the great majority of all of the "regular" monsters in either D&D or Pathfinder. If you're not much of an artist, then there's the recently released Pathfinder Traps and Treasures Pawns Collection $25 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601259719 but be warned that you only want to place on the board AFTER the players find out what it is or after they trip it since it does have text explaining what it is as a trap, and if you're use the treasure ones, make sure you add whatever is actually printed on the tile is IN the list of treasure you give the players, because they can and will ask about, "can't I grab that cup or sword, it's on the tile?" ;)

Lastly, if you enjoy being the GameMaster/Dungeon Master, the storyteller, the world builder, then I'd recommend getting the Pathfinder Gamemastery Guide $15 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601259492, which again, can be applied to both RPG games. And if you what better weather effects to throw at your party than what is presented in the CRB and GMG, then Pathfinder Ultimate Wilderness $30 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601259867 has all that you need, and then some, plus some cool spells and tons of new animal companions and familiars for spellcasters alike, and a new shapeshifting melee-fighting class called the Shifter, which is pretty neat to use (albeit, you may want to check out Paizo's website for any official errata or clarifications, just in case). If you want to actually create a campaign and are having a hard time coming up with ideas, locations, groups/factions, kingdoms, races, then one more purchase, which is what +DawnforgedCast used for his Pathfinder games seen here is the Inner Sea World Guide $45 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601252692 It is pricey, but again, very much worth it, to create your own world or to use the pre-made world, as well. Remember, the Beginner Box, Markers, and Dice is really all you need, the rest of this is to expand out. I hope this helps you and anyone else out as well. =P

D&D Basics (Getting started)

The Absolute Basics

First you will want to grab either the Basic rules (Free), the Starter Set (Cheap), or the Players handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide, and Probably Monster Manual

Then you need to have at least a few items

• Dice (Phone apps will work if absolutely necessary, or these)
  
• Paper & Pencil (for notes)
  
• Character Sheet (In the free PDF or an app)
  
  The starter set is nice because it does a bunch of the work for you, it has an easy to follow adventure, pre-made characters, Dice, and rules for the DM and players. And at half the cost of just the players handbook AND including an adventure, it is an incredible value.
  
  Once you finish that then looking at at least a players handbook for the extra races, classes, backgrounds, and other things is a good deal. That should let you run free adventures people have put online.
  
  The DM's guide will let you get deeper into rules and the right way to call them, break them, and make them.
  
  The monster manual can be a great tool to make better encounters.
  
  If you want to run a commercial adventure after the one's included in the starter set, "Tales from the Yawning Portal" includes the Sunless Citidel, considered by many to be an excellent adventure for those new to the game and just recently brought up from 3.5e into 5e
  
  

  Common Tools of the Trade
  

  
  As you start running more complex adventures you are going to want to have a few tools to keep things moving, either as a player or as a DM.
  
  

  As a Player
  

  
  The bare essentials every players should have are listed above, but most players agree having a few extras can make the game run really quick.
  
  

  Spell Cards
  

  
  These cards have all the spells available for specific classes or from specific books on really well organized cards that make it easy to set aside your prepared spells and quickly reference all the core details.
  
  Cleric, Arcane, Ranger, Druid, Bard, Paladin, Martial Powers and Races, Xanathars Guide to Everything
  
  

  Binders & Sheet Protectors
  

  
  Keeping everything neat and organized can be a huge time saver and make it much easier for you to find what you need. Binders can be a great way to keep your notes and other materials organized. In addition many sheet protectors easily erase dry erase markers making it easy to keep track of spells and other changes without ruining character sheets with constant erasing.
  
  

  As a DM
  

  
  DMs have their work cut out for them. But a few simple tools can make the game run smooth and leave everyone having that much more fun.
  
  

  Index Cards
  

  
  A set of index cards can go a long way to speeding up the game. Players can put details on spells or magic items on them. You can prepare loot for the game ahead of time and hand it out allowing players to look over the gear as the game continues. You can also use them to hide portions of a battle map or commerical map to give the effect of fog of war.
  
  

  Game Mats
  

  
  A game mat let's you make single maps by drawing on them with dry erase or wet erase markers. Many are made of vinyl and can last a long time. Normally they will have either 1" squares or hex shapes.
  
  

  Minitures
  

  
  These things can be expensive, but giving your game that 3D upgrade and helping players better manage space in a game can be well worth it. You can use actual miniatures (Like those from Reaper), Create custom ones on Hero's Forge, or even just buy some cheap stand in tokens from Game Mash.
  
  If you just need a cheap way to keep track of positions army men, bottle caps, colored game pieces, and even legos can all play the role.
  
  No matter what you use, you can pick up colored rubber bands to mark status conditions or other information.
  
  

  Where Can I Play?
  

  
  You can find tons of places to play D&D.
  
  

• Get together a gaming group.
  
• Find a Guild or club in your area. Meetup.com,
  
• Most hobby shops and especially comic book and gaming shops offer games, usually Adventure League. WotC offers a tool to find stores here.
  
• /r/lfg can be a great way to find others to play online with.
  
• Play by Mail sites like RPoL allow you to play by forum post.
  
  

  Also:
  

  
  Critical Role - Voice actors playing DnD, Matt Mercer (The DM) is an amazing Dungeon Master and shows how the game should be played.
  
  Matthew Colville - Amazing videos on being a DM, must watch material for every DM. Even when your opinions differ he gives good reasons and great advice.
  
  

  Compendiums
  

  
  These let you ciew all the free open rules (SRD & Basic Rules) for D&D 5e at no cost.
  
  Roll20 Compendium - Has all the open rules for the game, so a good source for monsters, items, spells, etc.
  
  DnDBeyond - A more official source for the content, plus you can buy all the materials released by WotC to use, and has a great character builder.
  
  

  Adventures & Maps
  

  
  DMsGuild - Tons of free and paid adventures and other materials. The quality can be varying, but many are free and that can be great.
  
  /r/dndmaps/ - What more can they say, D&D Maps.
  
  Mike Schley Makes many of the maps for the D&D Adventures.

Well I suppose you said you've played before, but I'm going to give you a basic resources spiel, so forgive me if I'm saying anything obvious. The basic things you're going to want are a set of dice /for each player/ (a d4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 20, to be clear). I mean, you can get away with a single set of dice, but it's a pain to pass them around. Personally I like to have enough dice so I can roll all at once for a given ability - a spell that deals 4d8 damage? I have 4d8s. Of course, people with smartphones could get an app like Dice Ex Machina, too. Then, if you want to play with a board (I understand some people can play certain systems like 5e by just having the DM describe how far apart things are but that sounds maddening to me), you're probably going to want a playmat (http://smile.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O/ref=smi_www_rco2_go_smi_2053972162?ie=UTF8&%252AVersion%252A=1&%252Aentries%252A=0) and some Vis-a-Vis wet erase pens to draw on it. Lastly, you're going to need /something/ to represent people on said playmat. Miniatures are super expensive, so you can theoretically, especially starting out, scrounge up various little things that fit in the 1 inch squares - pieces from other board games, whatever. Now, if you've got more money to spend a great deal that's much more cost efficient than minis are Paizo's Pawn Boxes such as this http://paizo.com/products/btpy8x1f?Pathfinder-Pawns-NPC-Codex-Box

Now, you could also go the super cheap route and grab graph paper, and then write letters to represent characters, then draw and erase when they move. This is how I started - it sucks, but it's free. Another free way to circumvent ALL of these play resources by playing on the computer: https://app.roll20.net/home. This has obvious pros and cons but it's simultaneously free and fancy if it works out. If you use that, you'll want this too: http://www.rptools.net/tools/token-tool/

As for systems, I have two recommendations. My biggest recommendation is for the new 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons. It is excellent, and most importantly it's really easy for beginners. You can get the starter set for a mere 20$, which comes with 4 pre made characters, a good adventure and a set of dice. And maybe a DM shield? Anyway, free basic rules here: http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules

After that, there are 3 books, the Players Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manuel. They're all great. And 50$ each. If you try the starter set, like the system and have a dedicated group of players, I definitely recommend them if you can afford them. If you can't, however, there's my other recommendation:

Based off of 3.5e Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder is a great system with tons and tons of content, and with the exclusion of published adventures and flavor books, it's all free: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/home
It also has a free module you can try out: http://paizo.com/products/btpy8j5w?Pathfinder-Module-We-Be-Goblins

Thing is, it's also quite complicated. For beginners to learn it without a veteran to teach them - to learn just by reading the rules - would be very very difficult. No way I would have been able to learn by reading. Plus, that 'tons and tons of content,' while awesome, makes it all the more overwhelming for beginners. Still, it's freeeeeee.

I'm about to make a post about how I built a fully functional DM screen from scratch for about $14, but as far as original content that's it for me. However, here's some links that caught my interest or inspired me if it helps any.

Tips

ProJared: How to be a good DM

DM Support Group

Content Generation

DonJon Inn Generator

[World Gen] (http://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/14706/rules-for-generating-a-game-world-as-you-go)

Map making

Podcasts

For inspiration

Adventure Zone - A real play podcast with a group of seasoned improvisational comedians. The perfect, I think, blend of fun, fantasy, and storytelling. Certainly not serious, but still has really great storytelling and roleplaying. Griffin is an amazing DM and has really inspired me to create like he does.

Hello from the Magic Tavern - Doesn't play DnD, but lots of lore inspiration...for better or worse.

Dungeon Master's Block - Lots of good idea and discussions.

Materials

[Role 4 Initiative dry erase tiles] (http://www.amazon.com/Dry-Erase-inch-Dungeon-Tiles/dp/B016H1B0RW) - My dungeon master uses these, it is SO much easier than using one giant dry erase playmat. We used to totally cheese things in dungeons because we knew the action must be in the direction of the rest of the empty squares. With the tiles, it's not obvious anymore which doors to take and which direction to go.

[Color coded ball pawns] (http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Pawns-Accessories-Assorted-Colors/dp/B00JOPU3UY?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01) - I haven't gotten these in the mail yet, but I think they'll work great for marking the player characters. If I even run a longer campaign, I think it would be fun to use wooden peg dolls, painted with paint pens, as player characters, NPCs, most humanoid monsters...and other various wooden things for the bigger and weirder.

[1 inch wooden squares] (http://www.amazon.com/Package-Round-Disc-Unfinished-Cutouts/dp/B00CA1Y878?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00) - cheap way to make markers for enemies, can write on with sharpie or use a 1 inch circle cutter to use your own color. See the really good guide here.

DM cheat sheets

Ozuro

Ronny Hart

I don't think either of these are perfect; nobody else's DM screens will ever be perfect for how you run a game. I combined these two and added my own notes for my own screen.

Reddit threads I've saved

Overland travel

Sandbox play

Terrain features for encounters

Software

DM Minion - Seems like it would help a lot with organization, certainly not required for success. Can't get it to work with my PC.

Hi there! I just introduced my family to D&D over the weekend as well. Let me answer your questions.

Truthfully, everything you need can be found online. The D&D starter rules (for both playing and DMing) can both be found on Wizard's website. Others will recommend the Starter Edition, which is great place to start mind you, but the adventure is definitely not a one-shot. It can take up to 3-4 sessions to complete it.

Because of this, I opted to create my own one-shot adventure and I watched Matthew Colville's wonderful intro to DMing guide on Youtube. It's actually a lot easier than you think. For a one-shot all you need are at least 5 encounters; puzzle, trap, combat, dialogue/story, final boss. Put it in a dungeon; keep it simple. Dungeonographer is a wonderful program to help you maps and interior locations.

If you keep your adventure simple, DMing is very straightforward. Set the story and the adventure hook (why is your party going on a quest/adventure), lay down some breadcrumbs that lead them onward, and manage the experience. Remember that players roll the D20 for just about everything, but feel free to throw your own flair as well. For instance, I often had my family roll "luck" to see how fortunate they were in certain circumstances. Specifically, the party was fleeing from town and my father was like, "There's gotta be boats at the dock, let's go!" And I tell him to roll a D20 to see how fortunate they were to find one (or if one was actually there). I made up the chances (based on the story) and the outcome was up to the roll.

The guides obviously will break everything down in very good detail, but what helped me feel more comfortable DMing was to prepare some additional materials.

• Printed out documentation of the adventure script (what's going on, what's happening) and things that you will say at key moments (location description, etc.). I included different kinds of checks that players can do at certain areas (e.g., Investigation, History, or Intelligence checks).
  
  
• Create a Bestiary that contains all of the monsters and npcs players will encounter. Include all information about stats, attacks, etc. This will save you time so you don't have to look into a book for this information.
  
  
• Create simple maps in dungeonographer to help your players feel a sense of presence.
  
  Check out the video link I posted earlier. It really helped.
  
  Oh, and I ordered 5 sets of dice from here. $9.99 for the lot. Great price!

First of all this looks very good, excellent work.

​

I'd like to give you some advice though. I've been a DM for a long time, alternating campaigns with another member for ~7 years now. We have been making minis and set pieces for a long time and have a massive collection now which is awesome for us, but what I have learned is versatility is better than specificity. We use a wet erase mat for the maps and flesh things out using our collection, and the props we use the most are things like trees, treasure chests, some furniture, altars, braziers etc.

​

I absolutely commend your fancy bridge, don't get me wrong I think it's awesome, but how long will the PCs be there and how often will they be crossing rickety bridges over canyons?

​

This is the mat I purchased all those years ago when we started this grand adventure:

https://www.amazon.ca/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IUAAG?th=1 (specifically the MEGAMAT)

This mat has been the cornerstone of our fantastical adventures, and is by far and away the best purchase I've made D&D wise. The tales we have woven and ideas conveyed have largely been with the trusty mat, a set of crayola washable markers and a little imagination.

​

My intention is not to discourage you, quite the opposite really. I can already tell you are going to make a great DM just based on the effort you have put into the bridge, keep up the excellent work! This is just some friendly advice that props you can use semi-frequently are the best ones.

​

I wish you luck in your adventures, and if you ever need any DM advice feel free to inbox me anytime.

• To echo everyone else, I would also say start with the starter set because it has everything you need to start, including a pretty nice set of dice. You could get away with this for your first session, but you will probably want some
  
• dice This may be your most cost effective way of having a set for everyone, and enough spares for people to grab from for crits and spells like fireball. Everyone will eventually get nicer sets they like more, but this is a good way to start with matched sets. Depending on how happy people are with the player options in the starter set, your next investment will either be the
  
• PHB for more player options, spells, items, and guide lines for how things should work. This is far and away the most import of the three books. As most people have said, you will probably get to the point where everyone wants access to this book. During play, you will probably want 2-3 of these at the table.
  
• Battle Mat D&D can be played in Theater of the mind, but grid combat makes a lot of rules easier to implement and officiate with a grid. The one I linked is pretty big without being overly huge (there are larger ones), and it is vinyl which makes it durable, and it erases pretty well with good wet erase markers.
  
• Miniatures is something else entirely. Most of the groups I play with have more than enough for me to ever have to buy any. Some players will make or buy a mini for his/her character. There are the round cardboard tokens that you could use for cheap. I run a D&D game on Fridays at the school I teach at and have the students use one of their dice as their mini. Monsters are usually balls of playdoh.
  
• After finishing of the LMOP (the adventure in the starter's set) you will either want to pick up one of the other adventures like Out of the Abyss or Princes of the Apocalypse. You might need a Monster Manual to go with it. PotA has a digital supplement with the extra monsters, while OotA does not.
  
• The DMG is optional really. It is great for magic items, alternative rules you could use, and world building strategies. You'll want a copy eventually, but like the MM, you wont need more than 1.
  
• Other things. Look around for things like the Elemental Evil Player's Guide and Unearthed Arcana articles. They have a bunch of free content you could use in your games. They are usually rough drafts so they might be imbalanced, but you might find something you really like in there. There are also tons of homebrew monsters, classes, races, and items if you wanted to expand your game that way.
  
  angel14995 has a great summary of all the books. This list is more useful as a logical purchasing progression guide.

First trick is deciding which edition you want to play, for new players I highly recommend sticking to 4th edition, the rules are simpler and combat is generally more interesting. If you guys are brand and are new starting with nothing, I highly recommend picking up the 4th edition DM Manual 1, Monster Manual 1, and the Player's Handbook 1.

If your DM wants to take his hand at designing his own adventures I also highly recommend picking up a wet erase play mat as well as wet erase markers. I recommend wet erase over dry erase as dry erase can easily be wiped off during combat and such.

You'll also want to buy some dice for everyone to use, there are a few ways to go about that, you can mismatch dice from local hobby shops, you could buy dice sets or you could purchase the Chessex "Pound of Dice" for the whole group's use and ease. I, as a highly superstitious gamer, own 2 dice sets of my own and an additional lucky D20 that I don't let anyone touch (as they'll likely suck the luck out of it), so figure out what kind of gamers you are and what dice will best suit you.

As you guys grow and expand you may want to look into getting the other Player's Handbooks, to increase your options as players, as well as the other monster manuals for easier adventure creation for your DM.

I also highly recommend your DM (for his ease in adventure creation) look into reading materials on the internet (easily found for free) to help create the most interesting and fun adventures possible. One I can recommend off-hand is Chris Perkin's (a writer for the D&D books and "professional DM") "blog" called "The DM Experience."

Also if you have any other questions feel free to ask me in a comment or message me, I love to see new player getting into the game and would like to help in any way possible.

Just be sure to have fun, happy gaming :D

I'm going to try to be more detailed than is strictly necessary in an attempt to cover all the bases, so apologies if I cover something that seems obvious to you, since I'm not sure what does and does not!

The main responsibility of the DM is to prepare and "run" a single, or series of adventures, either written by themselves or someone else. Most pre-written adventures have some background on exactly what to do when running it (information to pass along to the players, boxed text to read, etc.), and writing your own adventure is a bit daunting, so I'd recommend starting with a pre-written one.

That might be what you mean when you say "Adventurer's League Campaign Book," but I'm not sure: is this a published hardcover? What is it's title?

If you DON'T have a pre-published adventure and are looking to select one:

Lost Mines of Phandelver is the adventure that comes with the starter set, and is widely regarded as a good starting point for both new players and DMs. It also has the advantage of having all monster stat blocks included. I personally like any of the Places by the Way series by Douglas Sun (particularly Treasure on the Rocks and Secret of Oyster Cove, which form something of a pair), which are smaller and can transition into other adventures with relative ease, though these require the monster manual (though they are almost certainly workable with basic rules monsters with a bit of adjustment)

The official hardcovers are sort of a mixed bag. Waterdeep Dragon Heist and Ghosts of Saltmarsh are both geared towards being "starter set" type adventures, whereas Out of The Abyss or Storm King's Thunder are quite advanced. I believe also that at least some of these require the Monster Manual.

You can obtain any or all of these by going on dmsguild.com. This is Wizards DrivethruRPG storefront, where every DnD module is available for purchase as a PDF. You can also browse around for other introductory modules for characters level 1-5, though make sure you are buying 5th edition products (as previous editions don't work with newer rules without a great deal of adjustment). Some homebrewed modules are even Pay What You Want, if money is an issue, though I cannot speak to the quality of these

Either way, you should read through your chosen adventure. If you don't feel like reading it through cover to cover, don't. But in either case, read through the first few "encounters": these are usually indicated by numbers in prewritten adventures. Try to read through about 8 or so, though this will almost certainly be far more than you will get through your first session. Familiarize yourself with the monsters and NPCs contained therein and devote a little time to thinking how exactly the encounter will go, what moves the enemies have, etc. This is more for mental preparation than anything else.

After that, it's up to how you personally organize your thoughts. I personally am not a note-taker: when I prep a prewritten adventure, I usually don't take notes beyond post its to help me find pages or references, or occasionaly redrawing maps for use on a battle map. Some people like to copy almost the whole book onto a separate sheet. Find what works for you. Just do whatever it takes to feel like you "know" the adventure, so that when your players inevitably do something the adventure doesn't predict, you can roll with it.

If you are dead set on writing your own adventure, I recommend starting with the formula detailed in Matt Colville's Running the Game series: a low level monster gang, headed by a slightly higher level monster, has stolen something precious from town, and it is up to your players' characters to retrieve it. That will be enough for a first session.

Beyond prepping the adventure, make sure to come prepared just for the game. Bring pencils, a notebook (and graph paper), index cards, and post its. A DM screen is a very popular accessory, used to hide notes and secret dice rolls from the players, though it is by no means mandatory. You can make one yourself out of binders or folders if you don't want to purchase an additional product. Despite our protestations, the DM often has a secondary duty to "manage" the table. That means you should bring extra pencils, extra dice, a copy of the rules (ensuring there's at least one copy at the table), because someone will forget them.

If you want to do gridded combat, you'll need some kind of battle-mat, with 1" squares or hexes. This can be a printed sheet of paper or a product like this. You will also need miniatures or tokens to represent your characters and NPCs. These can be as simple or as elaborate as you want. I use disks of foamcore posterboard, a handful of molded plastic minis, and M&Ms for NPCs. Gridded combat is by no means mandatory, so if you're not comfortable with it, feel free to leave these for a different day.

Familiarize yourself with the rules. All players should know the rules, but you act as the "referee" in cases where the rules are unclear or no one can be bothered to look them up. So it behooves you to know the rules at least as well as the player who knows them best.

Check your player's character sheets to ensure they created them correctly. If your players rolled for ability scores out of your sight, consider either making them use the point buy system, or making them reroll the characters together at the table (for some reason, rolling ability scores ahead of time tempts even the purest hearts, and they come with a character with two 17s and nothing below 10 on their sheet). This will be your first "ruling" as a DM: if a player complains, gently remind them that it is your responsibility to ensure the rules are enforced consistently and fairly, and to that end character creation is your choice to make, and that they gave you this power when they asked you to be DM.

Finally, have fun.

I just ran my first session as a new DM with LMoP last week! I'll jot down my experience running a group of 4 beginners. (so take my advice with a grain of salt as a beginner that has not finished the campaign)

---
First, read through the books in the Starter Set! (If you can afford the Player's Handbook, that is a good idea as well.) I highly recommend going through the rulebook (or Basic Rules) then at least skimming through the entire LMoP module. You don't have to memorize everything but as a DM it is important to have the idea of the setting in your head.

For combat, you have to decide if you are going to run "Theater of the Mind" or battlemat+miniatures for combat. Theater of the Mind is more flexible and requires less preparation but battlemats give great visuals at a cost of preparation and supply.

Then you have to decide if you think your players would want to make their own characters or not. For my beginner group, I decided that they would be a lot more invested/excited if they could identify with their own creation so I chose to not use the pre-generated character sheets. Once you are comfortable with the rules of D&D enough, set a date to meet with your group.

Since we had to make characters, I held a Session 0 to introduce the basic concept of what to expect in committing to D&D as well as character creation. I highly suggest making characters together a separate day before Session 1 because it usually takes a decent amount of time for the first time (3ish hours for me).

My Session 0 looked like this:

• Introduction to D&D
  
  
• Explaining all races, classes, backgrounds and letting them pick
  
  
• Giving character sheets, rolling stats
  
  
• Guiding them through the char sheet by referencing DNDBeyond for background/race/class bonuses
  
  After everyone was done, I let them take home the character sheet and work on character appearance, personality, and background story.
  
  The week after, we had Session 1. Make sure you actually read through the LMoP module in depth, at least up to Part 1-2 beforehand. I also decided to take some elements of this supplement Part 0 for LMoP to use as a tutorial for my players. Then, begin your adventure! My party took a lot longer than I expected and only got to the entrance of the Cragmaw Hideout after 3 hours.
  
  Good luck to your campaign, I'm looking forward to my second session!
  
  ---
  
  Some recommended guides I used:
  
  
• Matt Mercer tips (all DM's love this man)
  
  
• Don't Stop Thinking guides (great graphic visuals and in-depth coverage)
  
  
• Matt Colville tips (gives a good idea of how D&D should look like at an advanced level)
  
  
• DungeonDudes (channel that covers good topics)
  
  
• DNDBeyond (amazing website for the Basic Rules, classes, and races)
  
  
• OneCritWonder LMoP tips (helpful overview of the module)
  
  
• LMoP enemies (generator that adapts to how many players you have)
  
  ---
  Supplies I personally prepared (BUT ARE OPTIONAL):
  
  
• Beginner dice (shared with my beginners, they are planning to get their own sets soon)
  
  
• Custom character sheets (a bit overwhelming at first but I find helpful for each class)
  
  
• Spell cards (I don't think many people use these but I find it an amazing resource to give your players if they are spellcasters)
  
  
• Battlemat (use with Wet-Erase markers)
  
  
• Paper minis (dedication and time required, can use coins, legos, or anything instead or even real miniatures if you can afford it)
  
  
• DM Screen (the official and most standard and affordable screen)

For miniatures, be warned that the Heroclix and Mage Knight minis, while useable, are mostly larger than the 1" standard width (for a medium character or creature) - this is generally not that big of a problem but if you're going with modular terrain it means they may not fit well, especially along with other miniatures beside them.

Ebay is a good choice for miniatures, especially if you have particular needs for certain things - you want that male elf archer in leather armor, or are you looking for a beholder? You can find and get them there. Here's my favorite seller for these things, shipping is definitely reasonable and the choices are expansive:
http://www.ebay.com/usr/auggest?_trksid=p2053788.m1543.l2754

Another option to miniatures are tokens, and they are much, much cheaper. These are small cardboard circles that fit a 1" block as standard size (larger creatures will fill more, of course). The best starter set for this for a DM is the Monster Vault, but there are a ton of others as well. I suggest ebay for these for the most part, there are some that sell them by the sheet and others that sell the full boxed sets. You can get these for characters as well as monsters. Here's a link to the Monster Vault so you can see what you get with it:
http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Vault-Essential-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/0786956313/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420725056&sr=8-2&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons+Tokens

Cheapest and most versatile "professional looking" option for the map / terrain is a chessex battlemat - make sure you have WET ERASE markers, not dry erase and keep it clean between adventures. Below are links to one of their mats (there are other sizes, just search on amazon) and to some excellent markers:
http://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420724703&sr=8-1&keywords=chessex+mat

http://www.amazon.com/Expo-Vis-A-Vis-Markers-Colored-16078/dp/B00006IFGW/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1420724703&sr=8-9&keywords=chessex+mat

Cheapest option for modular-type terrain would be tiles. These are cardboard "grids" that most often have designs on them and come in different sizes. The best starter set out there is the Dungeon Tiles Master Set - The Dungeon. It has a lot of tiles and is pretty versatile, at least for base grid options like dungeons and general floors. There are a ton of other options for them - again I suggest you look on ebay for these because you can often find used ones that are in perfect shape sold as a set, or even individual tiles if there's something in particular you need. This is the link to the aforementioned base set on amazon so you can see what it has:
http://www.amazon.com/Dungeon-Tiles-Master-Set-Essential/dp/0786955554/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420724907&sr=8-1&keywords=dungeon+tiles+master+set

If you want to spend more money and go with something much more dynamic, there are 3-d modular sets ranging from paper to near-stone like quality but they can cost a ton. I have a large set of Dungeonstone (www.dungeonstone.com) that I bring out and always get oo's and ahh's. But they're heavy to carry around a lot, especially if I need the whole set. Another option, that's generally slightly more expensive than dungeonstone is Dwarven Forge. You can look them up - but I only mention this in case you decide to spend more money than you want to at this point. :)

Good luck! I hope this helps.

/u/MeishkaD said that my entry disappeared, so here it is again. I've deleted my previous entry now (after you said it disappeared), just to make sure it doesn't show up twice.

---

1.) Something that is grey. [Not on wishlist]


2.) Something reminiscent of rain. [Not on wishlist]


3.) Something food related that is unusual.


4.) Something on your list that is for someone other than yourself. Tell me who it's for and why. (Yes, pets count!)

This is for my classroom mostly. One of the projects the student's like to do is making board games. They like using various types of die, but when we made cardboard ones, they fall apart.

5.) A book I should read! I am an avid reader, so take your best shot and tell me why I need to read it!

I can't give too great a reference. This book is on my wishlist, as I've not read it, after all. It's supposed to be really funny though, with an interesting story. The downside is that getting the whole series is too expensive.


6.) An item that is less than a dollar, including shipping... that is not jewelry, nail polish, and or hair related! [Not on wishlist]


7.) Something related to cats. I love cats! (keep this SFW, you know who you are...)

These are pretty awesome.


8.) Something that is not useful, but so beautiful you must have it. [Not on wishlist]

I've wanted one of these for ages, but they're not useful enough to justify.


9.) A movie everyone should watch at least once in their life. Why? [Not on wishlist - I own it]

It's incredibly funny and almost everyone has seen the film it's based on. A lot of people have never even seen a parody movie, so it's a new genre to a lot of people and thus a new experience.


10.) Something that would be useful when the zombies attack. Explain.

A bit of a different item than normal. When the zombies attack, we're going to need to be well rested. Baseball bats and the like are common enough, but a good pillow is hard to find.


11.) Something that would have a profound impact on your life and help you to achieve your current goals. [Not on wishlist, as Amazon.co.uk item]

A book about learning to become a Primary School teacher. After my current teaching job, I want to go back and train as one in my home country.


12.) One of those pesky Add-On items. [Not on wishlist - the base game is on wishlist].


13.) The most expensive thing on your list. Your dream item. Why?

Playstation 4. It's not on my wishlist as I think anyone would ever buy it, but more to remind myself that it's region-free and only $400 in the US if I can get enough giftcards someday. In my home country it's about $550. The why is mostly Kingdom Hearts 3 and Final Fantasy XV - both series which I've gained a lot of enjoyment from. There's also that some of my favorite series such as Disgaea are Playstation-exclusive.


14.) Something bigger than a bread box.


15.) Something smaller than a golf ball.


16.) Something that smells wonderful.


17.) A (SFW) toy.


18.) Something that would be helpful for going back to school.

(For reading digital textbooks on)


19.) Something related to your current obsession, whatever that may be.

Disgaea D2. My current obsession has been trying to convert my old Disgaea 3 save, which has 120 hours and my Disgaea 4 save which has 95 hours, so that I can use it on another PS3.


20.) Something that is just so amazing and awe-inspiring that I simply must see it. Explain why it is so grand. [Not on wishlist.. but it should be]

The toilet throne. It's amazing that someone has thought of it, if nothing else. Now you can feel like a Queen or King, while going to the restroom.


---

Bonus: Made in Oregon

Raffle: fear cuts deeper than swords

Here's something I typed out for someone else who asked the same question a while back.

Basically a quick guide to what you should get to get started:

------

Here's what I'd buy, in order (5e):

• 1. Starter Set. This contains an excellent adventure for new players - I highly suggest running it if you're a 1st time DM - you can easily transition into a homebrew campaign or other adventures after it's over, using it as a "jumping off point". Also contains core rules and classes (which you can also download online so everyone in your group can have their own copy). The character options are limited, but you can always add more later.
     
     
• 2. Player's Handbook. Ideally, everyone has their own copy of this, but at least 1 copy vastly expands your party's customization options, and gives you the option to level up past 5. If you continue on past the first adventure, you will need this eventually.
     
     
• 3. The Monster Manual. You have enough monsters to work with from the starter set, but this gives you a lot more. Good to have in the long-term... not necessary while you're playing the starter set adventure, since all the monsters used there are included.
     
     
• 4. Dungeon Master's Guide. Honestly, I have little use for this, and I only open it rarely. However, if you run a more "random" or "sandbox" campaign where the players are more free to explore wherever they want in your world, this can be very handy for you. The one thing I do use it for is the magic items, which it has a huge collection of. This one can wait.
     
     As for non-book stuff, I'd highly suggest the following:
     
     
• EXTRA DICE. I suggest having 1 d20 for each player since it's by far the most common roll. On top of that, have, for the table, a set of at least: 2d12, 2d10, 6d8, 6d6, and 2d4. Having that set greatly speeds up the game as you level up, so you don't want to have to roll your one d6 8 times to get the damage of your attack.
  
  
• An erasable grid. (Something like this one) and some dry erase markers. Some people say "Theater of the Mind" play works fine for them - personally, I think having a grid speeds things up, takes a lot of pressure off the DM, and makes the combat side of the game more "fair". You don't have to be a fantastic artist, just sketch in some borders for the room, and you're good to go.
  
  
• To go with the above, find something to use as tokens. You can buy a big bag of army men, use the player pieces and houses/hotels from the monopoly game you have buried in your closet, or just get some pennies and tape scraps of paper on top of them. Anything you can use to mark where someone is.
  
  
• A DM screen. It may seem like "cheating", but it's actually a good thing to be able to fudge results sometimes (e.g., if you find out you balanced an encounter too hard), or to roll things in secret from players (e.g., a monster's perception roll to see if they know the party is coming). If you don't want to buy one, you can cut one out of a cardboard box, or just prop up a large book in front of you that you can roll dice behind.
  
  
• Food and drinks. The mark of a good D&D game is good friends, good RP, and smooth progression. The mark of a great one is all that plus pizza and beer.
  
  
  Good luck!

Welcome!

>I have a 3.5e players handbook and complete warrior that my brother bought a long time ago, but never played it. We know no-one who do know how to play and we all start from scratch. I've read online that its easier for new players to start with 5e but if i have these books, maybe we could just use them. 1) what do you recomend to do?

Contrary to the 5e zeitgeist, I'm a proponent of starting with whatever edition you have handy (and of 3.5 in general), and you're in luck! D&D 3.5 came out under an ambitious open license that made public all the core information. It's contained in what is called the System Reference Document, the most friendly online version of which is probably the hypertext d20 SRD. With that, your Player's Handbook, and the optional Complete Warrior book, you have what you need for both players and the Dungeon Master to play.

However, for your first time, I would recommend a pre-made adventure. The Dungeon Master can create any adventure he wants out of the monsters and traps and such in the SRD, but it's a lot of work and takes some practice to get right. So it's best to start with something pre-made, so the new DM can focus on the basics of DM'ing. Here is an archive of free adventures you can download and run as-is. I've heard Wreck Ashore is a pretty decent 1st level adventure.

>2) what dices do we need to get either way?

You don't need to buy dice. There are online and app-based die rollers that do just fine.

That being said, it really does make for a more delightful experience if you can roll real dice, at least for me. A set like this goes for about $20, and should be enough for everyone to share.

>3) do we need to get board/minutures?

People will tell you you don't need them, but the game is written assuming you have them (regardless of edition), and many of the effects include exact details that require them. So you need some kind of way to keep track of it.

That being said, you can use a piece of grid paper and coins, or a white board and a dry-erase marker, or any of a number of online virtual table tops to do this for free or very, very little. Roll20 is a good option here, as has been mentioned.

I play 5th edition and all advice is for that edition. 5E is pretty wallet friendly if you don't get it all at once. Here's a bunch of stuff you can look at to help your decision, though not all of it is mandatory.

• Number one, the cheapest, is to simply review the (somewhat limited, I'll admit) materials available on Wizards of the coast and start from there.
  
  
• Second is available in the form of the 5th edition starter set. I own one of these and it comes with everything you need for a game with a group of friends. A criticism I have of it though, is that experienced players will probably destroy the module included with it. I'd just forego this option entirely if you plan to buy any other materials, but it's a very low risk purchase.
  
  
• Third is just a player's handbook, which you really should own regardless of anything . The 5th Edition PHB has enough material to easily homebrew your own campaign with, but it will definitely leave you wishing you had more to work off of.
  
  
• Fourth is any of the several available modules for the game out right now. Having only played Hoard of the Dragon queen (And it's direct follow up, Rise of Tiamat), I can say that with the exception of a long, slightly boring segment in the middle, it's a solid adventure all the way through for the players.
  
  
• Fifth is the supplemental Dungeon master's Guide and Monster Manual, additional resources to help you craft better campaigns, but unnecessary until later. The monster manual should definitely be the first of the two purchases, in my opinion. I wouldn't even recommend the sword coast adventurer's guide unless you plan to specifically adventure in Faerun.
  
  So now that books are out of the way, let's talk figurines. You really don't need them, because ANYTHING can represent things on a board. But they're a fun thing to collect and use. BUT they are a great and fun thing to have. What we do at my table is have everyone acquire their own. I like to buy from Reaper Miniatures, but local comic book and hobby shops might have them as well. Make sure you have bases that are less than an inch wide (A square inch works best), because if you're using miniatures, then you're using a battle grid.
  
  Speaking of battle grids, they're also not entirely necessary, but they definitely help. This is a very reliable one if you take care of it and don't crease it too much. But the fun thing is, if you have a printer, you can print your own Battle Maps! Just set it to print a grid set to 1-inch increments and have as big or as small as a battle mat as you need. 5E technically uses a hex grid for outdoor maps, but we've always ignored that at our games.
  
  As for dice, I think it's the players responsibility to acquire their own dice, but on the off chance you just want to buy the things for everyone, I find a lot of enjoyment in picking through a Chessex Pound-o-Dice, or a Wiz Dice 100+ pack just so everyone has some. Plus, you never know when you'll suddenly need 20d6 for maximum fall damage!
  
  Other than that, just have pencils, paper, and a good way to keep notes handy and you're set.
  
  This is far from a comprehensive guide, and probably the worst thing you could do is buy everything or nothing right at the start. Consider asking friends or checking libraries for these books (And secondhand bookshops near you!) to save a penny or two.
  
  So, in summary, if I were starting out DMing and buying anything, it would be a player's handbook, a set of dice, and if I weren't confident in my ability to homebrew, I'd buy a module or a dungeon master's guide. But you can go further or less far if you like.

Actually, the "H" does represent heroic, but it's not level. That is meant to reflect modules that can be linked as a series of adventures. It's from a system of organization in earlier editions that Wizards re-introduced with 4E. So, in other words, H1 is Keep on the Shadowfell and H2 is Thunderspire Labyrinth. You can run these after each other in a campaign! You can find a nice list here.

Also, this is a great battlemat from Chessex. It's durable and it's also not too gigantic. It's actually quite a capable size!

Personally, I will recommend using grid paper, too. I favored a battlemat for awhile, but I've become a big fan of the grid paper approach in 4E. You can draw and prepare what you like for smaller encounters, especially, easily beforehand and then slide standard sheet protectors on your finished product for your tokens/minis. Of course, you can arrange them on your table and keep them together with something as simple Scotch tape (though you shouldn't need to do that too often). You can also re-use locations and save shops or churches or elemental planes or whatever you'd like, that you can quickly recall to the table. The enterprising DM always likes creativity and efficiency together.

I make my grid paper from this generator with settings of 0.25 inch border, 1 point weight, and 1 line per inch and black grid color. Nothing complicated about this, it's a regular print job. By no means is this the authoritative way to do it, I just have found that works well for me and my players. There are plenty of other resources out there for grid paper, office stores, etc. Whatever works best for you!

Yeah, as others have said, for beginners do try out the D&D 5e Starter Set.

It has enough rules for the small premade adventure they give you to start up, the small adventure itself (which is no small thing for a beginner Dungeon Master), a few pregenerated characters and a set of dice.

You could add to that a few miniatures (or just use paper tokens) and an extra set of dice.


The Starter Set goes to level 5 only (out of 20 max). If you like it, then go ahead and buy the Holy Trinity of D&D Books:

• the Player's Manual, which is a complete* set of all official possibilities about character creation and playing. You don't all need one for playing, but it's easier that way. Sharing is also good, that said.
  
• The Dungeon Master's Guide, which is a book made to help the Dungeon Master create his adventures and make the game enjoyable. Only one is required, really.
  
• The Monster Manual, which containes a lot of premade monsters which are very helpful for DMs.
  
  
  The other books, such as Curse of Strahd, Out of the Abyss or Tales from the Yawning Portal, are simply adventures that you can buy if you don't want to make your own. They are fun to play and way less of a hassle to DMs... but after a while most will like to make their own stories.
  
  On another note... While obviously I can't recommend that both because supporting creators is important and because of subreddit rules, you can find pdfs of all those books online, if you don't want to spend the money. Or simply because Ctrl-F is better than manually searching.
  
  
  *They have added a few more options is some adventures or the Sword Coast Adventure Guide, and there are some unofficial elements that are being tested in the Unearthed Arcana, but trust me with the core books you have enough to play with for a while.

I have been running a game night every Friday for the past year and a half with the majority of players not being gamers. I found a local bar that lets us play and 97% of the time I'm the only one that brings games. I never know the number of players coming so I now always bring the following games plus one main game that can support 4-7 players.
Zombie Dice,
Fluxx,
Mascarade,
Two Room's and a Boom,
Skull & Roses,
Falling,
Love Letter, The Resistance Avalon, Coup, and Cards Against Humanity

Most of these games are either super simple and/or meant to support a higher number of players.

I typically get there ahead of time to secure a table and chat with the bartenders. It takes anywhere from 1 to 2 hours for everyone to show up so when the first person gets there we chat for a bit and after 15 minutes either someone else has shown up or it's still just the pair of us and I say "So, you wanna try ____?" They say sure and I'll grab it our of my bag of holding. Typically this is going to be a 2-8 player game that plays in under a half hour. (Love Letter, Fluxx, or Coup) You could also make this Forbidden Island, it's just a bit too big to always have in my bag. We play a couple games of whatever until more people show up and if I get texts from folks saying they are almost there or running late I plan accordingly.

If I know the group is staying at 4-6 people then when everyone is there we play the bigger game I brought. (Dominion, Ticket to Ride, Castle Panic, Letters From Whitechapel, Forbidden Island, Power Grid, Smallworld, King of Tokyo, Carcassonne) and we do that as many times as people want and then end with Coup, Cards Against Humanity or Skull and Roses.

If the group gets above 7 and I expected it then I will have brought 7 Wonders or Elder Signs(Which I really have to be on my game to explain to the non-gamers.) if it was an unexpected turnout or people at the bar want to join then I fall back on The Resistance, Mascarade, Card's Against Humanity, Zombie Dice, and more recently Two Rooms and a Boom or Skull & Roses. Sometimes we play Werewolf using the cards from The Resistance as markers. At this point I'm just happy to chat with everyone and I really like the social deduction games so it works out great.

Most of the games I have bought, some I had to make print and play versions of to save money. (I will buy them when I can afford to.) I'm less precious about the print and play games because the parts are easier to replace. Playing at a bar though has taken it's toll on games and there are some games that are just more worn than others. But even at a bar with food and drinks around the spills have been minor and I have never had anything damaged beyond repair. If you are really worried about the longevity of components you might buy some card sleeves which also come in handy for print and play games.

I'll typically check in after every game to see how people are feeling and adjust accordingly. If people are bored I will change the game by offering a few suggestions. If everyone is getting too rowdy I try and explain the game Falling to them which typically just kills the whole night.

Most people will let you know when they're getting hungry but it's good to ask. If you are making it a game night then a real meal should be on the menu. We will put in a food order and play a 30 minute game while we wait or start setting up the bigger game and running through the rules. Sometimes we break to run and grab food instead. (The bar we go to has a smaller food menu so they let you bring in outside food.) If we are eating a real dinner then we hold off on playing something until everyone has finished eating. It's not worth trying to pack in a game and that helps eliminate a big majority of spills and grease on components.

With a rotating player group and only owning about 30 games I'm able to keep things fairly fresh. I buy about one new big game a month and then I make or buy the smaller games as they pique my interest.

I hope this was helpful, if you are on a budget I can go into more detail about how to do the print and play stuff and I can send you the card templates I have for some of the games too.

Anyway, good luck and have fun!

1. Like other people have said: have supplies on hand. Paper, pencils, dice. I went a bit overboard a bought a erasable grid mat and some wet-erase markers, but that's just me.

More importantly: read the rules that come with the starter set. Then read through the first section ( Goblin Arrows I think it's called ) of the Lost Mines of Phandelver (LMOP) book. Then read the rules again. Then read the first section. Then do a few mock battles between the pregens and the first goblin encounter ( dead horses on the road ). Then read the books again. Then do some more fake battles.

The point of all this is to make sure you understand how the basics work, so that you're not getting caught up on what to do next.

2. The 5 pregens are ready to go, straight out of the box. If you don't have the Players Handbook (PHB), stick with the pregens. The starter kit doesn't come with the rules to generate your own characters. It also lets you get straight to playing -- which I think is the most important part. Figure out if you and the players like the game before diving into the player creation / leveling rules.

3. I'd suggest just running through the LMOP campaign. Keep things loose. Occasionally make stuff up when monsters fail to hit with a natural 1 ( critical miss ). As long as you aren't getting bogged down with the rules ( see 1 ) you should be fine. Also: before starting, tell the players that if there are questions about a rule ( they don't understand, or think it works differently ) tell them that during the game your word is law -- BUT! You'll write down their concern to look up later ( during a break or after the session ) to see what the rules say. The important thing is to keep things flowing, not to get everyone bogged down looking stuff up in the books/online.

4. Graph paper works well if you want the players to map stuff themselves. You can always do it for them ( either on graph paper or on something like this ). The first encounter ( goblins on the road ) doesn't need a map, but it can help, although you'll have to make it up on the spot, there isn't a provided map for that in the module book. The main encounter ( goblin cave ) I would definitely recommend using a map.

This is also a personal thing, but as a new DM I found having a grid mat super useful. I've already got tons of other things to keep track of, trying to remember where everybody is isn't a skill I've got yet.

5. For all the encounters in the LMOP campaign, the book tells you exactly what loot each encounter generates. So not something you have to worry about until you get the DM guide and start building your own campaigns.

6. It's pretty much turn-based, turn order is based on Initiative. Again, see point 1: read the books a few times, play a few mock battles by yourself, you'll get the hang of it. Combat in 5e is pretty easy to get into, it flows well and is quick enough ( at least at 1st level ) that nobody gets bored waiting for their turn.

7. Not sure how this works outside of LMOP, but I think if you play through LMOP and see how your players react to the various encounters and whatnot, you should get a feel for it.

8. The LMOP book gives you guidelines on how NPCs should act ( are they friendly? gruff? trying to be fancy? etc ), but what they actually say is up to you. As DM, whether or not you actually "roleplay" or just do a dry "the NPC says x" is completely up to you. It really comes down to what you're comfortable with.

9. So far, what I've learned is that as DM I'm there to make sure the players are playing within the rules of the system ( ie, no jumping over mountains, etc ), controlling the NPCs, and helping the players tell the story by reacting to what they do.

I'm still pretty new, but one thing I've found useful for my players is pointing out 1st-order repercussions their actions might have. 1st-order repercussions are what happens directly due to an action: player hits gong, gong makes loud noise. 2nd-order repercussions are the things that happen that they player might not forsee: gong noise alerts orcs in next area that players are coming.

For example, in the first section of the goblin cave, there's a natural chimney that leads up to where the bugbear is hiding. The players didn't want to risk climbing and falling -- but one of them had a hammer and crampons ( things you hammer into the rock so you can climb with a rope and not worry about falling ). I told them that doing so would be loud -- I didn't tell them that there was a bugbear up there. They decided they didn't want every goblin in the cave ( which they didn't know how big it was yet ) to know where they were, so they went a different way.

If you want to read up on how me DM-ing the Goblin Arrows part of LMOP went: I DM'd last Sunday, was super fun

If you have a friendly local game store (FLGS) near you, they likely have it as well as the right dice. With any luck, they'd even have staff that are knowledgeable enough to help further.

If you don't, there's several online outlets, with amazon being the most obvious. Internet stores tend to have the advantage of a significant discount, but of course require waiting for the things to ship and arrive.

The absolute simplest way to get into it would be purchasing the Starter Set. It comes with simplified rules, one set of dice, and an adventure you can run.

If you enjoy that, or are just absolutely certain you will like the game and want to go ahead and get it all, there is the Player's Handbook. That is the only essential, but you will want sooner than later the Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual.

As for dice, there are tons of ways to go about that. There are phone apps that can do the job cheaper, which you can find with a quick search. Most groups I think will find they prefer using physical dice. It's more expensive but also just that much more fun.

The correct type of dice come at a variety of costs and qualities, but the only necessity is that you have all 7 types of dice available. That is, you want a 4-sided, 6-sided, 8-sided, 10-sided, 12-sided, 20-sided, and percentile die.

Chessex is the most popular dice company and has an absolute ton of varieties. Here's just one example and luckily it is standard to sell all the necessary dice in sets together.

There are also various bulk sets which make up in volume what they lack in choice, and are good for getting started.

Last but not least, you'll need friends willing to play with you. But that's true of any tabletop game.

That was longer than I anticipated, but I promise it's not too hard. There's a bit of a learning curve with any game, but RPGs are a lot of fun once you get comfortable with them.

< Am a teacher:

First go to your principal and see what the school needs. Normally there is a process to get a new club started but since this was already a club it shouldn't be as hard. A lot of schools need a supervising teacher etc, etc, etc. If you ask the principal to send out an email there's a chance that one of the teachers in your building is already into dnd and can help you out.

​

to answer your specific questions:

​

1. it really depends on how well you advertise/the specific kids at your school. If you can get 1-3 5 player campaigns to start that would be awesome. On that note, try and introduce them to some of your favorite dnd stuff. Critical roll highlights can hook a lot of people for example. And make sure to advertise for your club really well the first week; posters, announcements, fb(or w/e social media you're using), the whole schebang.
   
   ​
   
   

2. a lot of dnd can be run without the books. There are free downloadable and legal pdfs available online that cover phb basic rules. its enough to get newbies started at the very least. In addition to this, monster and item stats are pretty reliably found by typing "5e dnd [monster]" into google. I would have 1 actual phb,mhm,and dmg available for reference. The school or possibly the supervising teacher might be able to help you front some of the $. The big one that would be helpful to have would be a couple preplanned adventures if your dm's don't want to homebrew. again the internet can be a great resource, or buy a couple of them if you have a way to get some start up $.
   
   ​
   
   
3. The most important thing (imo) is to be realistic about what you can do each session. i imagine after school clubs run like 1.5 hours? If that is the case then you need to have a specific goal for each of your first few meetings. In addition to this, make sure you give people something to do, even if only for a couple minutes, in your beginning sessions. let them roll up a character (or start to). If you are teaching rules, have a mock battle set up and let people control a pre-made basic charecters, etc.
   
   ​
   
   sorry for the long post, but i really hope you can set this up and have some luck doing it.
   
   i linked cheap dice(10$ for 5 sets) and the downloadable phb
   
   https://www.amazon.com/d/Role-Playing-Dice/Smartdealspro-Colors-Dungeons-Dragons-Pouches/B01ABST9S4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1541318360&sr=8-1&keywords=dnd+dive
   
   ​
   
   https://media.wizards.com/2014/downloads/dnd/PlayerDnDBasicRules_v0.2_PrintFriendly.pdf

1. This encounter builder that someone on here built is all sorts of lovely. I'm doing something somewhat similar to you; my group is 6 players and we're playing a campaign built for 4. On top of that, we're playing a 3.5e campaign in 5e. Converting encounters manually is a bit of a pain, but with this app I can just see that the encounter calls for (this is a specific example that I did yesterday) 2 bugbears, check how that compares, see what happens by adding another bugbear, and call that a day. Super quick, super simple, super easy.
   
   
2. Mood can be set by the players, and mood can be set by the DM. Generally mood is set by both. Talk with your players individually and out of character. Ask them what they want. Once you get a general idea of what they want, talk to them as a group or individually and say what you've found. Something along the lines of "Some of us want a more serious game, and a couple want a lot of humor. We can have both, but when it's time to be serious, please be serious for the rest of us." People will generally at least try to be accommodating.
   
   
3. First, you are the DM. Your players are not. You are the final say on rules. Your players are not. If you have an idea of how something should work, make a quick decision about it. Look it up when you have more time. Don't let your players bog you down with minutia or rules lawyering. You are the rules. That said, if a player can actually manage to pay attention and look up rules at the same time, feel free to allow them to do that when it is not their turn, and when it is their turn they can bring up what they found. Deal with it as you like; retroactively or not, whatever. Also, you have 8 players. 8 players is a LOT. You and your players don't have time for people to look up their spells every time it's their turn. Have your spellcasters and ability users write up skill sheets for themselves... spell cards and the like. It's a bit of work but it saves a ton of time in game, when it matters.
   
   
4. You don't necessarily have to have everyone. My general philosophy is if 1 person is gone, they're off doing something else and we continue playing with the rest of the party. If two people are gone, I just cancel the session. I'm not sure where I'd draw that line with 8 players, though. Alternately, just schedule for when everyone is available if possible.
   
   
5. Personally, I adore my this thing. It makes drawing encounters for people so easy. I also love tactical gameplay and play with other people who, like me, grew up as video gamers, so there's that. For miniatures, I use chess pieces. I have a game of chess 4 which has 4 complete sets of pieces. Players pick their pieces and enemies are generally pawns. Once I have a bit more spare cash and am no longer spending all of my spare cash on D&D books and related paraphernalia, I'll start investing in actual miniatures. Paizo is just one source of those, mind; there are many more, including randoms on eBay. For a cheaper alternative, there are character tokens. That picture came from here. I don't know where to buy just tokens, but it's a thing people sell.
   
   
6. I don't use fog of war, really; once a character has seen something, all the players can always see it... but then you get into distinguishing character knowledge from player knowledge and vice versa. Encourage your players to act as though their characters only know what their characters could know. Frodo's finger just got bitten off by Gollum? Aragorn doesn't know that, because Aragorn isn't in bloody Mordor.
   
   
7. Eh, no opinion here; I don't bother with a screen. I like when people see how screwed or not that they are.

Keep in mind this sub is for Pathfinder Society, which is an organized style of play that tends to discourage homebrew and creativity in favor of strict adherence to rules. You might also check in with /r/pathfinder_rpg for a less strict interpretation of the game.

The basics of Pathfinder are pretty simple and you have everything you need to get started in that bundle. You've got the core rulebook and bestiary, and what seems like a pretty wide range of modules and campaigns to get your feet wet with. The Beginner's Box will also include tutorial-style guided adventures to get everyone familiar with the basic rules. The most important concept is how actions are broken down.

In order from most expensive to least expensive, actions are: full-round actions, standard actions, move actions, swift actions, immediate actions, and free actions. Unless modified by spells or other conditions, everyone gets one move action and one standard action per round (and a full-round action uses both.) Swift actions don't "cost" an action, but you may only perform one swift action per round; immediate actions don't "cost" an action and can be done even when it's not your turn to act, but can only be done once and count against your "swift" action option when it becomes your turn. Free actions can be done as often as you'd like, whenever it's your turn to act; some free actions can be considered more involved or powerful than others and it's up to GM discretion if they want to place limitations on such free actions. Generally speaking, most basic spells and attacks (like casting a Fireball or swinging your greataxe at someone) will cost a standard action.

There's a considerable amount of complexity in the system, but it's fairly simple to learn and understand. The "tutorial adventure" in the beginner's box should take you through all the major processes in a typical dungeon crawl, including skill checks, making saves, attack rolls, and so on.

You'll probably want to get a set of dice for each player, and maybe eventually another set or two for the DM: Chessex is probably the most common brand, but there are about as many dice manufacturers as there are colors in the rainbow. For a simple set of 7 dice made of plastic or similar materials, you shouldn't expect to pay more than $8-10; if you're paying more, you're probably getting ripped off. You could consider buying sacks of dice, too.

If you want more than just the basic cardboard minis the beginner's box comes with, there are all different kinds of plastic and pewter miniatures made by a variety of companies (Reaper is one of the most common) - many of them come unpainted, and painting minis is a whole new hobby you can get into with your kids! The basic cardboard minis or pre-painted minis are just fine, but there's really something to be said for assembling and hand-painting your own mini to have it look exactly like the character you're playing as :)

Lastly, it can be really useful to have the Systems Reference Document open on mobile or a notebook (or even desktop if your play area is near one.) Access is free and it includes all of the rules, monster entries, etc from a wide variety of sources.

In regards to getting "some more cards and stuff," I suggest resisting the urge to invest a lot of money in items at this time. I say this from experience after spending hundreds of dollars on 4e materials and have a little bit of buyers remorse.

You can essentially go down two roads after the Red Box. You can either spend a lot of money on some very good products or you can go old-school and play with more basic materials that are more versatile.

If you want to stick with 4e, get a D&D Insider account. Others may disagree with me, but I think DDI is a great value. DDI basically gives you access to everything D&D 4e without having to by any other books or cards. The character builder is great for making printable character sheets and power cards that do all the math for you. It also gives you access to every monster, rule and item from every published book. Combine DDI with Masterplan (a free 43 DMing program) and your 4e games will be very smooth.

Once you have DDI and Masterplan, the only fancy accessories you may want to invest in are nice maps, miniatures and dice. However, the Red Box does have good tokens, which I love. I personally think that the Essentials DM Kit and Essentials Monster Vault are good values, but don't buy them until you have exhausted the resources in the Red Box.

If you don't want WotC to take all your money, you could just buy the three core books (Player's Handbook, DM Guide and Monster Manual) and use them to hand make your power cards and character sheets. You don't need anything other than those three resources to play the basic game.

You may also want to invest in a reusable battlemat (like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O) rather than paying for expensive map packs or tiles.

You can also buy plastic beads at a hobby store as condition counters/markers rather than buying fancy glass ones from the game store.

I said that I have some buyer's remorse for all the money I have spent on 4e materials, but I should explain why. I regret it only because I ended up getting really into rpgs in general and now I no longer want to play 4e. Most of the materials can be used for any game system, but some are very specifically for 4e and now they will gather dust until I can find a group of players who can actually grok 4e. If you can commit to 4e, don't worry about investing in materials (that you can afford) because the quality really is good.

Hmm, let's see. Kind of a long topic and I'm only going to go over the newest version of the game. D&D Fifth Edition just came out, and you might sometimes hear it called "D&D Next" or "D&D 5E".

BOOKS

• Currently, only 1 book is available for purchase- the Player's Handbook which contains rules for every race, class, equipment and magical spells (and more!).
  
• Later this month you can expect the Monster Manual which contains detailed information about things you can expect to fight.
  
• Later this year there will be the Dungeon Master's Guide that contains more in-depth and complex rules for the DM to create interesting campaign adventures for his or her party.
  
• This Starter Set contains an adventure book, pre-generated characters (VERY handy if none of you know what you're doing!!), character sheets for when you feel like making your own character, and a set of dice.
  
• There is a free, watered-down "Basic Rules" PDF of this information available here which contains only some of the races and classes.
  
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  
  OTHER THINGS TO GET [Applicable to all versions]
  
  
• Lots of dice. If you search around the internet for a set of polyhedral dice you'll find results very similar to this set of 7 dice. It contains one four-sided die, one six-sided, one eight-sided, two ten-sided, one twelve-sided and one twenty-sided die. You'll often seen this abbreviated as a d4, d6, d8, d10, d12 or d20 for the sake of shortness. People will use that shorthand aloud as well, you'll find. If you guys really don't want to spend money, you can make due with just 1 set of dice and add the totals in your head as needed but this will make things take longer. For example, if you're using a Maul as a weapon you'd roll two d6 (written as "2d6") every time you attack.
  
• Erasers and pencils; no ink! You'll frequently be making adjustments to your characters' sheets as you take damage, earn EXP, gain items and grow.
  
• A dry erase board isn't a terrible idea, so you can write down temporary things about your character without dirtying up your character sheet
  
• Gridded mat for playing on such as this, though I'd advise you find a dry erase friendly one. It really helps to visualize a fight, so you know where you and your friends are and where the enemies are. Basically, in D&D, everything is measured in feet or squares on a grid; general rule of thumb is that 1 square = 5 feet. Most things move up to 25-30 feet, so 5 or 6 squares. So this helps let you see if something's in range of your throwing axe without having to ask the DM, or whatever. Just an extra visual element, really.
  
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  
  Honestly, D&D is one of those games that's only as complex as you make it. If your whole party rolled up Barbarians and Fighters you'd probably be ready to play very quickly. Once you get into spell casting, generating a character and really knowing how to play is a little bit more complex but it's not that bad. I'd recommend you hit Facebook or Meetup.com to try and find a group of experienced players who can teach one of you, then propagate that information to the rest of your friends. In my experience, the player base is very diverse but everyone I've met has been super friendly and loves finding new players to help. Just remember to speak up and ask questions if you're not sure of something (or if it comes up during a session, write it down to ask later and work with your friends in the mean time to find a common answer to a question so you don't have to pause the fun).

The best advice I can give anyone who doesn't have a group to play with and doesn't have "nerdy" friends is become the DM for 5e and invite your friends to a game. They will most likely say "I don't know how to play", tell them it's fine. It's a game you learn as you go. You as the DM will be making a ton of mistakes early on but everyone will still have fun. Everyone will get better as they go. You want to read the Basic Rules, or the part in the PHB called "running the game". It's the small section in the middle between the race/class options and the spells. I did this very same thing when I first started watching Critical Role (I had played before but not 5e) and now we've been playing since 2015 and the problem I have now is too many people want to play. I currently have a full group of 5 and an extra player who plays the character of whoever doesn't show up. We're at the end of a campaign where it doesn't make sense introducing a new character but they should get to make one soon. 5e is the definitive edition to get new people into the game. If you can get them to show up for the first game, most of them will stick around, and they will be the best advertisements you have for the game since because they may not be "nerdy" they will convince other people more easily to try the game.

I recommend to start buy purchasing the starter set and playing through that (It has the basic rules and it starts easy for DM and gets more complicated as it goes to train you). You don't need anything besides this until you finish the campaign in it if you don't want to. https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Roleplaying/dp/0786965592/

Optional but recommended, at least once you get your group started:

A copy of the PHB and MM, available from Amazon for less than in stores. https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ https://www.amazon.com/Monster-Manual-Core-Rulebook-Wizards/dp/0786965614/
A bag of dice so you have enough to share. I recommend the easy-roller dice bag, it's about $25 on Amazon but they guarantee the dice are not defects which is the case with many of the other big bags of dice. The bag contains 15 full sets of 7 dice in various colors. https://www.amazon.com/Easy-Roller-Dice-Polyhedral-Dungeons/dp/B00L2N1OVI

The beginner's box is cheap but, if you want to play FOR FREE, it is entirely possible to do so using the free ruleset that has already been mentioned and linked and a dice rolling app on your phone, tablet or computer. The free ruleset has less races and classes, but it's still enough to keep you and your friends hooked for months.

If you feel like this is your thing, then you and your friends can save up and get the core books and maybe even Wiz Dice's Bag of Dice and you will be set for pretty much as long as you'll ever want. After that, getting pre-made adventures, new settings or even new editions will be entirely up to whether you feel like spending more money or not.

This is going to be fun. Across my multiple wishlists...

1.) Something that is grey.
Grey bedsheets.

2.) Something reminiscent of rain.
Pet water fountain.

3.) Something food related that is unusual.
Astronaut Ice Cream

4.) Something on your list that is for someone other than yourself. Tell me who it's for and why. (Yes, pets count!)
This Bruins banner is for my BFF Becky. She loves the Bruins more than anything. Hockey is her obsession. I put it on my list to remind myself to get it for her at some point. It would make her happy.

5.) A book I should read! I am an avid reader, so take your best shot and tell me why I need to read it!
The Name of the Wind. Of everything I've read in the past 6 months, this one I devoured and have been desperate for the second book in (it's on my list to pick up this week, actually, if my paycheck EVER comes in).

Look, I hate... HATE... first person perspective. I see it as a sign of sloppy writing. However, this book had me SOLD on it. Kvothe is possibly one of my new favorite characters OF ALL TIME.

Avid reader doesn't even begin to describe me. I have my own library. I need books like air. And if I had to make a list of 100 books that were all I was allowed to have for the rest of my life, THIS WOULD BE ON IT.

6.) An item that is less than a dollar, including shipping... that is not jewelry, nail polish, and or hair related!
This kindle book

7.) Something related to cats. I love cats! (keep this SFW, you know who you are...)
The most interesting cat toy in the world

8.) Something that is not useful, but so beautiful you must have it.
This choker. Enough said.

9.) A movie everyone should watch at least once in their life. Why?
The Breakfast Club Why? Because. It's a good movie. Whether you were the jock, the brain, the spoiled brat, the loser, or the troublemaker-- there's a character you can identify with, and it shows that whatever and whoever you are, you can get along with someone who isn't in your clique.

10.) Something that would be useful when the zombies attack. Explain.
A Seed Vault

Everyone worries about fighting zombies.

Dumb. You see, when the zombies come, I'm holing up. A few weeks and if they are undead, they'll have rotted themselves to death. If they are fast moving, viral sumbitches, then they'll have likely ended up offing themselves through dehydration or whatever.

In any event, I'll wait them out. But then, I will need to rebuilt and eat.

(Besides, I have my trusty zombie-killing baseball bat, and a bow. Quiet. Efficient.)

11.) Something that would have a profound impact on your life and help you to achieve your current goals.
This book on Aztec and Inca expansionism. I'm back in school, and my focus is Mesoamerican Studies. Eventual degrees, here I come!

12.) One of those pesky Add-On items.
Zucchini seeds.

13.) The most expensive thing on your list. Your dream item. Why?
A KitchenAid Mixer Why? I like to cook and bake. My mother has one that I used for years when I was a kid and still living with her. I'm 30 now. I remember she got it when I was like, 5. IT STILL WORKS. Over a dozen moves, being abused for holidays making bread and cookies and cakes, being used by my Dad (I swear, he looks at appliances and they break) and it STILL FUNCTIONS PERFECTLY.

I cannot think of a kitchen appliance that would be more useful.

14.) Something bigger than a bread box. EDIT A bread box is typically similar in size to a microwave.

This loft bed

15.) Something smaller than a golf ball.
How about 7 somethings? A set of dice.

16.) Something that smells wonderful.
Italian Herb Bread Mix It smells good when you open the box. When it's mixed. While it's rising. While it bakes. After it bakes. As you've slathered butter on it and begin to nom.

17.) A (SFW) toy.
Hawkeye is so SFW I would bring him in to put on my desk.

18.) Something that would be helpful for going back to school.
This book, of course.

19.) Something related to your current obsession, whatever that may be.
Funko Tyrion Lannister because even a small man can cast a great shadow.

20.) Something that is just so amazing and awe-inspiring that I simply must see it. Explain why it is so grand.
This.

No one will understand the magnificence of this plushie.

It is a rotund, cuddly, snuggly Cthulhu.

But Cthulhu does not cuddle. He does not care. When the stars are right, he will rise from the deeps and from his seat Ry'leh, devour his cultists-- and everyone else-- by the millions, and bring forth an end to all things.

But how can you deny his Elder God wrath? HOW?! Look at him, all squishy and warm and soft. Look at his little T-Rex arms, reaching out for your love and devotion. His eyes, his wiggly little face tentacles. YOU MUST SNUGGLE HIM.

fear cuts deeper than swords

What do we say to death? NOT TODAY.

• Be sure to have GF music going! Make a playlist on Soundcloud using Brad Breek's stuff, and look for fun remixes too, there are a lot out there.
  
• I'm assuming you are not adults and thus should gloss over my immediate first thought of "Ohh GF drinking game..." But I suppose you could re-create the fun of 'QUICK EVERYONE SHOVE IT IN YOUR FACE' by using candy pieces or something.
  
• Play actual street fighter.
  
• Zombie Dice! Not specifically GF but it's fun, very easy, and you could get a Scareyoke poster nearby to keep it in-theme.
  
• Similarly...Cthulu Dice!, just change the theme to be all about Bill and you're good. If you really wanted to get into it, you could get a blank d12, and paint it to re-create the game die but with Bill imagery.
  
• Look up any 'Murder Mystery' party game rules and adapt it for 'Who Stole the Capers' or any other ridiculous mystery in-theme with the show.
  
• Could similarly try a modified Werewolf to be more themed around the show as well. Perhaps you're looking for people who are possessed by Bill! And the 'Seer' has the journals to help. [Edit] Instead of the werewolf killing people, people possessed by Bill could be turning people into stone statues.
  
• You or someone experienced in such things could run a mini campaign of simplified D&D&MD. They don't make 38-sided die commercially, but a 30 sided die would be closer than a d20 at least. Super simple rules would be to let people basically 'do whatever they want', and then just role opposing dice checks to see who wins in each 'event'. For example, they decide what their characters are (Doesn't even really matter if you keep it super basic, can just be flavor), go into a dungeon, and the warrior decides he wants to wrestle that Ogrepig to the ground until it squeals...roll opposed checks, whoever rolls higher wins. If you want to give people a bit more customization...maybe let each person pick one thing they're really good at, and give them a d6 to represent that ability. We could easily brainstorm up a whole concept if you wanted but this might be beyond your desires or abilities so Imma stop there.
  

you just fucking decided to get into dnd. and who are these fuckers to tell you when and how to dnd? fck em. this is how you start: buy these. Then go pick up these: Phb it's at the lowest price ever right now, so be quick. and then this (also cheaper right now, you're really lucky) and this (also on sale. man, you are a lucky 3 striker) would be good too. that will give you enough gaming material for everything you need for atleast the next 5 years of dnd. i know its alot of money if you count it up and when you only have highschool-kid-budget especially, but its worth it. you basically keep them forever. if that all is too much, get some dice and the basic rules for the Players and the rules for the Dungeon Master for free.

Now go watch these:

WebDm > more on their channel aswell.

Matt Colville

Matthew Mercer

You should be a party of 4 players and 1 Dm, in the best case. perfect size group. there are bigger and smaller groups but thats a good start for group size in the beginning. since you asked how to play, you will probably be the Dm. thats a good thing.

No group or friends to play with? try online play with roll20.net, fantasy grounds or use the r/lfg subreddit to find people interested to play in your area. just be aware of the typical stranger danger of the internet .

If you need anything else, ask away.

Sorry I'm late, but I also run a small club, so I wanted to give my 2 cents.

I've tried a few things, but my current set up seems to be working fairly well. At the end of each meeting, the players get to role a number of 'prize dice' according to how well they did. Then from what they roll, they pick the 1 they want. This way everyone gets something, and there is still an incentive to win, but even the worst player has a chance at the best prize.

The prizes I currently have are :

• 2 Rares (These are just bulk rares. I put 2 of a color in a sleeve of that color. This allows the winner to have some say in the cards they want. This is the most common roll at any odd number.)
  
  
• Boosters (If you roll a 20!)
  
  
• Deck boxes (If you roll an 18!)
  
  
• Various gaming dice. I picked up one of these and split it up into individual d20s or other combos.
  
  
• d20 Spindowns I got on sale over the holidays
  
  
• Some foreign language cards in packs of 3
  
  
• 'Pick-a-Mythic' (This is the most popular usually. Its just a small binder filled with junk Mythics and I flip to a page and they have to pick 1 card.)

Buy cork for counters like one of the other posters suggested, or even use things like othello counters or poker chips. Really anything you can mark on ("G is for Goblin guys, H for hobgoblin").

Buy a dry erase board and some markers/eraser for it, it is a bigger investment, but it can at least be used for other things later if you don't end up playing in the long run. Mine serves double duty for homeschool and D&D and I leave it unmounted so we can lay it down on the table we play on.

Buy reaper minis for just the player characters and any really big baddie you are going to face. This gives the players a little more incentive to play and a touch of personal flair. They should pick out their minis that best represent their character concept. If your campaign has a big dragon as the end boss, you could splurge and buy that model to bring out in the last of the campaign as an exciting bit.

Paper models are all over the net. You could even have a whole small village in paper models if you wanted, but make sure if you spend the time investment it can be reused later for other adventures. Generic houses and such are easy, but the "Bridge of Durkon Bronzeweaver" might be a little too specific.

Go on Amazon and look at bulk bags of dice, we bought the Wizdice 100 random dice bag for $20 and had enough for 17 players to have full sets if we wanted.

http://www.amazon.com/Random-Polyhedral-Dice-Multiple-Wiz/dp/B009R6J8RY

Really worth it since you could have the players pitch in a little bit and have a huge return in selection. Really nice as a dm too to be able to have different color dice represent different monsters.

Two things I think are essential for player 5e are PHB and MM. All other things are nice to haves. Please get those 2 books at a minimum.

Everything else is nice to have. Personally I like having an erasable grid. I like to draw things on the fly and having a grid is invaluable to me. Not everyone likes to draw so if you don't like to draw, this goes down to just above minis. I got this mat for cheap. https://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1498074621&sr=8-2&keywords=dnd+mat

After the mat, the DMG is great. Esp if you want magical items. If you don't care for magical items in your game(trust me you do cause players love magical items) you can skip it entirely.

After the DMG, Volo's is fun. It isn't needed but fun is always fun! Also in this range is the EE players book and the sword coast adventure guide along with w/e other published players handbook additions that give more playable races/class options/backgrounds and what not. These are nice to have and fun!

Now we're at minis. This is where it gets expensive. If you don't have the budget, use coins, small dice, pieces of paper or anything else you can find. Old action figures, stuffed animals, lego men, toy soldiers literally anything is good. Once you have the budget, a nice set of minis is a great asset.

The last thing is a screen. Literally anything can be used as a screen. I personally got the official screen because I liked the artwork and the on the fly NPC naming.

> 1) what do you recomend to do?

I'd personally start with 5e, because it is a much more simplified system that allows for more aspects of role-playing, which is great for everyone - especially new players.

A nice start for new groups to DnD is a starter set. Here is a link to buy a starter set which comes with a 64-page adventure pre-made module book, a 32-page rule-book for playing characters level 1–5, 5 pregenerated characters, each with a character sheet and supporting reference material, and 6 dice. If you are playing 5e, you need the 5e books - the 3.5 books won't work for 5e, they are completely different games due to additional information added over each new edition.

I'd also recommend that you all sit down together in the same room, hook up a computer to a TV in the room, and watch some good DnD games to figure out what role-playing means, how DM's look in action, and how the game runs overall. Shows such as Critical-Role, or Acquisitions Incorporated are amazing.

Here is the playlsit for Critical Role on Youtube:

• Critical Role
  
  Here are the Acquisitions Incorporated games on Youtube:
  
  
• PAX East 2015
  
  
• PAX East 2014
  
  
• PAX Prime 2015
  
  
• PAX Prime 2014
  
  
• PAX Prime 2013
  
  
• PAX Penny Arcade Celebrity Game 2012
  
  
• PAX Penny Arcade Celebrity Game 2011
  
  
• PAX Penny Arcade Celebrity Game 2010
  
  > 2) what dices do we need to get either way?
  
  You each need a 7 set of DnD dice, and DM's do well to have some extra dice for faster group monster rolls. Plenty of bulk dice sellers on Amazon:
  
  
• Wiz Dice
  
  
• Dave's Dice
  
  
• Easy Roller Dice
  
  > 3) do we need to get board/minutures?
  
  You can if you want, it's a nice visual aid. I'd recommend to use a large table to play around, and then buy some battle mats which can be written on with wet erase markers. Mineratures are all over the place for sale, so just google them. Or if you don't want to spend a ton of money on physical maps, you could use a virutal set-up in an IRL game, like my party does. You can use Roll20 which hosts privtae game rooms with virtual tabletops on which you draw maps into and insert images. Plug a laptop into a huge TV, and boom, you have a giant virtual battle-mat to use during the game!
  
  Tons of other info on the sidebar of this subreddit, or just search the subreddit for other "starting DnD" posts, because there are a ton of them with good info.
  
  

I have found that the [Pathfinder Bestiary Box] (https://www.amazon.com/Paizo-Publishng-Inc-Pathfinder-Pawns/dp/1601255616) offers great value for monster miniatures.

It might be worthwhile to spend a little more on player miniatures, as they are used more frequently. Reaper and some other sites offer a pretty good selection. (Players often buy these for themselves)

A battle mat is a great investment, although you can also use paper.

Sound like you already have the core rule books.

The rest of the game comes from the mental creativity of the players and the DM. Don't worry too much about the physical supplies. You could spend $10,000 and still run a terrible game. You could have nothing but pencil and paper and run an amazing game. I recommend that you just dive in and start playing. Not everything will be perfect, but you will figure things out as they come up.

I fully expect to hear about the flourishing Jeddah D&D scene in the coming months. Good luck and happy gaming.

I think it's nice of you to volunteer what skills you have, and great that you want to contribute.

The sad truth is that I doubt people will want to accept what you're trying to offer.

So I hope this doesn't sound mean, but I'm going to be direct:

No hobby game programmer I know is in need of an ideas guy. I have a trello board full of ideas that I just wish I could get to, plus I need to practice art, rewrite my base code so I can open source it, learn to make music, experiment with foley sound effects, do a lot of experimental marketing, try voxel magic to see if I can make a 3D game feel right, make a networked game, produce a series of youtube video tutorials, the list goes on for quite a ways. And that's just the gamedev hobby list. Life is short, and I'll never get to all the things I want to study, learn, and do. Ideas are not the bottleneck here.

Sorry if that sounds hard. But the truth is if you want to be the idea provider, you just need to learn to make games for yourself.

If you cannot program and don't believe you can learn it, perhaps you should buy a hex/square double-sided game mat like this one and gather a pile of tokens. Now you can create a tabletop tactics version of whatever roguelike ideas you have.

If your ideas are algorithmic and well-justified, then you should be a good board game designer.

You also talk about complex universes. If you prefer something more narrative than mechanical, you could focus on writing and learn to use the twine interactive story engine which everybody says is easy to learn.

Of you could look to rogueliker, who is launching a kickstarter for his tabletop RPG game, he managed to make a game without any programming! Wormhole on Kickstarter

If you can almost learn to program but not quite, there are several nice options for you, such as the Playmaker system for Unity and RPG maker. These tools are specifically designed to allow someone with algorithmic thinking but no ability to code to make their own games without a programmer.

My point is that nobody is going to make your games for you, you have to make them yourself. There are many ways to get that done, and the lack of a technical skill cannot prevent you!

So get to work today, and good luck on your journey! :)

If you want to play with minis without breaking the bank, I would highly recommend Pathfinder Pawns, specifically Bestiary Box 1 since it has a lot of general mythological creatures that'll fit the monsters in the free PDFs.

In regards to combat, I'm going to copy and paste an earlier comment of mine, and hopefully it helps you steer your decision-making:

I regularly DM for a group of 7, and another group of 4. I love theater of mind, but thoroughly enjoy the boardgame aspect of the grid. Here's my experience and advice.

• Group of 7: started with theater of mind combat. At early levels and with simple fights, it was great. It got out of hand once at Level 5. Area of effect spells, changing terrain, etc. You also have more enemies and want to introduce traps and environment hazards. It's not impossible to track everything, but constantly repeating locations every turn made the game drag for such a large group. I like to be descriptive with combat narrative, play music, and be ready to answer any questions. Basically, If I have to constantly talk about spatial location, then I can't engage the players properly - the way they like.
  
  
• Group of 4: they enjoyed both, but noted that they liked theater of mind for more unique encounters like chases, or a showdown with one or two targets. They prefer the grid because they enjoy the boardgame aspect of it. Basically, I cater to what they want, and tailor the battle approach to their needs.
  
  My tips for theater of mind:
  
  
• Have a sketch for yourself or the group.
  
  
• Keep your battlefield descriptions brief - less than 4 sentences.
  
  
• Breakdown spatial distances qualitatively, not quantitatively. ex. "Adjacent, Nearby, Close, Far, Earshot"
  
  
• Be flexible!
  
  My tips for doing battlemaps on the cheap:
  
  
• I occassionally have maps drawn up on large easel paper. You can find this cheap ($10 USD/$15 CDN) at most business or art supply stores.
  
  
• A pack of coloured dry erase markers.
  
  
• I use this Paizo battlemat to quickly whip up a sketch of the area, but Chessex and other manufacturers make nice ones too.
  
  
• My players place down their pawns, which I make with Pathfinder Pawn bases. You can purchase just the bases ($10 USD/$20 CDN), but I recommend the Bestiary Box ($45 USD/$60 CDN) because of its large assortment of D&D creatures and bases.

In terms of a grid for your table, I'd recommend working with a reusable grid mat or grid paper. You can also buy mats with terrain prints, but that is an investment. As a new DM who also doesn't want to spend a lot of money (right away), my first priority is to get a mat for good maps/combat spaces. I've played with grid paper and nice maps, with reusable maps, and nothing. I feel like it takes away from the story if you don't have a visual aid there (also makes combat difficult).

You can generally find these things for a decent price on Amazon. I try to buy from local stores, but they usually jack up the price. Also, you probably already know this, but all of the information you'll ever need for Pathfinder is on d20pfsrd. Good luck and have fun! :)

Edit: Also, as someone who's played D&D (3.5, 4.0 and pathfinder) for 2 years (meaning I don't have a ton of experience) and is just starting to DM, I'd say trying to play a DMPC (thanks, r/Yawhg for that term) would be A LOT, even if you are running an adventure path. You're already going to be running 1+ characters during combat and role playing every other character in the game. But, if you've got the time and mental power to invest, definitely try it out.

I would suggest OP purchase:

1. The Players Handbook
   
   
2. The Monster Manual
   
   
3. A Chessex battlemap
   
   
4. Pathfinder Assorted Bases
   
   I feel like the inclusion of the PHB and MM are self-explanatory.
   
   The battemat is something I own and I have used to great effect - It's supremely durable, survived multiple moves, and still looks great. I'm moving more towards tiles now that I have a little bit more money to spend on D&D, but the mat was one of my biggest tools when I was first starting out as a DM.
   
   The token bases are from pathfinder, a related tabletop RPG, but can easily be used in DnD 5E. Simply print out pictures of the monsters that you've found online, cut them out, and place them in the bases, and viola - instant miniatures! They can help tide your players over while you build your own miniature collection.
   
   N.B. I agree with many of the other posters here that the use of a map and miniatures is not at all necessary for doing D&D, however, I have found that using them greatly enhances the experience, and it is my opinion that I like them. If you feel so inclined, OP, instead of the battlemap and bases, purchase the DM's Guide, which contains great advice in building and running your own adventures and campaigns, which might interest you down the road if it doesn't already.
   
   Total cost: $95.86 on amazon.

Xplanet Games Is probably you're best bet, the shop owner's a nice guy and will help you out. https://www.facebook.com/XPlanetGames/

Dice:
Check Amazon for Bag-o-dice or Bag of Dice any shop you go to will sell you $1=1dice or like $8 for a full set, Amazon will give you like 5x the value.
https://www.amazon.ca/Wiz-Dice-Polyhedral-Dice-15-Guaranteed/dp/B01KN7REWQ/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1495387654&sr=8-11&keywords=bag+of+dice

Miniatures:
Minis are where it gets $$$ The collection will grow overtime... Its called plastic crack for a reason.
Games Workshop (Warhammer) Minis come unpainted, you can use dollar store paint if you want (its lower quality but much cheaper), with a base acrylic primer spray you can pick up from any gameshop or from Crappy Tire. (black is best for lazy painters, cuz your missed spots just look like shadow)

Mini Examples:
Goblins are like $2/figure for cannon fodder and that's probably one of the better prices to unit you'll see
https://www.games-workshop.com/en-CA/Goblin-Warriors

Reaper Minis (you'll find these at Xplanet and a lotta other game shops) they're good for hero characters, since they're unique and compared to Warhammer Heros they're 1/10th the price
http://www.reapermini.com/miniatures/bones

Tabletop:
Pick up some Easel sized Grid paper, each square is 1x1 inch so you can draw your maps out on there rather easily.
http://www.staples.ca/en/Quartet-Newsprint-Flip-Chart-Easel-Pad-24-x-36-50-Sheets/product_975147_2-CA_1_20001

Other Notes:
Dungeon Generator & other cool shyt https://donjon.bin.sh/5e/dungeon/
Online Gameplay https://roll20.net/
Q&A help https://rpg.stackexchange.com/

Play around with the tiles a bit to see if you like them! You can go as deep down the rabbit hole as you want, to be honest. The common consensus is that simple eraserboard tiles/maps work great as the workhorse for drawing out combat areas. These kinds of tiles are really useful because you can simulate line of sight/closed doors/etc by not placing down your tiles until your players advance further in. And you can draw features on the tiles to represent things in the area that are important.

I like to incorporate these blank tiles with other terrain that I've made or purchased as a way to make "filler" tiles. Say you have some city tiles that work for an encounter, but you need a walkway between two buildings or you need an alley between two buildings or something. You can place the blank tiles down, then place your city tiles on top and tell your players "the white space is an alley between these two buildings." Or in a recent game I had a small shrine in the wilderness where the party was attacked by a predator that was stalking them. I set up my blank tiles and put the terrain that represented the shrine on the table. Now the blank tiles represented the forest around the shrine.

I think it's better to start with stuff like this than it is to spend a bunch of money/time on Dwarven Forge or Hirst Arts specially made terrain. Over time, if you have the money and interest, you can eventually build up a collection of whatever kind of terrain you want. But for now, start with things that will be useful almost all of the time and are relatively cheap.

If you're looking to go three dimensional with your terrain/accessories, I can't recommend papercraft terrain like Fat Dragon Games makes enough.

As far as minis go, you have a LOT of options. WotC sells blind-box miniatures boxes that have decent quality, prepainted minis. And there are sites like Miniature Market and Troll & Toad where you can buy the specific miniatures you want. You also have a massive variety of unpainted miniatures you can use. The D&D officially branded Nolzur's miniatures are high quality and well-regarded. I also highly recommend the Reaper Bones line of minis. The quality is slightly worse than the Nolzur line, but the variety and price are difficult to argue with.

One option I don't see mentioned enough are "flat" miniatures. Pathfinder has a box set of popular monsters printed on cardstock that you put on stands to represent what the players are fighting. I've also seen plastic versions of these which I have never purchased, but Sly Flourish speaks highly of. If you do some googling I'm sure you can find tons more resources for printable "paper miniatures."

Hope this helps!

• Check out this video for making your own tiles out of cardboard and a regular laser printer. This is likely to be your cheapest option. It will make good looking tiles with low walls for visibility of the figures, and you can modify and change up the options yourself with any old graphics program to make special rooms or differently shaped walls.
  
• If you want to get something that approaches the flashiness of Dwarven Forge items for a fraction of the price, you can build papercraft dungeon tiles. There's tons of options and systems (I like the work of Fat Dragon Games) including free stuff (send me a PM in you want more details on what's out there). You print the pages on good-quality stiff paper and then fold and glue to get really good looking, and relatively durable 3d terrain.
  
• The official Wizard's dungeon times (incl. the new Dungeon Tiles Reincarnated) are really nice and offer lots of versatility in layouts, so you're not limited to snapping the dungeon to a 4x4" grid. The downside is that the layout is going to take a long time to set up -- if you use lots of 2x1 tiles for nice details it could take while. While the tiles themselves are quite portable compared to say, a roll-up battle mat, the set up time is a problem.
  
• The D&D Adventure System board games, like the recent Tomb of Annihilation game each come with a set of ~40 4x4" dungeon tiles that are get for making small rooms and passages (plus you get all the D&D figures and stuff from the game). Matching a map from an adventure is going to be harder with these because of the limited shapes and layouts, but if you're drawing out your own dungeon, they are really great. The ToA one linked above features tiles choked with vines and overgrowth, Legend of Drizzt features cavern tiles, while the others all have stone block hallways and rooms each with different assortments of features like crypts, fountains, altars, or hidden alcoves.
  
• Check out this video for more options and ideas, including [dry-erase dungeon tiles]9https://www.amazon.com/Dry-Erase-inch-Dungeon-Tiles/dp/B016H0TNFY) which I have not tries but they look like a good mix between drawing your own map and the flexibility of storage and layout generally inherent in dungeon tiles.
  
• Once you have your versatile dungeon tile option picked out, a great choice to easily and cheaply furnish it is with the Paizo Traps and Treasure set of cardboard cut outs. The vast array of furniture, traps, treasure piles, and architectural features can be used to furnish laboratories, lavish abodes, guard posts, and temples, not to mention dungeons and crypts. Make sure you also get a set of paizo's pawn bases so that the columns and stuff can be stood upright

I make battle maps because I find that stuff fun - but you can make very simple ones!

I use this paper - it comes out to <50c per map.

Though you could just use butcher paper and a wooden dowel with one inch marks on it for for every 5 feet - that's what I'm doing after I run out of the grid Paper.

For city maps, I use this method.

Again, I spend more time with it because I like to, but less so when I too am pressed for time. You could likely make them very simple, and they would still look good and make sense.

I can post a few pictures of some of my town and battle maps when I get back if you're interested.

I tried to use premade maps to print initially, but it was both very expensive and hard to see. Again, I can post pics later if you want.

I'm trying to get my best friend into DMing, and I've encouraged him to look into these, which are available in many sizes. Wet erase marker for 30 seconds, bam a battle mat.

If you want something in the same vein that's a little more hardcore, there's these, which I may get if I run a less serious campaign in the future.

There's also Matt Coville's video onterrain that is very helpful. All of the stuff he puts out is, really.

Hope that helps!

May I suggest this instead? WizDice Bag of Holding :) It's the equivalent to Chessex POD, but you know what you get and the Bag of Holding looks awesome.
There will be a second BOH from WizDice soon with the new colors (and, from what I've heard, a different bag). The new colors look awesome.
The reason I suggest this is because WizDice are known to be pretty fair dice (unlike Chessex) and their Customer Support is awesome.

First of all,
>are those the only items?

These are the only pre-made items, obviously. But are they the be all and end all of the magical items available to you? Not at all. As DM and the master of your world you are free to create magical items to your hearts' content, making them as weak or as powerful as you feel like.
The short of it is yes, yes you can make any kind of items you'd like for your friends to find or enchant.
>are there 'rules' to creation?

No, not really. If you want your player(s) to have a +5 Sword of Awesomeness, you go ahead and give it to them (read: let them get it).
>how would my players go out getting a +5 Sword of Awesomeness?

Once again, as the DM, this is really up to you. If you want there to be an NPC that sells magical items in the city/village/wherever your players are, then you do that. Or you can work it into an adventure. Perhaps your players overhear an NPC talking about the nearby tomb of Melvin Awesomesword. They decide to go investigate, and once they overcome the challenges you present them with, lo and behold, there lies Melvin in his tomb. And with him? Why, it's a +5 Sword of Awesomeness! That's just an example, obviously. You've got to make it your own. There really are no rules as to how you give items to your players. If you want it to fall out of the sky in a meteorite, fine. Do it! My advice would be to not make it too easy for them however. It should be a challenge. You (in my opinion) don't want to offer them stuff on a silver platter. There's no better feeling than completing a challenge or winning a fight and being rewarded accordingly!

>tools for making a decent playing mat?

Not really my area of things, but I use this and it works great. You can draw whatever you like on it, and simply erase it afterwards.

Sorry this was a bit wordy! Hope it's helpful...

I really recommend using paper minis if you're on a tight budget. If you have access to photoshop then they are incredibly easy to make from any image you can find for free on google. If not then Printable Heroes is a great resource for cool looking minis. You can contribute a small amount and get access to a ton of them but there are also a bunch of free ones here.

They don’t take long to put together, either. This video shows you the best way to assemble them. I would also ad that I use 3/4 inch binder clips for the base as they fit perfectly on the grid and are a bit cheaper than buying bases.

I also really recommend a Chessex Battle Mat in whatever size you think works for your game. Make sure you also buy wet erase markers as dry erase will seep into these maps and become permanent markings.

As far as landscapes go, I just draw any features of the map that can be seen on the ground on my map. I've never tried it but there are printable folding paper environments that you can make and use. I don't because I don't like having an obstructed view for me or the players.

I hope that helped!

1. I personally prefer to use a Paizo Flip Map and draw on it using Retractable Dry Erase Markers. These are relatively cheap and there are options that have terrain/buildings on them instead of the basic one linked. In one of my groups, we have a couple of us who meet in person and two people who moved to the other coast. What we do is setup a roll20 session and display that on a computer monitor locally.
   
2. Dice, pencils, character sheets, and rulebooks. As a GM, I have a pound of dice (I personally went with Chessex but others on here have loved WizDice) and a bunch of mechanical pencils I bring to every session. In my experience, someone will forget something (or doesn't have enough d8s for their full attack) so having those on hand works well.
   
3. I do not recommend actually reading the core rulebook. I would recommend they only look through the rules required for the character they are building. For GMing I recommend this list. This list can be shortened for players (removing creating adversaries and whatnot). Players should be familiar with their class abilities, moving, basic combat, skills, etc. Since it sounds like you've GM'd before, I expect you're familiar enough with the rules that if something comes up the players don't know then you can help them figure it out.
   
4. In person: pencil and paper. I've used HeroLab in the past but even then I copied the character to a hand written sheet.
   
5. I bought mine a long while back and went with the D&D 4e Characters (Example Set). Looking at the prices on Amazon, I definitely don't recommend that now. If you have a decently sized hobby/gaming shop in town, I would walk through it and see what you find. That's how I found the 4e figures.

I was raised (almost literally) playing with minis and a battlemat. I helped my dad build a magnetic dungeon board set when I was about 7 years old. I played recently with a relatively new group of my college age friends who were doing theatre of mind, and I was miserable.

A lot of actions specifically denote spacing, which is very difficult to do in theatre of mind. Attacks of opportunity, spell/attack range, etc all get kinda weird when it's just spoken and imagined. I am certain that other people are better at keeping track of it all, and more experienced DMs could make it more interesting.

I know I am personally extremely biased, but about half way through the session we were supposed to storm a castle, and there was no way I was going to try to keep the different passageways straight in my head without a visual representation. I went out to my car and brought in my tackleboxes of minis, battlemat, and vis-a-vis markers. The DM was a little apprehensive at first, but most everyone seemed to agree that the minis and mat were far superior after playing for about 10 minutes with them.

One of the player's made this analogy: [Theatre of Mind] is like a text based RPG, while minis and the battlemat is like playing Skyrim.




ninja edit

I didn't address prices. Minis can be very expensive. If you get the pre painted figures, they are unbelieveably costly. Here is a site that has all sorts of figures. Their search bar is amazing.

Here is a link to a battlemat on amazon. It may look pricey (I don't know your budget) but this mat is worth more than you can imagine.

Here is a link to a pack of markers that should do the trick for drawing any kind of terrain/buildings/caves you like. Just dip a spare rag or paper towel in some water, and the lines come right off.

I used 1"x1" paper squares I cut out myself with numbers on them at first. Then when I had some money, I bought the Pathfinder Pawns for minis. I use them for 5e so they don't match up perfectly, but it's enough to just tell my players "This is X monster" or whatever. Someone else is probably going to mention this too, but if you want miniatures for characters or whatever, boardgames like Talisman or the DnD ones are your best bet for cheap-ish minis. You get a bunch (For example, Talisman comes with ~14 minis your players can use) for relatively less than you'd pay to get them individually.

Maps wise, if you have access to Photoshop (never used GIMP) you can make grid lines overlay on whatever you draw. You can also find these online or in stores. 1" square graph paper is good if you don't want to buy a Chessex Battlemat, though I'd highly recommend it and some wet-erase markers. Those things last for years and they're super useful if you don't mind wiping off the map a few times a session.

I'm not an ultra-light packer by any means, but the dice might be worth their weight because of their intrinsic novelty value and entertainment for kids, who might not really enjoy the tabletop / roleplay if it's way too spartan / basic. I know even my adult friends like the RP experience with some embellishment. I use a roll-up map like this one with some markers to help draw out the situation as we go and some folding paper "figurines."

Maybe use a dice roller app on your phone with a nice animation, but some cheap clear dice or mini-dice might be worth taking.

Also, "ranger beads" or pace-counting beads can pull double duty for keeping count of things. You can use regular coins or currency to sub in for Fate Points and other things.

Actually to start you can download the Basic Rules for free from D&D Beyond. That should be enough to at least get you started for reading current rules and having enough information to learn basic mechanics like combat, how to cast spells, etc. http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules

There are several free intro adventures here and there online by original writers, but this Death House one from Wizards (producers of D&D) is an official free product of theirs. It’s a prelude to their Curse of Strahd adventure, and is designed for taking new characters through level 3. https://media.wizards.com/2016/downloads/DND/Curse%20of%20Strahd%20Introductory%20Adventure.pdf

Beyond that, I recommend a set of dice (D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, D20, D100 (like a D10 but it counts by tens)) for every person playing. If you need them ASAP then somewhere like a local Barnes and Noble or an Amazon order will get them to you ASAP. However if you have a couple weeks, some of the eBay sellers from China have their dice sets for as low as $2. If you’re going to have a lot of dice available for players (like I did last year when I gave all my starting players two sets each), I recommend the $19.99 Wiz Dice bag linked below. You’ll get something like 14 or 15 sets and then a few mismatched dice added in. Then each player can have their own sets or you can store all of them in a candy jar ready for each game night.

Wiz Dice Random Polyhedral Dice in Multiple Colors (100 + Pack) Bundle with Wiz Dice Pouch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009R6J8RY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ndQRCb9175K9R

Good luck to all of you!

I'm in Mississippi so... it wasn't easy. So first, play some. There are tons of online groups. I started with Shadowrun (shout out to /r/Shadowrun and /r/runnerhub). Roll20 is the website we used to play online. If playing online and finding a group appeals to you, let me know and I'll help you out with whatever info I can.

Let's talk in real life, though. So, step 1: Buy the 3 core rule books: The Player's Handbook (PHB), the Dungeon Master's Guide (DMG) and the Monster Manual (MM). The game has several editions. The most current is fifth edition (5E) and it's also a very well liked edition. It's exactly what I and others think D&D should be: a solid medieval high-fantasy RPG that's great for 1st timers.

So, you got your books. The PHB is the rule set. It's all a player needs. You may want to sit down and pretty much reach it front to back (or at least to the "spell encyclopedia) that is the last or 2nd to last chapter). The other 2 books are only used by Dungeon Masters and, tbh, I rarely use them myself. Still, I do occasionally peruse them and get inspiration from them so they are good to have. The opening chapters of the DM guide regarding encounter building and XP are vital.

Ok, so you have some players. They have used the PHB to make some rules-legal characters. They may have used online tools to make nice, printed, perfectly accurate character sheets. Awesome. One suggestion: early on, limit your "sourcebooks" to just the PHB. There are lots of add on books with new races, classes, and spells. Powercreep is inevitable. I personally run a straight vanilla game: no Xanathar's guide or w/e else. There's enough there to keep you all busy for a while.

Now, creating dungeons and plots. Part of this is you just writing out a plot in your head. You're just gonna have to do it. As far as building the actually fights and dungeons?

• https://donjon.bin.sh/5e/
  
  This site is great for generating dungeons and maps. I use the dungeon generator and then draw it on on grid paper. I make whatever edits I want and then label the rooms where I want to have encounters (fights).
  
  
• https://kobold.club/fight/
  
  I use this site to build encounters that match what my party can fight. Each baddie is rated with CR (challenge rating) and/or XP (the amount of experience points they cough up when defeated).
  
  
• https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Chessex-96246-Reversible-Battlemat-1/dp/B00IVF4W0U/ref=sr_1_17?keywords=battle+mat&qid=1574601384&s=toys-and-games&sr=1-17
  
  This is a battle map. With WET ERASE (not DRY!!) you can draw out your dungeon quickly and easily. I have a master on the grid paper in front of me and draw out as much as I want the player's to see. This is a lot easier than buying dungeon tiles or going nuts on Dwarven Forge gear. I haven't yet made any 3D fights yet (I'm still new msyelf!) but if/when I do I plan to have some cardboard that I can pull out and will be pre-bent into the shape I want. It's important for me to be able to do this light and cheap. Anyone can go out and buy $2000 worth of minis and models and shit and make a badass dungeon that can't be moved once assembled without 2 hours of breakdown time. When I show up, I have an old tacklebox of dice, pens, pencils, and minis, and monster tokens (cardboard coins that have baddies printed on them) my battle map, about 2 pages of prep-work for the dungeon, and my encounter prep.
  
  So! There ya go! Any other questions?
  
  I use this site to generate all kinds of names. There are dozens of GM hacks that one will / can learn. One of them is having a list of possible names. Players will want to talk to the bartender's wife and..oh shit she doesn't have a name! Well, now she does! You knew it the whole time.
  
  That's a quick crash course. I also heavily suggest buying a starter box or other pre-made adventure and running those. I like running my own world but just reading them and playing them with friends can show you what kinds of tools and preparation you need as a DM.

Sushi Go!

Sushi Go! is a quick to teach, quick to play light drafting game. I love it as an intro to the drafting mechanic and as a filler.

No Thanks

Probably my favorite "light" card game. Very easy to teach.

For Sale

Great filler auctioning game. Every time I teach it we end up playing 2-3 games in a row.

Love Letter

A must own IMO. Quick and easy.

Zombie Dice

Under rated push your luck dice game. Plus zombies.

You should be able to pick 2-3 from this list and be happy with it :).

For miniatures, it's really hard to beat the tabletop Warhammer minis. Yes, they're a little pricy, but a Cadian Command squad comes provides a LOT of flexibility, and averages out to about $4/mini, which isn't any worse than something from Reaper (the company that makes the Pathfinder minis). I've heard that the Necromunda minis are also great options.

For a map, a Chessex Dry Erase Mat is a great option. However, it occasionally gets annoying to handle multiple maps in a single session. I picked up a huge pad of 1"x1" graph paper from my local art supply store, and I absolutely love it. I use my dry erase mat for things which I didn't anticipate, and I use the graph paper to draw out maps before the session.

I also saved a couple of links for custom tokens:

http://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/qnedr/reddit_cakeday_gift_to_myself_156_custom/

http://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/16v798/my_alternative_to_miniatures/

If the entire group is using the same set of dice that can really slow down the pace. One set of dice goes for like no more than $4 at any kind of comic and games shop and there are good deals online like this.

Don't be afraid to end the session mid-adventure. Try your best to avoid ending it mid-combat, but other than that feel free to end it at any time really. Good stopping points are right before/after combat or right before/after a short/long rest. Make sure to just write everything down if you end before a long rest - things like HP/Hit Die/Spell Slots and Class/Feat specific resources like Ki and Superiority Dice. Also make sure to prep the beginning of the next adventure if you end towards the end an adventure.

There's a certain level of excitement in the moments before a big roll where you pray to the dice gods and white-knuckle the dice in your hands.

The dice aren't really that expensive. I bought this bag of 15 10-die sets and I think it was worth it. There weren't any chipped or cracked ones, only one or two had a big bubble in them, and after testing I came to the conclusion that it hasn't really affected their randomness. The bag is pretty nice too. You don't get to choose the colors, but for $25 it's still a good value. To contrast, my brother decided to buy individual 7-die sets for $7 each and paid a pretty large premium for the privilege of choosing colors.

In case anyone is wondering what colors came in my bag, here. They came in a few varieties - clear, solid, glittery solid, and marbled. The only color I really detest is the orange one. The d4 looks like a traffic cone.

Since there are so many my group decided to give each player their own set (to avoid confusion) and the extra sets are used as markers to help visualize everyone's position in combat.

This is probably your best bet for DIY. It's most likely only gonna fit your core stuff and not much in regards to expansions. Honestly your best bet is probably to buy a Plano 732 and use pluck foam (the plucked bits to cushion your figures if you care about that sort of thing). Your best bet for storing map tiles IMO is [this CD case](AmazonBasics Nylon CD/DVD Wallet (128 Capacity) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DIHVM36/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_JdaJybHXQN7YW). It holds all map tiles from all expansions tiles sized 4 squares wide. All the other larger tiles fit in one of the boxes for expansions (that's where I keep them at least. Between the Plano holding all of my cards and figures except my skirmish cards (which I have in a binder using these sheets) the CD case does a nice job of keeping everything easy to grab for set ups.

I use mostly TotM, but I break out minis when we're in a space where exact layouts or distances are important.

I either draw out my maps on a big drawing pad ahead of time, or use this as my map. Dry-erase is a godsend, and the tiles let you expand out your map as the players explore.

I also have a little whiteboard - the kind that goes in a locker - for when I just need to make a quick area sketch, but don't need to actually show distances or do a grid.

I had a friend of mine print a bunch of These paper mini bases, and print out paper minis to go in them. You can easily make your own, or there are wonderful guys like Printable Heroes who make them.

I also have a bunch of old lego that we use when necessary. I don't mind at all if my players want to get fancy minis for their PCs so long as they're the right size.

I seriously love paper minis. You can print anything you want on them. I made a bunch for my husband's CoS campaign just using WoTC art. If they get destroyed, I just print more. They take about 2 seconds to swap in their base if I need to turn a kobold into an orc. You can have about a million of them jammed in an envelope. If you use sturdy paper or cardboard, you can put even gargantuan creatures in the bases.

First off, great choice in contests. I did one similar to this about a month ago, if you want to check out the results. I got a lot of good movies listed on there.

My favorite movie is tricky, because I'm an aspiring film critic. For the sake of this contest, I think that I will say 'The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus' is my favorite.

Why it is my favorite is simple. Something like 'The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus' sounds like a cooky straight-to-dvd- movie does it not? Yet it is Heath Ledger's true final performance (he was not as far in Imaginarium as he was in Batman prior to his death), and in addition to Ledger, it hosts an all-stat cast including Tom Waits, Jude Law, Collin Ferrell, and Johnny Depp. Also, it is an oddly entertaining and imaginative depiction of the archetypal good vs evil that is seen throughout all movies.

Finally, I would love to see someone receive a $20 gift


$20

$5

Player's Handbook is nice, and so is the Monster Manual.
I like almost everything in the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, so I think you should grab it after the two above books. It especially offers very good cantrips that open new character options.


If you have some experience DMing, the Dungeon Master's Guide won't be worth it in my opinion. But if you just got started, you will find some good insight in it. You'll like the guidelines to create Magic Items and new Spells. Anyway, I'd recommand you to read the How to F$&%ing GM series, by The Angry GM. Some people don't like the character, but his advice is gold.

Edit: I forgot about the battlemat. I bought one like this years ago and love it. I prefer hex to squares, but having both is great ♥

1. With a group of all newbies, definitely go with pre-gens. I'd say in a few sessions/after the one shot maybe let them make new characters once they have some experience with how everything plays.
   
   
2. I recently bought some of the official dungeon tiles but this is literally all I use for a battlemat: https://www.amazon.com/Paizo-Inc-Pathfinder-Flip-Mat-Basic/dp/1601255381 I got the larger version for my table but it's really not necessary. This one will do great. However, you can use a dry erase board, or just paper with 1 inch squares printed on it for now. Print out about 4 sheets a "battle" and that should be enough space
   
   
3. As suggested, Matt lays out the Delian Tomb that's great for a quick one shot. Or just make a basic dungeon layout, there's some random tables in the DMG and/or something like donjon to help you out. Lots of great tools there.

welcome.
here are a few simple things that i have found a newbie like me make things easier...

1. spell cards this is an easy resource to help you keep track of what spells you have. its even easier if you do like marisha does and set it up in a spell folder. . u can pick this up at your local staples/ office depot.
   
   
2. a small notebook to write notes in, such as everyones names. important NPCs, loot you found, i always date my pages so i know when and what happened. marisha and laura are really good at doing this in stream.
   
   
3. lazer pens. + battle mat + minis. or even paper minis.
   
   
4. sit as close as you can. preferably around a table.
   
   
5. index cards. i use index cards sometimes for my special paladin abilities that i always forget i have. when you are new, it can be overwhelming keeping track of your special abilities. its easier to see than writing it on your character sheet.
   
   
6. Ale
   

One dice set for each player is a great idea. You can actually find decent dice lot for a reasonable price. Sharing dice set is a pain and slows down the pace. Plus, the bag I linked has actually 20 sets, so you can actually lend or give your players more than one (that helps for when you need to roll more than one of a certain type of die).

​

Miniatures, as stated by others are a question of preference. Depending on system, I either use the theater of the mind (this is great, even the best with creative players) alone or, for when it is more tactical, I use tokens. For years I used chess pieces as tokens for both heroes and foes. It is only recently that I switched to paper mini (I made them stand with binder clips), and am moving slowly to real miniatures that I paint as I feel it is more immersive. Although using tokens of any kind will put you in need of some sort of playing mat. You could easily print 1 inch squares on paper, use a chess board (it's too little to my taste). If your family gets hooked, you can invest in a playing mat later on.

​

What you might or might not need is this tip: don't forget it is your (as in your family and you) game, and fun is the purpose. If you are ever in a position you are not certain about a rule, don't pause the game to search it. Improvise. If it is at players' advantage all the better. They don't feel cheated this way and you can always add a lurking goblins if you feel the need to tip the scale a bit. They will never know you added them because you will never tell them (game masters have to keep those illusions!).

200$? Challenge accepted.

Buy the books for 100,76$

players handbook

dungeon master's guide

monster manual

To be fair, you're already set now. I would advise the players to also buy a player's handbook or at the very least download the free basic rules


If you need figurines you can google what you want, print them off and use them or you can use this from u/printableheroes and pay him 10$

You don't need an erasable battle map to play, you can just draw everything yourself but I would highly recommend it and it's not that expensive. just 21,66$

For the dice, just buy a bag of everything for 19,99$

you're now all set to go on epic adventures for a combined total off 152,41$

If you have any money left that you would want to spend, I would recommend buying the starter set, so you can learn how it is to DM before making everything up on your own. And at 29,99$ it's really a steal

This would bring your money spend on 182,4$

Allright we're 17,6$ under budget. You can use that to buy some drawing paper, pens and what not.

Then if you want to start DM-ing go and watch these videos, You will learn a lot from them. Also, if you want to start playing on wednesday, you're either going to have to read as a maniac or use the first adventure that u/mattcolville talks about in his first videos. If you make up a town with a few NPC's and have them travel there with an encounter (let's say wolves in a forest), you've already got a few hours playtime. However, you will all need to roll up characters which will also take some time. Especially if you are all new at this. Maybe use the templates from the starter set to get the feel.

Also, because they are fun, awesome and it will help you understand what d&d is and to grow as a DM, watch some critical role.

In the spare time you have left, contemplate on how much time you had before you started this awesome hobby and how you wished somebody else would DM so you could just sit down on a lazy chair and kill things.

Congratulations, you're one of us now.

TL;DR If you want large, vinyl, hexes, and wet erase: look to Chessex. If you want large-ish, laminated, no hexes, and dry erase: look to Pathfinder. I'd say measure your game space first.

The mat you're most likely talking about is the Chessex MEGAMAT.($30) This is by and large the most popular battlemat on the market. It's vinyl, rectangular (3' x 4'), hex reversible, quality make, but it's wet erase. (You'll probs need to buy wet erase markers) This is also the mat I have. Here's my brief critique: it is larger than I have ever needed, though I will admit I have sometimes been encouraged by the mat's size to make a larger battlefield. It's so large that it barely fits on the table, giving my players little room for their papers, making it difficult for me as a DM to quickly access all parts of the map, and making transporting it a minor annoyance. The wet erase is only slightly annoying, but if you're going to be doing a lot of erasing, you'll quickly tire of the rags and water. However, it is very high quality, plenty big, and terrific if you have the right space and table to use it.

A very similar mat is the regular Chessex Battlemat($22) It's smaller (2' x 2'), vinyl, square, high quality, hex reversible, and still wet erase. Really again a great mat that's very similar to the MEGAMAT, just a little less. . . MEGA.

Another large vinyl one more similar to the MEGAMAT is the Wiz Dice Battle Mat.($32) It shares all the same qualities of the MEGAMAT, but owners have claimed that is does not erase quite as nicely. However, it is a clean white mat, rather than the sort of textured beige of the Chessex mats.

Finally, the most viable dry erase mats are the Evolve Skins battlemats($28) which come in white or beige, are not hex reversible, are laminated, are 3' x 2', and seem to not be entirely dry erase. A better choice would probably be the laminated, 2' x 2.5', dry erase, not hex reversible, Pathfinder battlemats.($13)

I'd recommend measuring your game space, prioritizing what you think are the most important qualities, and then comparing these options that I have presented.

I've been looking around since I'm in the same boat as you, and have been looking at buying a larger quantity of sets which you might also want to look at if you want to kickstart a collection. The bigger names I've found are Chessex, Wizdice and Q-Workshop.

Wizdice has a pack of 100+ random dice (with 1 guaranteed set) for 20$ (which I'll probably buy sooner or later). Most of the reports I read say they're random sets instead of pure random dice (people getting up to 16 sets of 7 dice), but you only get solid color, see-through and pearly (no fancy frosted or speckled). They are factory seconds but not too bad (think of small imperfections like an air bubble in a see-through or not enough paint on the letters)

Chessex has a pound-o-dice for 20$, a bag of 100+ random dice. Besides the standard colors, see-through and pearl you have special stuff like 2 tone pearl, frosted, blood-spatter effect and speckles. Most reports say they're very random. You might get a large quantity of d20 and 2 d10's, they might contain mini dice and bigger dice. They could have custom dice for a certain game with the highest number switched for some graphic indicating a crit or something. You probably won't get a full same colored set (besides the guaranteed one.) They are factory seconds which means they were rejected from being put in an individual set. This might range from pretty near prefect halfsies (after making blue dice they want to make red dice, the first set still has blue plastic in them), to usable ones with a little air bubble or small dent to useless misshapen ones or dice with missing numbers.

Q-Workshop dice look really pretty (example). Very fancy. A lot more pricey. Be careful because some of them have really pretty intricate designs but are harder to read. There's a "jar of dice" with 150 dice but they cost a whopping +200$ so I haven't even looked at those.

Then there's all those artisan dice (example company). Dice made from marble or metal, probably have a lot of weight to them but I wouldn't want to roll those on a wooden or glass table. Dice made of wood, looks really fancy but I would guess that their "trueness" can be a lot worse than an air bubble in a plastic die. As you can guess those are very expensive.

Finally with the rise of 3d printers we get 3d printed dice. Amazing looking, amazing price.

This is my setup. Setup/Teardown of each play session isn't troublesome anymore.

-2 Counter Trays. I can store most of the enemy standees and some of the random tokens like treasure chests and traps.

-Plano 23620-01. This is where I store all of the tokens like XP, Damage, Conditions, etc. This is also where the rest of the big enemy standees go (except the huge dragon). I can also fit random tokens like Doors, Bookshelves/Coffins, etc.

-Smead Expanding File. This is where I organize all the tile/map pieces. Everything fits comfortably except the "T" pieces.

-Avery Binder and BCW Pocket Pages. This binder acts like the Item Shop and can easily be opened to show available items. I even covered locked items with construction paper to be "unlocked" when Prosperity reaches a certain level.

-Ultra Pro Deck Boxes. I store everyone's Class cards here. The bottom compartment holds the Class/HP/XP tokens, Items purchased, and Attack Modifier Deck.

-Construction Paper. As a solution to organize/retrieve the needed enemy Stats Cards and Enemy Ability Decks, I created a sleeve out of construction paper for the Stat Card, leaving enough room to fit the respective Ability Deck as well. I sleeve most of the cards, so I put all 8 ability cards into a "City/Event sleeve", then throw it into the Stat Card sleeve I just made. Hope that made sense.

Are you looking for something efficient or something pretty ?

I use those flip mat for d&d, like this https://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O (I also like this one because the hex side is easier on the eyes imo)

They're not especially good eye candy, but they're enough for the whole game area (without players, but it helps set up a visual delimitation imo), they're not too expensive, and we draw the connections between the various locations on them, which is actually fun to do.

I don't like the idea of a mat with dedicated player space anyway, because of all the ways you could gain or lose equipment space (bandolier, charisma, items that take 2 slots, like flamethrower or enchanted blade, ...)

You just need a rough sketch of the area. I use a Chessex Battlemat similar to the one linked at the end of the comment. You could easily use 4 sheets of paper with one inch squares drawn or printed on them. Then in pencil just mark out the dungeon walls or whatever.

I personally think using a battlemat makes the game better. It adds something new to the game that it didn't have before (tactical battles). Now mind you, that battles aren't super technical but it certainly makes them feel more technical than just trying to describe things.

I personally don't get much enjoyment from the DM saying, "You backflip off the wall and slice the guy's head off." I can have fictional battles in my head where I'm awesome any time I want.

Using a battlemat also marks a huge difference between social encounters and battle encounters. Social encounters are all done as theater of the mind, so do you really need another encounter that uses the same technique? I think not.

>I was thinking maybe doing no map but for main encounters throw a map on

I've thought about doing this as well, but haven't actually done it. The bonus about it that I can see is that it allows you to fit the expected battles per day, which is what forces the players to manage their limited resources and abilities. (spells, healing dice, ki points, etc.)

In the end I probably won't end up doing that and will just continue to push the players to make their decisions quickly. If they make an "nonoptimal" decision then so be it.

I think the reason battles slow the game down so much is that players plan too much. Too much time is spent on, "Hey who wants bardic inspiration? ... Who's next in the initiative order? Oh, Sally goes before Bob. But Bob would benefit from the inspiration more. Bob, do you mind if I don't give you inspiration this time? What's that Sally? Oh you're going to be using an action that won't benefit from it okay... Then Frank you can have it."

Whew. Longest bonus action ever. Let's hope that player never has to make a decision about movement and provoking an attack of opportunity! Just do your think players!

https://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O

Formula D is an excellent game and I think it should be a go-to gateway game for more people (as opposed to carcassonne, dominion, settlers, or small world) and plays 2-10 players in a short(ish) amount of time (60-90 minutes)

The resistance, two rooms and a boom (print + play!), and spot it are great too, but are party games.

My final recommendation is Perudo, which just requires dice (5 per person) and cups. It is one of our favorite 6+ games and has a fair balance of strategy and luck involved. It goes over well with nearly everyone I have ever played with. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dudo and http://www.amazon.com/Chessex-CHX-001D6-Pound-o-D6/dp/B0015IUA7O/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1413596139&sr=1-1&keywords=pound+of+d6

Just started DMing myself, here’s my set-up:

— I use this Battle Mat. The pre-made campaigns do come with maps of both the dungeons and the surrounding areas (or at least the starter set does.) For the simpler ones you can copy them onto the mat room by room as the party explores. That can be surprisingly complicated, though, so for the more intricate dungeons I’ve taken to screen-capping them (I work with a PDF), blowing them up to 1” scale, printing them out, and then cutting out the individual rooms so I can lay them down one by one.

— I make my own tokens. They’re not quite as cool as the minis but they’re cheap, have a GREAT feel to them, and I love how perfectly I can customize them.

— Dice are dice. You can buy a big ole bag from Amazon, or if you like nice things you can go somewhere like Die Hard Dice. I bought these, which I like because all the players can claim their color but the whole set feels coordinated.

— In preparation for combat encounters, I screen cap and print the stat blocks of the monsters so I have them as handy reference and don’t have to keep flipping back to them in the book.

Are your players new to the game? If so, I STRONGLY recommend making reference cards for your players to hold on to. I think of myself as someone who knows the rules inside and out, but I was SHOCKED how much time I was spending looking up abilities in our first game. Now I screen-cap each character’s abilities, spells, and potions/magic items. I print them out as individual little cards that I cut out, but you could also put them together as a reference sheet. Saves them having to flip through a PHB every time they need to remember how their spells work.

First of all, Hi. I see you like table top games. I like table top games as well. You rock.

Secondly, look at this stuff I have found. c:

Bag-o-dice

These are nice dice.

These dice are also nice!

Here's some bags for all those dice. :3

Have you ever played with one of these?



I love collecting dice. :)

Also, this is something I've been wanting for a while and it's less that $10 so you could gift someone else too!

Awesome! That's how I play!

Here's a list of things I suggest as a DM:

Chessex Mat
or [Megamat](Chessex Role Playing Play Mat: MEGAMAT Double-Sided Reversible Mat for RPGs and Miniature Figure Games - 34 1/2in x 48in https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015IUAAG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_KvY4xbHM414K4)
[Vis-A-Vis Markers](Expo Vis-A-Vis Wet-Erase Overhead Transparency Markers, Fine Point, 8-Pack Pouch, Assorted Colors https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006IFGW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_DwY4xbQVVNKTA) to write on the map
[Starter set of minis](D&D Icons of the Realms: Tyranny of Dragons Starter Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LSZQXSY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_.EY4xbCF5B5AH)
Goblin Minis
Search Reaper Minis on Amazon and you'll find some fun stuff
I also use flat glass marbles as place holders for NPCs that I don't have minis for. They were super helpful when I was first starting.
A graphing notebook and drawing paper
Mechanical pencils and a set of his favorite pens

I can't think of anything else

If you're looking to add some pen and paper rpg, DnD 5e is pretty cheap to get a good starting point.

You could honestly run a good game with just the starter set (it includes one of my favorite starter campaigns, very good for new players). It's just around $13.

But a pretty necessary purchase, especially if you want a bit more for your players to work with. You can get that for $30.

If you want to give your DM a bit more to work with the Monter Manual (~$27) and the Dungeon Master's Guide (~$28) are a must.

Dice are pretty cheap too if you want to get a few sets for the club or enough for you're players to take some home. (The starter set comes with one set of dice)

Either core set is worth it. The 50th anniversary may be a bit harder to find if you're getting a physical copy (but obviously the PDF will never run out of stock). C7 are supposed to release a upgrade package with the minor bit of changes introduced in the new edition as a PDF eventually. They did the same thing when they moved from the 10th doctor box set to the 11th doctor edition.

As far as supplements go. I'd make sure you like the game first before buying any. You can always use right here and the forum to get fan stats for monsters and take a look at the fan made Extended Universe Sourcebooks (currently available for Docs 1-4).

Once you've decided you do love this RPG, grab your favorite doctor's sourcebook and the Time Traveler's Companion Sourcebook. TTC has extended rules that make playing a time Lord even more interesting.

Oh, and make sure have enough D6 for you and your friends. This should be more then enough. Chessex lb-o-D6 Dice https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015IUA7O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_1aMHxbWF132ZP

This depends on what type of D&D you want to play. I play 4e. From my understanding of previous editions, much more of 4e happens on the table. If you have experience with tabletop games like I, and my friends, had, you should try this out. If not, it's very easy to pick up.

I'm pretty sure that Spencer is DMing a Pathfinder game in the podcast. It's definitely 3.5.

Anyway, back to the starting point. If you're interested in trying 4e, skip the starter set. It's useless. It gives you enough information to get 4 classes to level 2, and incorrectly at that. The provided adventure is boring, and you're not left with a whole lot to do after that.

If you're looking for the cheapest game possible, you'll need:

Players Handbook 1 http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Players-Handbook-Roleplaying/dp/0786948671/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381660555&sr=1-1&keywords=4e+players+handbook

Monster Manual 1 http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Monster-Manual-Roleplaying/dp/0786948523/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381660601&sr=1-1&keywords=4e+monster+manual

Core Rulebook http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Dungeon-Masters-Guide/dp/0786948809/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y

If you want to play 4e correctly, these are the three books you need. Characters, maps, and monsters can be improvised as needed.

If you're willing to spend more, I would suggest this map:

http://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1381660750&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=d%26d+vinyl+mat

With some wet erase markers (WET, not DRY), you can build any dungeon, castle, or moon colony you can imagine. Beyond those three books, I think this is the best investment you can make to immerse yourself and your friends into another world.

Wizards provides character sheets at the backs of some books, but there are better ones on their website for free.

https://www.wizards.com/dnd/Tool.aspx?x=dnd/4new/tool/charactersheet

Last, if you really want to make things as simple as possible, subscribe to D&D Insider.

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/tools.aspx

It's worth it for the character builder alone.

EDIT: Don't forget the dice!

As a player and Dungeon Master, it makes me so happy to see /r/DnD making it to bestof more than once. :)

For those interested, the newest edition being released book by book right now is 5e (previously D&D Next when it was still in the playtesting phase). Player's Handbook (PHB) and Monster Manual (MM) are the only rule books out right now. The main storyline book out right now is Hoard of the Dragon Queen (HotDQ) and soon The Rise of Tiamat (RoT).

What you need to play D&D IRL:

• D&D Basic Rules for Players and DMs
  
• 3-4 players (PCs or player characters) is ideal
  
• 1 Dungeon Master (DM), who runs the game
  
• Dice (Wiz Dice is a good starting point if nobody has dice. Just buy the big bag.)
  
• Paper and pencils
  
• Optional: A battle mat (like this one from Chessex)
  
• Optional: Miniatures (minis) to represent your PCs, NPCs, and monsters. I use dice to represent monsters in my games, because minis are expensive.
  
  If you want to play a D&D online tabletop:
  
  
• Roll20.net
  
• Use /r/lfg, /r/roll20lfg, or their dedicated LFG function/forums to find other people
  
• Roll20 itself has all you need to play the game - character sheets, dice rollers, built in webcam/mic, special view for DMs versus players, music, handouts, macros, etc.
  
  
  Shameless plug: My group streams D&D 3.5e (older edition) on Twitch almost every Monday night at 8pm EST. I also play and DM 5e, so I'm happy to answer questions about either edition!
  

I played 1e and 2e for many years, and every group I was in always used theater of the mind. When I returned to D&D a year ago, the group I was playing with used a battle mat and minis and it was a revelation for me: I really like being able to see where all the creatures are, and having a good set of wet-erase markers means we can draw anything we need to on the mat. When I started DMing again, I bought a battle mat and a set of markers and it makes things very easy, especially for younger players (one of my groups is 4 11-year-olds). Being able to make a custom mini (using something like HeroForge) means that everyone can get a mini that really expresses their character concept, which helps people get invested in the game. Also, Lego minifigures are almost exactly the right size, which is awesome, and you can print your minis on paper as well (better for monsters, IMO).

Having said all that, Sly Flourish has a really good guide to Theater of the Mind combat and there's a lot to recommend it.

Dungeons & Dragons is the big dog, it's the only TTRPG most people have ever heard of and that name recognition means whatever the current edition of D&D is will almost always have the largest player base in a given area in the English-speaking world.

But if you want a different game you could go with something like Savage Worlds, which is a rules-medium system that can play in any genre you want. The corebook (which is the only book you'd need to play, though others are helpful) is less than $10, which is a plus. See the demo here: https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/peg-freebies/TD06.pdf
Corebook here https://www.amazon.com/Savage-Worlds-Deluxe-Explorers-S2P10016/dp/1937013200

If you want to get some friends together and try some D&D (5th edition, which is the current one) though, I'd try it with the free demo rules before dropping between $90 - 120 on the 3 core books depending on where you buy them. Free demo rules here: https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules

If you play a game with your friends you'll want some dice, unless you just decide to use a dice roller app on your phones. I'd recommend buying a big bundle of cheap dice rather than paying a lot for individual sets. A bundle like this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KN7REWQ/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B01KN7REWQ&pd_rd_wg=8uUwb&pd_rd_r=HQQYF600AKZZA1GKEZHV&pd_rd_w=CjKc8

DrivethruRPG is the site you'll want for other RPGs and older Dungeons & Dragons material, they're the amazon or wal mart of TTRPGs, selling PDFs and print on demand books. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/

I was one of the oddballs that started playing D&D on 4e and moved to 5e. And honestly, 4e wasn't as bad as many people make it out to be if, and this is the big if, you are fine with doing a lot of mental calculations and tracking of abilities. This edition turned virtually everyone into casters, which means you can customize your character's combat identity to be exactly what you want no matter what your class, but makes you essentially a muscle-wizard, magic-wizard, sneaky-wizard, etc.

Level ups are crazy, too, requiring you to recalculate almost every stat on your character. The power creep is real in that edition, and you will eventually become an unkillable force of nature. No, seriously, epic destinies in that game often go "You hunt gods for fun, and respawn unharmed 6 seconds after you die."

However, to your original question, combat can easily be done using anything to represent your characters: we used everything from pogs to minis to coins. A battlegrid is still a life-saver, and I'd recommend biting the bullet and getting something like this. Otherwise, prepare to use a lot of paper for crudely drawn maps, because you pretty much need a grid for that edition.

And the good thing is you can use that mat for any other edition as well. And personally, I would actually recommend starting with 5e unless you're all engineering types who have fun with math and like the epic-hero power fantasy, or have some experienced players who can help teach the rules of combat. Otherwise combat, even at level 1, would take forever. My first group was a bunch of engineers and math minors at college, so we enjoyed the number crunch, and the DM and 2 of the 5 knew the system already.

Someone noted Wyrmwood. I second that. my non-playing girlfriend gave me a gift cert for Wyrmwood and I got myself a dice tray with a dice vault. It is outstanding. I dont even use my geek chic (RIP) dice towers anymore. Beautifully made and they use leather instead of felt for the surface. They also do towers as well.

For dice the best value I have found is wiz dice:
https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Bag-Holding-Polyhedral/dp/B01476QV14/

Wiz Dice have rolled truer than any of my chessex sets. and this is all matched sets unlike the chessex pound o dice.

I do NOT like the metal dice for use in my trays and towers. But if you must they can be gotten from a number of places. I have sets from three different companies and they are all the same dice with different finishes (likely from the same factory in china) so shop around.

THis one might be a slightly different suggestion:
A tackle box something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Plano-Molding-1363-Graphite-Sandstone/dp/B001TH8P1E
and fill it with office supplies and one of those bags of dice.
Office supplies suggestions: 3x5 cards. post-it "darts", pencils, sharpener, wet erase markers (assuming the GM uses wet erase mats) binder clips. a small wet/dry erase board

And if you are feeling fancy... Ive been meaning to get dice from these folks. But I havent yet so I cant speak for them
http://shopusa.levelupdice.net/

We use dot us these Training Swords in my medieval combat class!

They also make a Shield

This steampunk flavored Cryptex Flash Drive might be appreciated! Useful and stylish in a similar vein to this Steampunk Watch
As for board games, I recommend Shadow Hunters, Splendor, and Coup

For tabletop games, you could get him A Nice Set of Color Coded Diece

When it comes to video games, this Retro Arcade Console Desk Toy could be a great work passtime with 200 games! Alternatively if you have a fridge or a metal workspace, Magnetic Tetris! for idle hands


Hope any of these help haha

> Should I let them build there own characters, or should I bring pregens?

This is up to you and your players. I’d ask each of them what they’d prefer. Personally, I would have pregens (or ones you’ve made) available as backups.

> As wargamers, we have TONS of minis, but no battlemat. Is there a cheap alternative? Do I really need one? I could pick one up at my LGS, but it'd be a bit more than I'd like to pay atm.

It’s not required. I know plenty of DMs who don’t use a battlemat.

I paid $35 for my mega mat so it depends on your budget. You can get a smaller one for $23.

Standard battle/megamats have 1 in. squares. You can find graph paper with that size squares at hobby lobby type stores or office supplies stores. You can get 8 ½ x 11 on up.

> I don't really want to purchase an adventure, but homebrewing the first game is kind of daunting. I mean, I know these guys would be perfectly happy being dropped in a dungeon and killing every last monster in the place without any kind of motivation whatsoever, but I really want at least some roleplay, if only to see how they react. I'd be grateful for any advice in this regard.

Dm guild is a very good resource for free campaigns or modules.

Started Set

Bulk Dice

The starter set is a great way to introduce players to the game. I have never played it, but it comes highly recommended as far as I can tell. Wiz Dice is awesome. I got a bulk set for Christmas and it contained at least 10 complete sets. Well worth it. Good luck!

For when I'm travelling by air for fun, all I have with me are:

​

==Carry-on Travel Kit==

• Pathfinder Flip Mat
  
• A box each of the squad set & hero set tokens to use in place of minis
  
• Customised version of the Lazy DM's Workbook for rules reference
  
• Two sets of dice
  
• A stack of index cards and a pencil
  
• An iPad Pro 11" for access to books on DNDBeyond and the PDFs of the module from DMsGuild
  
  ​
  
  If I'm "home travelling", I'm usually going to my FLGS to DM Adventurer's League. I carry more gear to make the table nicer for my players. I use two document folders with the main gear, and optional kits for maps, minis, and player handouts. I'd carry this same gear if I was explicitly travelling to DM a Con or Epic.
  
  ​
  
  ==Primary==
  
  DM Kit (Game play)
  
  I carry two of these document holders. One is larger than the other, and in the larger one I have:
  
  
• Pathfinder Flip Mat
  
• A custom DM Table Tent with my name, internet links, and DCI number, printed on 200GSM and laminated
  
• Customised version of the Lazy DM's Workbook for rules reference & list of random names
  
• A box each of the squad set & hero set tokens to use if I don't have the right minis
  
• World's Greatest Screen (Mini) with customised inserts
  
• Seven printed potions of healing cards on 200GSM stock (original by /u/cryptocartographer)
  
• A collapsible dice tray
  
• Seven sets of dice
  
• Pencils, pens, highlighters, Inspiration coins, a compass rose in a pencil case
  
• Index cards
  
• Ziploc bag full of various condition/status rings
  
• Player name tents (laminated)
  
• A small whiteboard for players to see initiative order / quick sketches
  
• An iPad Pro 11" if needed for access to books on DNDBeyond
  
  ​
  
  Module Kit
  
  My FLGS prefers non-digital tools at the table (and so do I), so I carry in a folder:
  
  
• Printed copy of the module
  
• Printed Initiative Tracker sheets per encounter
  
• A player signup sheet (Character Name, Class & Level, Race, PP, AC) - modified version of the tracker sheet above
  
• A copy of the module's Adventure Log, ready to be filled and shown to players to copy
  
• My printed out prep notes
  
  ​
  
  ==Optional==
  
  Maps
  
  I carry them in an A3 art sleeve.
  
  ​
  
  DM Kit (Adventurer's League Handouts)
  
  In the smaller document holder, I have:
  
  
• 5E Quick Reference Rules (seven copies)
  
• DM David's Adventurer's League Cheat Sheet (seven copies)
  
• The Race & Class cards (one set, printed in 200GSM stock)
  
• Season 8 Pregens (two copies of each)
  
  ​
  
  Mini Kits
  
  If I take minis, all of my minis have small magnets drilled & glued into the base. I then put them into small plastic tubs with metal plates I've screwed & glued in place. This video was inspiration.
  
  ​
  
  ===
  
  All of the carry items are in a canvas tote bag.
  
  All up I have the two boxes and the module kit in the tote bag over the shoulder; the mini kit under one arm; and the A3 map sleeve in my off hand.
  
  Super convenient, and can be pared down to just my carry on kit in a pinch.

I searched for a while, This one is kind of hard. I think your best bet would be to make a small care package. If they're in the Army, Small things to take with them places are what they would thrive on. But have fun with it, zombie theme it!

Include things like:

Army Gummy Men

Switchblade Comb

Nerf gun

Some type of zombie toy



Add a bunch of cool snacks, maybe a drink or two (could make home made labels for these things), some travel size toiletries and a really cool personalized mini story/warning letter about your adventures sending him the box during the zombie apocalypse.

edit:Words

Edit2: A quick fun zombie game would go well too!

Zombie Dice

Zombie Fluxx

The only product I really recommend buying is this Chessex battlemat:
http://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324057800&sr=8-1

Also pick up some WET-erase markers (not dry erase). You can draw the walls of each room as they enter.

Miniatures are cool, but not necessary. Coins, paper tokens, cardboard (D&D Monster Vault) all work fine. But I think that having a map with miniatures helps everyone visualize the battle much better. It's practically a necessity for 4E.

I also really recommend making your own campaigns and adventures if the DM is up for the time and challenge. They are usually better because the DM has a deeper understanding and knowledge of his own world, and can customize it to his players better.

Hey man!

Super happy to hear you're enjoying D&D with your GF and getting more into DMing!

For supplies:

Dry Erase Game Mat - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Paizo-Publishing-Pathfinder-Flip-Mat-Basic/dp/1601255381/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458214248&sr=8-1&keywords=dry+erase+game+mat (That's exactly the one I use). You'll need some dry wipe pens, I recommend NOT super big ones so you can do detail.

The tiles I use are Dwarven Forge, (http://dwarvenforge.eu/) very expensive but very cool! You can also get pre-printed card tiles, search for Pathfinder Adventure Tiles.

As for Minis, we luckily had Yogs buy us a set of 32 booster boxes of the Pathfinder Red Dragon set. Other minis I use include the Reaper Bones series, but they need painting (painted by myself, Trott or Katie).

I buy booster boxes from: https://www.tritex-games.co.uk/

Hope this helps!

The Core books with the alternate cover. It is a little expensive but boy, they look gorgeous!

Metallic dice, they're so nice and make a nice noise when they land

Giant d20. The numbers aren't balanced, but it is a nice way to decorate something with sweet D&D ref

Make your party minis in Hero Forge!

The only tip I have is to remember that some groups are better than others and that if you all find "weird" or bad people this time, there are TONS of good and "normal" people out there. You just need to try a few out. Even if you find one that is fine, try a few others so you can see both good and bad groups. It helps.

For supplies, bring 2-4 pencils (I prefer mechanical so I don't need a sharpener), a couple notepads (for scratch paper and notes), and if you can buy a few sets of dice so you each have 1-2 sets. I would get something like this to start. You get five sets of dice for $9 something. If you are REALLY into it, a 5e Player's Handbook or two is also good (which you said you got so you're fine). Don't spend ANY more money until you know you like the game.

Oh and I would put a couple bottles of water and some non-messy snacks in your bag so you're good to go. Don't come with open containers and cheese balls that get stuff on everything. :)

If you utilize www.dndbeyond.com you can, for free, make basic characters and it might help you to practice on there. You can then print them out or copy them by hand. I am a pencil and paper gamer, I don't like digital stuff, but it might help you since you don't have someone like me to have you come over a day or two before the game to teach you what everything means (which I do for all my new players).

Don't over prepare. Just do your best to be open minded.

> Or am I supposed to just describe the rooms? If I should describe them, what if a fight occurs?

You can absolutely play without a map, it's called theatre of the mind. Usually, the DM keeps track of locations and the players ask things like "How far is the closest monster" or "Am I close enough to hit Y" and so on. It's a little abstracted, but some people like it more than maps-and-miniatures. Personally, as I use maps with line drawings of the locations, I give way more detail in descriptive words than my map contains.


> . My question is how you usually make maps (mainly for dungeons). All I have access to are A4 sheets of paper and a printer for those sheets. The maximum amount of squares I get on those are 8x11, which means that I'll have to use several sheets of paper even for small dungeons.

Honestly not unusual if you're home-printing. Personally, I use a large battle mat about the same size as my table surface. This mat has allowed me to draw out full dungeons in most cases, but it's also the size of a medium dining room table. I also have a smaller square battle mat in case the dungeon is too large or I want a specific subsection or another place included in the same session. For instance, I'll draw the keep they start in on the small mat, and the dungeon they're traveling to on the large mat. Then, the keep-mat can even be used to obscure areas they haven't seen within the dungeon-mat, at least for a time. Fog of war can be handled by not drawing the full area ahead of time, or using something like paper or towels to physically cover the mat.


For both, I use dry erase markers for a simple outline of dungeons (Crosshatch in between-walls places where there is no space to exist, for clarities sake), and might include some basic fluff like rock piles, stalagtites/mites, etc. I also have a bunch of clay and cardboard miniature set pieces I use to accent the maps - barrels, fires, rocks, fountains, statues, etc. These bits are my own make, so there's some time involved, but you can buy premade miniature items to use as well, or just forgo the accents entirely. It's not necessary, I just like it.

My setup looks like this, all-told. (Was before I got the big mat, so this is just the smaller one). This one mat contained an entire wing of a 3-part dungeon, enough for a session and a half or so. The next section was a large labyrinth and is why I now own a larger mat.


> they also includd things only the DM is supposed to read anyway, like Trap Locations or Secrets.

Often there are two maps - a DM version and a clean Player version. Alternatively, googling 'placename dungeon map' will usually find you plenty of cleaned up or player-made versions of maps, sometimes better than what's in the actual module.

> To my knowledge, you always need a map for a fight,

As I said earlier, nope. It's easiest for at least the DM to have a map to mark things on themselves, but you can in fact go 100% mapless, and it works just fine. Just have to be used to it, pretty much. If you're not providing a map for your players, as a new DM I'd say keep your own printed map and some little markers like pennies or dimes to track locations so you can be ready with information. Even just some gridlined paper you can draw out as you go is plenty for your own tracking purposes.

The group I used to play with (hopeing to be able to start a new one soon) had a few simple things. The main things are going to be your standards:

• Set of dice (multiples for new people are nice too)
  
• Lots and lots of mechanical pencils
  
• Minis and various tokens to represent your characters
  
• Plenty of paper of different sorts (lined, graph, and plain being the main ones)
  
• Large dry erase square/hex grid sheet like this
  
• Dry erase markers
  
• Snacks/drinks of various sorts
  
  I'm hopefully going to be introducing Dungeon World (/r/dungeonworld) to a group of friends. It's a rules light story forward RPG system which is great for beginners. There was a link posted the the Dungeon World subreddit for running a 4 hour long one shot (link here) which brought up using index cards for on the fly map generation which I think is good to have for any RPG adventure.
  
  edit: Forgot minis... How did I forget minis???

Anything from Chessex basically. I love my set of purple and gold but they also have some cool frosted ones as well.

There's also metal dice which are pretty neat but a bit expensive.

Q-Workshop has some nice accented dice but a lot of them are a bit hard to read from a glance.

I can't pick! I love all the helmets and swords (specifically this one and Pocky is like crack. The collection of dice is awesome cuz I love games and numbers.

I love Kevin lots!

If I have to pick something off my list, I really need a new laptop battery but my face needs eyeliner and I drink a lot of tea and water. Honestly, whatever you would pick would be great!

I use a Chessex Play Mat for the bulk of my encounters. It works well for quickly drawing out a smaller dungeon or combat encounter. It's about 20x25 squares.

If I need additional space or need to be creative with my level design, I use Gaming Paper. The grid dimensions are 1 inch squares, so it works perfectly with the play mat. Also the gaming paper is durable enough to use repeatedly if you have a few encounters in the same kind of area, like homes/taverns. You could also glue the gaming paper to something like foam board, and create your own dungeon tiles for cheap.

You can get the mat, a roll of gaming paper, and a set of wet erase markers for around $30 USD.

Hopefully that helps!

As others have pointed out, the essential book is for 4th edition and is not compatible with what you are doing.

Here is a list of books

• The starter-set will be fine to get started. That´s all you need.
  
• This is the free version of the rules. This is what you can send to your players if they want to read up so all of you don´t have to share starter-set pamphlet.
  
  After you have run the starter set:
  
  
• Later on I recommend that your group own at least one players handbook. But usually each player has one (when they are invested). I gave one to each player as a Christmas gift ;). A player usually have the players handbook and dice. This will give you more options as well. Look at this to give you an idea.
  
• As a DM you might also want to invest in the Dungeon Masters guide as well.
  
• You will now have two option. You can buy and run adventures or create your own. If your planning on creating your own I recommend that you buy The Monster manual.
  
• You also want to buy a gaming mat. Something like this.
  
  That will keep you busy for years. Don´t worry about investing in 3D terrain, or getting all of the books, unless you really want to.
  
  Some tips:
  
  
• Above all else, this is a game, and the goal is to have fun. Say this before you start the game to everyone. Goal is to have fun. This means that the players can´t be dicks because they think it´s fun (like stealing from other players). AKA the don´t be a dick rule. It also means that if a player comes up with a crazy cool idea, you as a DM should try to make that happen. Be the yes man "within reason".
  Player: "Ok so I want to like do like a somersault above the monster and while I am in the air try to hit him with my swords!"
  DM: "As it happens there is a chandelier right after the table and before the monster, you can run up on the table, grab the chandler to get enough height and momentum, do a dex check".
  
• The DM makes the rules, the rules in the books are just a suggestion. At sessions, especially at the beginning it´s going to be a lot of discussions about how things work. This is good as all of you are learning. BUT there will moments when some one starts to act like a lawyer, DO NOT FALL FOR IT! Instead make a quick ruling and say that after the session you can have that discussion, you will look up more exactly how it´s done afterwards and make a permanent ruling. Keep the game flowing.
  
• Delegate. The DM does not have to do everything. These are thing I delegate. One players keep tracks of conditions on monsters and add appropriate token on the player mat. One player get´s to schedule the next session. One player get´s to decide when to break.

If youre still looking to do dungeons sometime, I have a great site that generates them! I used it all the time its so handy.

http://donjon.bin.sh/5e/

A couple notes, play with the dungeon generator to figure out how big the dungeons are, remember that bigger is not always better, and small corridors force players to choose their actions very carefully sometimes and makes it more exciting.

Also, when you get the stats for the traps/monster look through them before you run the dungeon. I know the traps in particular are very strong in this gen and its ok to nerf them if your players are new.

Also its .. really worth getting a grid mat, even a small one. I have one like this and I love it

http://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421947212&sr=8-1&keywords=square+grid+on+vinyl&pebp=1421947216413&peasin=B0015IQO2O

I don't personally have them but Pathfinder Pawns seem like a good way to go. I don't know if that's something you can get where you are, or if you have an issue with ordering them off amazon.

I like this battlemat myself, but same thing, I don't know if you can find it easily locally or not. If you already have a dry erase board that works too, but having the grids is nice and using wet erase on the mats helps with them not smearing and erasing accidentally.

EDIT: also, some stores might have chrismas wrapping on sale now and some of them have a 1'' grid on the back, that could work as a cheap grid paper.

The Iconic Heros minis are pretty great. A dry-erase Flip mat is also a welcome addition to any table. Those can be used well with the minis.

There are a number of great, cheap player companion booklets like the Dirty Tactics Toolbox or Animal Archive or Legacy of Dragons

I know of two.

This is one. It's hard to find right now, being new. Full disclosure, I'm involved in selling these. They're for sale but we haven't started advertising yet. We're going to have more pictures up soon, but, hey, they're Wiz Dice. There are tons of pictures out there. We just buy them wholesale from the Wiz Dice people (who are awesome) and then sort them into sets of 15 so we can guarantee full sets. We also sell a smaller pack of 5 random sets.

The other Wiz Dice reseller I know of is here. This guy is selling the same thing but with a large velvet dice bag.

This second set is partially what inspired us to sell Wiz Dice in guaranteed sets; we didn't think the velvet bag added that much value, and (to be honest) we thought he was being kind of deceptive in pretending that "Easy Roller Dice Co." is an actual brand of dice, rather than acknowledging they're Wiz Dice.

So, I don't know. I don't want to be "salesy." But there's some information about it.... :)

Does he use miniatures in his games? You could pick him up a random booster pack of D&D minis- new monsters to use can be inspiration for encounters.

EDIT: This would most likely be on budget and these are new figures! Came out in late July.
https://www.miniaturemarket.com/wzk72871-pack.html

If he plays 5e there are new books coming out still- you could look at what he has or order something upcoming for him to lean his campaign toward.

EDIT: Make sure you check his shelf/bin if you don't want to get something he has already!
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=5e+books

Maybe he is a fan of fantasy books/movies? You might have some luck picking something he would like- that could bleed through for inspiration.

Also, tabletop players always enjoy a new set of dice, if they are a shiny new color or something.
I suggest these!

https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Pack-Random-Polyhedral/dp/B01KN7REWQ/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502128441&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=alchemical+oddities+dice

EDIT:

This is kind of a stretch probably- but consider steering him toward something like https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1513061270/reaper-miniatures-bones-4-mr-bones-epic-adventure/comments which can be a near endless source of materials/resources.

You could try picking up one of the starter sets to see if he would like painting!

https://www.amazon.com/Reaper-Miniatures-08906-Learn-Paint/dp/B00NTMC49G/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1502128215&sr=1-2&keywords=reaper+bones+paints

https://www.amazon.com/Layer-Bones-Miniatures-Learn-Reaper/dp/B01N458GBK/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1502128232&sr=1-1&keywords=reaper+bones+paints

Wizdice guarantees 15 complete sets:

https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Pack-Random-Polyhedral/dp/B01KN7REWQ/

Buy 3 sets of these and you're all set:

https://www.amazon.com/SmartDealsPro-Durable-Drawstring-Jewelry-Packaging/dp/B00W3R2BDC

I bought a bag of Wizdice years ago when everyone was praising them for the number of complete sets. My son and I eagerly put together the bag and got ONE complete set. 3 days later Wizdice reached out to me via reddit because of a post I made and offered to send me a new bag, because the bag I got was a "bag of hurt."

I didn't even complain in the post. I just said that not every bag is a winner and that's the chance you take, I'm still happy with the purchase.

So, now I always recommend Wizdice to everyone, because they went above and beyond for me.

EDIT: These bags are even cheaper: https://www.amazon.com/Medium-Pouches-Drawstrings-Wiz-Dice/dp/B00DH1FZNG/

Chessex is a good brand for gaming things. I second the recommendation for the pound of dice.

Gaming mats are also great, with WET/DRY erase markers (Check the product first to see whether it works with wet or dry markers). Toss in an empty spray bottle and a washcloth for a wet erase, or an eraser and maybe a bottle of cleaner for a dry erase, and you've got a great gift set.

Also, a DM screen is great to have.

You can buy the starter set it’s a good base point for little money to start at. It will give you a taste of the game. It comes with pre-set characters you guys can choose from and an adventure book for any one that wants to DM in your party. I would recommend it before you spend money on any of the core books. All pitch in about 5 bucks and get started. Have any other questions?

Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set: Fantasy D&D Roleplaying Game 5th Edition (RPG Boxed Game) Plus Additional Bonus Set of 7 Dice https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CNF823R/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Blg8Bb5V31EWV

Also you are going to need dice luckily they sell it in a set of 5:
Smartdealspro 5 x 7-Die Series Two Colors Dungeons and Dragons DND RPG MTG Table Games Dice with Free Pouches https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ABST9S4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_pmg8BbNCJBS3G

I've purchased the 100+ WizDice pack from amazon, I'm pretty happy with them. They certainly aren't seconds, like the Chessex pound-o-dice is, but certainly some of the translucent dice have bubbles, one of the d6 looks a bit scratched, and some of the lettering is imperfect; but all in all I'd say less than 10 are imperfect (out of 110 (15 full sets and 5 of a 16th incomplete set) that I got) and all are playable. My only disappointment is that the dice feel a bit light, like the plastic isn't as dense as some other more expensive dice.

I'd consider getting the Easy Roller equivalent that guarantee 15 full sets and seem to have some very good reviews on amazon.

That many dice is probably a bit much if you're only just playing, but you definitely need more than one set, do you have a friend you can split the cost with and get ~50 dice each?

You're welcome! You may also want to buy some more dice since the starter set only comes with one set. A set of dice looks like this:

Polyhedral 7-Die Opaque Dice Set - Blue with White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UQ7OD0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_BbzOzbJ6X8GTS

They come in all different colors. Try to pick a set where the numbers stand out from the body so they are easy to read at the table.

Or you can buy a big bag of random dice like this and share:

Wiz Dice Random Polyhedral Dice in Multiple Colors (100 + Pack) Bundle with Wiz Dice Pouch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009R6J8RY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_6czOzbHQCRM29

Downside is that your colors may not match up. But that doesn't affect gameplay at all.

Edit: also forgot to say that if you have any DM questions feel free to send me a message to ask questions. I'm always here to help those new to the hobby.

Edit2: don't forget to download these rules for free and give to your players:

http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules

Dry-erase tiles! These are the ones we bought at our local game store

All of our characters end up with similar Perceptions, so I draw the tiles [usually before game- I'm the best with drawing lines and colours and other such jazz]. Anything people can't see is attached later on, or we draw the dotted lines of dividing.

It can be a bit of a pain at the end of the night to clean, but the ability to create your map on the go = worth it. Bonus, you can break pieces off, erase and re-use as need be :)

Something incredibly awesome for you!


Something very random and I think is pretty darn awesome for me!

I love Kevin!

5E D&D can be played mind's eye theater style with no board. In that case the DM just describes distances and makes a gut call on if someone is, for example, within 120 feet for a magic missile to hit them. Alternatively you can use a grid map (like this one) and either miniatures or tokens for the characters and monsters. Either style is supported and it's just a matter of preference.

I'd very much recommend getting the starter set. It comes with pregenerated characters (even if you create your own it's nice to see examples), and a fairly lengthy adventure (which, again, is helpful for a first time dungeon master). I picked it up even though I've played every edition since 2E.

If you have any rules questions feel free to ask here, or over at /r/DnDNext.

I need to find a large enough group of friends that I can regularly play Shadows Over Camelot. That game is super fun.

But for 2 player games stuff like Zombie Dice, Exploding Kittens, and Fluxx are a boatload of fun.

They're listed on Amazon but are currently unavailable, probably to replenish stock. I got mine from the initial offering before the amazon store opened and it was $60. Definitely worth it! Makes a huge difference. It's super easy to install and no drilling or additional hardware is needed. The kit comes with everything you need.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P5WJ7BC?ref=myi_title_dp

You'd probably get a better response from this over at /r/rpg Your product is useful for that type of gaming, with miniatures and stuff like that, while this subreddit is generally for modern boardgames, and games that are a complete product, which generally won't need this.

That said, for some useful crituqes, I think your updated design would be hard to use. With all the various different lines, it would be hard to keep track of exactly where the hexes are. You don't really need multiple sizes, because most miniatures are all around the same size, with different sizes for different creatures, but those generally take up multiple squares. I don't know exactly the size, but I think they are around 1" diameter at their base for a standard size. Personally I'd like to see something that just has a square grid on one side and a hex grid on the other side. I have a mat like this one, and I think you'll find that is what most people are using. So if you want to get RPG business, you're competing against them. They are clear and large, but personally I can say that the map is really big, and its a real pain to transport and store. So you're product is nice that it folds up and you can store it where ever. If it was as usable as the mat I linked too, I would definitely consider buying one.

If you're looking for beginner friendly then I have to suggest the 5th edition. Since the core books are still being released it's not as bloated as the other editions. It also helps that the basic rules are available online for free.

To start, you can grab the Starter Set. It includes pre-made characters and an intro adventure (careful, it's notoriously difficult).

For grids, I've fallen in love with the Chessex Megamat. It uses wet-erase markers and is top quality, sturdy stuff.

The last thing you'd need is dice for everybody.

Good luck!

I've been DMing LMoP for a few months now, and I did so much prep work, I got in trouble at my real job for it. I have maps of EVERYTHING as PDFs with notes for every single room.

The upshot of this is that I barely referenced my notes last session because I have it all memorized. But notes are absolutely essential.

And like others have said, dungeons just need maps. My group tried theater of the mind for about two seconds before I went "OH MY GOD, I'll just draw it!" I'd recommend getting a big battle mat for that. It's pricey, but definitely worth it. I have this one, it's fantastic. Gotta be careful to use the right markers, though. But you definitely won't run out of room!

In addition to what others are saying about the SRD and basic rules versions being free to use, next month a gift set containing the core three books (Dungeon Master's Guide, Monster Manual, and Player's Handbook) along with some other goodies is coming out. It's a decent chunk of change, but if you guys decide you like the free version enough it might be something to save towards https://smile.amazon.com/Core-Rulebook-Gift-Wizards-Team/dp/0786966629 (or if you have a local gaming store sometimes they're cheaper there, and some are getting an exclusive version with some pretty sweet alt cover art). You can get a decent starter set of dice sets for pretty cheap, https://smile.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Bag-Devouring-Role-playing/dp/B01KP4T6TQ (20 complete 7 die sets for ~30 USD, might be a bit overkill for starting out) https://smile.amazon.com/Smartdealspro-Colors-Dungeons-Dragons-Pouches/dp/B01ABST9S4/ (5 complete 7 die sets for ~10 USD, might be a bit more reasonable)

Sunless citadel out of Tales of the Yawning Portal is a greater starter game for new players/DMs but that is just something for future reference.

I don't doubt you're up to it but I have ran OoTA start to finish (took 2 years) for my Wednesday game and i'm planning to run it for my Sunday group when they finish PoTA in the next month or so you are ABSOLUTELY more than welcome to send me a message directly if you want and i will help you in anyway i can.

I'm not sure of your setup BUT i always recommend VTT (virtual table top) to groups that are able IF you're not able and you want to avoid theater of the mind for a low cost investment i recommend something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O?th=1

I personally find it good to have the grid, tokens, and minis. It clears up a lot of miscommunication between the DM and the players.

I have played in a group that chose not to use any grid or props besides tokens. As a player I was constantly confused as to where the tree line was, where the door was, what door I was doing a perception check on, and so on.

The best example of this was when the party said "we will stay a few feet away from the door while we rest." The DM took this as we were literally huddling around this small door. The monsters beyond the door hear us, got a surprise round, and we almost wiped.

My recommendation to you is to get a grid and some wet erase markers. You dont have to stay in the squares, and if you want, you can even use the hex side.

When it comes to large scale maps, ones where a square represents more than 5ft, I do prefer that it is just drawn sloppily on a piece of paper or something. As long as everyone understands where they are, what way is north, and how they can get from one place to another. The best way to do this, in my experience, is to have a drawing.

TLDR: Get a grid mat and some wet erase markers. Less set up time than Roll20, more customization than almost anything, and it is sufficiently accurate for almost all D&D encounters.

What I would recommend is looking online at WizKid's $20 assortment. The assortments tend to be pretty good, you can look around /r/diceporn for various unboxing pics, they tend to give you several complete sets.

If the cost is scary, talk to your gaming group and ask if they feel like chipping in for the cost in exchange for (potentially) a new set of dice for a few bucks.

You're gambling with what you get but when I bought mine, I got some great dice and it seems like most people who buy it tend to get really nice sets.

For the plexiglass, I think you can get something like this:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/OPTIX-24-in-x-48-in-x-093-in-Acrylic-Sheet-MC-13/202038048

or this:

https://www.amazon.com/Acrylic-Plexiglass-Plastic-Sheet-24/dp/B00C13ZSBA

Honestly, I just walked into a Home Depot and asked for a big sheet of plexiglass. It was about $25. Someone above suggested that Hobby Lobby may be cheaper.

Here's the battlemat:

https://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O

Grab some whiteboard markers, and the whole thing will run you about $50. But honestly, I've used this same setup for 4 years and it's been great.

A few thoughts:

• The plexiglass doubles as a great protective surface for whatever table you're playing on. We've been saved from many spills because of it!
  
• The plexiglass is a little heavy and cumbersome. My group meets at a different place every week, and it's a little annoying having to carry around everywhere. It's great if you have a dedicated gaming room, though.
  
• The plexiglass can get dirty, but I never notice while playing. Just wipe it down with windex every now and then.
  
• Get colored markers! It's so nice being able to track hp in red ink right next to minis as they move around the map, and my players love drawing out possible tactics/formations, etc.
  

All you really need is the Player's Handbook (or rules compendium), but if you're new to the DM role, I highly recommend picking up the Dungeon Master's Guide, as well. It has a lot of great advice for running a campaign that was helpful to me. It also has source material for the Nentir Vale campaign setting, if you don't want to start from scratch.

If you don't have one, consider getting a subscription to D&D Insider, so you can access the online tools, especially the compendium, which has all the released content from all the books and magazine articles. Of course, if you're a student, the cost may be prohibitive.

A Chessex wet-erase battlemat is only about $18. It has a square grid on one side, and hexes on the other. In the long run, it's better than wasting a lot of paper (IMO).

I'd get:

One of these:
https://www.amazon.com/Dragons-Play-Multipocket-Dice-Green/dp/B07DJ18RRB/

Or this which is less fancy but comes with dice:
https://www.amazon.com/Smartdealspro-Colors-Dungeons-Dragons-Pouches/dp/B01ABST9S4/

Maybe this:
https://www.amazon.com/Embossed-Leather-Stone-Unlined-Journal/dp/B006T92BTO/

Or this:
https://www.amazon.com/Leather-Refillable-Notebook-Handmade-Journals-Sketchbook/dp/B077B7KDY7/

This kinda cool:
https://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Hardback-Binder-Organizer-Planner/dp/B06XGQZY2D/

A copy of the Player's Handbook would be nice too but she may already have that.

Spell Cards are also super cool, but class dependent so find out what she's playing first:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=D%26D+spell+cards&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

I bought this from Amazon some time ago and it has been a great product. Wet-erase only, but super durable, huge (but not unwieldy), and durable as hell. It rolls up for storage quite simply, and is overall a great buy. They sell smaller ones as well for slightly less. Check them out. I highly recommend them.

The Resistance is always fun and plays up to 10 people really easily. Although, some people say Avalon is better

Zombie Dice is an option for lots of people and super easy to teach.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L2N1OVI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

This is an AMAZING set it's cheap, on sale right now and their customer service is AMAZING. Really a good company and I can't recommend them enough all of the dice I got were top notch and the bag they come in is actually really nice.

Paizo, the guys behind Pathfinder, do sell battlemaps like the one you see on the stream. Paizo also sells other kinds of maps, including pre-generated areas like dungeons and villages.

 

Edit: in the past, Mark also uses detachable mats like this: Dry Erase 10 inch Dungeon Tiles - Pack of 9. They can be expensive though.

 

Alternatively, you can find similar types of mats available online like on Amazon or at your local game stores. Or, like what LordVeislakt suggested, you can make one! This website is a great place to start making small-sized maps.

If you buy local you may pay as much as $1 per die. If you’ve got amazon prime the link below is $10 but gives you five sets of dice. Especially if you are a caster it will be more convenient to have multiples, because situations may call for 6, 8, or even 10 dice. But if budget is king you can totally play with only one of each. Enjoy your adventures!

Smartdealspro 5 x 7-Die Series Two Colors Dungeons and Dragons DND RPG MTG Table Games Dice with FREE Pouches https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ABST9S4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_TNXLBbSX3JTJY

RPG players can usually get plenty of use from the Chessex battle mat. You could also find her a nice folder to keep her character sheets organized, and a box of mechanical pencils are a tabletop gamer's best friend. Etsy is just full of dice-themed jewelry too.

If she listed other movie/TV show/book interests, many popular franchises have RPG rulebooks: Firefly, Game of Thrones, etc. You can always try searching for "(Series name) RPG" on Amazon and see what comes up. If you go this route, might be good to send a message and ask which books she has, so that you don't accidentally send duplicates.

It's annoying, but it is perfect for what a DM is looking to do. Really makes me happy to draw these out with my crayons.

If you want something a bit more useful in the long run, try looking into dry erase ones. This one is great

That's really surprising considering the name of the establishment is a riff on D&D.

For most tabletop games, as long as you supply a decently sized table, you can expect the players to bring everything they need. If you want to go the extra mile, nab a few generic play mats for miniatures, and maybe a few sets of cheap RPG dice and have them available as well.

If you want to encourage people to try playing tabletop games when they never have before, you can have some of the core books on hand and reach out to GMs in the area who might be willing to run one-shots for randos and newbies. Maybe make it a semi-regular event like Tabletop nights every Tuesday/Wednesday/Whatever.

5e is a great system. Super easy to just pick up if you have experience with any previous editions. The starter set is great, though you'll probably want to pick up some extra dice since it only comes with the one set. The Lost Mines of Phandelver (the included adventure) is really well written, and I don't think it'll require any tweaking to make it age-appropriate for your girls.

Zombie Dice is a fun, inexpensive and quick little game to play. Not really tied into libraries, but my teens enjoyed this one.

Madlibs are quick and easy.

You can also make some simple crafts with duct tape. Bow ties, ties, hair bows, wallets, etc. can be pretty fast once people know what they're doing.

1. Book coverage: Waterdeep is a lot like a broad template at times - like reading the Wikipedia recap of a TV episode. Many aspects are fully fleshed out. Others say "The players are tasked with finding three bandits who stole a necklace" and then you just have to figure that out yourself. Get ready to improv!
   
   
2. I would only consider doing voices if you think you have 30+ unique voices in you already. Otherwise, they'll all sound mostly the same, and your players may get confused. Learn a few of the most important characters (the main villains, vital NPCs, etc) and make a voice for them. For everyone else, generic fantasy British works most of the time!
   
   
3. Buy one of these (https://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O) and a set of wet erase markers (https://www.amazon.com/Wet-Erase-Overhead-Transparency-Markers-Assorted/dp/B00006IFGX/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=wet+erase+markers&qid=1564073953&s=gateway&sr=8-5) and never worry about battle maps again - unless you REALLY want to make unique and custom maps for every single thing the players see. I find that the flexibility of being able to quickly draw out a big rectangle with some trees and barrels on one of these maps for those encounters you couldn't have planned on outweighs the benefit of having a detailed battle map you custom-make for everything (unless you just have the time and money to do so!). The official Dungeon Tiles are also great, and you can lay them on top of the map I linked earlier. (https://www.amazon.com/DUNGEON-TILES-REINCARNATED-CITY/dp/0786966297/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=d%26d+tiles&qid=1564074069&s=gateway&sr=8-4)
   
   Also, check out the official Waterdeep: Dragon Heist subreddit for an entire host of questions, answers and resources just for that book. https://www.reddit.com/r/WaterdeepDragonHeist/

I highly recommend NOT going for a chessex pound of dice as a new roleplayer. They do not come with neat sets and the spread over the different kind of dice (so your standard d6 then, d8,d10,12,d20 etc.) is very uneven.

I highly recommend a wizdice pack if you want a solid amount of dice. They are cheap, and come with mostly full sets of dice (i had 16 in one pack). So even for more experienced roleplayers this might be a better choice, or a great gift to new players as you get them.

Here are some comparison pictures from /u/Airos_the_Tiger :

Chessex pound of dice: http://i.imgur.com/LVjeKWt.jpg

Wizdice dice pack: http://i.imgur.com/clFrt0L.jpg

I'll recommend D&D 5th ed as the starting point for several reasons. I'll recommend the Starter Box set as a beginning point (http://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/rpg_starterset). This will have the dice, rules, and pre-made stuff to get you actually playing the game.

The site also has the basic rules for free download (http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules). You'd need monsters for it to be usable, though the DM basic may have some. This would let your group learn about character creation and try out more stuff without dumping a bunch of money if you're still on the fence.

Eventually you'd want a Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual as your core book set. Each player will want a dice set with a few extra 6-sided included (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001GZRLKK/ref=mp_s_a_1_9?qid=1464455272&sr=8-9&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=d20+set).

5th is very, very friendly to new payers compared to other editons. Pathfinder is an updated version of an older D&D version. A lot of people play it, but it's more complex to start out without an experienced person running the game. It's a good game, but I wouldn't recommend it unless someone could help with rules as you go.

I'm a big fan of Chessex, it works great as long as you don't mess up and use a permanent pen on it...

For long-term flexibility, I'd recommend getting one of the bigger multi sided ones (like this one). For $33 it's a great buy.

Chessex makes two sided vinyl mats that are awesome.

https://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O

Make sure you get the proper markers for them, normal dry erase markers will ruin them.

The idea is you draw out the dungeon or area as it is explored. It works pretty well for pre-made dungeons.

Personally I had 3 of the 23x26" ones. That way I can map out a larger area of a dungeon without needed to erase, makes letting the party backtrack much more easy.

On the back side they are hexes which work real well for outdoor wilderness exploration. (scaled down)

Best advice I can give you on maps is getting yourself one of these,

https://www.amazon.com/Paizo-Publishng-Inc-Pathfinder-Flip-Mat/dp/1601255381/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488077721&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=pathfinder+dry+erase+map

These are super worth it, and if you take care of it one will last you a long time.

As for tokens, the cheapest option is probably to find some art that you like on google or something, print it out, and then mount it on a piece of cardboard. Some double sided tape, a cereal box, scissors, and a color printer is all you need.

Session 0 is usually NOT playing the game. Not sure if you are asking how to start your campaign or what to do for a traditional session 0. A typical session 0 covers much of what is on this thread here. Lots of great info there. https://www.reddit.com/r/DMAcademy/comments/biisb2/first_time_dm_what_to_do_in_session_zero/

​

Mainly the session 0 helps get you and the players on the same page across many areas, including when/where/how often to meet, house rules (such as do you allow characters to attack each other/steal from each other), tone of your game (more following the rules less goofy cut uppery), getting familiar with everyone if people are new to each other, answering questions, if you have evil characters how you handle that type of campaign, frequently either creating characters or polishing already started characters or starting characters that will be finished in a second session 0 or at home, and so on.

Another thing you can discuss that I didn't see mentioned in many of the session 0 threads that have been mentioned lately is finding out which players have their own Player's Handbook. Anyone who has one should be encouraged to bring it and it would help if that was communicated BEFORE the session 0. Helps if there are at least a couple. If no one has one, make a copy of the Basic rules available if possible.

Also, although this is absolutely NOT necessary, you might consider buying dice to share with them. Whenever I start a new campaign I buy all of my players a set of dice as a gift. They can be pretty cheap. Like these: https://www.amazon.com/Smartdealspro-Colors-Dungeons-Dragons-Pouches/dp/B01ABST9S4/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=dice&qid=1556678681&s=gateway&sr=8-6

First of all, I hope you feel better soon! Sending you some healing mojo from across the internet. We have really similar tastes! Everything I suggested for you is from my own wishlist and I own Firefly too :P

Um... You should get Firefly on blu ray because it's totally shiny!
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001EN71CW/ref=wl_it_dp_v_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=C7TP629F3Q4H&coliid=IOKMJVXI29RS8

I think you'd like this (They are totally sexy professor mcgonagall shoes) (from my own wishlist):
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018NK1CK/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2LZKO69VOZ4I0&coliid=I2T4NN4WXI5QBB&psc=1

Or this (everybody needs an owl) from my own wishlist:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008TBYI1E/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1HD4F38NRXP18&coliid=I2E7RZP7D1GZY0&psc=1

Or this (also from my wishlist, I've had it IT'S AMAZING):
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0078819G6/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=R97NFW4NYGBE&coliid=I3UM82KLUOUAQ

And I'd love this:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015IUAAG/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1UUQNSWS8WPI8&coliid=I1MIN63DA6Y21B

Or This:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A5WZ90E/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1HD4F38NRXP18&coliid=I2TX5DMC2O58NO

Edit: My formatting was stupid.

I'll usually use something similar to this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0015IQO2O/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481173019&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=Battle+grid+mat&dpPl=1&dpID=41i0qiG8fUL&ref=plSrch

I'll use wet erase markers and either draw something ahead of time, or draw quick outlines and erase them and redraw as needed if my players go off course.

The fact that it's double sided comes in handy too. You can use one side for improv battles and the other for preset encounters.

I usually only use maps for encounters, I'll use smaller drawings for world or city maps. I typically don't draw too much detail. The outline of the encounter area/room and major defining features that could come into play in the battle(a giant chasm in the floor for example). I'll rely on descriptions and any questions my players may have to fill in the blanks and give any other relevant information about the area.

As far as LMoP goes, in planning each of your sessions you'll probably have a good idea of what you'll be going through in each sitting so you should be able plan accordingly and really only have to improvise if your players go off the rails or decide to pick unplanned fights.

It's also perfectly OK to not use grids at all and just describe the area to you players and let them know where the enemies are on relation to them. You don't have to spend money on this part, especially if it's your first time, but Ive found it easier to use a grid especially for new players. It definitely helps keep things straight.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009R6J8RY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It doesn't really come with a bag you'll care about. 1 complete set comes in a pretty basic, but still nice enough, felt bag. The rest is just in a cheap plastic ziploc type bag.

The dice, though, are great. No factory 2nds, in the 100+ dice I got here I can find like 5 dice that have very minor, insignificant flaws that in no way affect the dice overall.

Great set, I'm probably going to buy another one just because.

This is the right place! :)

I went with character tokens for like 2 years before stepping over to mini's and it serviced me quite well. You download a token border from google, and the images of the players and monsters you are going to use. Then use a image editor like Photoshop or Gimp to place the images in the token borders, and resize them to the correct size (1 inch for regular sized tokens). Then print them out, and glue them to packaging cardboard (thin cornflakes cardboard). And finally cut them out with scisors.

For the playing field, i can recommend buying a battlemat. Chessex has a very good one. Then get some dry wipe markers to draw maps on the fly, and you are set!

Edit: Made the link more international.

There actually is a great battlemat you can buy

https://www.amazon.com/Paizo-Publishng-Inc-Pathfinder-Flip-Mat/dp/1601255381

It's cheap, uses expo marker, cleans easily and double sided for dirt and stone terrain. It's pretty damn big and definitely big enough for a big dungeon crawl. You can just quickly doodle in terrain and what not AND if you've extra space, you can create multiple arenas on both sides if you're going theater of mind when it's not combat.

You don't have to be Michelangelo and paint the Sistine Chapel everytime. Tell your buddies that you're pretty butt at drawing and quickly doodle terrain and make sure you tell them what's what. Like what angular circle crap are rocks and the poofy clouds are trees.

Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set: Fantasy Roleplaying Game Starter Set (D&D Boxed Game) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786965592/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_Yoefvb0F5P4G9

$12 for this starter pack is a crazy price. This box has a really good storyline, prebuilt characters, and a basic set of rules that are extremely easy to get into. Best way to start!

Edit: Snag these too. That way you don't all have to share one set of dice!

100+ Pack of Random Polyhedral Dice in Multiple Colors Plus Free Pouch Set by Wiz Dice https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009R6J8RY/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_DTffvb0WSX43P

> So, I only have 30 minutes with the group once a week as a DnD club. I figure that I'm just going to be there to facilitate them getting into groups and finding their own DMs so they can play outside of the school day.

Yes, this sounds like the way to do it. It sounds like you'll have a weekly clinic for people to level up characters, talk out rules issues, work out group issues, share awesome stories and such.

> I also will likely need to start some fundraisers for game materials since we're in a VERY high poverty school.

Since you have so many players, you're getting into territory where buying in bulk becomes realistic.

• Dice at $1.50 per set
  
• Butt loads of paper for tactical combat
  
• Meeples instead of minis
  
  Even if $1.50 is too much for these kids to spare for a set of dice, if the kids are playing at school after hours, these can be club materials.
  
  You might also reach out to book stores, game stores, theater groups, art stores, office supply stores and such to see if there's any type of sponsorship opportunities to help with some of this stuff.

Definitely a dice-aholic then. I've bought like 8 sets individually, but that was too slow. I then went online and bought the Bag of Holding. 20 fairly nice sets all at once. And in a nice bag!

Sadly I still need more dice. I need things like d2's and d3's. Maybe some d32's. And an actual d100 would also be nice.

Been addicted for a decade, not going to stop now.

The mat under the ship? My friend got me a Battle Board. I really like it, it takes up pretty much the whole table and is very easy to clean. I have a smaller Chessex one that is good too. Links for both below:

​

Battle Board:

https://www.amazon.com/Battle-Grid-Game-Mat-MATERIAL/dp/B01N6RQ3DT/ref=pd_sbs_21_2/138-4846148-4203743?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01N6RQ3DT&pd_rd_r=b471178b-8183-11e9-b4c5-ef907af3647f&pd_rd_w=Axi6R&pd_rd_wg=o3t9e&pf_rd_p=588939de-d3f8-42f1-a3d8-d556eae5797d&pf_rd_r=5KWW2MJGMH6FT887PT86&psc=1&refRID=5KWW2MJGMH6FT887PT86

​

Chessex:

https://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=battle%2Bmat&qid=1559073798&s=gateway&sr=8-5&th=1

http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Roller-Dice-Polyhedral-Dungeons/dp/B00L2N1OVI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1459210069&sr=8-1&keywords=105+dice

15 full sets of dice, best deal around plus you get a free dice bag which is pretty cool and itself worth ~10$

A Chessex Gridded Role Playing Mat really helped me out (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015IQO2O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). Obviously things like dice are helpful too - I'd recommend this https://www.amazon.com/Chessex-001LBCHX-Pound-O-Dice/dp/B008C0KXYS/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1481377749&sr=1-1&keywords=pound+of+dice because who doesn't want a pound of dice lol.

Miniatures on the other hand are a really fast way of blowing through whatever budget you have and should imo be the last thing you get

I always play with matching sets, I wish I had more matching d20s for advantage though. I ordered the Wiz Dice 100+ bag of dice to have lots available for my players, plus I have several other sets from my 15 or so years of playing. Chessex are my favourites overall, especially my Black/Purple Gemini set. The set I use the most however, are plain white dice with black numbers.

I've only ever used the caltrops, I like them well enough though and don't really care for barrel dice in general.

I basically never get to play, but in the two games (literally) I've gotten to be a player instead of DM in the last 10 years I chose a specific set for the characters. Never got a repeat performance though, so maybe that doesn't count. When DMing I keep three full sets handy.

I've never really thought about a line. I give away sets to most of my players (a lot of new folks, or people who don't really have the cash to sink into a hobby, even if it's only $7.50 or whatever I'm happy to shoulder that). If I start to run out I'd absolutely buy another bulk set like these.

A dry erase DnD map. I got one as a gift and it was the best DnD gift I’ve ever gotten. I’ll link the one I got below.

A DM screen is always a safe bet too if they do not have one. I assume you can find that thru Amazon.


Map: https://www.amazon.com/Battle-Grid-Game-Mat-36/dp/B01MQHECUR

I bought this product from amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0015IUAAG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You write on it with wet erase pens (like you use for a OHP). I can draw the dungeon map out ahead of the session and bring the mat along with me. The pen won't come off unless you use a wet cloth, so no worries transporting it. Then I just cover unexplored areas with sheets of paper, removing them as the player move through the dungeon. I find it a lot easier to have all the drawing done before hand, so we don't waste time with me drawing stuff out.

Bonus is that it has hexes on the back, so I can actually have two maps drawn out and ready, or use the reverse for improv maps and encounters which I can sketch out quickly.

Plus it's almost 3x4 foot, so loads of room to draw out a decent sized dungeon!

While the commercial maps might be somewhat expensive, the [Chessex Battlemap] (https://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IUAAG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503572042&sr=8-1&keywords=chessex+battlemat) has been our go to for years.

We bought one 5 years ago and it still looks great, the material is soft so it folds easily, and it is easy to clean. $30 for 5 years is totally worth it: Chessex makes high quality stuff.

Morthy demands:

Item which would most make you seem like an old posh Englishman: (I have nothing for this. Do Englishmen like waffles?) [from my house wishlist]

Most "oh god, I would never be seen with this in public" looking item: From my costumes wishlist

Most phallic looking item: [from my crafts wishlist] Awww yissssss

Akeleie demands:

Most geeky item: Most of my lists are geeky but I'm gonna go with Dice [from my default wishlist]

Item which would most help you achieve a goal: Does not wearing destroyed pants to work count as a goal? [From my clothes wishlist]

Best item to bring to a deserted island: Because I get bored easily [From my default wishlist]

You only really need one PHB. Normally my first sessions start with character building. Just pass the PHB around. The people who aren't making their characters should be thinking about what they want to play. Bring notecards so players can write down their more complicated abilities and spells. The only awkwardness will happen if multiple people need to look up spells or abilities. Alternatively, if your players are willing to spend a little money (maybe $10-$15) they can buy the class options they want piecemeal from D&D beyond. Even if you just use the free basic rules, they can still use the character builder.

Sharing dice will probably slow down the game more than sharing books. If you've got 20 bucks to spare, you should check out this dice bundle from Wiz Dice. When I got mine I got around 16 full matching sets.

Besides that, the rules for what a player can do an their turn in combat are worth printing.

Also, I recommend a proper battlemat. They're pricey at first, but they last a long time, can improve overall table stuffs, and you can use erasable markers on them without too much trouble (note: red seems to stain a little if left on too long, while the other colors do not).

Look for ones like this (I think by Chessex): good mat

Do not buy the one that looks like this: bad mat