I’m about to start playing a new game of Dungeons and Dragons (DnD), and I will be playing with four people that have never played before (and 1 that has). So, I guess I’ll post on some things I want them to know before staring to play #Dnd5e, that others might also find useful. I’m going to assume you know about the free basic rules, and have a group and dice (or virtual dice)….this is more about playing at first. Not about what you need to buy to play…..(GM and DM here both mean game master, or person that runs the game for everyone. ) Read below for some suggestions on how to start playing DnD (or Pathfinder).
Dungeons and Dragons is About Having Fun
I’ve been playing DnD for over 40 years now. In that time, there is one thing that has been constant across editions of the game, groups of people, and campaigns. Dungeons and Dragons is about having fun. In the game, there is something known as Rule Zero. I don’t even recall what it is (probably that the DM is the rule arbiter during play).
Rule Zero in role playing should be: We play the game to have fun.
We play these games to have fun. That’s how I decide what happens during a game that I GM. Do I bend the rules? Yes, yes I do. I do so to make sure my players have fun. Note, that does not mean I don’t kill characters. I’ve killed plenty of them over the years. It does mean that I fudge rolls or stats (sometimes to make the monsters live longer, to make the fights more epic). As a player, I respect the GM and the other players. Even if they do things my character would never do, or that I think is not a good idea, I still respect them and their choices. In game, in character, I might try to talk them out of it, but I never tell them what their characters should do.
There Are a lot of Rules in RPGs, Don’t Sweat Them
There are a lot of rules in DnD and Pathfinder (PF2E). So many pages and books and what do all these words mean anyway?
My top advice, after have fun, is don’t worry about getting rules correct. At nearly every table, no matter how experienced the players and GM, we’ve gotten the rules wrong, over and over. And we still had fun. That doesn’t mean don’t learn the rules! It means learn them over time.
The key to knowing the rules when you start is knowing what your character can do in game. By that I don’t mean “she can attack and move”, but I mean “she is armed with a short sword and has second wind” and knowing what that means in the game. Know what your spells do (or at least have them handy at all times). Know what your class does/can do. It takes time, lots of time, to remember this stuff. Until you do, have it all handy somehow so you can find it when you need it.
Please, be nice to other new players when they don’t know the rules perfectly yet. There are nice ways to help people get better at the game…..
Next, just have some idea of how to play (the first few pages of the FREE basic rules are great for this). Which, coincidentally, I discuss below……
The GM Describes Things, Players React
The basic idea of role playing games is that the game master describes things, the players react to that, and then the world (the GM or DM) reacts to that, and so on. Your GM might describe a cave entrance, you might enter the cave, then part of the cave might fall on you, and goblins might appear, and you might run or fight……
The rules are there to give a framework for the GM and the players to figure out how all of these actions work with each other. When the cave falls on you, the GM will roll dice to see if any of the rocks fall on you, and if so, how much damage they do. The players will use the rules to say how fast they run from the goblins. The GM uses the rules to see if the goblins catch up, or not……….Having rules gives the game structure. It also increases tension and drama, because the core mechanic is rolling dice to see if what you want to do works or not. Some of the most fun I’ve had is when the dice are against the players, and we need to figure out a different way to do things than we first thought!
The D20 in DnD and PF2E
I mentioned the “core mechanic” above. I might be using that term loosely here…..but here is the deal.
In DnD and PF2E, you say you want to do something the GM asks you to roll a D20 and you add or subtract modifiers, and then the GM tells you if you succeeded or not. That’s the core mechanic.
That’s the most basic rule in the game. You might want to attack, or hide, or jump, or see if someone is lying to your character. Almost everything in a game calls for a roll to see if what you want to do actually works or not. “Roll to hit” “Give me a Dexterity Check” “Roll to see if you make that save”…..All of those words and phrases in the game mean that you should roll a D20 add modifiers, and then the GM compares that number to the armor class, or difficulty, or some other number she has assigned to see if a player is successful or not.
How Does Combat Work in DnD?
Let’f face it, 90% (I made that number up) of DnD or PF2E games eventually involve combat………If you’ve played video games, you probably have an inkling of combat in role playing games, but playing Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder is different than playing video games. Even DnD and PF2E are different from each other in terms of combat, so I’m just going to talk about DnD5e here. The basic rules also cover this, of course, so I’m going to give an example instead….Oh, since I often get the rules not exactly right, forgive any errors……(this part is really long, so I’m going to link to another page. Sorry!)
Other Resources to Help You Get Started
There are a million (that number might also be made up) videos and websites to help get started. One really good way is to find YouTube videos of people playing. Find a few, and note how differently people play! There is no wrong way to play DnD or PF (well, ruining other people’s fun is the wrong way…..), and you’ll see that on YouTube. Another good way is to find a website or two that help with playing. Here are some suggestions…..
Mike Mearls (DnD lead) leading a game
Sly Flourish on Getting Started
Millions of people watch Critical Role, but it has adult content, so no link from here!
I’ll close by saying, there is a lot to remember. Don’t try to remember it all at first, if ever. Keep reference materials handy. Either printed out or online. But please, don’t look at your phone or ignore the GM or other players if it can be helped…..after all, if I’m willing to fudge numbers to be nice…….