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Reddit mentions of Player's Handbook (Dungeons & Dragons)
Sentiment score: 148
Reddit mentions: 231
We found 231 Reddit mentions of Player's Handbook (Dungeons & Dragons). Here are the top ones.
Buying options
View on Amazon.comor
- The essential rulebook for Dungeons & Dragons (5th edition)
- Contains all the rules you need to know to play D&D
- Step-by-step guide to creating and leveling up characters
- Go-to player reference for over 350 spells, equipment, and more
- 1 of 3 D&D Core Rulebooks—the Player’s Handbook (rules for playing the game), the Dungeon Master’s Guide (how to run the game), and Monster Manual (creatures to encounter in your game)
Features:
Specs:
Height | 10.9 Inches |
Length | 8.4 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Release date | August 2014 |
Weight | 1 Pounds |
Width | 0.8 Inches |
Liar, it's nearly 21$!
Seriously a good deal though, never seen it this low before.
It isn't very much, but reminder that if you use the smile.amazon subdomain a tiny portion of any purchase you make is donated to a charity of your choice. Almost nothing on a purchase by purchase basis, but it costs you nothing except a second of your time to switch domains and choose one and can add up over time with several people doing so
==EDIT== Not tabletop specific, but the list r/gamedeals auto posts could be a good place to start if you're having trouble choosing
>Charity links:
>
> Child's Play
> Electronic Frontier Foundation
> Able Gamers
> Mercy Corps
==EDIT 2== Thought the links would take you to the page to set it to the one rather than the specific product. Updated previous edit to follow the same format with the product listed here rather than the Zelda BOTW template comment I copied from.
Jesus Christ, here:
https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606
> So me and my friends want to get into D&D but we don't really understand how/where to chose an adventure to begin with and also confused on some aspects of character creation, such as skill point allocation.
I mean the best place to start is with the D&D starter set because it comes with everything you need to start - an introductory adventure, character sheets, the basic rules, and dice. Since the Lost Mine of Phandelver is a published adventure, your DM can find a lot of YouTube videos of groups running it (I think DM'ing is one of those things that it's hard to understand from just the rules, it's really helpful to see someone do it.)
You say "skill point allocation" which makes me think you have 3rd Edition sourcebooks right now, or that you're mixing sourcebooks between 3rd and 5th edition. This doesn't work terribly well - it's better to start with only 5th edition stuff to begin with, and you can investigate earlier editions of the game later on. The D&D Starter Set is 5th edition, as is the current Player's Handbook.
Good luck, have fun!
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:
If you want to play a D&D online tabletop:
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 fucking know, right? You sit down at the table and all of the sudden they need to look up a spell, "Can I borrow your book?" It's one thing when you're teenagers and people don't have disposable income or they just happened to forget their copy at home. But as for not owning one, we're adults now motherfucker, get your own fucking PHB! It doesn't even cost $30
Great news! You don't need to buy anything. You can play D&D as soon as you want without spending a dime.
But even so, D&D 5th Edition is streamlined and easy to learn and there are tons of people willing to help teach you. Its not a game you need to sit and read the rules from cover to cover before playing, you can very much sit down to a table as totally fresh and learn by playing--I teach people this way all the time.
Consider checking out your local gaming store and see if they do any tutorials, have Organized Play, or know of groups looking for any members.
You can also use these resources:
> If you're looking to play in person:
> Check in with your local gaming store.
> Local board game/RPG Facebook Groups
> Local board game/RPG Meetup Groups
> Post in the subreddit for your town / area
> Search /r/LFG for posts or make one.
> LFG tools on Obsidian Portal and PenAndPaperGames
> Sites like FindGamers, NearbyGamers, GamerSeekingGamer
> Check WarHorn for local postings
> If you're looking to play online:
> /r/LFG and /r/Roll20LFG
> Roll20's game finder and LFG forums
> Fantasy Grounds has a LFG Forum
> Play via Tabletop Simulator
> * RPG Discord servers: Dungeons & Downvotes, Pair O' Dice, etc...
If you end up just reading up on the rules and wanting to start your own group. I highly recommend the Starter Set.
It's $15 on Amazon, has the core rules, a set of dice, premade characters, and an adventure that will last you a half dozen sessions or so. It's a great place to start--go figure--and is designed for brand new players and brand new DMs. The adventure is laid out in a way that introduces concepts as you go along rather than expecting you to know everything up front.
The premade characters are big because you want to get straight to the playing not sit there explaining character creation to a brand new player. Without the context of how things are used, its just a wall of data and memorization... which isn't fun.
You can always bring custom characters in once the group gets to town or something if people want, and now they'll kinda know the ropes.
If you decide D&D is the hobby for you, your first purchase goal should be the Player's Handbook. Its the core rulebook with all of the default character options, spells, etc.
Okay, so there's a bit to parse here.
First of all the version of the game you linked is the starter set for the 5th edition rules, the newest ruleset. It comes with copies of the Basic Rules for 5th edition, which you also linked. What I mean by Basic Rules is that they use the same basic ideas and mechanics that the full ruleset has, but they are truncated to make learning the system easier.
I don't think it would be particularly useful to go through point by point on everything that has changed since the 80s. I assume you played AD&D 1st or 2nd edition. Since then there have been a 3rd and 4th edition that changed and rechanged things so going through it all would make things more confusing honestly. I think the easiest way is to just dive into those basic rules.
However, since that doesn't answer your question, I will give you a couple things. First of all the core of the game is the same. You pick a race/class, the ability scores are all the same, you roll a d20 and add modifiers to it. One of the only major changes since AD&D is the addition of skills. While AD&D had non-combat skills it wasn't until later that they formalized a skill system. Every character now picks a certain number of skills that they are good at.
The other major change is that it is a lot easier to learn which is why I say you should really just dive into it. There are no longer a ton of charts to consult depending on what class you chose. No THAC0 to calculate, no different amounts of experience to level up, etc. Everything is far more streamlined today to make learning how to play much easier. Bigger numbers are better for everything (No more Armor Class going down), and its designed to be more approachable.
Again, the starter set you linked is really the best entry to the game. It comes with a starter adventure which can serve as a tutorial. It comes with basic rules for characters that limit the options so you can get used to the basic concepts. If you keep going from there then the full ruleset will provide more options to use.
If you have any questions while exploring those rules this is generally a very welcoming place so you can likely find more answers as you run into them.
Good luck and I hope you and your kids enjoy the game.
I would say to get started you'll need the following:
That's really it. You'll have to put some work in designing an adventure, or you can buy the official starter adventure, which is pretty good. Also you can check DM's Guild for adventures (the Adventurer's League content may work really well for a club setting). Good luck!
Some links:
Purchasable Materials:
Free Materials:
LGS charge full price so that they can offer sales, the median price on Amazon is $30: 5e PHB camelcamelcamel
https://www.amazon.ca/Players-Handbook-Wizards-RPG-Team/dp/0786965606?th=1&psc=1&source=googleshopping&locale=en-CA&tag=googcana-20&ref=pd_sl_2uzio69dvk_e
That's the set of core rules you need, for now follow only what the rule booklet in the starter set says, the compendium is pretty much bunk!
Also, check out Dndbeyond.com
Happy gaming!
I started playing about a year ago so I'm not the expert.
To be honest you already have the most important and difficult thing needed to play D&D; a group of friends. (That's something that I'm still working on) So first you'll need this Amazon is usually the cheapest route but any game shop and most book stores have it.
From there you can create characters and begin adventuring. Someone will need to be the Dungeon Master. The DM will know the whole story before the game starts and will run the game. The other players will roleplay their characters and make choices/kill bad guys.
That's just a super basic idea of the game. Sorry, I'm at work at don't have a ton of time to write more extensively.
So for 5e there are a couple of things you can look at getting:
So the Basic Rules help out a lot, the Starter Set is basically a physical copy of the basic rules (plus some), and then the core 3 books in order of (my personal opinion of) usefulness are PHB > MM > DMG. I'd say you probably want at least everyone to have a PHB, or access if you guys continue to play.
Aside from that, most of the other 5e stuff you can pick up from wizards are modules. Modules are pre-created campaigns that have quests, items, locations, enemies (number, size, etc.) already pre-designed for you. Each of the following books has some sort of extra character information (like more subclasses, new races, etc.), but nothing is absolutely required. Generally if one person wants to play something (say, an Half-Elf Bladesinger Wizard) they should pick up the book to help build their character and to provide the GM with references to how the character works, but it's not necessary.
If you need any other help, please feel free to ask!
Welcome to the hobby! You have a bunch of options (assuming you want 5e, which is the most recent version):
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606
I would recommend starting out with The Starter Set. It has everything you need to get started (basic rules, pre-built characters, and a set of dice), but you don't have to sink a lot of money yet.
If you all want to keep going, you will need Player's Handbooks, a Dungeon Master's Guide, and a Monster Manual. Those are your 3 Core Rulebooks. Oh, and all the dice, lots of dice.
Have fun!!
Players handbook
This will give you your rules, your goals, your abilities. You need to really buy this because you will want to re-reference it all the time. I tried sharing my first campaign and learned quickly it's easier to have your own with sticky tabs
Set o' Dice
I gave you a set for example but in all honesty poke around and find the colors and mediums that are "you". For example mine are blood red and black which for my character this campaign was totes worth it
Not listed:
Binder and sheet protectors with a dry erase marker. AS you run an encounter it allows you to mark off stuff and then erase it after long and short rests
IF YOU ARE DM'ing
So I'm assuming you have someone else DM for you. If not, never DM your first campaign ever... that's disastrous I found out the hard way
BUT if you do DM
You need the monster manual, dm manual and some paper or a map
Edit to add: Fair enough, Dm your first campaign... I am being unfairly bitter :)
About 2 years ago, I was in your place, so this is what I would say would be your best bet.
I would recommend you play Fifth Edition, it is the most well-rounded and least rules-oriented, so it is less confusing for new players. Also, I would start with the Starter Set that Wizards of The Coast (the company in charge of D&D) created. It was intended for new players, and has basic rules for you and your players, 5 pre-generated characters, and an adventure for characters to level from 1 to 5. That is what me and my friends played and greatly enjoyed it. Since the set only comes with 6 dice, I'd recommend getting at least a set for each player from either your local store or online.
Since you are going to be a new DM, it is probably a good idea to get some experience under your belt before making your own story and world. Don't worry, pre-made stories are probably less confusing for the players, they are well-made with a lot of detail.
However, when you want to move on from the Starter Set and the Lost Mines of Phandelver adventure included, you will need the Player's Handbook, the Monster Manual, and the Dungeon Master's Guide. You group want to get more than one Player's handbook for your players, but one is all that is really necessary. The Player's Handbook details how the players make characters, as well as rules, including combat ones. The monster manual is for you to reference and take monsters from and put in your game. The dungeon master's guide has tables and inspiration for things to put in your game. If you want to build your own world, there are also lots in there to help you do so.
Also, while you do not need them, I would recommend getting a battlemap like this one, and minatures, like these for monsters and these for your players to have, it allows your players to visualize what happens more.
TL;DR: Start with the Starter Set, then when done with the adventure, buy the 3 core books: The Player's Handbook, Monster Manual and Dungeon Master's Guide. Then either do premade campaigns from WoTC, or make your own!
Dungeons and Dragons is not a boardgame in the classic sense. It is a Role Playing Game, which means the players take control of characters that are in an imaginary setting typically controlled by the "Game Master" who controls the world outside of the players.
When a characters take an action that has an uncertain outcome (like attacking an enemy), the outcome is typically decided by rolling a die.
You will need to look up handbooks and guides to get into detail of how the rules work.
In general, it is a co-operative game where the players (AKA the party) attempts to overcome a challenge that is usually written in advance by the Gamemaster. The Gamemaster will attempt to adapt to the players' unexpected decisions, but his goal is not to defeat the party so much as produce an entertaining experience.
Think Skyrim with multiple players and another person deciding the reactions of the townsfolk rather than prescripted computer code.
Edit for relevant links:
https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3WXt9CotIy8/maxresdefault.jpg
https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496689139&sr=8-1&keywords=players+handbook+5th+edition
Buy the book and support the hobby.
A quick and easy way to check out the rules is with the basic PDFs. There are the DM and Player versions. The player version has a lot more rules right now; the DM version is mostly monster types. If this whets your appetite for more, there is also the actual Players Handbook.
Technically, nothing.
The basic rules are free, and actually contain enough to play the game in a limited form with no further materials required. You can expand that and get more character options with the SRD (dndbeyond has a compilation of the basic rules and SRD - all the free stuff in one place)There are online dice rollers and character sheets and so on (roll20.net, for example) that mean you don't need to buy anything.
However, if you're brand-new to tabletop RPGs in general and don't have an experienced DM, you want the experience of playing at a table with your friends, and so on - there are a few things that will help greatly, such as having a published adventure to work with.
I'd suggest, for your group, having:
If you have more money to spend, you can buy extra dice (so you're not trading them around the table all the time), the Monster Manual (for more monsters to throw at the party), or some of the other books for more options (e.g., Xanathar's, Volo's, etc). These are completely optional and there's way more than enough in just the PHB to keep you busy for years.
Once you finish the adventure in the starter set, you can look at the other published adventures if you want (such as Tomb of Annihilation, Storm King's Thunder, or Curse of Strahd - you can look those up and read the descriptions to see which one sounds best for you and your group, and can keep going with the characters you used before, or make new ones and start fresh).
If you want to play online, or in the "adventurer's league" at a local game store (organized play), you can get by with the basic rules, or you can just buy a Player's Handbook and that's all you should need.
Same for Canada.
https://www.amazon.ca/Players-Handbook-Wizards-RPG-Team/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520473948&sr=8-1&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons+players+handbook+5th+edition
$30 on Amazon. Assuming you're on 5e.
The starter set for the current edition is $25: https://smile.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Roleplaying/dp/B00SI774U6/
Everything you need to run a game when everyone is new. Dice, pre-built characters for players to choose from, and a story for the Dungeon Master to run them through.
Alternatively you can buy the player's handbook and the dungeon master's guide individually:
https://smile.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/
https://smile.amazon.com/Dungeon-Masters-Guide-Core-Rulebook/dp/0786965622/
and some dice
https://smile.amazon.com/SmartDealsPro-Colors-Dungeons-Dragons-Pouches/dp/B01ABST9S4/
With those you can do the same thing as the starter set but there's a whole lot more information available about all the different classes, races, weapons, combat rules, spells, etc. I'd recommend the starter set and if y'all are interested in going further getting the rest.
Set aside a few hours one evening to play a session. A lot of groups will do a shorter session 0 where they discuss what characters they're going to play and make sure they've got a decent grasp of the mechanics and rules.
In the course of about 2-3 hours you'll probably get through one combat encounter and one non-combat encounter (talking to townspeople, investigating something, dicking around at the tavern) but it all depends on the choices the players make based on the options presented by the DM.
The different "E"s are the different editions of the game, with 5e (fifth edition) being the current edition. I personally think fifth edition is a great place to start. The basic rules are available on Wizard's site for free. And if you want to try it and spend as little money as possible, I'd recommend getting the Starter Set. The adventure in the Starter Set is very good for beginner DMs, from what I understand, and it's very cheap compared to the other adventure books. I've played through it and enjoyed it a lot as a player.
If you want to invest more than the bare minimum, the Player's Handbook is the most essential of the core books. While you can play using just the premade characters in the starter set or by making characters with the basic rules, the Player's Handbook gives a lot more race and class options to your players. There's other books worth purchasing, but I'd see what you want to do after the starter adventure before worrying about investing more.
If you're new to RPGs in general, watching other people play can help a lot in understanding how the game works. It helped me a lot, at least. I'd recommend watching Acquistion's Inc, Critical Role, or Dice, Camera, Action for some good gameplay examples.
http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410203099&sr=8-1&keywords=Players+handbook
This may seem snarky but someone else already had a cease and desist sent to them by wotc for posting spells out of the players handbook. If people start filling this subreddit with class entries and the like they'll just start deleting posts (at best...)
For now, basic PDF has everything you need to learn and play the game at a basic level.
For reference, everyone should be immediately wary if they find any 5e books for less than 20 dollars on amazon. Check out camelcamelcamel.com for amazon price history and you'll see that most of the books have never gone below 25, and typically hover around 30. If verified amazon vendors don't offer it for near the price you're buying from someone else then you can generally expect to get ripped off.
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 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.
according to Amazon, dimensions for a PHB are 8.5 x 0.8 x 11.2 inches.
Amazon Smile link. Using Amazon Smile donates a small portion of your purchase to a charity of your choice.
Trying to buy the Player's Handbook for 5e
Got two links, and I can't tell why one is cheaper. Maybe because one is straight from WOTC? Is one a newer, better printing?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786965606?pf_rd_p=d1f45e03-8b73-4c9a-9beb-4819111bef9a&pf_rd_r=2VGJTWAC78JEMZ7KAJ2Z
30 vs 45?
https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Players-Handbook-Rulebook/dp/B00SI5S8M6/ref=pd_sbs_14_9?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00SI5S8M6&pd_rd_r=f17f5410-b51e-11e8-861c-cd06ea1130b1&pd_rd_w=6nfxt&pd_rd_wg=xhDUW&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=0bb14103-7f67-4c21-9b0b-31f42dc047e7&pf_rd_r=HPRC57Q678BCY8FTBJ25&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=HPRC57Q678BCY8FTBJ25
Cara eu sei que a Amazon tem promoção pra livro, e se for comprar da gringa não é taxado!
Aqui Player's Handbook
Start with the basic rules. They are free from Wizards of the Coast on the DnD Website. Its all the rules to play the game. What you don't get are all the bells and whistles options to create characters(you do get some character creation options but just basic ones which are enough for you to learn to create characters).
You can get the free basic rules here: https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules
There are also a lot of youtube videos that explain how to play.
If you decide you want to spend money then you will want the Players Handbook and maybe the Starter Set.
You only need to read The Dungeon Master's Guide and the Monster Manual if you want to play as the Dungeon Master and be in charge of organizing and running a game/adventure.
If you want to dip your toes into the water and try playing but don't know anyone then Adventurer's League is something you should look into. Its organized play at local game stores that is open to public. Its more regimented and usually more rigid than a private game but its a start.
Adventurer's League: https://dnd.wizards.com/playevents/organized-play
Store/Event locator: http://locator.wizards.com/#brand=dnd
Edit: Also this post might be helpful but some links might be outdated: https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/3vc42r/newbie_looking_for_help_starting/cxm6vwz/
Edit. Added links to purchase the Player's Handbook
Edit 2. Learned what ELI5 means. Sorry for my noobness.
I've built dozens of characters using books like this one
http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606
Use the sidebar and the links the previous comments have provided. They'll be very helpful. The Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual are about $30 each. This can seem like a lot, but they are so useful, and basically a necessity. Also, a couple sets of dice is important of course.
I started playing as a DM. I wanted to play, and none of my friends were as passionate about it, so I stepped up. It was fun to learn as I went, but a bit daunting at times. I've found great inspiration and information from the PAX streams of Acquisitions Inc and podcasts like The Adventure Zone and Nerd Poker. Also, the webcomic Darths & Droids has helpful & humorous information below each page. It helped me understand what DMing is like by "playing through" a story I was already very familiar with. Don't feel like you need a pre-made story either. We've been playing about 18 months now without ever opening one of the WotC campaign books. I primarily get my inspiration from movies, TV, comics, etc and just adapt the pilfered story to a fantasy setting.
Just jump in with both feet, and roll with it.
If you want to play get a Players Handbook (Amazon link for reference), and some dice. If you want to DM you should get a Dungeon Masters Guide (amazon link).
But you don't have to buy these! Here are some links to FREE downloadable (and LEGAL) things:
Players Guide
Basic DM Guide
Character Sheets
So if you're on a budget and want to start out, as Stormbow said, see the Basic Rules that are online. You can start playing with them and theres a good amount of content for free. You can find it on the Wizards of the Coast website.
​
When you want a more streamlined experience and you need some assistance getting started, you could get the D&D Starter Set, which comes with a printed Version of the basic rules, pre made characters, dice and an absolutely perfect adventure you can play out of the box. The new D&D Essentials Kit is currently only available from Target, and I do not own it myself. It is a different take on the Starter Set with character creation and a different adventure to play right out of the box. It contains rules to play with just two people as well, so if it's just you and your son, this could be the thing for you.
​
If you want to go all in, or if you decide that it's a wonderful hobby, getting the "holy trinity" of books is a great idea:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0786965592/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1465564429&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=d%26d+starter+set&dpPl=1&dpID=51Ykm93n8ML&ref=plSrch
That gets you started with preset characters and an adventure. It's all you need for beginners to play through and learn the basics.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0786965606/ref=pd_aw_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=510Cy8v8H3L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL100_SR100%2C100_&refRID=42WB6B3F0QV8S8DG712P
This is the core book with all the rules you need to make your own characters, and basically go into the full game. It's what you go to after the starter set. Whoever is the dungeon master (guy who runs the game, sets up the story, monsters, etc) may eventually want to pick up the dungeon master guide and monster manual as well.
I think 5e is far better but your mileage may vary.
You can look at the Basic Rules here for free.
The buy-in for 5e is really slim. I HIGHLY suggest the Starter Set.
> You have the Core Rulebooks:
Not bad to start.
> Then there are only a few splatbooks:
The only other products are the mega-adventures. I'm out of time or I'd link em for ya but here is a list of products: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dungeons_%26_Dragons_rulebooks#Dungeons_.26_Dragons_5th_edition
If you're interested in playing or even just learning more about the game you should come on over to /r/DnD! Also, the player hand book (PHB) is a super cool read even if you don't intend on playing (though you will by the time you get through making a character!)
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.
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.
The 5e Stater Set adventure Lost Mine of Phandelver (LMoP) is only 13$ on Amazon. Free shipping with a Prime account. It's a really fun adventure and takes new Players from 1st to 5th level. https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Wizards-Team/dp/0786965592/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496070879&sr=8-1&keywords=d%26d+5e+starter+set
The 5e Basic Players and Basic DM Guides are free on the Wizards of the Coast (WotC) website. I'd link them for you but my work internet considers all RPG sites as gaming and blocks them. Just google, "Wizards of the Coast" + "5e" + "basic player's guide."
The 5e Player's Handbook (which will have the full vanilla range of Races, Classes, Backgrounds and Spells) is on sale on Amazon for 29$. https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496070975&sr=8-1&keywords=d%26d+5e+players+handbook
I'd recommend: DL the free basic rules and DM guide (which has a limited bestiary of monster stats in the back) and just run a couple danger rooms with your Players to get the hang of combat and the mechanics.
If everyone likes it, pick up the Starter Set, which will have everything you need - including one set of dice.
And if everyone likes that adventure, pick up the Players Handbook. It's typically proper etiquette for every Player to buy their own PHB.
Once you get close to finishing the Starter Set, pick up the Monster Manual (MM) and Dungeon Masters Guide (DMG) and homebrew your own game or run another 5e module.
Come here often to recount your adventures and ask for advice.
Oh, and binge watch this YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/mcolville
Get the D&D Starter Set. It provides a premade adventure with guidance on how to run it as a DM, along with five pregenerated characters and just enough rules to run those characters. It also comes with a set of dice, though you may want to buy additional dice.
Extremely recommended: Get the D&D 5th edition Players Handbook. It will expand greatly on the options available in the Starter Set, and let you and your players create your own characters.
In decreasing order of recommendation: the D&D 5th edition Monster Manual and the D&D 5th edition Dungeon Master's Guide. If you don't want to spend the money on those, you can get by with the D&D 5th edition System Reference Document and the D&D 5th edition Basic Rules, the latter two of which are available for free download from Wizards of the Coast.
The current Starter Set is a great deal. It comes with a set of dice, a small rulebook, and a small adventure (takes players from level 1 to about 5). It also has 5 premade characters, but you can find those on the D&D website.
If you can afford it I would get that and also the Players Handbook so that you immediately have access to ALL classes, races, and spells. The Starter Set only has 4 classes and races.
You can try getting a replacement from Wizards like the guy said below. If that doesn't work, the 5e Handbook is only $20.98 on Amazon now.
Player's Handbook is really all you'd need as a player.
There's also the Basic Rules you can download for free to get a feel for things, but you'll want the PHB.
There's also the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide which is optional. It has some nice stuff in it, but one copy within a group is probably enough.
DM here.
Firstly, I'm really happy you're taking that leap and have decided to get into D&D. You seem enthusiastic and brave, which is what DM's like to see in players. Here are a few points based on my experiences as both a new player (long ago) and as a DM now.
First off you'll need to pick an edition you want to play. Most people reccomend 5th edition (also called 5e) to beginners since it is the simplest to learn and has the most support online.
Then you'll need to learn the rules. There's a free basic rulebook that you could start with if you don't want to spend money, or you could shell out $30 for the Player's Handbook for the complete set of rules. The only thing the basic rule book doesn't have is a few of the player races and classes so you won't miss out on too much if you go the cheap route. Don't worry about knowing all of the rules but read the book over once and then read over your class abilities a couple times so you know them well.
You'll also need a set of dice. If you for some reason have a bunch of dice laying around, a complete set consist of dice of the following side counts: 20, 12, 10, 8, 6, and 4. You'll also need a percentage die also but you can also just use your d10 for that. If you don't have loose dice laying around then you can buy a set from Amazon or your local game store. You can also just use an online dice roller if you're concerned about money but physically rolling them is more fun and dice are cheap.
You can also buy the DnD starter set which comes with a basic rule book, a set of dice, and a book for a pretty good tutorial adventure that you could play with friends.
Speaking of friends, you'll need a group to play with. You can convince a group of 4 or 5 friends to play if you have them or you can play with strangers. A good place to meet strangers is on /r/lfg where you could either find a local or online game, or you could trot down to the local game shop which will probably have a weekly dnd night that welcomes beginners.
If you need help understanding the rules or making a character you can ask here or on /r/dnd /r/dndnext or /r/dnd5th
Good luck getting started, you'll have a lot of fun.
I was you last April. Get yourself the Starter Set. It has mostly everything you need including characters, a set of die, a mini rule book, and a real solid campaign "Lost Mines of Phandelver". It is all you will need for a while.
Am I right in assuming you will be the DM? If no one has volunteered then you should do it. It's super fun and not as hard as it seems.
I would say you need to pick-up more dice than the Starter Set provides. Have the players buy a set or provide your own. Dice are cheap. You can get a set for $1 or $2.
I also bought a Battle Mat and Wet Erase Markers and ,to me, made the combat side of things way easier to track as well as making the game more enjoyable to the players. Don't worry about having cool mini's the first time around, you can use coins or candy. Though I am sure that in time you will succumb to the seduction of mini's.
Have fun playing and good luck in your future adventures!
EDIT: When you start itching for more information that the starter set can buy I would highly recommend you purchase the Player's Handbook first before the Monster Manual and then the Dungeon Master Guide.
The most recent edition, and arguably the most accessible, is fifth edition, or 5e for short. There's also 1e, 2e, 3e, 3.5e, Pathfinder, and 4e, but most people play 5e and it's probably the easiest for beginners.
Start off by going to this link here to get a copy of the Basic Rules. These are available to download, free of charge, and will allow you to get acquainted with the basic game mechanics. Most of the mechanics revolve around polyhedral dice; you've got 4-, 6-, 8-, 10-, 12-, and 20-sided, plus another one called percentile dice (or d% for short) that is like a 10-sided die, but with 10, 20, 30 on it instead of 1, 2, 3, and allows for rolling numbers 1-100 when used with a standard 10-sided. Dice are abbreviated with the notation XdY; 3d6 would denote 3 six-sided dice, 6d10 would denote 6 ten-sided dice, 8d4 would denote 8 four-sided dice, etc.
Basic rules will also allow you to create a character if you'd like to try out the process before spending any money. Your character will be fairly cookie-cutter; you get four different races, four different classes, and four different backgrounds to choose from, along with a limited spell list and so on, but if you'd just like to get a feel for the process it's a pretty good way of doing so. The first chapter of the rules takes you through the character creation process step-by-step, and if you read through the basic rules in order, you'll probably be able to create a character. You can also snag free character sheet downloads here in either a format that you can print or one that you can edit in Adobe Reader.
If you're looking to find a group, I've heard /r/lfg mentioned a lot. Most people that want to play online use a site called Roll20, which is free and accessible. There's some other sites in the sidebar of /r/dnd that you could use. If you have some friends interested in the hobby, you could look at picking up the starter set on Amazon, which contains a premade adventure, some premade characters, and a dice set. Once you get more into things, you should look at picking up a Player's Handbook for more choices when creating a character.
Pathfinder core rulebook or Dnd 5th edition player's handbook
And then some dice
The newest book is the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, only $27-ish on Amazon. Assuming they already have the Player's Handbook, which is down to about $25.
Anyone got a good link for fancy dice?
It's about half off on Amazon right now, actually.
This might belong a bit more in /r/boardgames but regardless...
The dnd board games can actually be pretty fun. I like the dungeon delver board games. A good board game you might like if you like these type of games is mageknight that also follows a similar play style (though pseudo random generation with different mechanics) of going through a world and getting stronger.
If you like these board games, but want to delve more into tabletop rpgs look into something like DnD 5th edition or the starter set. Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I think the starter set has everything you need for a small adventure, and if you get the basic book you can continue the characters if you want.
I am distinguishing between these rpg/dungeon crawler board games and rpgs. This might confuse you, so I will go more into what's different. In the rpg/dungeon crawler board games there may or may not be a dungeon master (someone who controls the game other than the players), in pen and paper rpgs this sub focuses on most of the time there is a separate player running the game. The main difference though is that a pen and paper rpg relies more on imagination, improvisation, and give much more freedom. In a game as you linked, you typically kill monsters, get some xp, and then just get stronger. You don't have much choice in how your character develops typically. Also the story is usually very linear as well. You progress, you get small tidbits of story, but the main goal is to just complete the dungeons. This is reverse of pen and paper rpgs, classic dnd being the main example. In these you normally focus on the story, the dungeons and fights being the obstacles to that. You also are not focused on a grid the whole time, you can have grid based combat, but there are a lot of "off the grid" moments where the board game variants are typically all on the grid.
They are both fun, are similar and related, but differ in a pretty fundamental way.
Player's Handbook (Dungeons & Dragons) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786965606/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_jc4JwbCDD6G4A
Dungeon Master's Guide (D&D Core Rulebook) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786965622/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_7c4JwbBVGGET8
Monster Manual (D&D Core Rulebook) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786965614/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_yd4Jwb88PWSB0
These books, dice, and a bag of Lego men is all we had on day 1.
The PHB has all the basic rules and lists the races and classes and walks you through building characters. DMG has info for creating encounters and building your world. MM is a giant list of creatures, info about them, and their stats.
If nobody has ever played dice games before and you don't have any dice, it wouldn't be a bad idea to just buy something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009R6J8RY/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_Kj4JwbCDMRFGF That'll be enough for everyone to have a matched set plus extras.
It's this one.
You can tell because it has the same cover as the one your friends are using.
If you've never played D&D before, download these pdfs: http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules
Otherwise, if you've got the funds and are dedicated, the Starter Set is nice.
I also highly recommend these books: the Player's Handbook (useful for character creation and teaching new players), the Dungeon Master's Guide (great for helping new DMs build a story), and the Monster Manual (book full of monsters and stats for them, also great inspiration for stories)
Yep, it's called the Player's Handbook. It has all the current versions of the official classes. Beyond this is only the PHB Errata
Everything else you may be referring to is called Unearthed Arcana. This is playtest material, is not balanced for multiclassing, and is not the current version of anything. The only "exception" to this is the Revised Ranger, which many people would say is the new Ranger class, but it's technically still unofficial at this point.
If you're asking for a compilation of Unearthed Arcana, just do a quick google search, there is nothing official but many have put this together.
PHB (with smile link):
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0786965606/
Monster Manual:
https://smile.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Monster-Rulebook-Roleplaying/dp/0786965614/
DM's Guide:
https://smile.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Dungeon-Rulebook-Roleplaying/dp/0786965622/
>an incredibly deep and thorough exploration of a versatile and deep magic system.
>a history or physics textbook but for magic
Look no further my friend!:
https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606
That's all you need to begin! It's got step by step instructions on how to play as a DM, or how to play as one of five pre-generated characters.
If you want to stretch your creative muscles, you'll need the Player's Handbook for all of the base rules, including all 12 classes and a full list of spells to pick from.
Well, to get started, I'd recommend picking up a Player's Handbook (on sale through Amazon for $27.27) and some dice (There's a 7 dice set per player and DM. They consist of a D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, and D20, but standard 7-dice sets also include a second D10 which is used for percentile rolls) as well as maybe a playmat and some minifigures (characters that can act as placeholders). As far as adventures modules go, I'd recommend coming up with one yourself or doing the Lost Mines of Phandelver campaign. I would probably recommend that as the best module a person could point to for beginners. It will be a great way to get into [Storm King's Thunder] (https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Kings-Thunder-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/0786966009/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523372215&sr=8-1&keywords=storm+king%27s+thunder) later on.
The Starter Set is okay, but intended for larger groups of like 4+. Once you get the hang of things with the required Player's Handbooks and the optional module Storm King's Thunder, I'd recommend picking up a Dungeon Master's Guide to create your own worlds together.
This is THE book : The players handbook. Get this book, get a dice set and you are set. This book is enough to play. https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484785043&sr=8-1&keywords=dungeon+dragons
You can also get the starter set if you want to try the game before investing in more expensive books.
https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Roleplaying/dp/0786965592/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484785225&sr=8-1&keywords=dungeon+dragons+starter
The PHB is basically always $30 on Amazon: https://camelcamelcamel.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/product/0786965606
The best way to learn is to get a group and start playing! But I assume you want some more meaningful information than that...
You can purchase and look through the players handbook (PHB). It has everything from character creation to combat rules, traveling on mounts to buying gear, and everything in between. Most groups expect you to have one of these, but it might not be worth the cost until you decide you want to get into D&D. You can pick one up at one of the links below.
Alternatively, you can pick up the starter set. It is much cheaper and has a subset of the rules in the PHB. It also comes with an adventure and material for the dungeon master (DM). I have also provided a like to it before as well.
As for finding a group, there are lots of options. I would say it is probably easier to find a group online, but much more rewarding to find one in person.
For online play, you can check out roll20.net. You can probably find a game there pretty easily, although most groups will expect you to have a copy of the PHB.
As for finding a group locally, you should check out your friendly local game store (FLGS). Most that I have seen run the D&D Adventurers League (DDAL). I provided a link below that will explain the DDAL better than I can.
I know you said you aren't very social, but I wanted to throw out the option that you could create your own group! Find a few friends that are interested as well, grab a campaign or create one, and start a group! If you decide to start a group though, expect to be the DM. But that shouldn't scare you. Matt Colville has done some excellent YouTube videos about DM'ing and how it shouldn't be scary. You can do it!
If you have any questions you are not comfortable asking reddit, feel free to pm me!
PHB: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0786965606/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479532434&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=phb+5e&dpPl=1&dpID=510Cy8v8H3L&ref=plSrch
Starters set: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0786965592/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479532513&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=d%26d+starter+set&dpPl=1&dpID=51Ykm93n8ML&ref=plSrch
DDAL: http://dndadventurersleague.org/start-here/
5e's (codename: Morningstar)
Will likely be the primary way for us to digitally access the resources at first...
Beta signups here
P.S. if cost is a real issue, Amazon has the PHB, MM, and DMG available for pre-order at a decent enough discount.
You need the following, if you are planning to run the most recent edition:
I recommend getting the following set in order to play a great starting adventure:
You can expand with:
https://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/rpg_playershandbook
Notice that the MSRP is $49.95.
https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=phb+5e&qid=1572986410&sr=8-1
Notice that the "list price" is $49.95.
There's no misrepresentation. They are using the MSRP straight from WotC. If you don't like it, take it up with WotC.
You should find out which version and/or edition he is using. Then get him a player's handbook in that format. Player's Handbook 5e
There are other RPG formats:
ICRPG
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Core Rulebook
We found this place very handy.
Bud's Place Games
8033 Parkway Dr, Leeds, AL 35094
(205) 699-1066
https://goo.gl/maps/7aYwwxPAQ8M2
That's an easy one—pick up the Starter Set for $12.
And (optionally) check out the free basic rules while you wait for it to arrive.
If you want to make your own characters instead of using the pregenerated ones, you can get the Players' Handbook, but honestly, the Starter Set is probably the best place to start—the special rules for each character are spelled out right on the character sheets.
Hello, and welcome!
Here is a link to the basic rules of D&D 5e (I'm assuming that's what you'll be running):
http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules
That will give you a good idea of what to expect in regards to combat, dice rolls, and the way a campaign plays.
If you feel as though this is something you enjoy, and want to continue playing, the players handbook (https://www.amazon.ca/Players-Handbook-Wizards-RPG-Team/dp/0786965606 or at your local game store) is a great resource. It gets into depth about the classes, races, and rules.
I hope this helps!
This is the 5e handbook:
http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409674884&sr=8-1&keywords=player+handbook
If you are only starting out the Starter Set might be a good idea:
http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Roleplaying/dp/0786965592/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=undefined&sr=8-1&keywords=starter+set
In my opinion it would be better for you to start with the 5th edition (above) as it is the newest, it should be relatively easy to find people at least willing to try it out.
Another option is to try the 4th edition as it is also fairly straightforward and already established. 5th and 4th editions are VERY different from one another so if you don't like one, don't dismiss the other.
As for the editions before that I would not recommend it mostly because you will have a hell of a time finding people to play with.
The link to hottopic is the starter set as mentioned. You can get it cheaper off of amazon. Linked here is the companys official dungeons and dragons page. https://www.amazon.com/Wizards-RPG-Team/e/B009KAKQIC/
If he is starting out for the first time, the starter set is great. If he has any experience in table top rpgs or if he does know a good deal about dnd from all the shows he watches, i recommend buying him the players handbook. Its a hardcover book, that goes 20xs more in depth then the starter box and he will never need another book again unless he gets into building and running his own dnd games. https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Other gift ideas are Dice Set for about $7, maybe a small battle map from Chessex for $20, perhaps dnd figurines for $10-$20 for a handful.
Keep in mind the only gifts he will need to actually play the game in person are these two options.
Beginner
1.) Dnd Starter Set: Comes with Short version of rules, dice, character sheets, and camping book. ($20)
Novice - Advanced
2.) Players Hand Book (Complete set of dnd rules used for play) and set of Dice. ($35)
The starter set is just a box that has all the basics you need to run a game.
Here is a link to it on Amazon
The starter set has
Those are the bare minimum what you need to play D&D. All of your players should also get their own dice. My friends and I like to make an event of going to the local game store to get dice when we start a new game sometimes.
If you have the money I would definitely suggest at least getting the Player's Handbook. The Dungeon Master's Guide, as well as the Monser Manual, also have helpful information, but aren't really necessary until you go beyond LMoP.
EDIT:
I also wanted to add I would advise all of your players getting their own PHB's as well. They are very affordable on Amazon as they are pretty much always on sale. From what I noticed, most games' rulebooks are typically $50
I'm seeing £22.68 on amazon right now for the phb with £27 being the most expensive as far as i can see
Here you go. The "Frequently Bought Together" books are the three core rulebooks. You need all three to play Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition.
Amazon, dude. Get that thing on discount.
It's actually pretty laid back, especially when starting a new campaign and creating characters. Everyone helps each other.
You should lurk over on /r/DnD. They have a wiki with resources. You need access to some form of the basic rules or even better, a Players Handbook.
If you are able to get a copy of the Players Handbooks (PDF versions exist), start reading it! It explains the various races, classes, weapons, tools, etc. It will walk you through making a character. Also, I highly recommend the app Fifth Edition Character Sheet because it lets you plug in what you want and does a lot of the hard work for you.
Of course, to begin you are going to need a set of pretty dice, like these. Picking out dice is fun! They should feel special to you- there is a lot of superstition about your personal dice and luck :)
By the way, I am not affiliated with Borderlands even though my name is Kamielle (it's got a 'K' not a 'C'), but they have all the books and lots of dice and stuff for DnD. I am sure someone there, an employee or a patron, would be excited to talk to you about it.
Answer: One person runs the campaign, the dungeon master (DM). DMing is doing that. They often create the campaign themselves and play the monsters that the group fights.
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:
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!
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Some recommended guides I used:
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Supplies I personally prepared (BUT ARE OPTIONAL):
So I've never played Dungeons and Dragons, though I am familiar with online RPGs at least. I want to start playing and I'm going to come on the 1st. Is there anything I can read or do to be ready?
https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1479830585&sr=1-1&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons+5e+new+player
Would that be something to get me started?
Player's Handbook.
https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=pd_sim_14_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0786965606&pd_rd_r=R41RRV2X9QXP3X1EKQHX&pd_rd_w=o0Ejw&pd_rd_wg=xuFJC&psc=1&refRID=R41RRV2X9QXP3X1EKQHX
You can view the general game rules off of the Official D&D site here and also the basic DM rules here, both for free.
Also, I would say that you realistically need a 5e PHB (player's handbook), that I would 100% get - you can get it on sale on Amazon here. You could get the 5e DM guide, but you don't NEED it, it just helps - here on amazon on sale also! You also need dice, which you can buy all over the place - online, game-stores, etc.
In addition to that, I'd also recommend to watch videos online to learn about the game, and to get better adapted to the game as a whole. Use Youtube channels like Critical Role to learn roleplaying, and also channels like FistFull of Dice to learn how to be a better DM and/or player. I would highly recommend for your whole group (with you included) to watch an episode or two of critical role to understand healthy roleplaying in action.
Overall, honestly the more info you have the better off you'll be.
Links below!
The most complicated part is character creation. Once you get past that (which you can do by enlisting your fellows' help or by using a pregen character from the Wizards of the Coast website) it should be pretty easy. You'll need a set of polyhedral dice, though you may be able to borrow one for your first night.
As for what you're "letting [your]self in for," you're entering a diverse and storied hobby scene, full of every sort of person imaginable. In this hobby, you will use and abuse the framework of rules to tell some of the most epic, ridiculous, and memorable stories you've ever experienced. People will shed tears over a character's death and find themselves slapping the table in a fit of laughter in same session.
The rules are complex, yes, but you don't need to think of them as the ropes which tie your hands; they are, rather, the bars of the jungle gym up which you and your party are climbing.
Basic Rules
https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules
Character Sheet PDFs and Pregenerated Characters
https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/character_sheets?bcsi-ac-8cba37c1e31f6013=2579E82000000208Q46wKPzTWMlR46x5F0RWgVg2T7UBAAAACAIAAItABwAAjScAAAAAACcCAAA=
ForgedAnvil Character Creation Tool - I highly recommend this tool in conjunction with a Player's Handbook.
http://www.enworld.org/forum/rpgdownloads.php?do=download&downloadid=1234;bcsi-ac-8cba37c1e31f6013=2579E820000002082fK730btoVId+ZXswTE5SWQIHdIBAAAACAIAAMxCBwAAjScAAAAAACcCAAA=
Amazon Dice Selection - Don't spend too much on dice just yet. That will come with time.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_7?url=search-alias%3Dtoys-and-games&field-keywords=polyhedral+dice&sprefix=polyhedral+dice%2Caps%2C191
Player's Handbook
http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1WNJ37QGGRB03E3842VJ
I hope you have a good game night. Let us know how it went! If you want to ask anything D&D-related, this is a great place to do it.
If anyone can buy these:
http://www.amazon.in/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Roleplaying/dp/0786965592/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452981513&sr=1-1&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons
http://www.amazon.in/Players-Handbook-Core-Rulebook-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452981537&sr=1-5&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons+players+handbook
http://www.amazon.in/Dungeon-Masters-Guide-Core-Rulebook/dp/0786965622/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452981556&sr=1-10&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons+dungeon+masters+guide
http://www.amazon.in/Monster-Manual-Core-Rulebook-Wizards/dp/0786965614/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452981576&sr=1-10&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons+monster+manual
That would be amazing. They aren't on the wish list right now (they are asleep over there, so I haven't had a chance) but you can send them to:
Mundgod Public Library C/o Chief Representative Office No.7, Sampangiramaiah Garden, Srinivagalu Tank, Viveknagar Post, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560047 India Phone: 9816684664
The "Pin Code" is India's version of a zip code and it would the "560047"
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.
There are tons of premade campaigns out there. I'd recommend kicking off with either the Starter Set or the Essentials Kit. They include basic rulesets, dice, and a short campaign. You can get started with just one of these sets just fine.
If you want to get more into the rules, I'd strongly suggest picking up the Player's Handbook at a minimum - it goes more in depth on the rules and lays out more race and class options for your players than the limited ones in the starter sets.
After that, whoever ends up as the DM may want to pick up the DM's Guide, which gives tips on how to run the game, random tables for lots of stuff (items, encounters, etc), and suggestions on how to make your own world if you're interested in that in the future. If you want to run other published campaigns or build your own homebrew setting, you'll also want to pick up the Monster Manual- the starter set rules only include stat blocks for the monsters that they use.
There are several other published sourcebooks out right now as well that add additional monsters, playable races, and class options to the game, but the three core books get you the vast majority of the content.
Thank you! Got the MM for $25 (including shipping), which was the only core rulebook I was missing.
For those who missed out on other books, you can get them through Amazon at not-awful discounts (considering ThinkGeek charges shipping), particularly if you have Amazon Prime:
This one is going to be long-winded so I apologize in advance :)
I have been DMing D&D for a really long time. I have been DMing D&D and Pathfinder on roll20.net for a while as well. I dumped all other versions of tabletop (at the moment) for D&D 5e. D&D 5e moves away from the spreadsheet stat crunching type of play that D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder embraced. D&D 5e also departed the mechanical MMO style play of D&D 4e. I think you are making a good choice in choosing 5e especially being a group of new players & new DM.
Here are the things you'll need to make roll20.net work well:
Since you are all new, I would recommend running the Lost Mines of Phandelver. It is included in the D&D Starter Set (On Amazon for $12). It is an adventure that will take a group of 4-5 players through level 5 (roughly). I ran this for a group of newer players and it took us roughly ten 4-hour sessions to complete. The set comes with some helpful things for you as the DM and them as the players. It comes with the basic rules for both the DM and the players. These are also available and updated through Wizards of the Coast for free as PDFs and browser-friendly sources. It also comes with some pre-made character sheets. These are handy as they can save you time (and money) from generating your own characters. Usually for 4 players, it can take an entire session to plan out a character for each of them if you are new. This can give you all a taste of how the game works, how characters work, and if everyone is on board. Totally optional though! The adventure itself contains a DM booklet that gives you tips as a new DM as well as maps, layouts, monster stats, and descriptions.
On the subject of maps and roll20. Roll20 gives you a graph-paper view that takes up most of the layout of the app. There aren't many gridded, digital versions of the maps for 5e adventures that I have seen. The ones that do exist will cost a little bit of money. This artist sells both player and DM versions of the maps for the adventure, but leaves some of the smaller encounters out. 5e relies on a lot of mind theater and imagination on both the players' and DM's part.
What I tend to do for maps is, use the graph paper and draw on it using the simple controls roll20 provides. I tend to do this when I can't accurately describe the way things are laid out. For instance in the Lost Mines the first encounter can be tough to explain so I drew a rough outline of how the map looked while explaining to the players where they were, and where what they saw was.
I'd highly recommend you get a free account at roll20.net first and then log in and play around with it, just to see what it handles like. It has its quirks for sure.
Aside from the Lost Mines of Phandelver, there is one other official campaign called the Tyranny of Dragons. It contains two adventure books, Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Rise of Tiamat. They take a party from levels 1-8 and 8-16 respectively. Hoard takes a lot of skill to run as it is a bunch of loosely related occurrences that clever or adventurous players might want to explore outside of. It doesn't provide much support to a new DM for handling this. Rise of Tiamat opens up a little more and is easier to run but without Hoard, it can be confusing as to what is going on.
Drivethrurpg has some smaller 5e adventures available. I haven't played any myself, but I have heard some good things. They are located under their D&DNext/5E heading.
If you decide you do like 5e or are really committed to the cause from the get-go, I would recommend any player and the DM get the Player's Handbook (Amazon). This contains the rules governing attributes, player creation, combat, downtime, and a full description of all spells and spell casting classes. It goes well above and beyond the basic rules for players and I feel it is truly necessary to having the full experience. It can be pricey if you end up not liking it though.
The DM additionally should consider the Dungeon Master's Guide. It really helps in running adventures, giving good flavor to the game, and creating your own campaigns. The Monster Manual is an optional buy, but helps by giving a large list of classic D&D monsters to populate your game with.
I'm guessing you have already found /r/DnD, but for 5e you might want to consider /r/dndnext which has weekly question threads and is more focused on 5e (which was previously codenamed next).
tl;dr: Whatever you end up doing, just make sure you and your friends agree that it is to have fun. You don't need to be perfect with the rules and you can feel free to make mistakes along the way as long as you all agree to laugh it off. You are playing with your players as a DM and not against them! Good luck.
If you've got an idea for a story, you can start right now with an online dice roller and the free basic rules, both on Wizard's official website. These are essentially the full rules with limited options.
Step two would be to buy the Players Handbook and some real dice. You could also go with the official Starter Set, which includes dice and an adventure module, but I'd reccomend the PHB instead, because if you want to keep playing you're going to buy one anyway.
As for the other two core books, I'd suggest putting the Monster Manual at a higher priority than the Dungeon Master's Guide. The DMG has tons of great ideas and optional rules, but you'll get more direct use out of the various baddies in the MM.
You probably want to roll with the Starter Set first, before venturing into worldbuilding and tailoring Tolkien's World to you players. Also, they still need to get a hold of the mechanics, and the Starter Set is good for new DMs and Players.
If you're set on being in Middle Earth, you could just flavor everything as if its in Middle Earth.
Edit: Also, there is no "one" DnD world. There are multiple settings, though the one that 5th Edition is primarily based around is the Forgotten Realms Setting.
Edit2: One last thing. Here's the free basic rules from the creators of DnD. It has the Basic Rules for players, and the Basic Rules for DMs. You'll wanna read both, and your players will wanna read the former. The free SRD also has a more expanded list of creatures than the Dungeon Master's Rules starting from PDF page 261.
In terms of products you'll actually wanna buy, consider the:
Player's Handbook Hint: Your players should also get get their own copies eventually
Dungeon Master's Guide
Monster Manual
D&D (Dungeons & Dragons) is a collective story-telling game where you play as a single character encountering a fantasy world and adventuring. There is a Dungeon Master or Game Master who plays the part of The Narrator and all of the other characters and events in the fantasy world. Together with other players and the DM/GM you create a fantasy story that fits your party and your players. There is a rulebook that goes over the specific rules, but in general you play a specific class that has specific mechanics, and you use those mechanics in-game to advance the story, fight enemies, complete quests, solve puzzles, etc. If you're still curious, there's a Wiki and Getting Started Guide on the sidebar. Roll20 is just a tool that some people use to play the game online. Don't let this post about Roll20 dissuade you, though, D&D is still an incredibly fun way to spend some time. If you have a comic book store or tabletop game store near you, you should pop by and see if they're running any starter adventures that you could join.
then only drop tree
http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412129685&sr=8-1&keywords=players+handbook+5th+edition
If you decide to go with 5E, consider getting the player's handbook (PHB) instead of the starter set. If you decide you like the game a lot, the starter set won't be enough to get you past about level 5. The PHB has the full rules and all the information you need to play the game effectively. It's available on Amazon for about $30.
Amazon.ca has them for less than that, and it qualifies for free shipping. Unfortunately, with the way our dollar is right now, the books have gone up in price recently... But it's still a better price than pretty much anywhere. You could also go on the official site and download the basic rules and basic DMG for free if you just want to try it out.
PHB $42.34 CAD
Stater box $18.35 CAD
And then there are the... ahem digital offerings ^^if ^^you ^^know ^^what ^^I ^^mean.
It all depends on your preference but I recommend 5th edition also theirs a starter kit https://www.walmart.com/ip/Dungeons-Dragons-Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Game/37282882 if you down to buy that it comes with a premise campaign for beginners and I believe it comes with premade characters it’s ideal for 4-6 players. One of you will have to be the dungeon master(dm) who leads the characters through the story and plays the npcs(non playable characters) you’ll also play the creatures/characters your players fight against id recommend these books for now or later on when you start building your own characters etc... this for the dm https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Dungeon-Rulebook-Roleplaying/dp/0786965622 and this for more monsters https://www.amazon.com/Volos-Guide-Monsters-Wizards-Team/dp/0786966017 and this for character creation etc https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606 as for dice it’s not that hard each player needs one d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and a d20 you’ll also want a 10 sided percentile die here’s a cheap set off amazon with plenty of dice(theirs probably cheaper this is just the first thing I saw) https://www.amazon.com/Polyhedral-Drawstring-Dungeons-Pathfinder-Including/dp/B07DSCST6K now non of this is required of course for character creation you can always use sites such as dnd beyond or apps like fight club 5 which are free the only thing that’s really required is the dice. Now I know that’s a lot but honestly it’s a externally fun game and I’ve met some of my closest friends through it
The absolute best way to get started is the Starter Set. It's everything you need to get started including some dice and an adventure. As you get more into it, you'll want to pick up the Players Handbook, the Monster Manual, and the Dungeon Master's Guide (If you don't want to get them all at once, I recommend getting them in that order.) Also very useful is a Dungeon Master's Screen. Moving into more advanced stuff, Xanathar's Guide to Everything is a book full of a bunch of optional rules to spice up the game, and Volo's Guide to Monsters gives more monsters for players to fight, and some you can actually play as. If you need more adventures to run, Tales From the Yawning Portal is a nice big book of dungeons.
I agree on Magic and Warhammer, but D&D can also be really cheap if you stick to the core books and don't need to purchase every supplement.
You can get the 3 core books for about $80 (though players really only need the PHB at about $28) and either a dice set for like 4 bucks or the starter set with dice for like 12. Then buy a ream of paper and take some pencils out of your school stuff and you should be good to go at about $100.
Beyond that you just need a DM who is good at making stuff up. The books can be shared with new players, and most of the basic rules are available here if you just want to try it out.
Again, this is if you don't need to purchase every campaign setting, mini, dice bag, custom gaming tables with built in dice towers, etc.
You really only need the free basic rules. If you want the full rules, buy the Player's Handbook. If that's not enough, buy the Dungeon Master's Guide.
amazon afaik
http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407316829&sr=8-1&keywords=phb+dnd+next
It should have everything he needs to kick things off yeah! But if anything I would recommend getting him a 5th edition players handbook
Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook (Dungeons & Dragons Core Rulebooks) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0786965606/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_RrghAb1KKEQQD
He himself will know what he wants to do if he watches a lot of it. He will know if he wants to play the game as a player character or wants to play the game as the dungeon master in charge.
If he wants to play the latter then get him a 5th edition dungeon masters guide
Dungeon Master's Guide (Dungeons & Dragons Core Rulebooks) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0786965622/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_jughAbBXWK1M1
Good luck!! He’s about to jump into what I think is the best hobby you could possibly have!
For you, try watching critical role
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7atuZxmT954bCkC062rKwXTvJtcqFB8i
If you haven’t already.
You're in luck: the Basic Rules are available for free online. They don't cover everything, so you could buy a Player's Handbook for much more detail and information, but the free stuff is a good starting point.
You don't need miniatures or paints to play the game.
You do need a set of dice, preferably one that has all the standard numbers of sides (4, 6, 8, 10, another 10 for simulating 100 sides, 12, and 20). Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Chessex-CHX26449-Gemini-Purple-Teal-Purple/dp/B01CEFDWVM/
Getting one of the older editions of D&D at this point may be difficult. There are a lot of different versions and printings, so it's hard to know which one to recommend.
However, the recent 5th Edition of D&D, called "5e" or "D&D Next" is very good and readily available. You can either buy all three of the core books OR the starter kit. The nice thing about the starter kit is that it comes with dice, a pre-written adventure, some pre-made characters, and so on. However, the starter kit is not enough to really create and run your own full adventures and characters from scratch, as it only has a much trimmed-down version of the rules.
Starter Kit: https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Complete-Printable/dp/B07MHTBVG3/
Core books:
Come on over to /r/rpg, /r/dnd, or /r/dndnext if you want more help.
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.
If you want it cheaper:
http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406278204&sr=8-1&keywords=player%27s+handbook+5th+edition&dpPl=1
If you don't like the physical book prices at MSRP then pick them up on amazon. Much cheaper that way, take a look.
http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406277974&sr=1-1&keywords=players+handbook+5&dpPl=1
As an example: PHB on D&D Beyond is $29.97. Prices on Amazon range from $23-30.
The digital product is consistently more expensive or the same price, not lower.
It seems like the books have been at this reduced price most of the time they’ve been on Amazon. It only occasionally goes back to MSRP according to this
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1588461254/ref=tmm_other_meta_binding_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=used&qid=1451590153&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0786965606/ref=tmm_hrd_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=used&qid=1451590031&sr=8-1
For those who don't want to click; used Everquest RPG PHB for $6.50 and $3.99 shipping. Used D&D 5th Edition PHB is $18.50 with $3.99 shipping.
I don't know where /u/downthegoldenstream got the idea D&D was free, nor his claims of $200 dollars to play.
But don't worry, /u/downthegoldenstream, I get it, bro. You don't want to play with me. It's cool. Happy New Years, bro. Peace out.
Sorry, but it's the price you pay by using a pirated copy of the PHB.
This is the only 'app' you really need:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786965606?keywords=players%20handbook%205th%20edition&qid=1451935332&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1
Unless you play as a fighter/cleric/rogue/wizard, then the rules are free as a printable pdf.
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/0786965606/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494379664&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=player%27s+handbook+5th+edition&dpPl=1&dpID=510Cy8v8H3L&ref=plSrch for any Canadians out there.
If you're a player then I would suggest getting the Player's Handbook https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0786965606/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486601128&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=5e+players+handbook
And maybe the Sword Coast Adventurer Guide if you're playing in The Forgotten Realms setting.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0786965800/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486601212&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=sword+coast+adventurer%27s+guide&dpPl=1&dpID=51yV7jtt62L&ref=plSrch
No I do not. Is this what you are talking about? https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/
The Player's Handbook. This is the handbook for players. It's focused on basic rules and character creation.
Basic concepts: Ability scores, ability modifiers, proficiencies, skills, attacks, hit points, armor class, actions, bonus actions, reactions, movements. Look up and learn these terms. Understand where they come from and what they are used for.
To start learning before you get your P.H.B., the Basic rules (some, not all rules) are located here:
http://5e.d20srd.org/
Let's break it down:
Get your feet wet for (almost) FREE
Basic rules online or to download. Like a mini Player's Handbook but with fewer classes and races.
A character sheet. Or another character sheet.
(not free) A set of dice, pencil, paper.
Ohh, that was fun, I want more!
Player's Handbook
More dice
A miniature of your character
Totally optional for a player:
The Dungeon Master's Guide has a few more options for characters, but is mostly insight into building adventures and campaigns. The Monster Manual is great if you want to learn about what you will face. But don't buy them yet. Go play, have fun, make friends.
And if you win the lottery, buy a Geek Chic table to play on.
When in doubt, go to Google or YouTube or some place and search "What to know for a new D&D player" or something like that. The Internet is a beautiful place.
TL;DR: Learn the rules, play a character who you want to play as, and remember that it's just a game.
Precisely. All the game does is add some formal boundaries to that framework, based on the roll of dice. This is to prevent people from saying things like "I kill everyone in the room." Sure, you can try that, but you have to succeed at dice rolls to beat certain numbers for every single person in that room--all who are going to get multiple tries to do the same, where you can only really go at one person at a time.
Go ahead and pick up the Players Handbook (non-affiliate link) and give it a read!
If you you decide to buy anything the order should be thus:
 
Check out a local game store to see if they host any games or get online and play through Roll20 or another platform like that.
Getting him a good copy of the Player's Handbook would be great, maybe with the Dungeon Master's Guide to go along with it. They're both on sale on Amazon right now.
TL;DR: start: free basic rules + dice. if you have fun, buy PHB, maybe MM.
as others already have said. the free basic rules http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules are everything you need to play apart of a set of dice. the class and race choices are limited, but the rules are free. with these you can have months over months of fun.
if you want to play good adventure and not create one your own, the stater set is a good product. it comes with a rule booklet, pre-generated charakters, dice and an adventure booklet. https://www.amazon.de/Wizards-Coast-WTCA92160000-Dungeons-Roleplaying/dp/0786965592
if you all have a lot of fun and want to invest, everyone of you can get their own dice set and buy the players handbook https://www.amazon.de/Players-Handbook-Core-Rulebook-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=pd_bxgy_21_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=N31MKHATXPB3CPYKPTWC
it got everything you need. if you want to buy stuff for the DM, the monster manual is great https://www.amazon.de/Monster-Manual-Core-Rulebook-Wizards/dp/0786965614/ref=pd_bxgy_21_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=PJ9QEP6WN5J2HAPH80X7
I would not buy the dungeon masters guide. I DM myself and have it and I don't use it that often.
as for the levels: 20 is max. if you reach 20 with a character, it's only after 1-2 years of play, maybe longer and then the character is kind of a demigod.
Check out the getting started guide.
You need to buy a Player's Handbook. The store you will be playing at probably sells them. If you still have time before your game, go and buy the book. Read through the rules and get acquainted with everything. If you aren't able to get a book before you play, check out the basic rules.
Players Handbook in the UK is £20.39($30.49 in U.S. currency). All three core books are £70.77($105.67 in U.S. currency) from Amazon UK.
In the USA, You can get all three core books for $71.30($91.79 with SCAG) on jet.com right now with the current "10TODAY" coupon code.
The shopping cart is still accepting the "20NOW" coupon code so if they honor it the price is $63.38 for the three Core books($81.58 with SCAG).
PHB: https://jet.com/product/Dungeons-and-Dragons-Players-Handbook/589ee7cacf484f88bdde8c25f213bbff
DMG: https://jet.com/product/Dungeon-Masters-Guide/f00d719ead7341a1a4c14b5d44a49ffc
MM: https://jet.com/product/Monster-Manual/ef0844a9760844948116d6c36cef9ece
SCAG: https://jet.com/product/Sword-Coast-Adventurers-Guide-Hardcover/7893d0b86d9148b3824fdc904b9fbdcd
https://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop/players-basic-rules
That will give you equipment, and all the rules stuff. For race and class, the only legit way is for them to buy the Player's Handbook.
The 5th Edition Book is $42, while the one I'm looking at is $20. (I only need PHB) So economically, this is better.
As well as I'm thoroughly used to 3.5e and Pathfinder, and am working on a custom ruleset of my own that I may or may not ever complete. Since my custom ruleset is mostly similar to 3.5e, it's resources are much more helpful, though I should sometime run a 4e and 5e campaign to see why they exist. But I'm not likely ever going to buy their books unless I really like the editions.
I agree with /u/Ryngard on checking out 5e, but that's up to you as a DM. The curve on "ease-of-learning" is noticeably different, so for beginners playing tabletop games, it is a great gateway. You could always look around for the information you need while the 5e handbook ships, but definitely get it, it's perfect for beginners. There are tons of 5e resources online (not just the pdfs that are not allowed on this subreddit; which I am not recommending here), that can help you with how to make a character, spells, stories, etc; made by other players.
As a DM, regardless of version, I'd make it clear on a few things:
EDIT: Also, the player's handbook for 5e (with Prime, huzzah!) is half-off at the moment: http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452288239&sr=8-1&keywords=dnd+5e
By Starter Kit, I'm guessing you mean this? If so, it's going to have an adventure along with the rules and whatnot, as well as pregenerated characters for you to pick from. The adventure, Lost Mine of Phandelver, also has lots of advice for whomever's GMing the game. It is, after all, a starter set for them as well :)
For a more complete game, you'll need to drop some doss on the holy trinity - Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual. All in, around $100 new, a bit less used. The PHB is going to outline most of what you need to run the game - character creation (all the options for races and classes and spells and whatnot), the rules for task resolution and combat, equipment, spells, and a lot of miscellaneous bits and bobs. The Monster Manual has a bunch of monsters in it, without which it'd be pretty boring to roam the world. The DMG is sort of a catch-all of everything else - magic items, extra/alternate rules, and a lot of generally helpful advice about things like what to do when the players go off the beaten path and designing worlds and campaigns. While it's helpful, I'd say it's the least crucial of the three to actually playing the game.
There's also a bunch of adventures and campaigns, published by both Wizards of the Coast and third party publishers. You might check some of those at as a good starting point for your adventures. While it's probably not as fun as making everything up yourselves, it'll be handy to play for awhile with the safety net of "here's what comes next" laid out in print.
You might check out Geek & Sundary's Critical Role, which is actual D&D being played by actual overly attractive people in a manner which is both fun and informative. Matthew Colville's channel has a lot of really great advice for people just starting out, especially related to running the game.
Hopefully that answered some of your questions. If you have anything specific, toss it out and I'll see if I can answer it.
This.
Or maybe instead of the DMG, buy a mat/whiteboard and some pathfinder pawns or something for minis. Up to you really. You could always do theater of the mind, but having minis is so fun!
Edit: Found these for a quick comparison of the prices
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0786965606/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_ikjsybH67VV0Y PHB £27.41
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0786965614/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_GljsybN0V9304 MM £27.29
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0786965622/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_VpjsybZWA65JC DMG £38.99
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0015IQO2O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_cojsybDFPYPQR Mat £21.99
Looks like the DMG is the most expensive bit.
I borrowed a manual... This here
I believe there is plenty stuff online on just the character design side that woks as well.
I think I saw a post that the Players Handbook is on selling on Amazon for $20.00 normally $50.00.
https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1521763063&sr=8-1&keywords=players+handbook
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.
I'm new and looking to get into D&D as well so as one noob to another i would suggest getting the basic D&D books like the Getting Started section in the sidebar suggest. I'm planing to start with the Character Creation Guide So i can read up on the classes, what they can do, how they work and how to create one. Then you want to eventually get the Dungeon Masters Guide so you know more about the rules of how everything works and the Monster Manual. These are the 3 basic books you should try to get before jumping into any campaigns i think and if you can find a group to help you learn and get adjusted that's even better.
Must be a European thing it looks like. If you scroll a little down the page to the "Frequently bought together" section, you'll see all 3 of the Core books in a bundle, as well as their individual prices (~$30 for the PHB, up to ~$36 for the MM)
https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503071617&sr=8-1&keywords=d%26d+5e+player%27s+handbook
EDIT: Forgot link -_-
https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/
Yeah pick up the Starter Set:
http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Roleplaying/dp/0786965592
Everybody can download a copy of the Basic Rules:
http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules
This is enough to get going, but if everybody wants to make their own character from scratch and don't want to be limited to what's in the basic rules, then you should pick up the Player's Handbook:
http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606
That should be plenty to get you started. Also you might want to get more than just the dice that come with the starter set, which can be found in any game shop or online in lots of places, but there are online die rollers that work just as well. I use this one:
http://www.brockjones.com/dieroller/dice.htm
Or you can find apps for your phone as long as you trust each other not to cheat =)
Most importantly, one of you will have to be Dungeon Master (DM), who should probably be the person with the most creativity, but should definitely be the person who is most willing to put extra time into preparation and will have fun by creating fun for his friends. The DM is not the enemy of the players, think of him as the narrator of the story and each player is one of the characters.
Hi, so glad to see new people joining D&D! It's a lot of fun! I found my group through https://www.reddit.com/r/lfg/. (lfg=looking for group)
Looks like u/Djoric has you covered on stuff you need, have fun! Welcome to the D&D community!
Edit: Here's the link to the free rules: http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules
And if you want the players handbook (all the rules/classes/abilities for players), it's cheapest on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492775474&sr=8-1&keywords=players+handbook+5th+edition
Depends on what races/creatures you have in your book. Different races behave differently in different universes, but I personally prefer the treatment given to races and monsters in DnD because of how thorough and fleshed out it is.
Dungeons and Dragons Monster Rulebook for monsters (Dragons, Beholders etc)
Complete Book of Humanoids for humanoid races (Centaurs, Dark elves, Ogres etc)
Dungeons and Dragons Players Handbook for more conventional races (Humans, Dwarves, Elves)
​
Even if you don't play DnD, those books are worth a read.
If you prefer an all-in-one read then the Pathfinder manual is pretty good- It's a compressed (slightly less detailed and not as comprehensive) tome containing all 3 of the above classes of information
Pathfinder RPG Rulebook
​
Figured tbh, Ireland here too.
*i got this for £78.68 which was a steal, cheaper than buying 2 books individually. The books in gamers world (Dublin city centre) are around 45-50 each
are all what you want, if you use parcel motel to get them free delivery to the north and shipped down you are looking at about or less than 100 Euro for the full set, which maybe your players could chip in for.
you don't need the monster manual as much, because you can get the monster's off the net, and the player handbook too, because you can use online resources to gen characters, so I'd say the DM hand book is most important. then players hand book (for items and weapons and such) then the monster manual.
maybe your players will chip in for a early Christmas present?
You can check out /r/lfg to try and find groups or tabletop shops near you you can play at. Alternatively, if you don't want to leave the house, /r/roll20 can get you set up playing with other people online.
If you just want to learn more about playing the game in general, Wizards of the Coast has a free 5th edition basics guide for getting started with character creation, adventuring, and combat. Sadly they don't include the druid or ranger class in the basics but you can sail the high seas for the full 5th edition players handbook or buy one off amazon.
If you ever want to try and put together a full character, I'd love to help guide you through the process. Sometimes just making a character can be as fun as playing a session with one.
If you just want a book, you can order it through amazon. I just checked, and the book is eligible for shipping to Ph,. Books are exempt from customs by the way, so you'd only need to pay the 50 peso inspection fee on top of the order price if ever.
To my knowledge, please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think 5e is here for a while. I know there is a new version of Pathfinder in the works but I'm not too sure when.
I'm not sure where you were looking, but for all 3 core books it's not even $90.
r/https://smile.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1540259805&sr=8-3&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons+5th+edition&dpID=51Vm6tYknZL&preST=_SX218_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch
Also, for the DM, you would need the DMG first, PHB second, and MM third. Here are my reasons:
DMG - For learning tips on DMing 5e as well as being full of useful info to create adventures, this I would say get first.
PHB - Help see what spells your players have and what each class does. Helpful for you to learn more about 5e.
MM - While an AMAZING resource full of monsters, it can be a lot when you are picking what to initially throw at your characters. You can google most monsters and it'll help split the cost up.
As for that starter set: My players loved it. You, especially for your previous experience, could make the Starter set work for probably a few months. You can also find adventures for free or at low costs on dmsguild.com
I recommend checking out one of my old comments on how to make a good story as you go along. Reply here if you've got any questions.
If you guys haven't chosen an edition to play, I recommend buying the recently-released 5th edition books, the Player's Handbook, at least one for the DM and other players can buy it if they want a copy of the rules
And the Monster Manual for the DM (only the DM needs it, and that's only if you want - it's not necessary, but if you buy it you don't need to make up your own stats for enemies that you put your players up against. If you make your own stats as a noob, you might just end up killing the entire party by accident. But at the same time, that could still be fun - just make sure that it doesn't happen to often!)
Finally, the Dungeon Master's Guide comes out soon (you can see how new the 5th edition is). It's not necessary, but contains useful information for being the DM!
The basic rules are free online, but the choices are quite limited. More options are found in the PHB, which is the only book you'll need as a player.
http://media.wizards.com/2014/downloads/dnd/playerdndbasicrules_v0.2.pdf
https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494891563&sr=8-1&keywords=player%27s+handbook
I would suggest OP purchase:
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.
The Players Handbook (https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1522859274&sr=1-1&keywords=players+handbook+5th+edition).
Start with that. Watch a few of the videos by Matthew Colville if you want to be the Dungeon Master. I also recommend you watch the 30 minute D&Diesel video on YouTube (The cast of Critical Role, which is a group of voice actors who play D&D on the internet for people to watch, played with Vin Diesel) for a good primer on the flow of the game.
Build on that as you go on.
I’ve been a forever DM for about 2 years and the absolute most important things have been
Dice
Smartdealspro 7 x 7-Die Series 7 Colors Symphony Dungeons and Dragons DND RPG MTG Table Games Dice with Free Pouches https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M9F9AA7/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_YFQoDb97YGJDC
And
Players Handbook
Player's Handbook (Dungeons & Dragons) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786965606/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_0HQoDb6SK24R9
Most everything else can be found on websites like
Class Specific Character Sheets
Almost Every Monster Stats
Just remember that you don’t have to memorize every part of the campaign sometimes it’s better to just improvise and let the characters do what they want as long as it doesn’t break anything.
And minis are very hard to get good ones if you don’t use heroforge.com honestly I just shifted through my LEGO bins and found all of the figure took them apart and let my players make their own
Best playmats with markers dice and double sided mats
RPG Battle Game Mat - 2 Pack Dry Erase Double sided 36" x 24" (4 Terrains) + 4 Dry Erase Markers + 1 Eraser + 7pc Polyhedral Dice Set - Large Table Top Role Playing Map for Starters and Masters https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B4MND1L/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_WNQoDbKSX6GCF
The starter set is on Amazon for $12.85 or usually sold in stores for about $20. It comes with the prebuilt characters, a set of dice, a player's rulebook for level 1-5, and the adventure book for the DM (which includes all the descriptions of places, NPC descriptions/their quests/etc, and has a list of all the monsters and their stats in the back.)
Everything you need to play the starter set is in it though. You can expand your character options by using the free rules SRD, and you could expand it further by picking up the Player's Handbook for $30.
As an aside I would recommend folks at least had their own sets of dice rather than everyone sharing the one set from the starter box. You could either each snag your own sets, or chip in on something like this.
Couple directions you can go. If you want to learn it and get some friends involved at the same time, you can get the 5th Edition Starter Set and run that adventure for your friends. The player's handbook is also a must-own. The dungeon master's guide and monster manual are great, but not mandatory.
If you want to join a game, pick up a player's handbook and a set of dice, hit up r/lfg, local gaming stores, or other places around you. Reading the rules is not 100% mandatory, but it is highly recommended. The PHB alone will be enough to get you 100% ready to play if you read it fully.
5th edition is the easiest to pick up, and has a lot of flexibility, allowing you to make it what you want it to be.
3.5 or pathfinder has a lot more number crunching and a larger focus on designing the mechanics of a character throughout levels. If you love minutiae, planning ahead, and keeping track of lots of data, you might enjoy it quite a lot. I personally love it, but no longer play it, because 5th edition allows me to get my slightly more casual friends to the table for a good time.
The Player's Handbook only costs about half that on Amazon just FYI.
Anyway, to answer your question:
Your background will give you certain fixed skills. Your class will give you a certain number to choose from a class-specific list. Your race may give you more.
In older version of D&D your int used to give you more skills, but that is, as far as I know, no longer the case.
This and also this, and hell, even this embody me because I am a gamer through and through, and that will never change.
Clearly, I am also a hypersentient panda.
Definitely purchase the Player's Handbook. 5e is the most popular edition right now, so you can purchase the 5e book here: https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606
You could also purchase a nice set of dice. A good, cheap vendor is dieharddice, but they are often out of stock.
The PHB is the most important book to have for a player. Assuming you are US based, you can get it on amazon right now for under $30. If you use the promotion code GIFTBOOK17 (good through the 26th) you will get an additional $5 off, making it only $25, which is half retail price. If that is still too much, check your local library. A lot of libraries are circulating RPG rule books :)
Depending on your location, it may be difficult to find enough people interested in cracking out dusty old 2nd edition tomes. It'll probably be easiest to get into 5e, because 3/3.5/4 are convoluted as all get-out, and new/returning players might do best to not dive into them. Additionally, Wizards of the Coast are currently promoting the hell out of 5e so there's all sorts of organized play going on.
Get your hands on either the PHB or the Basic PDF. Read the mechanics, build a couple characters for practice, try to imagine how a game with them might run. Look through the Adventurer's League guidelines, and go to an Encounters session at a local game store, if you can find one.
If you are using the starter set, it has everything you need to run that game, using the pre-made characters. If you want to play beyond that, you will need to get the Dungeon Masters Guide, and the Players Guider for sure. Amazon has the cheapest deal for new copies that I've found
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)
If I had this book and its two companions when they came out, all my friends would definitely envy me.
Damn, you're right. Maybe it'll get a similar price before launch?
https://camelcamelcamel.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/product/0786965606
Average price over its existence on Amazon is $30.36. Not much of a sale.
The Starter Set contains the bare minimum of rules to run the adventure that also comes with the box. Included are pregenerated characters. A small sample of classes.
The Players Handbook contains all classes, races, spells and rules.
The Monster Manual contains the monsters.
The Dungeon Master Guide is a tool kit to help run the DM to run games. Also contains the magic items.
Those three books are the core ruleset. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm taking an educated guess, but there will probably come future publications of settings and other goodies that expand the selection of races, classes and spells among other things. They will only add choices, not become necessary to run the game. Those three books are the complete rules.
The PDF is a more updated version of the rules from the starter set, but no where near as complete as the players handbook.
Here is a link one many agree is the best starter set and it is cheap in comparison to many other ones out there.
Besides that, there is The Players Handbook. Which is the only book I would say is a necessity for playing dnd (even being a dm) as it goes over all the rules and mechanics and gives you a lot of classes and races to work with. After that there is Xanathars Guide to Everything and the Monster Manual that are good starts to expanding your knowledge and options when playing or creating a DND world
If you are looking for good things to watch in your free time to improve your knowledge and get new ideas, I like Dungeon Dudes or Critical Role. Both are on Youtube and provide lots of good material to work with.
Then (shameless plug) I actually have a website that does in-depth analysis on many dungeon and dragons items such as mechanics, spells, and races that go into their strengths lore and other stuff. So check it out! It's called wizardofthetavern. If you have any other questions feel free to message me I will be more than happy to help you out!
Guys this is how big of a new player I am. What rule books do I have to have to start? I'm assuming the Player's Handbook
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786965606/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Should I get these as well?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786965622/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786965614/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Same info amigo! We're beginner friendly. Everyone is happy to help you learn and honestly the best way to learn is to just jump on in.
If you're interested in reading through the rules of the game, purchase the Players Handbook. It's the D&D bible.
https://www.amazon.ca/Players-Handbook-Wizards-RPG-Team/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525446946&sr=8-1&keywords=players+handbook+5e
> And then we shell out $150 for the books at some point before we can even use supplements.
You don't need the GM's guide. However:
Player's handbook: $28
Monster Manual: $34
GM's guide: $30
Total $92. These are all Amazon prices, and other vendors are cheaper - eg Wallmart has each of the books for less than $30.
I still think you only need the Player's handbook plus an online 5e monster list, however. But even if you want a player's handbook and a monster manual the total would only be: $62.
I mean, if you want 'cheap,' then Fate Core is free and there are pay what you will scenarios for it on drivethrurpg. But it's not as universally accepted/popular as D&D and I personally think the D&D starter set does a better job at handholding a beginner through the learning experience. So I'd still recommend that.
5e is the newest version out there. The basic rules can be found here. Your players will each control a player character (PC), and you the Dungeon Master (DM) will control all of the non-player characters(NPCs), and environments. Together you tell a story of adventure.
I recommend getting the starter set. It contains a few pre-made characters and an adventure for you to run. If you like it and want to do more, then look into getting the rest of the books. PHB, MM, and DMG.
Uhhh, definitely not.
This is the one you're looking for.
Great news is that dungeons and dragons is super easy to get into. Check out this great little video that explains what is really simply. The game is basically collaborative story telling. Here is an example of me playing a very simplified version of the game with my 3.5 year old daughter.
You’ll want to get at least
Players Hanbook.
Or the
Starter Set some dice, and maybe the other core rule books the Monster Manual and Dungeons Masters guide
Pretty sure it's the more recent player's handbook
http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606
Unless you have some specific reason to choose an earlier edition (like someone already has a lot of 3.5 material or you really, really want to go full OSR and play the basic D&D), play 5th edition.
If you're experienced gamers and think the Starter Set is too basic, then get the Player's Handbook (PHB). If you still have money left over, get the Monster Manual next.
If you can't afford the PHB, download the free system reference document here: https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/systems-reference-document-srd. It doesn't have all of the player options of the full PHB, but there's more than enough to start.
Check out the sidebar, too. There are choosing an edition and getting started pages in the wiki.
Good luck!
angel14995 has a great summary of all the books. This list is more useful as a logical purchasing progression guide.
I don't know how they do it (there's probably an API somewhere), but they scan the contents of posts for certain keywords and then do whatever they're programmed to do in response. Usually this is replying to the message with something (like the ones that usually reply if you post a link from [Amazon] (https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/) or [Wikipedia] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_glider)), but some, like remind me bot, also send you messages.
I think Good Bot and Bad Bot are just a Reddit in-joke, but I've definitely seen a bot-rating bot that notices when people say "Good Bot" or "Bad Bot". I assume it has a list somewhere.
My question is, how Reddit decides what bots to allow and which not to. If they just let anything go, I would imagine the site would be dominated by pointless bots replying to every post and harassing users.
https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1504817531&sr=1-1&keywords=player+handbook+5th+edition
https://www.amazon.com/Monster-Manual-Core-Rulebook-Wizards/dp/0786965614/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1504817556&sr=1-1&keywords=monster+manual+5th+edition
https://www.amazon.com/Dungeon-Masters-Guide-Core-Rulebook/dp/0786965622/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1504817556&sr=1-2&keywords=monster+manual+5th+edition
Amazon has the core books for around $30 each.
the starter set is 13 dollars and the rulebooks are 30... that is very reasonable. This particular starter set is more expensive because its out of print and considered to be collectible nowadays, not really through any fault of WotC
You can get the PHB, a set of dice, a note book and a pen for less than a new AAA game.
The only thing to make it even more reasonable would be to have a 15-20 dollar softcover option... but im not going to push it.
Regarding your points..
How essential is the Player's Handbook or any other resource? Any online resources you would suggest I have pulled up while DMing?
Hey friend! I also decided to get into D&D in London after watching a bunch of Critical Role, so I know where you're at!
I'd highly recommend you check out the London Dungeons & Dragons meetup group. There are lots of games going on several days a week!
As for the physical items, there is only one book you really need as a player, and that is the Player's Handbook (commonly referred to as the PHB). You can get it off amazon for under £30. This book contains all of the basic rules for how to play the game as well as the rules for the different classes, races and weapons etc. You can also find a brief copy of the basic rules for free on the official website.
Its also good to get some dice! You want a set of polyhedral dice, this will include all the dice you need to play D&D.
Lastly you can download and print off a copy of the official D&D character sheet from their website. You want the "Fifth Edition Character Sheets" on that page, but there are also pre-made characters on that page if you aren't sure about making your own from scratch!
Good luck and welcome to the hobby. :)
Same! If want to play I suggest getting 3-4 of your friends together and buy this https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606
and this https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Roleplaying/dp/B00SI774U6 if you dont want to homebrew
then get this https://www.amazon.com/Monster-Manual-Core-Rulebook-Wizards/dp/0786965614
The 5E Player's Handbook has all of the core rules, classes, backgrounds, races, spells, items, etc. to 5E. It's $30 on amazon and barnes & noble if you're looking to buy cheap, or $50 if you want to support your local hobby shop instead. It has all you need for understanding the 5E system, and everything you need to make a character.
In the mean time you can keep yourself occupied with downloading the official Basic Rules. (Link contains player's rules and dm's rules, as well as some animal/monster stat blocks)
So if I were to go about buying this and this we would be pretty set to get started?
Where are you looking that prices it at $58? I was just looking last night online and both Amazon and Indigo had it for 37-38 dollars.
Indigo IN store is definitely overpriced
https://www.amazon.ca/Players-Handbook-Wizards-RPG-Team/dp/0786965606
https://m.indigo.ca/product/books/players-handbook-a-core-rulebook/9780786965601
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
Get into D&D by finding a group already playing it. This video goes over various ways to do that. Adventure League in a local game shop might be a good place to start.
As far as stuff to buy, I'd find the group first, and then buy a Players Handbook, and dice.
Not really a one off purchase but [Dungeons and dragons] (http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416988638&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons+5e+pbh) can let you have near infinite fun if you can find some like minded people to play with.
Cool!
Just a heads up the link I included above is a condensed handbook, the printed one, has a lot more in it. There are also new classes, subclasses, backgrounds and spells on Wizard's of the Coast's website. I'd ignore them until you understand what's in the PHB.
$34.80 @ Amazon
https://www.amazon.ca/Players-Handbook-Wizards-RPG-Team/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1500131655&sr=8-1&keywords=dnd+player%27s+handbook
PHB
Looks like they've added the Players Handbook, now showing as about 20 bucks!
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https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786965606/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_x3TYCb6C4S62H
its 30 now Still good deal tho
Its not free but it's also not too expensive. The Players Handbook is where to start. It is $30: https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=D%26D+5e+phb&qid=1557235185&s=gateway&sr=8-1
The best way to learn is from someone else. Do you have a game store nearby? That's the best best to find groups. if you can get in with a group that already knows the rules they'll help you understand how to play.
https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606
The starter set is pretty good to start out with (as advertised). If you enjoy it then I would def say get a copy of the Players Handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide, and Monster Manual. As for figures, there is nothing saying you need figures, a lot of people use paper figures for a while. However if you want actual figures there are a few options. You can always look for what you want on amazon or miniature market, if you are looking for pre-painted, however this can get pretty pricey. Now you can also buy figures unpainted (which is what I do) for pretty cheap. If you leave them unpainted then the cost is really low, however painting figures is another hobby all together and can start to get pricey depending on paints and other supplies.
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If you don't have a selection of figures yet and need specific things for your game, then Reaper Miniatures is a good place to start. They have a large selection of plastic figures that are pretty cheap plus you can pick and choose what you get. They have metal versions of many of the figures but these are more expensive and probably not worth it if you are just trying out the figure part of the game. Another relatively cheap rout to go for figures is the line of WizKids Unpainted figures. They are more expensive than the Reaper plastic figures however they are a bit higher quality plastic and are monsters straight from the Monster Manual. If you want custom figures than Hero Forge is a great option. However these are pretty pricey for people just stating out as even their cheapest option is still going to run you about $40 USD just for one figure. The other option you have is getting booster packs like this. They come with 4 pre-painted figures but are not a good choice if you need something specific for your current game.
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I know this was a long post but I hope it answered your questions and gave you a good starting point. If you have any questions let me know. Been playing for about 15 years.
One of the most important things someone told me was that all you need was a paper and pencil to take notes, an excited imagination, and a game master to lead you through a story. This person is how I got into D&D, but a lot has changed since then.
One of the most important resources when I play fifth edition (the most current form of the game) is a Player's Handbook. It's at an all-time low right now on Amazon, but if you have a local game store I'd suggest supporting them!
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Is it this?
https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1541540265&sr=8-2&keywords=5e+starter+set
Okay, so it sounds like the 5th Edition Player's Handbook is a must. Whether you're a player, or the one running the game, this is the main book.
There is a D&D Starter Set, but it's typically only bought by someone who wants to run the game (i.e. is the Dungeon Master). Considering all you know is that they've made characters that does make buying this set a little risky. It's quite likely that one of his friends is the Dungeon Master, in which case he'd have little use for the set.
Regardless, dice are always useful. Chessex are a good brand. Just make sure you buy a full set, and not a bundle of same-sided dice.
Disregarding the Starter Set, because it doesn't seem like a good bet in your case, the book and the dice will put you at ~$35 plus shipping from Amazon.
 
If that sounds like enough, then feel free to stop there.
However, one thing I always see new player struggle with (and something I experienced myself) is trying to play in / write for a setting you know nothing about. D&D is a storytelling game, every story needs events and a setting and it sorta sucks when you know nothing about one of those two aspects.
D&D has a bunch of different settings, but the main one is called the Forgotten Realms. >90% of pre-written material takes place in this setting and naturally is the one most new players start with.
There are a bunch of books that go into the different settings, to varying detail. By far though the best one for the Forgotten Realms in recent memory goes by the big 'ole title of "Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster's Forgotten Realms".
It was released between last edition and this edition, so it doesn't have any edition-specific rules - it's all about life in the setting: law, money, food, fashion, religion, and everything else a player needs to fill in the details of their imagination.
It's out of print nowadays, but you can still order it from their Print-on-Demand service. Because of this, it has the nice added benefit that even if some of his friends already have books this would ironically be new material.
You seem like you want to prepare. I'm also a person who prepares, so here are things you can do to come feeling like you have:
Email (or text or whatever) the GM and ask what version you're playing.
4th edition, D&D 3.5, Pathfinder or 5th edition are all very likely candidates, and all play different enough you will want to know a bit of the difference. The first night you don't necessarily need to have your own copy of the book, but it will be a lot easier if you do going forward.
If the group is totally new, everyone will be rolling characters. If you meant the group is new to you, and they're already playing, ask what character classes they have already.
You may be happy looking up what 'good' character classes are for that edition are (depends on how competitive you are)
Bring a cheat sheet on it the edition you're playing, a small notebook, 2 mechanical pencils, and a set of polyhedral dice
Cheat sheets:
5th Edition: http://www.enworld.org/forum/rpgdownloads.php?do=download&downloadid=1042
4th Edition: http://kassoon.com/dnd/crib-sheet/
Pathfinder Edition: https://sites.google.com/site/paolospathfinderpage/cheat-sheets
3.5 Edition: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?231897-3-5-Rules-Cheat-Sheets
You really need to look into which version it is to get specific recommendations from /r/rpg that will be at all helpful. Once you do get that answer on what edition you're playing, find 2 easy to play classes by asking here, or looking up "tier lists" on the internet.
If you're really up for it, after finding out what version it is, go buy the players handbook for that version, read it, and watch an hour or two of "Actual play" on the internet for that version.
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Most of D&D is about 1> Standing in the right place 2> Hitting the baddie with your big stick/magic spell 3> Not falling into traps 4> Getting loot. The game is incredibly oriented on loot and small magical items that give bonuses to attack and defense. So when an item comes up that's appropriate to your character, ask for it! Don't be a hog, but don't make the mistake of not taking enough.
When making your character, there are a lot of okay choices, a couple really really bad ones, and some superlative ones. You're unlikely to figure out the superlative ones without looking them up, but you'll probably be able to avoid the really horrible ones.
If you're worrying about the Roleplaying part, instead of the game playing part, the book "Impro" is excellent at explaining how to play characters well (the chapter on status is worthwhile on life in general)
yea a lot of the content is free and I recommend just trying out the free stuff. The way the new edition is setup makes it very friendly to new players.
I recommend the players handbook if you like it just because of all the extra content you get. It is easily worth the $30 you can get it for on amazon
if you don't have a DM yet or have a new DM i'd definitely get the starters set just so you and your play group have an adventure to start off with. Otherwise the free content should be enough for the DM to cook something fun up. And he might have the PHB for you to page through!
If you want to start playing D&D, you're going to want a rulebook, so go ahead and get this. That'll have all the rules to get you started with a proper game of D&D. Now, when you walk in to the game store, the people playing will probably have some of these, but that just means you're better than them. They've been blinded by ample hit points and class-race separation, but you know the one true D&D. They may shun you, but that's fine. Eventually you will find those who also know the truth, and you will have your group.
Or you could just get a 5th edition player's handbook, that works too.
$29.97 on Amazon.
Lol, good luck. If you don't like the options presented in there, there are more official ones here. http://www.5esrd.com/
But even then the ultimate experience would be getting the Fifth edition players handbook(311 pages) which you can get for about $30 on amazon, or your local game store.
If you can't find a group but you are really excited about this I game, you should try giving Critical Role a watch. The first few episodes have pretty bad audio, but it gets better. Note this game is played by voice actors and is more dramatic than most games will be.
The Player's Handbook and Monster Manual are out. The Dungeon Master's Guide is coming out in early December. The PHB might be sold out?
The free DM document (http://media.wizards.com/2014/downloads/dnd/DMDnDBasicRules_v0.1.pdf) also has some monsters in it, but they're honestly not particularly interesting ones - the ones in the full Monster Manual are much more interesting designs.
PHB: http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606
MM: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786965614/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_3?pf_rd_p=1944687622&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0786965606&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1P97FC5XX4622FXS33VS
edited for formatting
> I wouldn't call DnD 5th edition rules light though.
It's not "rules light," but has a fairly limited number of mechanics to worry about. There are very few (any?) issues with the rules where stuff isn't intuitive (in contrast to something like 2e, where some checks you wanted to roll high and others you wanted low).
> There's lots of rules, spells and conditions all in 3 books spanning ~900 pages just for the basic game to run.
Nope. All you need is the free PDF to get started. There are a lot of spells, but any individual character doesn't need to worry about most at once, instead just learning about new stuff as it becomes available.
The Dungeon Master's Guide is not at all required to run the game, and actually doesn't cover any required rules. It's most useful section is the Treasure chapter, with everything else being more "conversational" insight, some random generators to help the DM do stuff, etc.. Player's certainly don't need to purchase it.
The Monster Manual is important, but only needed by one person.
> Then you add in Xanathars, Tome of Foes, Volo's guide and that's another ~900 pages and a total investment of like 350$ CAD.
None of those books are at all required, and most are simply filled with useful "fluff" like generating backgrounds, detailed racial information (society of fey creatures, etc), and some optional rules for downtime activities between adventures.
Of those books, only Xanathar's Guide to Everything actually has stuff that you could argue is useful to players in a mechanical way. Fortunately, damn near all of it was previously made available for free in Unearthed Arcana, so if you just need the mechanical player options, you probably don't have to buy the book.
You don't have to spend anywhere close to $350 CAD to run 5e. You're looking at $0 for players to get started, or $57 if they want to buy the PHB at full retail for some reason. You can instead just get it online for about $35.. Even that's only needed if you want the rules for all the subclass specializations -- the core rules free PDF includes everything you need to actually play the game.
> Let's not forget about the work you research and study you have to do to run a module, which could be like another 200-300 pages that you need to know in and out for the game to run smoothly.
Huh? Modules are generally just a single adventure, and certainly not "200-300 pages." If you're talking about a full Adventure Path that spans nearly all the levels, then yeah those are larger. But you're also talking about something like a 1 year or more of actual game play. Furthermore, you don't need to know it in and out "for the game to run smoothly." The GM probably needs to at least skim over each chapter to have a general idea of what's happening, but actual prep time for any given session is no more or less than Savage Worlds. I know because I run both.
Thanks for asking! u/shnurshnur and I (along with the others in our party) will try to address these in the FAQ video we'll put out, but my personal take on these questions are:
>How would you explain it to someone whose only exposure to it is in The Big Bang Theory and Stranger Things?
If you think of D&D as a kind of spectrum, both BBT and ST are on it; with Big Bang Theory leaning towards the more exaggerated, r/wheredidthesodago kind of roleplaying, and Stranger Things more closely approximating what it's actually like. In fact, depending on your group's dynamics, it could be eerily accurate, including the parts where they argue about what to do next. (As an aside, Stranger Things resonated so much with me that I wrote about how it reminded me of my high school D&D groups last year)
>is it an expensive hobby? How much can I expect to spend on starter and expansion packs and stuff?
It's only as expensive as you want it to be. The starter set is $26 (haven't seen it locally, unfortunately) and includes everything to start a basic game. If you wanted to get more in-depth (create your own characters), you could get by with sharing one single Players' Handbook among your entire group. And if you wanted more structured adventures, you could buy them piecemeal for $20-$40 each, or get the Dungeon Master's Guide to make your own scenarios, or even the Monster Manual to choose which enemies to sic at your friends.
The costs can scale up or down depending on how far you want to go. If you want all-out immersion then you could spend hundreds on figurines, tilesets/maps, supplemental books, etc. On the super budget side of the fence, you could even get by with just using electronic resources (even virtual dice) to try playing D&D with no up-front cost incurred.
Hope this helps, and even though I've answered your questions, I hope you choose to watch our video when we release it so you can get opinions from the others too!
Have you ever listened to any DnD podcasts? Listening to others play helped me learn the basic rules and the cadence of the game, which is all you really need.
Not Another DnD Podcast (NADDPOD) is hilarious and super compelling, I definitely recommend it! Helps me scratch that DnD itch when I'm not playing or planning a session. Also, read the Player's Handbook!
I have a twenty sided dice that is around the size of my fist. https://www.amazon.ca/Jumbo-Opaque-Black-White-Numbers/dp/B001AJLCSY/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1485880203&sr=8-7&keywords=d20
I would suggest getting a full set or two of regular size dice as well. These come in many different colours and patterns. Often players will collect multiple sets.
The link below just has some simple designs for a very good price; I do not know about the quality of this item however. (I haven't ever ordered dice online, I typically go to the local hobby shop for dice as its the same price and there's no shipping. Link provided for your convenience and so you know what you're looking for.) [Reviews say the linked dice ship from China and take a few weeks to come in but are decent quality. Only complaint is they are a bit lighter than somebody was used to.]
https://www.amazon.ca/TR-OD-Dragons-Dungeons-Opaque-D4-D20/dp/B0192OVVKW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485880367&sr=8-1&keywords=dnd+dice+set
He'll likely want the Player's Handbook as well, although there are free PDF versions of it (They're a lot harder to use than the physical copy of the book)
https://www.amazon.ca/Players-Handbook-Wizards-RPG-Team/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485880278&sr=8-1&keywords=player+handbook
If he really gets into it he may also want the Dungeon Master's Guide and/or the Monster Manual.
https://www.amazon.ca/Dungeon-Masters-Guide-Wizards-Team/dp/0786965622/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1485880278&sr=8-2&keywords=player+handbook
https://www.amazon.ca/Monster-Manual-Wizards-RPG-Team/dp/0786965614/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1485880278&sr=8-4&keywords=player+handbook
Hey, sorry I was backpacking this weekend and just got home. Looks like you talked to Jon as well, he messaged me. I'm totally cool if you want to be a player. I have been crash-coursing myself in learning how to DM. Thus far it been good, (only 1 session in, so far)
So, we meet Wednesday nights at 7:00 at my house and typically play till 10:00 to 10:30. We will be meeting this coming Wednesday night. In the future we may play every other Wednesday if I start to get behind on prepping for sessions. The only thing you would need to bring would be dice and if you have the Player's Handbook, great. If you don't have the PHB, it selling on Amazon for $20. So don't feel like you need to guy play $49 today at that place in the mall. I would say you eventually should get it, but we can make do then you get it. I have everything else you guys might need.
We are doing the Lost Mines of Phandelver. If this is something you want to do with us then we (you and your boyfriend) can roll some new character sheets. I have time this afternoon and tonight. Late Monday night (after 9:00pm). And then after 5:00 pm on Tuesday. If you were already doing LMoP campaign, and don't want to do it again. I may be able to start scrambling other stuff into it to make it fresh and new for you. The other players won't know because, "they won't know" :)
Anyway, I need to buy some groceries for the week.
My name is Ben, by the way.
Ok, so there are two introductory kits you can grab (either will work)
Both sets come with dice to play, and either will work for a first time group. They're relatively cheap (cheaper than any of the main books) and give you an easy way into the hobby.
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If you use one of those and your group digs it, there are three main books that have the expanded, full rule sets.
For tips on running a game I recommend... Matt Colville's Running the Game series. The early videos tend to be a bit longer and not as well trimmed, but they're all good and the more recent ones (like the one recently on "the local area") are much tighter and better edited, giving a ton of information in a nice neat little package.
>
"When you're ready for even more, expand your adventures with the fifth edition Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual."
http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606
http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Roleplaying/dp/0786965592/
You will find no mention of next or fifth edition on these pages.
The title of them should have been either Dungeons and Dragons Next Starter Set, or Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition Start Set. If I want to find the fifth edition starter set searching for fifth edition does not help me, searching for Next does not help me, because there is nothing that gives any suggestion that this is not the first release.
A small note on the back of the book is not what I had in mind.
Like I said, it's so annoying to google. Even the subreddit is /r/dndnext
You can make decent characters with the basic ruleset, but for $29 ( US - > http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408053588&sr=8-1&keywords=players+handbook
Canada -> http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/players-handbook-a-core-rulebook/9780786965601-item.html?ikwid=players+handbook&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0 )
How can you go wrong? Not to mention the fact that its everything you need as a player (And its handy for DM's as well)
I'm assuming you're young, since just the PHB is an acceptable expense (in my opinion) to begin as a player. As of right now it's not even $50, which was the typical price when I began playing in 3.5. So might I suggest this as a birthday or other holiday gift if you're not able to get together the money?
I'm definitely not digging on your for not being able to afford it, that's fine and people have reasons. I'm just saying, $30 entry point is damn good and there's so much meat in this game that I'd pay $50 gladly for the core book.
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In addition, if you and your gaming group would go in on the core rule set, it's 50% off currently on Amazon, so you're getting each book for effectively $27.50 with a free DM screen.
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PHB: https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=players+handbook&qid=1564688516&s=gateway&sr=8-2
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3 Book Core Set:
https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Rulebooks-Slipcase-Handbook/dp/0786966629/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=players+handbook&qid=1564688680&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFSNDJCRjExRFA0UkkmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTEwMDQwMzU2OUtKM1Y0MjRQRUcmZW5jcnlwdGVkQWRJZD1BMDQ5MDAwNDhJSUVBQTU2T0ZPUCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
I can't speak about Thule, but have you tried looking for the 5e books on the internet?
If ordering it online isn't an option in your country then PDF+ printing you select pages is probably the best way to go.
Always on sale @ amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606
Looks like $27 moneybucks right now for the PHB
Also, read the entire starter adventure front to back, and again. You'll want to know who's who, where's where, what's happening, and how things players do in area X at this time affect area Y in the future.
Other than that, let the players know that you, as the DM, don't exist and that they drive the story. You just tell them how the world reacts to their shenanigans.
In order to cut down on off-road activities, I like to start sessions with (in the favor of the starter set) "Hey guys, in this session you'll meet a man named Gundren Rockseeker, and you're going to protect his shipment of goods from here to Phandelver along goblin-heisted roads. We're gunna try and get your through the first meeting and onto the town of Phandelver, where's there's rumors of gang troubles."
It's like going into a game you've read about, like I know going into Mass Effect 3 we start on Earth and some shit happens and we end up at the Citadel Council within the first session or so. I know where to go, what to do, and I'm not left wondering "Uh DM what's going on?"
Quick tips are AC doesn't mean how hard armor is to penetrate, it's more like whether or not you've hurt someone. A "hit" isn't a hit. Hit Points aren't a measure of blood loss, but the will to keep going before unconsciousness takes you. Called shots are not a thing, a PC can't say "Ok I want to stab him in the heart" rolls to hit, and then is upset that he didn't auto-kill the enemy by stabbing them in the heart. "You thrust your blade before the goblin deflects it, just grazing his torso but not penetrating. He takes 4 damage."
Also, ale.
Is this the 5th edition phb? It doesn't say anywhere and I can't find the ask a question on the mobile site https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786965606/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_BesbAbZCJ9CJ5
Do you think its stupid to go straight for the $27 handbook?
https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=pd_sbs_14_1/133-7302563-4327352?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0786965606&pd_rd_r=42024b08-2d05-4b57-b638-9f7fe2e88d55&pd_rd_w=rMqQH&pd_rd_wg=beQxC&pf_rd_p=1c11b7ff-9ffb-4ba6-8036-be1b0afa79bb&pf_rd_r=2Q82ZD7TBVVNKRF2C9BS&psc=1&refRID=2Q82ZD7TBVVNKRF2C9BS
5E DMG: http://www.amazon.com/Dungeon-Masters-Guide-Core-Rulebook/dp/0786965622
5E PHB: http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606
5E Monster Manual: http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Manual-Core-Rulebook-Wizards/dp/0786965614
Roll20 is a popular online gaming site. I've ran stuff for groups there in the past. It's a pretty good tool, expect to put in some effort to get what you want out of it.
I know this sub is listed DND5th, but /r/dndnext (the old code name before it became 5th) and /r/dnd are both much more frequented. /r/rpg also has some dnd content specific to 5e.
There is a new SRD/OGL, see details here: http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/systems-reference-document-srd. The DM's guild is where I would go for adventures and other stuff: http://www.dmsguild.com/
Honestly, there is more then enough options for 5e right now with the Player's Hand Book. Specially since you are just starting out. 5e is very easy to pick up and runs smooth. I would pick up the brand new 5e starter set if I were you and then decided from there if you enjoy the game. From there you can use the free Basic Rules online and the Players Hand Book to continue playing.
No. The Starter Set has the Basic Rules.
The PHB is a 316 page hardback book with the complete player rules.
There are some basic differences that are both important and unimportant:
The starter set does not contain full character creation rules, full spell lists or advancement past L5 for it's pregenerated characters, the basic rules online do contain this information though, the starter set has a limited version of the rules, and only contains the monsters necessary for the adventure, the basic rules have a much wider bestiary, more magic items and a complete set of the rules.
The starter set is intended to be a quick introduction to D&D, to which you can later add the basic D&D rules online as you need more rules for more situations and advance past L5 (which is when the starter set ends).
If you want more options beyond the basic rules (for character creation, monsters or rules), the printed three Core published books provide this information. That's the Players Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Masters Guide.
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
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.
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.
You actually have a lot of options when it comes to price.
If you want to just get started then I would suggest trying out the [D&D 5th Edition Starter Set] (https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Roleplaying/dp/0786965592/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484667056&sr=8-1&keywords=d%26d+5e+starter+set) for ~$17 on Amazon. I haven't used it before, but I've heard very good things about it. The Starter Set has everything you need to run a short game for 4-6 players including a shortened rule book, pre-written adventure, and character sheets.
If you want to dive right into the full game then you can pick up the [5th Edition Player's Handbook] (https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484667507&sr=8-1&keywords=player%27s+handbook) for ~$30 on Amazon which has all the rules and instructions necessary to make a character and run a game of D&D. If you decide that you will be the one running the game the [Monster Manual] (https://www.amazon.com/Monster-Manual-Core-Rulebook-Wizards/dp/0786965614/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484667684&sr=8-1&keywords=monster+manual) and [Dungeon Master's Guide] (https://www.amazon.com/Dungeon-Masters-Guide-Core-Rulebook/dp/0786965622/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484667724&sr=8-1&keywords=dungeon+masters+guide) will be helpful, but still optional.
You also have the option of finding an already existing group and joining with them. One of the best ways to learn D&D is to have a patient veteran take you through everything you need to know step-by-step. If you do not personally know anyone who plays then you could always try checking local game stores and hobby shops to see if there are any games. You can also check r/lfg to find games near you or online. Obviously if the group already has the rulebooks then the cost is potentially free.
Finally if you have anymore questions about the game you could check the D&D 5th Edition subreddit r/dndnext or the non edition specific r/DnD.
Ehh, you can get by as a newbie in the 5e scene by using the System Reference Document which is free by default. It doesn't have everything from the Player Handbook, such as all of the cleric domains, but it has the rules and some of the other subclasses. After playing with it for a while and determining you enjoy that edition of D&D you can get the PHB on [Amazon for $29.74 USD] (https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483698202&sr=8-1&keywords=player+handbook+5th+edition).
So there are lots of options before resorting to piracy.
There are a lot of entry points. Which one is best will probably depend on your level of gamerness (if that's a word?).
If you don't do much tabletop gaming (or your only boardgames are from Hasbro), the D&D fifth edition starter set is a great place to start. Eventually, your group will have to get the DM Guide,, Player's Handbook, and maybe the Monster Manual after you finish the sessions from the starter set.
If you're more of a gamer, and you like min/maxing, let me recommend Pathfinder. It's an offshoot of the 3.5th edition of D&D (considered by many to be the heyday of D&D's systems. Here's their beginner box - the great thing about pathfinder is that after you finish that box, you don't need to buy anything. Ever again. there are resource pages all over the internet where all of the source material is available for free. (premade campaigns, you'll have to buy if you want to use them, though, but that's the same as D&D).
Another option if you're a starwars fan, is the new Star Wars RPG by fantasy flight. There are different source books and begginer boxes depending on if you want to focus your adventures around smugglers and normal folk on the edge of civilization or members of the rebellion
5E PHB - ~$30
https://smile.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606
Not only is it copyright infringement, but there's the time and cost of scanning or photocopying a 300+ page book. Fork out the $30 and keep your alignment as Lawful Good.
> If you can get your hands on a PHB (players hand book)
By buying it for less than $30 from Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606
This one? http://www.amazon.de/Players-Handbook-Core-Rulebook-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1463840280&sr=8-1&keywords=player+handbook
I fully suggest the currently-releasing fifth edition. The Starter Set contains some pre-made characters, a set of dice, and a pre-written adventure that teaches the DM and players a lot about playing the game. It's a great place to start.
Basic 5e is available for free on Wizards website. Basic contains all the rules you need to play, but presents only a small portion of the options available to make characers (Only 4 of the 12 classes, no feats[optional ways to customize character], only some of the spells available, not all the monsters that will be available in the Monster Manual). It's a full game, but with a very narrow amount of choices.
You can play D&D with just the free Basic rules, but each book will give more options. The Players Handbook offers the full selection of choices for player characters. The upcoming Monster Manual and Dungeon Master's Guide will give you more baddies to fight and alternate, optional rules as well as advice on running the game, respectively.
I would suggest taking a look at the Basic rules online and buying the Starter Set. It has everything you need to play except some pencils. If more character choices, bad guys to fight, optional rules appeal to you; get the corresponding books.
You can get the DMG, PHB, and MM on Amazon.
The monster manual, [player's handbook] (http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1417066240&sr=8-2&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons), and the soon to come out Dungeon Master's Guide will all tell you what you need to know in each category.....now granted I wouldn't buy these until you and a group of friends have decided that you want to play. However once you do, these books will do most of the heavy lifting.
nice discount on the pre order http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407370457&sr=1-1&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons
Here or here
First off I'd like to say you should always support your local game shop. With that out of the way, buy this:
http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606
It's 5th edition and it's super easy to learn. Call your local game shop and see if they're doing Adventurer's League. Go, play D&D, have fun :)