Guide to dnd
A new adventure: Dungeons & Dragons
Welcome, adventurer! Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) is a tabletop roleplaying game where you tell a story together and the dice decide how it unfolds. The rules may seem daunting at first, but with a little practice, you'll soon get the hang of it.
What you'll need
The rulebooks: The Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual are the core D&D books. If you're completely new, a starter set is a great place to begin. Browse our D&D books.
Dice: Each player needs a set of 7 dice. Find a set that suits your character in our dice collection, and keep them together in a dice bag or dice box.
A character sheet: This is where you record your character's abilities, spells, equipment and background. You can download official character sheets here. Also read our character creation guide.
A group of friends: D&D is played together. If you don't have a group yet, you can find other players online or at local game stores.
A dungeon master (DM): The DM tells the story and controls the world and all the people and monsters the players encounter. If you'd like to be a DM yourself, read our guide to being a dungeon master.
How the game works
When you want to do something with an uncertain outcome, you roll a d20 and add the modifiers from your character sheet. The result is compared against a difficulty level set by the DM. A high roll can lead to heroic success, while a low roll can have funny or serious consequences.
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Create your own story
There's no wrong way to play D&D. Whether you dream of being a brave warrior, a cunning thief or a wise wizard, your imagination is the only limit. The most important rule is to have fun together.
Starter kit for 5 players
You don't need much to get started. We recommend:
- 1x Player's Handbook
- 1x Dungeon Master's Guide
- 5x dice sets (7 dice each), one for each player
- Pencil, eraser and character sheets
To add more atmosphere to your game, you can use roleplaying miniatures and a battlemap for combat.