What Do I Need To Play Dungeons And Dragons?

“What do I need to play Dungeons and Dragons?”

It’s a common question any beginner has before they begin their dive into the wonderful game of D&D (Dungeons & Dragons).

The answer is quite simple

To play Dungeons and Dragons, you will need:

A basic set of the rules
Dice
A Character
And Friends

Which, by the end of this article, you will have access to all 4 of these items.

Even Friends!

So, let’s not waste any more time and dive straight into it!

Knowing the Rules

Now are the rules to the game, while they are definitely not the best part of the game they are a necessity so you can play.

Luckily Dungeons and Dragons has you covered on this with the Players Handbook.

This is the only book you need to play the game, as all the other books build off the rules and classes of this one.

With this book, you will get a guide to both how to play as well as the basic lore to enhance your character.

Now, if you can’t afford this right now, don’t worry.

Dungeon and Dragons community has you covered with a free pdf download of the basic rules.

That said, I do recommend buying the Players Handbook, as purchasing the books gives you a more in-depth understanding of the rules and lore.

As well as, helping support Dungeon and Dragons to make even more cool stuff later on.

But once you, know the general rules, it is time to get yourself your first set of dice!

Dice

You’ve got your friends, a time and location for you to play, but then you realize.

You don’t know what dice you need!

Dice are an essential part of playing Dungeons & Dragons, as without them it makes the game harder to play.

You can find all sorts of cool dice at your local game store, and I highly recommend buying them there.

But, if you do not have one of these stores near you (or just like buying things online at 3 am like me) I recommend DiceEnvy for your dice needs.

But before you buy, you need to know what kind of Dice you will need to play the game.

These dice come in sets usually and are classified by their highest number coupled with a “D” before it.

The list goes as follows:

– a D4 for 4 sided dice,

– a D6 for your standard die,

– a D8 for when you need 8 sides,

– a D10/D100, both are ten-sided just a D100 will be going up by 10 and a D10 will go up by 1,

– D12, for those that need to go up to 12,

– And a D20, a 20 sided die that when in doubt, is probably the one needed to be rolled in the game.

These dice are vital for playing as you will roll these dice to determine outcomes for events.

For instance, a D20 is used for rolling to see if you succeed on a skill such as pickpocketing, attacking, or persuading people.

A D4, D6, D8, D10, D12 are most often associated with how much damage an attack does to an enemy.

By now, you should have some dice have plans to meet up with friends, and next, we have to create your character.

Character

You know the rules, you have your dice, now you need a character to play.

To create a character, I recommend downloading a character sheet from Wizard of the Coast.

The first thing you need to do is determine your stats for your character, such as Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence.

For a more detailed walkthrough on creating your character, you can download my begginers guide.

You can get it for free through this link here or if you wish to contribute you can buy it off my store for $1.

After you build your character base, comes your backstory.

Your backstory is tied with your personality and is only limited by your imagination.

You could be a suave human coming from a bard college; ready to make the women swoon and face the world with your music.

Or be a massive hulking behemoth kicked out of your tribe due to your anger consuming you and killing a tribe member.

You now seek redemption by finding a lost artifact stolen from your tribe by a fearsome dragon.

These backstories transform your character into a memorable experience you will love.

But remember, the most important thing to do is to have fun with the character!

So once you create it, it is time to gather your friends and begin playing!

Friends

While Dungeons and Dragons may seem like a single-player RPG, it is not a single-player game.

The game is usually played with 4-6 friends.

One playing the Dungeon Master who tells the story and the rest plays a character in the story.

As such, most players will testify to play with friends you already know.

This is because you all have the same sense of humor and are familiar with how you all think.

That said, if friends are an issue to play Dungeons and Dragons, then look to your local gaming store to play “Dungeon and Dragons Adventures league”.

To see if there is a local host for adventure’s league, click this link and type in your zip code.

When you do, every Adventurer’s League game within 50 miles of you will appear to find people to play with.

Basically, Adventurers League is a way to play with strangers who want to play dungeons and dragons but don’t have enough people either.

It is a great way to meet new people who are already familiar with the game and help you learn how to play.

But, if you are unable to meet others due to a variety of issues such as covid, then I recommend “Start Playing”

They are the largest online source for playing D&D games digitally; and a great way for people to meet up and play.

It’s a resource I have used in the past and many others have to.

Though do note some Game Masters insist on money for their time hosting, but if you look carefully, many are free!

Make Life Easier To Play Dungeon & Dragons

You know the rules, have your dice and characters, even a group of friends to play Dungeons and Dragons with!

I wish you the best of luck with the stories and adventures that await you.

But before you go, here are a few things to help get you started to make your life easier.

There are three things I highly recommend to help your adventures run smoothly. The first item I recommend is DnD Beyond.

It’s the official D&D site for the game, and I find it loaded with great resources to help your gameplay to go smoother.

The second thing I recommend buy if you are brand new to Dungeons and Dragons, is the Dnd Starter Set.

This is a great cheap item as it comes with several items.

A set of pre-made characters, a list of the basic rules you need to know to play the game, a set of dice, and an adventure that you can play Dungeons & Dragons with.

It is the most popular way to get new players to learn the game, as it is easily explained and straightforward.

Finally, I recommend my store (shameless plug)

It is filled with items and content that a lot of people have really seemed to love.

I definitely recommend checking out my guide to wizards on sale now. It is my number one sold book and is really well made.

Now get out there and impress everyone with your stylish new Dungeon and Dragon gear!

All I ask is to remember the guy who told you about this stuff and let me know if you found this helpful.

Besides, I have a ton of great content out there to help players such as my guide to divination wizards.