D&D Basics (Getting started)

The Absolute Basics

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

Then you need to have at least a few items

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

  Common Tools of the Trade
  

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

  As a Player
  

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

  Spell Cards
  

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

  Binders & Sheet Protectors
  

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

  As a DM
  

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

  Index Cards
  

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

  Game Mats
  

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

  Minitures
  

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

  Where Can I Play?
  

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

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

  Also:
  

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

  Compendiums
  

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

  Adventures & Maps
  

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

Here's a list of resources and products that will help you get started with D&D 4th edition.

Free Resources

The quick start rules are free and cover most of what a player needs to know to play the game, plus a few pregenerated characters; it lacks rules for character creation and advancement, and a few other advanced rules and options, but it's a good resource for those who don't yet own the books. Some additional pregens can be found at DungeonMaster.com.

Some other free resources were posted by /u/Dracoprimus, including a bunch of links to free adventures. Another good free adventure is EN World's Island at the Axis of the World, part of their Zeitgeist adventure path.

Kassoon's 4e crib sheet is a handy reference. Sly Flourish has a DM cheat sheet that can also be quite helpful, though you may have trouble making sense of it without access without a core DM resource.

Core Rules & Content

The following items are those you need to play a more robust campaign or adventure (you could technically get by without some of them, but you will be limited). You can save a few bucks by buying used. Ideally, each player (including the DM) should have a copy of a player resource, but in a pinch the players can share one player book for character creation/advancement, and then get by with the quick start rules linked above. Only the DM needs the DM resources.

• Player resource: Heroes of the Fallen Lands (alternatives/supplements: Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms, the 4e Player's Handbook)
  
• DM resource: The 4e Dungeon Master's Guide (alternative/supplement: the 4e Rules Compendium)
  
• DM resource: The Monster Vault (buy a new or like-new copy so you can be sure you get all of the included components). You could probably get by without a monster resource if you run published adventures that include monster statblocks, as most do, but if you want to roll your own campaign or improvise, a solid monster resource is recommended.
  
  With those three products, you have everything you need to run a level 1-30 campaign.
  
  You should check out the errata and updates for any books you acquire -- especially the older ones, like the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide.
  
  D&D Insider & Extras
  
  A D&DI subscription can substitute for the resources mentioned above to a large extent, and supplement them with tons of content, but reading through online glossary entries and a bunch of scattered articles isn't the best way to learn the rules. I would still recommend getting the core books even if your group has a DDI sub, and a DDI subscription is strictly optional.
  
  There are also many source books that I won't mention here, which include additional character options and content for the players and DM: new races, classes, powers, feats, items, monsters, traps, etc. along with accompanying lore. Personally though, in lieu of buying lots of extra source books for extra character options and monsters, I'd get a DDI sub. It gives you virtually everything published in those books, plus useful tools such as the Character Builder and the Monster Builder. The online compendium is also a much quicker and more convenient reference than a stack of books. I would recommend a D&DI subscription for any active DM or heavy player.
  
  Game Aids
  
  The following items are either necessary or very helpful to running a live, in-person game. If playing online, a virtual tabletop can cover these functions. Roll20 is the easiest virtual tabletop to get started with, and it's in active development. MapTool is a somewhat more robust, but many players have technical issues with it, and its pace of development seems to have slowed.
  
  
• Battle mat: A blank, reusable flip-mat, like the Paizo basic flip-mat, plus some dry- or wet-erase markers. This is a good option for drawing up a quick map on the fly.
  
• Alternative battle mat: A gridded easel pad, which you can get at an office supply store for around $17 for 50 sheets (which will last you a good long time), plus crayons, markers, or colored pens/pencils. This is a good option for either preparing detailed maps before the session, or drawing up a quick map mid-session.
  
• Alternative battle mat: Yet another option for battle maps are poster maps and/or dungeon tiles. An even more upscale option are Dwarven Forge products; those utilizing the sturdy "dwarvenite" material are particularly nice. The DM's Craft YouTube channel has a lot of tutorial videos for creating nice-looking but inexpensive environments.
  
• Dice: You'll need enough dice for everyone. Bulk dice like Chessex Pound O' Dice can be a good way to go. In a pinch, you can get by with a single set of dice shared by the group. At minimum you need one each of the following: d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20.
  
• Miniatures, tokens or other character markers: The Monster Vault includes some cardboard tokens. You can make your own tokens, use dollar store plastic soldiers, Pathfinder Pawns standup tokens, buy miniatures of a range of qualities and price points (Reaper minis are nice), or buy products that come with miniatures, like Descent and the D&D Adventure System games. The latter two options are standalone D&D-like board games which also include dungeon tiles. Some miniatures come pre-painted, others are unpainted; note that painting unpainted minis isn't as difficult as you might imagine. In a pinch, you can use coins, bottlecaps or anything else that's a suitable size to represent characters and monsters.
  
• Optional: Pipe cleaners, which can be bent into shapes to denote the corners of zones, or cut into pieces which can be bent into small loops, which can then be hung on miniatures to denote status conditions.
  
• Optional: 3x5 index cards can be handy for initiative tracking, passing notes, or creating power cards or monster statblocks.
  
  Products to Avoid
  
  The following are products that I sometimes see recommended (or would recommend myself) but happen to be overpriced or are not worth it for some other reason.
  
  
• The Monster Manual, and other 4e monster resources published before June 2010. The third Monster Manual was released along with updated math to govern monster attack bonuses, defenses, hp and damage, which was used in subsequent publications. In addition to the math updates, WotC got better at overall monster design as the edition matured. Other than the Monster Vault, some good monster resources include the Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale, the Dark Sun Creature Catalog and Monster Manual III.
  
• The "Red Box" Starter Set. While it would be a fair value at its retail price of $20, it seems to be out of print, which means it's selling at inflated prices. The product itself is mediocre. It provides a fast, but not necessarily good introduction to the game.
  
• The DM's Kit. This is actually a fine product, and contains a DM's Book which is a good substitute for the DMG or Rules Compendium. It also includes a very high quality adventure, the Reavers of Harkenwold. In addition, it comes with DM screen, two double-sided poster maps, and some cardboard punch-out tokens, and a small monster book. Unfortunately, the DM's Kit also appears to be out of print, and at the time of this posting is selling for well over $100 used. It's good, but not that good.

A mere 4 months ago I was in your very shoes, having never played DnD but wanting to DM. Now I'm running 3 weekly games [Protip: Don't do this]. Luckily for me I found a couple great resources to help me out:

The Dungeon Master Experience is a collection of articles written by one of the best: Christopher Perkins. He's not only a Senior Designer for DnD, but he's also the DM for a number of groups including Penny Arcade, Robot Chicken, and the other designers over at Wizards of the Coast. This will be your most valuable resource.

New DM Guide Reddit's #1 Resource for new DMs.

So You Want To Be a DM: A great collection of starter tips.

/r/loremasters: A subreddit dedicated to worldbuilding.

/r/dndnext: Like /r/dnd but solely for 5e.

The Angry DM: He can be a bit preachy at times, but Angry DM has a great amount of thought put into everything he writes.

/u/famoushippopotamus If you see him post on something, just read it. He's been DMing longer than most of us have been aware that DnD existed.

DnD Encounters is a weekly event at your friendly local game store. Check it out. It's also a great place to recruit players!

[Your head!](Link Not Found): The only thing you really need to get started is an idea, write it down. You'll learn a lot just putting your thoughts on paper and thinking of how to flesh it out.



I would recommend that you go and pick up the Starter Set (HOLY SHIT GUYS ITS $12 RIGHT NOW. BUY BUY BUY!). It comes with the basic rules, a set of dice, a prewritten adventure, and some characters for the adventure. Get a couple players together and this is all you need to get started. After that you can move onto other prewritten adventures, like Horde of the Dragon Queen, or you can write your own.

It shouldn't be that difficult to find people to play with, some people might care that you've never been a PC, but you don't need to play with them. If you have friends who enjoy gaming see if they're interested. And check out your FLGS (friendly local game store). If none of those work, there are plenty of online options as well.

One last note: In my short time DMing I have to say I did not expect the sheer amount of prepwork that goes into a single session. Players have to inhabit a single character and their mechanics. You need to understand not only the characters at the table, but every NPC, trap, and monster you put in front of them. It can be time consuming. It can be hard. But it is also one of the greatest feelings in the world when you hit that flow state where you and your players are building your world together.

Good luck! And welcome to DnD, where the rules are made up, and the rules don't matter either, as long as what you're doing is awesome.

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

Tips

ProJared: How to be a good DM

DM Support Group

Content Generation

DonJon Inn Generator

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

Map making

Podcasts

For inspiration

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

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

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

Materials

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

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

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

DM cheat sheets

Ozuro

Ronny Hart

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

Reddit threads I've saved

Overland travel

Sandbox play

Terrain features for encounters

Software

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

>It's possible that it already exists, of course
Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights are both highly regarded video game recreations of the Dungeons and Dragons rule sets, but they are built on 2nd and 3rd editions, respectively. Dungeons and Dragons Online is also built on a somewhat modified version of the 3rd edition rules.

>I'd like it if someone could tell me what version would be the best to make as a game

4th edition, the current edition of Dungeons and Dragons, is probably your best option. It has a very gentle learning curve, and the mechanics are easy to understand. It also lends itself very well to play on a grid due to its emphasis on tactical combat. In my experience (I'm a software developer), portraying the world in a grid makes things super easy.

>I need someone who know the rules of D&D and can explain them to me

You should consider checking out "Dungeons and Dragons Encounters" at your friendly local game store (link has a search box to find your nearest location). They run hour-long weekly sessions, and provide pre-made characters. It's a very easy way to get acquainted with the game, and they always welcome new players.

The game is a bit big for someone to explain via reddit, but if you feel up to it you could pick up a copy of the Player's Handbook or the "Red Box" starter set.

>I'm not sure if it's legal to make it

Provided that you don't actually use any of Wizards of the Coast's intellectual property, you're fine. Things like "Elves", "Dwarves", "Halflings" and other things from classic fantasy are fair game. Specific things like the names of feats and powers might be a little more dangerous. The easy way to get around this is to make users type the names themselves. If your user has to type "Dragonborn" in a field titled "race", no on could blame you for it.

>With this I must say that my skills are limited, and therefor I won't be able to make it 3D, and I'll only be able to implement a limited AI. The game will be playable online with friends.

You may consider just building a "virtual table top." Essentially it's a program that emulates having your game group (3-6 players and a Dungeon Master) at the table. You need a gridded map, dice, icons to represent characters, and a way to handle character sheets.

There are several very good virtual table top programs in existence, but that shouldn't stop you from building one. I've built one myself (entirely in Javascript), and it was an incredibly fun project.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Good luck! I hope this helps.

It's hard, in my opinion, to levy that kind of criticism at a DM. What I would suggest is to just tell him all your ideas when you have them. My brother and I are both DM's and I play in his game and I hope he'll get a chance to play in mine. I am constantly gabbering ideas I come up with for my game to him. He obviously can't do the same, because I play in his game. I am a person that loves the challenge of design, so I'm pretty consistently developing new pieces of designs from world building, to mini games, to encounters, to narratives, to situations, etc. He has stolen or at least been intrigued by many of my ideas, which I love (since I can't always run them myself). I often ask him for design advice as well, so it's not one sided. He can't tell me about his ideas, but he can provide input on mine. Having consistent design discussions with a fellow DM can do wonders for both of your work.

Discuss Design for Fun: I think what you'll find is that if you just tell him design ideas you come up with just for the sake of discussing design for fun, your DM will naturally begin to pick things up and start experimenting with your ideas. You'll probably find that your ideas inspire them to come up with their own. I strongly encourage facilitating design discussions with anyone that has interest, including your DM. If, after a couple of weeks of discussing design, your DM still hasn't upped their game, that's when I would confront the issue. Say "hey, we've talked about a dozen different ideas, but you don't seem to be implementing anything new into the game. What's the deal?"


New D&D Supplements: Another really helpful tool for a DM (especially if they don't have the time to create interesting homebrewed scenarios) is the book Tome Of Beasts: https://www.amazon.com/Beasts-Wolfgang-Baur/dp/1936781565

The monsters in that are great and much more difficult than the ones in the monster manual. I still prefer designing my own stuff, because there are 400 monsters in that book and it takes a while for me to go through it. Just an example of a beautiful design in the book is the Living Wick. It's a construct, that comes to life when their wick is lit and they attack (or serve their master). They can also burn their wick in a single go and explode, doing a decent amount of damage for a low level party (like a toned down fireball, but I recommend turning it into a full on fireball). The trick to beat them, aside from killing them, is to dowse their wick. You might homebrew them a tad so they can fight against your players by also making them either immune to fire, or cause fire to make a massive chain reaction that causes them to explode. Also, using them as an ambush and having them tackle the party and explode.

Here's an idea I had for my low level from the tome of beasts: "You enter through the large doors. It's pitch black in here, but as you walk you can here your foot steps echo in what must be a massive chamber. If you create a light (or have dark vision), you can see that this is a great reception chamber, entirely made out of a deep blue marble. The walls are accentuated with impressive pillars. The marble chamber has such a high, elaborate ceiling that goes up about 50 feet. The hallway extends to the a decorated portcullis at the end. Along the full length of the hall are a parallel series of pedestals. Sitting atop the pedestals are a dozen or more statuesque figures, all positioned in various 'thinking' sitting poses. A closer inspection reveals that they are made out of wax. Above the hearth you entered is marble slab, jutting out from the wall with two metal tubes extending out of it. When the players walk close enough, two brilliant jets of fire shoots out from the turret above the hearth, illuminating the dark marble of the chamber. These two lines of fire rocket downward and the jet across the backs of the wax statues, before arcing back up into the ceiling and dispersing. The wax statues are now lit, like a candle from a protruding wick on their back. This dim glow is the only light in the room. The players here a quiet hiss (like the sound of a burning fuze) come from the burning wicks. They suddenly come to life in fluid, short bursts of movement. They move unnatural, almost like dancers. They move quickly and suddenly for seconds at a time, and then come to a complete stop, and then moving again. They all turn towards the players and immediately sprint towards them."

tl;dr: Start creating discussions about game design to bounce ideas with them, so they get a chance to hear some cool design thoughts without it becoming uncomfortable. Recommend the book Tome of Beasts

> 1) what do you recomend to do?

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

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

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

Here is the playlsit for Critical Role on Youtube:

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

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

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

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

Sound like you already have the core rule books.

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

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

Some folks will recommend, eBay and similar but I really don't want to get into that. If you do, good luck. I'll point you to some new products instead of used items.

Though not the best deal per figure, the easiest way to get pre-painted figures are from the official D&D and Pathfinder blind boxes. Each ranges from $15 to $17 and each has one "Large" (or "Huge" in the case of the D&D Giants boxes) figure and three "medium" or smaller figs. Overall the painting quality is satisfactory, but not as good as if you painted them by hand with basic wash techniques.

If you want specific single figures, the Reaper Bones figures are competitively priced. Paizo and Wizards both liscence official painted and unpainted figures through Wizkids. Though they are slightly more expensive than Reaper Bones, they also have ones that match the exact appearance of official creatures.

If you want the cheapest price per figure, check out the MtG Arena of the Planewalkers board games (there are currently two plus one expansion released). The figures in here are mostly unpainted but they are lower quality molds than the other things I'm linking here and the bases are larger than 1" diameter. I think they're 1.25".

The Dungeons and Dragons board games are $40-70 depending on the seller and they have official sized unpainted figures. Each has a variety of 40 to 45 figures that are probably 75% medium sized creatures and the rest large, plus some have a single huge sized boss creature. There are currently four of the ones with co-op dungeon delves which also include nice dungeon tiles, plus the latest Assault of the Giants which has "Large" sized giant figures, but is not a dungeon delve and so it has a regular game board that's a map of the sword coast rather than dungeon tiles. The ones I recommend you check out are Wrath of Ashardalon, Temple of Elemental Evil, Castle Ravenloft, and The Legend of Drizzt.

The Descent series of board games has really nice detailed figures that look more ferocious than most of the monsters included above. The fit on a 1" grid and the games include 1" grid dungeon tiles too, but they are more expensive than the above D&D board games for a similar concept game with fewer total figures.

D&D Attack Wing figures were very expensive at MSRP because each pack had lots of extra cards, tiles, and tokens for the attack wing game. However, they are as nicely painted as the D&D blind boxes (the chromatic dragons are particularly nice) and the price is falling because they are going out of production and some places are clearing out their inventory -- so keep an eye out. The sets with ground units have standard 1" bases but flying units like dragons have clear bases that do not fit a 1" grid nicely.

The Dungeons and Dragons "Dungeon Command" series of games have somewhat recently gone out of production, but the pre-painted figures were of standard quality for D&D figures and they had large dungeon tiles in each box. They are at the point where they have been out of production long enough that the price has started to rise on amazon and the like, but you might be able to fine them for cheap at smaller retailers and second hand.

• "Bones" line miniatures look great and are rather cheap compared to metal but need painting.
  
• Toy stores - there are usually tubs of various animals and fantasy creatures/people that work well and come painted. Example from amazon
  
• Meeples - Buddy of mine started using them and really likes it. Despite the lack of exact replication of a critter you do have easily distinguishable characters
  
• Pathfinder Paws - lots of colored cardboard tokens with stands. Look decent, easy to carry, good price and though they may be for pathfinder they are just slightly different named/interpreted D&D monsters.
  
• bottle tops or cardboard tokens work fine. Lots of things online that let you print tokens and you can glue them to bits of cardboard or coins.
  
  I have crap tons of minis. TOO MANY to be honest, a couple hundred easily from the kickstarters I've backed. I also DM and really...they aren't helpful for anything other than tracking locations. When I'm really excited about one I just finished painting the biggest reaction I get is "ooo, nice job. Do I get to kill it?" so don't think that well made and painted minis are necessary. I paint them for my own enjoyment and to relax, not to make my games "better" because that doesn't happen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hope this helps!

• You can grab the free Basic Rules PDF which has the core rules and basic character generation options.
  
  
• You can watch tutorials like this video series. Combat episode is particularly helpful.
  
  
• [Critical Role: Handbook Helper](
  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1tiwbzkOjQyr6-gqJ8r29j_rJkR49uDN) is another great free resource.
  
  

• • • • -
        
        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 Essentials Kit is another great resource. It's usually $25 but looks like it's currently on sale for $16. It's full of all sorts of handy stuff like GM Screen, items/rules cards for quick reference, dice, and has an adventure that plays from level 1-6. It and the Starter Set take place in the same area of the game world and the kits work very well together actually.
        
        This unboxing video compares the content of the two boxes, notes the different style of the adventures, and might help you pick one if funds are tight.

hey man! little update for you. so the switch is definitely an upgrade. a major upgrade. i am absolutely loving 5e. its making my job as the Dm a lot easier and all of my players seem to like the much more role play centered, streamlined game play of it. we dont have to keep track of as many numbers and its really freeing for the players at a role play stand point, and me from a story telling stand point. another great thing about it if you're a dm is that there are so many books available! i bought the standard players handbook, monster manual, and Dungeon masters guide and they are all solid upgrades from 3.5 especially the dm guide. and with volos guide to monsters, and Xanthars guide to everything also available there are so many more options for fights, npcs, and playable characters. so i 100% recommend the switch if you are considering it. you will not regret it.

i also highly recomned this DM screen...lots of super useful info, and none of the fluff. DM screen

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

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

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

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

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

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

I printed a shit ton of maps out on my own printer and taped them together. It was a nightmare but it worked.

If you don't mind spending the money tossing a grid on top of a map together on a single file and the heading to your local print shop is your best bet. I was fortunate enough to have an architect friend print out 2 maps in black/white for 2 of the encounters (also in LMOP).

TBH the best thing ever has been using a dry-erase map with a premade grid. Now I'm able to draw basic designs out on the fly.

The ones I got are HERE

Definitely a worthwhile investment and the printed texture keeps it from being a boring white dry-erase.

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

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

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

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

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

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

How much do you want to spend?

I mean, you could buy him the authentic Wooly Mammoth Tusk dice... (WAAAAY expensive... a full set runs over $2100) or maybe a nice set of stone or metal dice... (Much more affordable. The Metal dice can be had for under $50, sometimes as low as half that) Or like another poster said: Hero Forge gift vouchers are good. But if he's mostly a DM, he might not need a character like a player would.

Another idea is a really nice dice bag. Something tasteful and made out of a premium material. Leather and Chain Mail are both popular.

Another thing he might appreciate as a DM is a customizable DM screen. https://www.amazon.com/Savage-Worlds-Customizable-Screen-S2P10002/dp/1930855591 I love mine because I can put whatever info that I want in it.

Other than that, a top notch mechanical pencil is always appreciated by me. Or maybe a really nice gear bag. I personally use the convention bag of holding from Thinkgeek, but they also have some nicer ones that hold more stuff... Those can run from $45 on up to about $129 depending on what you want.

I hope something in this grab bag has helped!

Yes and Sly Flourish spends a great deal of time talking about this in his excellent book, The Lazy Dungeon Master.

The problem is if I spend 5 hours designing something that I love dearly and want to spring on my players, by the gods, they are going to go through it and ... that is railroading. Sly talks about how to spend those 5 hours smartly and prep for adventures that are flexible for you and the players and comfortable and enjoyable for you.

I have heard good things about the Starter Set. It comes with some basic rules, pre-made characters, an adventure (Lost Mine of Phandelver) and a set of dice. Although I personally haven't played it. For the more savvy players, they can of course roll their own characters.

I personally like the Sunless Citadel module, found in Tales of the Yawning Portal. It's a bit tougher for the PCs, but it's a solid two or three session adventure which will start the party at level 1 and go to about level 3.

I think these shorter adventures are the best place to start as a new group. Once your group tackles a few of these shorter adventures, maybe try an official campaign or homebrew your own.

the core rulebook is on Amazon for ~$10 used. That is a good starting point for you guys as well. There are no starting adventures in that book, but I know that there are lots of free adventures avalible online, Here are some free adventures published by the game makers.

I've run the first adventure on that second link before for my gaming club before. It is solid.

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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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

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

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

If you are looking for PC minis, you'll be hard pressed to stick to that budget, but there are also great sets of cheap monsters if you look around. These guys as a good general set that I have. You can also check out Pathfinder Pawns that are real great and get a lot of use at my table.

Also, if the go the pawns route, start with a bigger box like the bestiary. Some of the smaller sets don't come with bases.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

EDIT:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The best help I've had are from Matthew Colville's Running the Game playlist, which has been incredibly helpful, and also Sly Flourish's Lazy Dungeon Master

But don't feel like you have to listen to all the videos or read/listen to the whole book. Just make sure you prepare enough for the first session which is usually 3 encounters or so and some RP scenes like introducing the player characters. Also, remember the phrase "What do you do?", it's a good prompt to show that you want player input. I like to print all of the monster stat blocks that I could need for that session into one or two convenient pages and have the notes or pages of the adventure I'm running in a binder. Once you have one session you'll have experience to build and reflect on. As long as you keep trying to get better, it's hard to be terrible.

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

That's a great question. Especially since the Realms are constantly changing and in flux. Or at least it seems that way. Coupled with a rich history and meta-story, it can be difficult to really figure out what the hell is going on currently aside from trying to read each and every novel out there. While that's do-able for some, it's not realistic for most.

Probably the best book I can recommend is Elminster's Forgotten Realms. It came out during the end of 4e and while is considered a 4e book, it really isn't. It's actually "edition agnostic," which is just a fancy way of saying that you can use it with any edition of D&D without any hassle. There are no actual stats for stuff within, it's all story stuff. Which is cool. It's like the gazetteers of old.

The only problem with the above is that it came out in 2012, and so its Sundering info is minimal, if it exists at all.

As far as more up to date information, specifically regarding The Sundering, there is the Forgotten Realms Wiki, though I cannot speak to its quality or accuracy.

Good luck and happy gaming.

If you want a really good book to go for, I have an off the wall suggestion. Pick up, "Elminster's Forgotten Realms".

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Greenwood-Presents-Elminsters-Forgotten-Realms/dp/0786960345

The base setting for 5th Edition is Forgotten Realms anyway, so unless your GM is specifically going against the flow, this will likely be useful. Additionally, this is written (at least in part) by the guy who originally designed the setting of Faerun in Forgotten Realms. It's a great read, and all it is, is background information about how people in Faerun live day-to-day. Things everyone would know like, how the temples are run, what kind of food they have, how the calendar works and what the regular festivals are. It's great for making the world feel like a living breathing world.

I would also agree with "The Sunless Citadel."

You can grab it on [Amazon] (https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Yawning-Portal-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/0786966092/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498073181&sr=8-1&keywords=tales+of+the+yawning+portal) for 29.99 if you have prime in the Tales of the Yawning Portal book.

It basically has 7 stand alone adventures that you could weave together to go from lvl 1-10. This might be a good way to share the DM role as well. Someone could jump in and pick up 1 of the 7 or you could all trade off, each doing one.

EDIT: YES, I would DM if I were you:) Especially since you already have a group of friend who you know are cool and that you know won't be jerks and that you will get along with.

EDIT 2: Check out the APP "Game Master 5" for iPhone, iPad, or whatever. It lets you plan out you encounters. I have started to do this because I wasn't to run The Sunless Citadel myself. It will be my first time DMing:/
You can input all of the NPC's beforehand with all of their stats, keep track of their initiative & HP, and basically plan out every encounter.

I got this screen a couple of years ago: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Savage-Worlds-Customizable-Gm-Screen/dp/1930855591/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511608403&sr=8-1&keywords=savage+world+screen

Its pretty neat as I can print out what ever I feel I need on my screen which is pretty useful. It also means I can change the outward sides with art themed for the campaign.

I assume you are in the UK so with the change check out https://monstermashteas.co.uk/product-category/cabinet-of-curiosity/

There are some pretty nice looking items

If you are interested, check out the preview pages, for example on amazon

The main advice I got from it is spending preparation time on the most important/immediate parts of your adventure while staying flexible (consider 3 possible paths the adventure could continue on). There's some more advice on how to improve your game or make your life as a DM easier, often giving simple tools for it (at least simple steps you could follow to achieve it). The table of contents (shown in the preview on amazon) should give you a good idea on what's included.

If you play on a grid, I would look into a dry or wet erase grid to work with. That is what my group uses and it works well enough. The only downside is you are limited to however many mats you have, if your dungeon is bigger, then you need to erase and redraw. (something like https://www.amazon.com/RPG-Battle-Game-Mat-Polyhedral/dp/B075WS9DGL/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510605712&sr=8-1&keywords=dnd+paper)

Alternatively, you can get a pad or roll of 1 inch grid paper (something like https://www.amazon.com/Pacon-Grid-Roll-Inch-Rule/dp/B000XP23O8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510605653&sr=8-1&keywords=large+1+inch+graph+paper)

Alternatively to all these, you can go a bit more modular and go with something like https://www.amazon.com/five-inch-interlocking-role-playing-miniature-tabletop/dp/B016H14JFM/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1510605750&sr=8-4&keywords=dnd+tiles where you can pre-draw sections of a dungeon, and connect them as the party explores.

Hope this helps! Any questions feel free to ask!

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

What you need to play D&D IRL:

• D&D Basic Rules for Players and DMs
  
• 3-4 players (PCs or player characters) is ideal
  
• 1 Dungeon Master (DM), who runs the game
  
• Dice (Wiz Dice is a good starting point if nobody has dice. Just buy the big bag.)
  
• Paper and pencils
  
• Optional: A battle mat (like this one from Chessex)
  
• Optional: Miniatures (minis) to represent your PCs, NPCs, and monsters. I use dice to represent monsters in my games, because minis are expensive.
  
  If you want to play a D&D online tabletop:
  
  
• Roll20.net
  
• Use /r/lfg, /r/roll20lfg, or their dedicated LFG function/forums to find other people
  
• Roll20 itself has all you need to play the game - character sheets, dice rollers, built in webcam/mic, special view for DMs versus players, music, handouts, macros, etc.

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. Next priority would be 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 do get into homebrew or other published campaigns, you'll also want the Monster Manual- the starter set rules only include stat blocks for the monsters that they use.

Edit: D&D is more than semi-scripted storytelling. Encounters (both combat and non-combat) are generally scripted in the sense that they will occur when certain conditions are met, but the outcomes are dependent on more than just the dice. D&D is a roleplaying game, which means that you (the DM) and the players are playing characters. You play all of the NPCs, and it's your goal to try to understand their motivations and thought processes and have them do what they would do in a given situation. A published adventure might have some scripted outcomes in the event that your players take a predictable course, but if they decide to do something off-the-wall, you'll need to improvise. And of course, you can always tweak the published material if you're comfortable doing so. It's not like Wizards of the Coast is staring over your shoulder making sure that you follow the text to the letter.

It seems to be this screen given the three-panel black vinyl layout. Twice as expensive as the official D&D screen, but the flexibility of the clear pockets is pretty spiffy.

For even less money and with more color choices and 33% MORE PANELS, there's this screen. It seems to stand a little taller than the first screen, too, if that's a bonus at all.

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

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

Sidekicks are paired down helper NPCs that you can find either in the new Essential's Kit that was recently released (as well as on D&D Beyond, where you can pay a discounted price for *just* the sidekick options) or you can use the slightly less streamlined (but free) rules from unearthed arcana that were the prototypes for the essentials kit versions.

Basically sidekicks are like a monster statblock, but friendly, and designed to be helpful to players, but with fewer options to keep track of.

You *could* make them as full characters, but if so I'd make your sidekicks a level or two lower than the party. That said, a full PC character is a lot of detail to put in for a character that is only there in a support role.

Also if you have the MM and are looking for yet more monsters for your campaign, OR have players like mine that all know the MM by heart and it becomes a challenge to surprise them constantly with new and creative monsters... check out The Tome of Beasts by Kobold Press

Its worked great for me so far.

Pathfinder Pawns are a very good alternative to plastic minis. They won't have some of the more iconic D&D baddies like Beholders, but that is a minor complaint. I also use the Paizo battle mats but that is just because I got them for free somewhere. I lay a piece of plexi-glass over the map and just use a dry erase marker on the plexi. Way easier to clean up than the maps.

Tome of Beasts is a great supplement full of 5e monsters.

I like using the Dungeon Crawl Classics dice set. It is a simple, fun way to have "unique" monsters or abilties that roll odd dice to hit or for damage. Players always get a kick out of using something like a D30 when they roll to attack.

I buy painted so I just get singles from ebay. The Dungeon Command boxes from amazon are also pretty good value too.

If you want unpainted then Otherworld Miniatures look good to me. You can also get the big boxed D&D board games like the base one, Ravenloft, Legend of Drizzt...etc which are relatively cheap for how many minis you get.

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

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

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

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

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

I bought one of these D&D boardgames just for the minis....theres probably a cheaper option but I was happy with what I got. Able to make like 7 or 8 heroes and then some monsters. I think there are two other games very similar so you can check them out to see what they got and if it suits your needs.

http://smile.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Legend-Drizzt-Board/dp/0786958731/ref=pd_bxgy_21_img_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1VR6XPG41K5E1F2BCQ48

There's all sorts of pre-made campaign modules that have already established worlds and towns and people and adventures. You can find them in game stores or pretty much anywhere online. A few of them include Curse of Strahd, Horde of the Dragon Queen, and Storm King's Thunder.

Best of luck with the DMing!

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

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


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

Thats nice, but a chessex battlemap is durable and amazing. Not even that expensive. They last years and are well worth the investment. Mine is 10 years old and I'm pretty sure I'll get another decade out of it at least.

If you want to premap out rooms ahead of time instead of drawing on the spot? Get something like this. It's 50 sheets of 24x37, that's a lot of rooms/hallways/buildings to map out. If you do a lot of DMing then they even come in a 4 pack.

Think that is overpriced? Get a roll. The grid isn't exactly an inch, but it's close enough. We're gaming, not trying to land on the moon. It's 34" by 200 feet. That's enough for entire campaigns.

Is 200 feet too much investment for you? 8 bucks gets you 12 feet, that's twice the length of typical wrapping paper (I seem to find 6 feet the norm). Hell, they threw the word "gaming" into the name and seem to have forgotten the 200% price mark up that normally accompanies the term.

Wrapping paper has to be the single most ridiculous way to do D&D. They don't all have grids, and the price is not great. Maybe if it goes on some sort of supersale and you can ensure that it has grids on the other side, go for it, but there's just better sources of grids available out there.

I just bought this Battlemat and it works great for everything we would need it for. The size is kinda in-between both of the ones you linked, and as a bonus it comes with markers (which work really great btw).

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MQHECUR/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've bought a number of cheap non-D&D mini sets, like these. They're certainly not great, but sometimes you need quantity, rather than quality. They're about $0.18 USD apiece.

Get some collection like that, and go to town painting them. Make mistakes. Try stuff. It almost certainly won't be the same as painting a good plastic miniature, but you'll probably still learn from it. You may feel better approaching that fetching young lady with a brush when you're done.

(I do not work for the Big Bucket of Monsters people, and was not compensated for this post!) ;-)

Amazon has a few bulk cheap options, like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Monster-Action-Figure-Bucket-Frankenstein/dp/B00W5WSN5A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523683422&sr=8-1&keywords=miniatures

It isn't great and doesnt have NPCs, characters, or stranger enemies, but they make decent enough proxies for standard baddies. IMO if you have one of these, pick up a couple decent minis from Reaper for bosses, and have PCs buy and use their own figs for their characters, you can definitely scrape by.

You also might want to look out for reaper bones kickstarters. It's a really good way to get a ton of bulk by getting their base sets. It's still pricey, but you shell out a couple hundred and get enough variety in models to handle most encounters and plenty of characters for PCs to pick for playing. Totally worth it if you are trying to get a decent collection of 3d minis.

I don't have the campaign specific ones. I did want to interject that "crap" is HIGHLY subjective. While it might not be the best per se, it isn't as bad as people say. It just isn't a one-screen-fits-all. Everyone wants something different.

FYI they are putting out a new WotC one this Fall and from looking at screenshots it seems better laid out and more optimized.

The Gale Force 9 screens are made specifically to complement the adventure with adventure art and specific info on the DM's side. So unless you REALLY like that Curse of Strahd art, I wouldn't worry with any of the GF9 screens. But I can't speak to the quality.

Dungeon Master's Screen Reincarnated

Picture of the new screen being used by Matt Mercer

Questions for DM/Players DnD [5e]

Hey everyone, I have some questions coming from a DM's standpoint. I've recently drug my friends into DnD and everyone seems to be loving it. I still have a few questions regarding how to go about things as a DM though or how other groups go about it, anyways here goes. (We're currently running LMoP by the way)

​

1. How do you go about telling certain players what they see if another player might not see the item/object? Do you just tell them, send them a text, write it on a piece of paper, etc.?
   
2. We're currently using a dry erase grid How do you go about revealing areas of the map to them? Do you draw them out in whole and let them venture through, or go about it in sections as they walk into them then drawing out what they see?
   
3. Also how do you go about picking targets if they're engaged in combat? I always feel like I pick on the closest one to the enemy when combat breaks out, am I wrong to feel that way?
   
   These are some of the questions I have for now, but I might be back with more we'll see lol. Anyways thanks in advance for any suggestions or answers!

Have you grabbed "Tome of Beasts" from Kobold Press?
https://www.amazon.com/Beasts-Wolfgang-Baur/dp/1936781565/

It's not "official", but it's pretty high quality. Many of the creatures are pulled from their Midgard campaign setting, so that may be your best source.

Here's an Amazon link. It's 58$ now, but it was 49$ 3 weeks ago when I bought it. Totally worth it. Also comes with some stand-up doors and some terrain. Plus you also get the game which is a pretty badass dungeon delve ( ain't DND... But still)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1616611898/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484932473&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=descent+board+game&dpPl=1&dpID=61TwR%2BE2rIL&ref=plSrch

A bit off topic, but seeing someone who uses erases/rewrites stuff on their character sheet makes me cringe now after I swapped to the below setup.

Brother, buy yourself some cardstock and some sheet protectors and either wet-erase markers with some spray OR dry-erase markers.

Write everything really nice and neat, only write on the sheet when it's a more permanent use, and everything that can change during a session is written on the sheet protector with the marker. I prefer the wet-erase because I can pack up the character sheet between sessions and nothing gets erased, but that's really personal preference.

http://www.amazon.com/Hoard-Dragon-Queen-Adventure-Wizards/dp/0786965649/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425978484&sr=1-2&keywords=rise+of+tiamat

Not pdf form but it's cheap enough on amazon that you can try it and see how you enjoy it. There's also a second book to this specific campaign and between the two takes the characters from level 1(? not sure) to around 15. Also keep in mind most of these are made for 4 person parties

This seems like a great idea, any you would recommend to start? I'm thinking about these:

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Legend-Drizzt-Board/dp/0786958731/ref=pd_sim_21_6?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0786958731&pd_rd_r=T2SA7PY953N0B7VZ00TJ&pd_rd_w=3bmil&pd_rd_wg=U8IoC&psc=1&refRID=T2SA7PY953N0B7VZ00TJ

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Assault-Giants-Standard/dp/B01IDYGXZK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

and maybe this:

https://www.amazon.com/Icons-Realms-Monster-Menagerie-Booster/dp/B01DYGL39I/ref=pd_sim_21_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01DYGL39I&pd_rd_r=350YSXQ3VQQQ1E3GH5P1&pd_rd_w=Bg2l0&pd_rd_wg=m0bK1&psc=1&refRID=350YSXQ3VQQQ1E3GH5P1

Personally I enjoy my Wiz Dice Bag of Devouring: 140 Polyhedral Dice in 20 Guaranteed Complete Sets

The dice seem well balanced. I don't have weird outliers like I seem to always get with Chessex, plus it comes in a sweet bag of devouring bag. Plop that baby down at a table and gamers ooh and awe.

We use these and our whole group thinks they're great. We can quickly mock up the map with dry erase markers and it's easy to add a tile on if the battle shifts. Our current party is 8 with the NPCs without including any enemies so it really helps us keep track of where everyone is. It also helps justify my miniature obsession.

My FLGS has bins of heroclix minis and other random crap for between 10 for a dollar and a couple bucks a piece. You could keep an eye on eBay and occasionally find decent things there, but you're probably going to be spending $100 plus (but you can get a great deal of hundreds of minis).

If you don't really care about size, quality, or color, this tube on Amazon (along with several others like it) are great deals. Drop down some nail polish so you can say "I attack the green one!" and you're golden. My group is still working off a lot of these guys.

Easiest solution:

1. Buy this.
   
   
2. Buy dry-erase markers (or washable markers, depending on your preference).
   
   
3. Use the markers to draw terrain and walls as needed.
   
   
4. Anything extra you have is icing on the cake. Toys, miniatures, printed custom maps, pathfinder flip-mats... just slowly build your collection for the rest of your DMing career, great side hobby.
   
   

It takes a lot of time to design a campaign. The one I'm running now, I started penning two years before I even met these players. And it's just a heroic tier setting, for levels one through ten.

If I were you, I'd pick up Hoard of the Dragon Queen. I think this was the first full-sized adventure for 5e, apart from the starter kit. It should have plenty of material for you guys to enjoy.

Here's what I did.

First, go make your spell cards at this site. Print settings can get a bit wonky, but the cards look cool and the spell lists are fairly complete:

http://www.thegm.org/perramsSpellbook.php

Next, shell out for a cool binder. This one is nice:

http://www.zazzle.com/spell_binder_1_5-127723018411879163

Third, buy a load of page protectors:

http://www.amazon.com/25-Ultra-Pro-Protectors-Baseball/dp/B000PWZU4E

I chose to sort my spells by level and by alpha order. It's been effective thus far.

Finally, get a bunch of Vis a Vis Wet Erase Markers:

http://www.amazon.com/Expo-Vis-A-Vis-Markers-Colored-16078/dp/B00006IFGW

When you prepare spells, you just put a dot on the plastic over that spell. Erase it when you cast.

The only pain so far has be re-alphabetizing spells when I learn new ones. Still, that's a small price to pay for having a literal spellbook at your table.

Edit: Oops! Just realized what sub I'm looking at. Ummm... instead of Perram's spell cards, you could use this one:

http://www.dnditalia.it/pcc

Or just buy this malarkey: http://www.amazon.com/Arcane-Power-Wizard-Cards-Accessory/dp/0786953551/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1371571218&sr=1-2&keywords=4th+edition+wizard+power+cards

I've found reading books on the subject like the Lazy DM or watching youtube Channels (Matthew Mercer on Geek & Sundry, Matthew Colville, and How to be a Great GM can help.

For a one time investment, you will never need to buy grid paper ever again. Ok, that's a lie. Each one lasts about a year in my experience. We use like 4-5 feet of it each session, but the size and ability to erase lets us keep track of temporary modifiers, hitpoints, Spells/day, active effects right in view of everyone. It also lets the DM reuse or modify maps as necessary. I think he keeps them in labeled poster tubes in his closet, personally...

The standard 5E DM screen is excellent.

The starter set is also excellent.

If you and the bois haven't ever played before, one of you should pick up either the D&D Starter Set or the D&D Essentials Kit. They're each $12 on amazon and have a beginning adventure, basic rules set, and pre-gen characters to play. Solid place to start. The Starter set has the adventure "Lost Mines of Phandelver", which is a classic.

If you get through one or both of those, the next step would be for the group to decide who'd be the DM. That person should pick up the Core Rule Set books (Players Handbook, DM's Guide, Monster Manual). It'd help if the other players picked up their own copy of the Players Handbook.

Probably too late for this weekend, but what you want is this: https://www.amazon.com/Greenwood-Presents-Elminsters-Forgotten-Realms/dp/0786960345/

That's the book Ed Greenwood put together talking about what everyday life's like in the Realms. Very interesting if you're looking for those sorts of tidbits.

I use the Pathfinder Play-Mats, just the generic brown mat worked fine for me and it's wet/dry/permanent erase too. They also have themed maps (forest, hills, ship, tavern, etc) if that interests you but the basic brown/grey mat works great. This one is probably the most versatile for ~$20.

I went for the Dungeons and Dragons DM Screen Reincarnated:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/078696619X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_h4RoDb8RDFYX5

Its not too expensive and comes with all the basic info you would need on hand in a game. But feel free to stick more to it as well Haha.

Edit: edited broken link

My screen is actually a vertical four-panel vinyl screen with 8 clear pockets (four on the DM side, four on the player side), so you can slide sheets into each one like so. I usually put in stats for important NPCs, maps, indexes, etc. And since it's clear vinyl, I can mark off used powers with dry erase markers.

Here is a similar one with a horizontal layout.

You're missing one. Granted, it's not a WOTC product but definitely well worth it in my opinion.

I always recommend allThingsHeroscape.com has a set of 4 warriors already painted for $5 USD and a Red/Copper Dragon for $6 USD and a set of 30 figures for under $30 USD but some of those are robots and army guys, so they'll need some modifications and repainted.

Ok, don't laugh too hard at me, but I got this "bucket of monsters" really cheap, and you'd be surprised at how many will work for D&D, especially if you paint them. It's 100 monsters for, like $18 bucks American.

Edit: This is a "fantasy creatures" bucket for $23.

I really like this map made for pathfinder. This pack has two-double sided maps (stone, grass, water, and dirt). I find it very versatile and works great with wet erase markers. They make other maps with basic buildings/rooms on them too!

Get familiar, it's a crazy map. Part of a crazier adventure module. Find it in the book "Tales from the Yawning Portal" which compiles all of the best modules in DnD history. When I first saw it I was impressed. And that's saying something as I'm from the MTV generation, we feel neither highs nor lows.

I recommend either the Starter Set adventure or the Essentials set adventure, as both are great at teaching the game to new players and DM's alike.

They missed the window for this product in a pretty huge way. This should have come out about the same time as the PHB. Now, everyone who needed one either has resorted to crafting their own, or has found VASTLY superior alternatives.

Some book stores, you can go to a Barnes and Noble and ask an employee who can have it ordered for pickup for you. Other wise you can get it on sale on amazon right now

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936781565/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_18Z-zb6VDY9JY

First came the chessex "pound of dice".
https://www.amazon.com/Chessex-001LBCHX-Pound-O-Dice/dp/B008C0KXYS/


Then Wiz dice came out with their "Random Bag" (which people found to not be too random and usually was almost full sets, usually 15 sets, sometimes 14 and one incomplete, but only 1 was "guaranteed").
https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Random-Polyhedral-Multiple/dp/B009R6J8RY/


So then Wiz came out with the "Bag of Holding" with 20 guaranteed sets
https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Bag-Holding-Polyhedral/dp/B01476QV14/
This is the one I got and love.


Looking back into them today it appears that there are some new versions...


"Random Bag II" now with guaranteed 15 sets
https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Pack-Random-Polyhedral/dp/B01KN7REWQ/


"Bag of Devouring" with guaranteed 20 sets
https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Bag-Devouring-Polyhedral/dp/B01KP4T6TQ/

Does it need to be a board/inflexible? I use these and am also planning to get this when funds allow it. They're great because they're portable and work with dry and wet erase pens (chessex mat is only wet erase I believe).

I know one cheap solution has already been proposed, but I just wanted to throw these out there:

https://smile.amazon.com/Dungeon-interlocking-role-playing-miniature-tabletop/dp/B016H1B0RW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497531919&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=dungeon+tiles+dry+erase&psc=1&smid=A380WD9LOHYW0R

They are white board pieces that assemble like puzzle pieces. This allows you to continuously build onward when in a dungeon crawl situation, or have an enormous board if that's your thing. Slightly pricey, but highly recommended.

I use Vis-a-vis or Staedtler markers. The most important thing is to clean your mat as soon as you can. Do not leave markers on there over night or they will stain. You can also take some rubbing alcohol to it to make sure you get every last bit off.

For DMs who have most/all of the 5e material I highly recommend The Tome of Beasts. It's 400+ new monsters for 5e done by Kobold Press. I am thoroughly impressed with it!

I used these when I first started DMing, not really all to scale but close enough and super cheap for a bunch of minis.

Bucket of fantasy miniatures

Bucket of monsters

Bucket of mythical

Bucket of knights

Everyone goes at it differently, but the basics are pretty simple. The most common inch by inch grids (These guys, for example) have a dry erase surface to draw out whatever room/cave/inn people are fighting in.

• From there, each inch is a 5 foot by 5 foot space. A played with a move speed of 30 can move 6 squares. (If they move diagonally, it is generally 15 feet per two squares.)
  
  
• Most creatures have a 5 foot reach (some have more, like 10 feet) for melee weapons. So square to square is usually the fighting range.
  
  
• Some people play with flanking rules (if someone is engaged in the front, an attacker from the back has advantage/+5 to attack...), but thats your call.
  
  
• Spells have tons of different shapes. Right before the spell list in the back of the players handbook, there is a pretty helpful guide on how those all work.
  
  
• The last thing I can think of is creature size. Most creatures are Medium, but a large creature would take up a 10 foot by 10 foot square (So four squares together). The rest of the rules for movement and attack range still apply as normal for them

Someone mentioned Ironsworn, but Mythic is another RPG option for solo play. Descent is a dungeon crawler boardgame that can be done solo.

​

I haven't tried any of these but they are mentioned as options for solo play frequently on Reddit.

You're welcome. They're sold on Amazon. I bought the bag of devouring. I like them.

Wiz Dice Bag of Devouring: Collection of 140 Polyhedral Dice in 20 Guaranteed Complete Sets for Tabletop Role-Playing Games – Solids, Translucents, Swirls, Glitters, Alchemic Oddities https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KP4T6TQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_T9tSCb0VBEP8W

I feel the same way when I DM and of all the vids / posts / tips etc out there these have probably been the most helpful resources:

https://www.amazon.com/Lazy-Dungeon-Master-Michael-Shea-ebook/dp/B00ADV2H8O/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1539288037&sr=1-3&keywords=lazy+dungeon+master

​

https://www.amazon.com/Return-Lazy-Dungeon-Master-Michael-ebook/dp/B07H51KHWB/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1539288037&sr=1-4&keywords=lazy+dungeon+master

​

At least for me. For instance I was getting lost in NPCs and various other info in the DnD Starter Kit module but those books helped me cut a lot of unneeded things out of the module and create a better experience / NPC's etc.

maybe write up a gofundme/kickstarter or even hit up WotC and see about donations. and by far your best bet for dice is going to be a grab bag:
https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Bag-Tricks-Role-playing/dp/B079DY4FKL/

https://www.amazon.com/Quarter-Pound-Dice-Chessex-Game/dp/B07913R5YC/

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

https://www.amazon.com/Chessex-001LBCHX-Pound-O-Dice/dp/B008C0KXYS/

When I started play testing Next I purchased this book: http://www.amazon.com/Greenwood-Presents-Elminsters-Forgotten-Realms/dp/0786960345

It's Edition Agnostic! (It's just Ed detailing the Realms…) The photo with that link is awful. The material of the cover is fantastic! It feels like suede.

Grimtooth's Museum of Death, the old Grimtooth books, and Grimtooth's Ultimate Trap Collection are full of dirty ideas. There is also the classic Tomb of Horrors (converted to 5e in Tales from the Yawning Portal), and Deadly Trappings which collects traps from the Knights of the Dinner Table magazine. Using most of these can be an overkill, but they are great for mining ideas.

Also, watch Indiana Jones.

Here's an easy cheap one using 3 ring binders. You could always try something like a menu cover with the two folds and the clear plastic cover so you can slip easy to forget rules or character names or just a picture or something on the outside and all your notes and things on the inside. If you don't want to go that route there's always the Savage Worlds customizable GM screen. Matt Mercer has tips on what to include when you set your DM screen.

Best dice deals are on amazon. 17.99 for 15 sets of dice.

I got this fairly cheap on amazon its been amazing. https://www.amazon.com/Savage-Worlds-Customizable-Screen-S2P10002/dp/1930855591/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492266220&sr=8-1&keywords=custom+dm+screen

http://www.amazon.com/Pacon-Grid-Roll-Inch-Rule/dp/B000XP23O8/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top Not used it myself, but it has decent enough reviews for the purpose it serves. And it's pretty cheap considering you likely won't need another roll for a few years.

Miniatures can get expensive, you'll only be able to get a few dozen high-quality minis in your budget.

I use peg people for my monsters

https://www.amazon.com/Hygloss-Assorted-Decorated-Wooden-People/dp/B0044S1CRE/ref=sr_1_3?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1473240398&sr=1-3

In my opinion, the only important miniatures are the ones for your players, otherwise you'll be buying dozens of goblins and skeletons and who knows what. I leave it up to them to acquire minis for their characters, and be sure to warn them that they might die, especially at low level (I wouldnt recommend a player buying a mini until at least level 3, then even if they die later at least it will be a keepsake for the memories. a level 1 death doesn't create many memories)

Another budget idea is to use binder clips and print out pictures of your monsters, like in this picture I found off google http://imgur.com/gallery/gLF1m


I would recommend an erasable battle-grid like

https://www.amazon.com/Chessex-96246-Reversible-Battlemat-1/dp/B00IVF4W0U

for your maps, then you can use wet-erase markers to draw your maps.

I'm not sure amazon is available in your area, but if not hopefully you can find some sort of vynl or plastic mat that you can draw on and make your own grid with a permanent marker.

You mentioned you bought books - that's good, but don't forget about dice! Ideally you want at least one set per player and the DM.

Elminster's Forgotten Realms is pretty good, and it's not tied to any edition.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1601255578/ref=ox_sc_act_image_2?smid=A2A7YOKSJ8S515&psc=1

This one? It looks good! With these markers is suppose? https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00006IFGX/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1&th=1

Ya know, they have these things you can order known as "Pound O' Dice" that comes with quite a few sets. Perfect for your addiction.

I'm an enabler.

Edit: here's a link, JUST IN CASE.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KN7REWQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_3PVPybNTS3MQ3

Highly recommend these alternative mapping options as well:

Dry Erase Dungeon Tiles, Combo Set of five 10" and sixteen 5" interlocking squares for role-playing and miniature tabletop games
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016H1B0RW/

The new starter box set, Dungeons & Dragons - Essentials Kit, enables users to learn how to play the game or become a Dungeon Master.

​

>• Play with groups as small as two players (one Dungeon Master & one adventurer) for the first time in D&D fifth edition with the introduction of “sidekicks.”

Most of the battle mats I've seen are wet erase, and dry erase markers tend to stain them. If you want to use dry erase, I'd just get a basic whiteboard (which I did).

Figures can be kinda expensive, especially if you're looking for a lot of them. Back in the old days, we used to play with spare dice and coins. Each player tosses in a die they aren't using to represent themselves (easier to recognize the d12 that looks like the d20 you're rolling) and the DM either uses a bunch of random spare dice or pennies or something for the baddies.

If you really want to get into minis though, I'd suggest picking up things like this. They aren't "regulation" size or whatever. But they are cheaper than the real things. Considering you can buy this tube of 100 for the price of a single Reaper mini.

Or there are kits for some of the other games like Pathfinder, which is really just a generic store brand of 3.5e and the tokens work just fine.

Yup. Do you have the Player's Handbook? It will tell you how to create your character and what you should roll. Also, your DM should be able to provide some guidance as well. Ultimately, your DM will hold the final word on what is and is not allowed.

I have had a few friends buy this: https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Pack-Random-Polyhedral/dp/B01KN7REWQ/ref=sr_1_4

It guarantees 15 full sets and the quality seemed fine. It's hard to beat for the price.

if you can find the 3rd edition dnd starter set, one buy is all you need. just use 5e rules. if you want to make your own stuff, this will take care of the exploration and battlefield:

http://www.amazon.com/Ampad-Evidence-Dual-Pad-Quadrille-20-210/dp/B000JCTH2Q/ref=sr_1_2?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1419753721&sr=1-2&keywords=graph+paper

http://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419753498&sr=8-1&keywords=wet+erase+battlemat

http://www.amazon.com/Expo-Vis-A-Vis-Markers-Colored-16078/dp/B00006IFGW/ref=pd_bxgy_t_img_y

http://www.amazon.com/Marcal-Premium-Recycled-Towels-Inches/dp/B00094EWE2/ref=sr_1_2?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1419753532&sr=1-2&keywords=paper+towels

http://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-32oz-Heavy-Duty-Spray-Bottle/dp/B005KDIWES/ref=sr_1_1?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1419753550&sr=1-1&keywords=spray+bottle

http://www.amazon.com/Paizo-Publishing-Pathfinder-Pawns-Bestiary/dp/B00F9P3I6O/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1419753594&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=pathfinder+pawns

all of that's on amazon, but you can get it other places.

While the Chessex Pound-o-Dice is fine, I prefer grabbing one of the [Wiz Dice] (https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Bag-Devouring-Polyhedral/dp/B01KP4T6TQ/ref=sr_1_9?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1495144504&sr=1-9&keywords=polyhedral+dice) value packs. You end up with more full matching sets.

Hi, dm here - the battlemat is from the standard paizo flipmatset I think:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601255578/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_2YKDCbD9CE4MJ

This set is really useful as it has green-grass, water, dungeon and market-square on it.

for super cheap - anything lying around

if you got access to a printer - binder clips and random pictures you find on google

This and the few others like it. if you got some money.
https://www.amazon.com/Monster-Action-Figure-Bucket-Frankenstein/dp/B00W5WSN5A/ref=br_lf_m_za9uwymsy2m8j2a_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&s=toys-and-games

My solution?
http://www.amazon.com/Pathfinder-Flip-Mat-Basic/dp/1601255381/

Or even better, the 2-pack http://www.amazon.com/Pathfinder-Flip-Mat-Basic-Terrain-Multi-Pack/dp/1601255578/

I can't believe these aren't more popular. I love mine - dry erase is so much easier and faster than wet erase!

1" Grid Paper Roll 34 1/2" x 200' for $42.

I'm also looking at other options because I really like this idea. I'm thinking a table with an electronic roller built in. You can use it to chart your whole campaign! Add some good electronics and you can press a button and have the roll change to the environment you previously drew to go back to the scene of a crime!

If your interested here is what we recently started off with

Battle Maps

Models for Baddies

And are using lego chars for our pcs

Edit: mobile formatting ftl

(5e) New DM (just finished the 5e starter pack). I plan on running Tyranny of Dragons soon and I just bought the adventure book (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786965649/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) Will I need any additional books ( I.e the monster manual or dungeon guide?)

I've heard this book recommended several times. It's written by Ed Greenwood - the guy who created the Forgotten Realms - and apparently it just oozes flavor. It's been on my wish list for a while now.

Meh, for $5 more you can get better looking dice: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KN7REWQ/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The first two are the different core books. Player's Handbook, Monster Manual.

The last is a Dungeon Master Screen, which looks like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeon-Masters-Screen-Reincarnated-Wizards/dp/078696619X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511802648&sr=8-1&keywords=dungeon+master+screen

You can get rolls of grid paper like this; http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000XP23O8 try your local art supplies/craft store.

I would recommend you get one of these Battlemats, which are dry-erase grids you draw dungeons on as you explore them. Don't know if you know about these because you say you're new. I've been trained on these since a wee little boy in 1st edition, and I don't know what I do without them. There are many ways to run a campaign though. This is just my suggestion.

https://www.amazon.com/Chessex-96246-Reversible-Battlemat-1/dp/B00IVF4W0U/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1474535992&sr=8-3&keywords=battlemat

There's the wiki, which can give you some useful info.

If you're interested in a more in-depth reading, you could also try Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster's Forgotten Realms, which is a very long and cumbersome title but it's an edition-neutral setting guide.

Just an FYI to everyone downvoting, The Lazy Dungeon Master is actually a real book outlining a novel approach to planning a D&D campaign based on preparing a platform for improv rather than planning out every encounter and the whole story in advance, rather than just being a sarky comment.

I got a few buckets of plastic toys off amazon that are cheap, are the right sized for a 1 inch grid and can cover a lot of ground.

Monsters:

https://www.amazon.com/Monster-Action-Figure-Bucket-Frankenstein/dp/B00W5WSN5A/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1469651031&sr=8-6&keywords=dnd+mini

Knights, solders, guards

https://www.amazon.com/Toysmith-36-Piece-Guardian-Knights-Action/dp/B000YA7FS6/ref=pd_bxgy_21_img_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=JMBZKP2E432YT1YA7WX4

Zombies, skeletons


https://www.amazon.com/Zombie-Action-Figures-Bucket-Zombies/dp/B00KBHVSTY/ref=pd_sim_21_13?ie=UTF8&dpID=51OXKuC6MBL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=P3JXHNFM1GDFBDY967CY

Id go preconstructed but just tell everyone not to start googling each of the preconstructed stories because it will completely break the game.

My DM bought this

Available via Amazon Prime https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Yawning-Portal-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/0786966092/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504191513&sr=8-1&keywords=yawning+portal

It has multiple different stories. So you each could DM a different one to prevent spoiling the story

So I would need this,http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Players-Handbook-Heinsoo/dp/0786948671/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344111332&sr=1-1&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons+4th+edition, to continue playing after what I bought?

Depending on the complexity of the dungeon I'll either predraw, draw as it goes along, or only day certain areas as needed (with the rest being theatre of the mind). I use these when dming.
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B016H1B0RW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ygmaCbW14X828

Looks like HOTDQ and Rise of Tiamat are also on sale for around $20:

• Hoard of the Dragon Queen
  
  
• Rise of Tiamat
  
  Volo's and Xanathar's are around $30:
  
  
• Volo's Guide to Monsters
  
  
• Xanathar's Guide to Everything
  
  SCAG is $30, as is the not-yet-released Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes:
  
  
• Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide
  
  
• Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes (pre-order)
  
  ...and scrolling down the list, it seems a bunch of normally $50 adventures are also on sale around $30-34. The DMG is $32 and the Monster Manual is $34:
  
  
• Dungeon Master's Guide
  
  
• Monster Manual

Amazon has the official DM screen. Link here

I think you can buy giant grid paper rolls on amazon.

Edit link

Edit 2: of course there’s also these: link

There are several mixed sets on Amazon. Just a few:

Monsters
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W5WSN5A/

Fantasy
https://www.amazon.com/TimMee-Legendary-BATTLE-Fantasy-Figures/dp/B00FQIJEO4/

Skeletons
https://www.amazon.com/B00IDBZPIU/

Mythical Warriors
https://www.amazon.com/True-Heroes-Mythical-Warriors-Bucket/dp/B00MW7JH0I/

eBay has a lot too. Search for plastic toy knights, ninjas, monsters, etc. Dollar Stores also carry baggies of cheap toys.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W5WSN5A?psc=1 is a solid pack of monsters.

Nah, I bought them from Amazon. [Link]

Just googled the player handbooks for older editions.

3e: $3

3.5e: $19

4e: $14

Both Castle Ravenloft and The Legend of Drizzt include miniatures and have been well-received.

Hoard - not Horde it turns out - of the Dragon Queen

Rise of Tiamat

Princes of the Apocalypse - available April 7

https://www.amazon.com/Labyrinth-Wizards-RPG-Team/dp/0786966092

That's all I have.

reincarnated https://www.amazon.com/Dungeon-Masters-Screen-Reincarnated-Wizards/dp/078696619X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1519765857&sr=8-2&keywords=dnd+screen

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeon-Masters-Screen-Reincarnated-Wizards/dp/078696619X

The new dm screen seems nice. All the previous ones of 5e are mostly useless, this one has the info you really need Screen

So Tomb is one of these is:
https://www.amazon.com/Untitled-RPG-Accessory-Wizards-Team/dp/078696619X

And maybe Xanathar's guide is releasing the same day?
https://www.amazon.com/Untitled-RPG-Accessory-Wizards-Team/dp/0786966203/

https://www.amazon.com/Wizards-Coast-Dungeons-Essentials-Kit/dp/0786966831

Tome of Beasts https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936781565/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_7KO-BbY8B7JKV

Creature Codex https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936781921/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_.JO-BbR81DXRG

Huh. They're $3 USD for a 4-pack on amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Lazy-Dungeon-Master-Michael-Shea-ebook/dp/B00ADV2H8O/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=lazy+dm&qid=1549847978&s=gateway&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/Monster-Action-Figure-Bucket-Frankenstein/dp/B00W5WSN5A

Cheaper minis

Monsters

Skeleton Warriors

Zombies

If you're looking for affordable, I've got a few suggestions.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016H1B0RW/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_4zD.Bb331G0Z4

I bought them at my local game store for this price actually.

You could try these

I would really reccomend not getting the chessex bundle though. get the wiz dice one. Lat time i bought the chessex one it was 60% d6s.

The wiz dice set comes with a bunch of full sets. I've bought 3 of the wiz dice bundles and have had 0 stray dice, all of them are from a set.

https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Pack-Random-Polyhedral/dp/B01KN7REWQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1487972754&sr=8-3&keywords=wiz+dice

First result that came up:

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

Bag o Dice

Wiz Dice Bag of Devouring: Collection of 140 Polyhedral Dice in 20 Guaranteed Complete Sets for Tabletop Role-Playing Games - Solids, Translucents, Swirls, Glitters, Alchemic Oddities https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KP4T6TQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_u5rMDb89MEBDG

This is my go to shop for dice buyers
https://www.thediceshoponline.com/default.asp


These are the dice I personally use
https://store.gravitydice.com/


If you're on a budget or need LOTS OF DICE
https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Bag-Devouring-Role-Playing/dp/B01KP4T6TQ/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=wiz+bag+of+dice&qid=1566198403&s=gateway&sr=8-3


https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Halflings-Haversack-Polyhedral/dp/B07BWK7HVB/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=wiz+bag+of+dice&qid=1566198403&s=gateway&sr=8-4

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQHECUR?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Buy minis at your local swapmeet or garage sales.

Get a battlemat. It's a big grid that you can roll up and draw on with markers.

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

I ended up picking up this guy

and printing out pieces of this DM cheat sheet

I generally found it better because I was able to get the information I needed immediately quickly. I eventually ditched the DM screen for a laptop and rolling in front of my players.

Looks like Elminster's Forgotten Realms to me. Judging from the other books (sword coast (5e) and forgotten realms campaign guide (4e)) he is using it for lore / locations

You can definitely but I find its a bit harder and can lead to more arguments. For example, if everyone is on a grid map you can see where walls are, how far away from mobs you are, etc. If you use imagination someone will inevitable say "I thought I was behind the wall, how did they hit me" or "i wouldn't have run forward if I knew all the mobs were that close" or whatever.

The cheapest way to do maps is to get a reusable grid and some dry erase markers. It takes time to draw out the maps but its reusable and also very flexible. This pack uses square grids and has 4 different terrains (grassland, street, stone floor, and water) http://amzn.com/1601255578

Hoard of the Dragon Queen is not a free module. You can buy it on Amazon or at your FLGS.

What do you think of these? https://www.amazon.com/Battle-Grid-Game-Mat-Distressed/dp/B01MQHECUR/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1518459901&sr=8-18&keywords=dnd

And https://www.amazon.com/Fantasy-Creatures-Action-Figure-Playset/dp/B0746TKNSL/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1518460046&sr=8-3&keywords=dnd+minis

(Didn't look on Amazon before)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/WIZARDS-OF-THE-COAST-Essentials/dp/0786966831/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2TXRRWAJWJLD4&keywords=essentials+kit+dungeons+and+dragons&qid=1569771342&sprefix=essentials+kit%2Caps%2C269&sr=8-3

25 there.

Offer and demand I guess?

OMG, I forgot the fluffiest of flufflements:

• Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster's Forgotten Realms