Hello! I am brand new to D&D. I've only played once, but it was ages ago. I remember my friend peeking somewhere in a tavern or something, and we got into trouble (I think) and that's it. So if you're brand new, come here! If you've been playing D&D and have something to say to new players, also come here! Just a place for new players such as myself to discuss the game.
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*Ironically uses comic sans*
Hello! How is your afternorning? Good? Great! ヾ(•ω•`)o
I started not too long ago, but here are some suggestions
1. Take your time learning the game. Youtube videos helped me a lot especially on how to fill out a character sheet.
2. Players should take time to know how their character's abilities or spells work. This would make it easier for DMs.
3. Try to think about what you plan to do while other players are taking their turn.
4. Back story for your character does not need to be a really long tale. It should be about chapter 1 of your character's life. Sometimes just answering why your character decided for a life of adventure can help build a backstory.
To any new players I say congratulations as you've made the hardest step: actually playing! I only started in August when I joined a Discord server on a whim, but I'll provide some insights that have come from years of reading and months of playing:
1. For physical dice users, have the dice you'll use for your character ready. Roll your damage and hit dice at the same time; even if you miss, it saves precious seconds doing the mental math when you can see the number if you hit. Don't have loads in your dice tray (and do have a dice tray or some other protective surface if you're using anything but plastic dice) and increasing your chance to cock them (having two sides facing up). And just for the sake of good etiquette, don't touch them once you've rolled them; if you think it's cocked, ask your DM what their rule is on picking it up and rerolling or taking it.
2. Use bookmarks/Have tabs open for useful pages. The amount of times my group and I had to pull out our Player's Handbooks (PHB) in those early games was understandably high. The amount of time spent leafing through the index to find a specific page and subheading... not so much. Use bookmarks/sticky notes or have tabs open on the resources you need a quick and easy reference to look at. Your class features can be found on your D&D Beyond character sheet, assuming you're using it, but things like rules for tools, movement speeds and terrain, and in the case of my group resting rules. The more you know, the less your Dungeon Master (DM) has to look themselves. Here's a handy reference sheet everyone should have a pinned tab on.
3. Write that down. Because I do session recap videos I keep the 'minutes' of the adventure, so I'm well in the habit of noting down what loot people find and distribute. I don't expect everyone to write every single word the DM says, but if you can keep a journal of what your character did or at least owns, it saves so much more time. It's fine to ask "who's got the [x] from [y]," but it's even better to have an answer. This is especially good advice if you DM can see you, and it's a homebrew setting because it shows you're taking it all in and paying attention. They will want to kill your character significantly less.
4. Don't forget non-hitty abilities. Dash, assist, and dodging are all useful things to know. In my first session, the Tutorial Arena, I forgot about my dash action which could've been used to cover ground in time to safely disarm a series of traps, one of which hit a player (fortunately they survived). Because other players were there, I could've taken advantage (roll twice, take the highest number) if they offered in some meaningful way.
5. "I have Darkvision!" Your DM knows you have darkvision, your character sheet is in front of them. Do either of you know how that affects your perception? Quoth the Basic Rules, "A given area might be lightly or heavily obscured. In a lightly obscured area, such as dim light, patchy fog, or moderate foliage, creatures have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight." (emphasis my own.) This shouldn't be used as a 'gotcha', most characters probably learn early on in life that they're not entirely nocturnal, and the DM should be clear on what the lighting conditions are upon being asked.
6. Finally, you'll have noticed most of these points have been about saving time. It should be a given but please,be on time. If you can be on your tabletop app and voice comms 5-10 minutes before the game starts, have a bit of pre-game planning about what you're thinking of doing, it really does count for a lot. Those 5-10 minutes of discussion can save milling about for an hour because you've got 4 hours to burn. I don't mind that hour milling, D&D to me is a beer and pretzels game (I neither drink beer or eat pretzels, but go with it), but I would prefer getting into the heart of RP rather than umming and arring about the best valve to take to said heart of said RP.
I'll end up adding more and commenting on others' insights, but I hope these - and others' - prove helpful. Again, congratulations to those who have made it to us. For those who haven't yet bit the bullet, here's my final piece of advice for the time being: Don't get analysis paralysis. I spent 3-4 years reading and buying D&D materials and playing the video games before I began to get into playing, and all of that knowledge went out of the window come my first session. Whatever your reasons, whatever your worries, chances are other people have had them and it turned out to be fine. This isn't going to be 100% the case; your reasons can be well founded, but the fact that you're reading this here post tells me you stand a fairly good chance. You're already on the right path. ^^
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
1. The whole point of the game is to have fun. If you're not having fun, something is wrong. It could be that you don't get on with the game, buy it can you lot of fun, so try to fix it first. Which is to say, if you're not enjoying it, discuss it. It could be that you (or someone else) isn't approaching it right. Obviously, keep it neutral, try and put it in terms of "I'm really not getting into my character, I'm not sure what to do with him..." or "I can see why the others might find it fun, but I'm not keen on the competitiveness and because im struggling, I'm not getting as much loot, making it worse..." Be honest, but put it without blame.
2. At the beginning, you'll be heavily dependent on the DM and other players to guide you on how to do things. This is fine and expected. You have a lot to learn, let others help you.
3. That said, the DM has much more to worry about than you. In one fight, I had 23 characters to worry about (that's before player characters), the layout of the map, tracking what all the players were doing (we were doing theatre of the mind back then) as well as trying to figure out how they all interacted. DMs should be able to help out, but when you're comfortable, take back some of the responsibilities of your character. Keep track of your inventory, remember your character's abilities, understand the part that you play in the party, keep track of your stats. As you become confident in your character, take some more control until you can even start helping the DM by controlling NPC allies and so forth. Currently, all I do for the players is track their HP to make it easier to see how the battle is going (they still track it themselves too). If I remember, I'll remind them if it seems like they should be using an ability, but the responsibility is on them, not me.
4. No books at the table. Don't spend 10 minutes trying to figure out whether your longsword does 1d8 or 1d10 damage. The DM should know or at least be able to wing it. Have as much information as possible on your character sheet, but trust your DM when you can't easily find it (or if it's not there). Books make things too slow.
5. On a related note, have as much information as clear as possible on your character sheets. I create character sheets for my party, and I include all the regularly used info in an easy to read format. For example, I have a list of their main attacks, that reads something like -
"Longsword (2h) - +2, 1d10+4 Slashing.
Longsword (1h) - +2, 1d8+4 Slashing.
Crossbow - +4, 1d10+6 Piercing."
It's in a table that labels it so it's clearer than that, but they know that for the crossbow they roll a d20 and add 4, then if that hits, they roll a d10 and add 6 to get the damage. No flaffing around trying to remember what modifiers they can add, whether they're proficient, what type of damage it does, etc. It's all right there.
6. As mentioned by someone else, in an encounter (the periods where you're taking turns and have rounds), your turn is not for planning, it's for doing. Plan on everyone else's turns. This is how I do it, if there were 5 characters participating (I'll be character #3, and I've just taken my turn and everything has just been resolved):
During Character #4's turn: I'll be assessing what the situation is. Who has what health and where, who is fighting who, what they're goals are.
Character #5's turn: I'll quickly reassess changes from #4's actions, and plan what I'm going to do on my turn.
Character #1's turn: Again, I'll reassess according to what's happened, but this is mostly a rest period, unless #5 has massively changed things and forced me to change my plans.
Character #2's turn: I'm up next, I get my dice ready, fine tune exactly what I'm going to do, and prepare hiw I'm going to describe it.
Then I do it.
Obviously, you wouldn't be expected to do all that straightaway, but you also will have more time- usually the party alone is 5 characters, plus you'll have the enemies, allies, etc. You'll have a lot more "rest" turns where you can just soak up the action. There are two main advantages to doing it this way:
1. Because you have more time, there is less pressure. You can think more about how your actions will affect things and come up with better plans.
2. You're more engaged, rather than just sitting there waiting for your turn to come around. That makes it easier to get into the game and understand what is happening.
3. Combat moves much faster, resulting in a more e enjoyable experience.
A couple of YouTube videos I would recommend to new players are the character sheet and dungeon master vids from the "A Crap Guide to D&D" series by JoCat. The explanations are done in character as his fast talking and perpetually wisecracking and smack talking alter ego JoCrap, which serves to convey a lot of information in a straightforward and way that's also entertaining so you don't get bored. And he's good enough at presenting this info that Wizards of the Coast later actually paid him to do a sponsored video in the same style to promote Magic: the Gathering as well. The Crap Guide series also has overview videos for each class which are also helpful and entertaining but the character sheet has the most straight up "this is how you play D&D" info, and the DM one both explains what a DM does and also gives a little story about how a session can go badly (from both an inflexible DM and memetastic ditz players) then brings it home with a heartwarming "let's all have fun together" moment.
Thank you! I don't know why I join the d&d community so early, as my first game isn't until February. But your advice is pretty good. About the crap guide to d&d: is it clean? I saw the thumbnail, and the title sounded like it might not be clean.
Yeah, it has some profanity in it, actually quite a bit, but not in any overtly raunchy or hostile manner.
And there's nothing wrong with getting into the community early. If you actually learn the rules and manage to have a general idea of what you're doing when you sit down at the table for the first time your DM will likely appreciate it. A lot.
Hello! I am brand new to D&D. I've only played once, but it was ages ago. I remember my friend peeking somewhere in a tavern or something, and we got into trouble (I think) and that's it. So if you're brand new, come here! If you've been playing D&D and have something to say to new players, also come here! Just a place for new players such as myself to discuss the game.
*Ironically uses comic sans*
Hello! How is your afternorning? Good? Great! ヾ(•ω•`)o
Come flex your storytelling skills here!
Am bakk!
I am in the Twinkling Stars Tavern, and I play Oliver Axolotl at Cafe [Redacted].
[WIP sig, will add tavern links soon]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
I started not too long ago, but here are some suggestions
1. Take your time learning the game. Youtube videos helped me a lot especially on how to fill out a character sheet.
2. Players should take time to know how their character's abilities or spells work. This would make it easier for DMs.
3. Try to think about what you plan to do while other players are taking their turn.
4. Back story for your character does not need to be a really long tale. It should be about chapter 1 of your character's life. Sometimes just answering why your character decided for a life of adventure can help build a backstory.
To any new players I say congratulations as you've made the hardest step: actually playing! I only started in August when I joined a Discord server on a whim, but I'll provide some insights that have come from years of reading and months of playing:
1. For physical dice users, have the dice you'll use for your character ready. Roll your damage and hit dice at the same time; even if you miss, it saves precious seconds doing the mental math when you can see the number if you hit. Don't have loads in your dice tray (and do have a dice tray or some other protective surface if you're using anything but plastic dice) and increasing your chance to cock them (having two sides facing up). And just for the sake of good etiquette, don't touch them once you've rolled them; if you think it's cocked, ask your DM what their rule is on picking it up and rerolling or taking it.
2. Use bookmarks/Have tabs open for useful pages. The amount of times my group and I had to pull out our Player's Handbooks (PHB) in those early games was understandably high. The amount of time spent leafing through the index to find a specific page and subheading... not so much. Use bookmarks/sticky notes or have tabs open on the resources you need a quick and easy reference to look at. Your class features can be found on your D&D Beyond character sheet, assuming you're using it, but things like rules for tools, movement speeds and terrain, and in the case of my group resting rules. The more you know, the less your Dungeon Master (DM) has to look themselves. Here's a handy reference sheet everyone should have a pinned tab on.
3. Write that down. Because I do session recap videos I keep the 'minutes' of the adventure, so I'm well in the habit of noting down what loot people find and distribute. I don't expect everyone to write every single word the DM says, but if you can keep a journal of what your character did or at least owns, it saves so much more time. It's fine to ask "who's got the [x] from [y]," but it's even better to have an answer. This is especially good advice if you DM can see you, and it's a homebrew setting because it shows you're taking it all in and paying attention. They will want to kill your character significantly less.
4. Don't forget non-hitty abilities. Dash, assist, and dodging are all useful things to know. In my first session, the Tutorial Arena, I forgot about my dash action which could've been used to cover ground in time to safely disarm a series of traps, one of which hit a player (fortunately they survived). Because other players were there, I could've taken advantage (roll twice, take the highest number) if they offered in some meaningful way.
5. "I have Darkvision!" Your DM knows you have darkvision, your character sheet is in front of them. Do either of you know how that affects your perception? Quoth the Basic Rules, "A given area might be lightly or heavily obscured. In a lightly obscured area, such as dim light, patchy fog, or moderate foliage, creatures have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight." (emphasis my own.) This shouldn't be used as a 'gotcha', most characters probably learn early on in life that they're not entirely nocturnal, and the DM should be clear on what the lighting conditions are upon being asked.
6. Finally, you'll have noticed most of these points have been about saving time. It should be a given but please, be on time. If you can be on your tabletop app and voice comms 5-10 minutes before the game starts, have a bit of pre-game planning about what you're thinking of doing, it really does count for a lot. Those 5-10 minutes of discussion can save milling about for an hour because you've got 4 hours to burn. I don't mind that hour milling, D&D to me is a beer and pretzels game (I neither drink beer or eat pretzels, but go with it), but I would prefer getting into the heart of RP rather than umming and arring about the best valve to take to said heart of said RP.
I'll end up adding more and commenting on others' insights, but I hope these - and others' - prove helpful. Again, congratulations to those who have made it to us. For those who haven't yet bit the bullet, here's my final piece of advice for the time being: Don't get analysis paralysis. I spent 3-4 years reading and buying D&D materials and playing the video games before I began to get into playing, and all of that knowledge went out of the window come my first session. Whatever your reasons, whatever your worries, chances are other people have had them and it turned out to be fine. This isn't going to be 100% the case; your reasons can be well founded, but the fact that you're reading this here post tells me you stand a fairly good chance. You're already on the right path. ^^
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
- The Assemblage of Houses, World of Warcraft
1. The whole point of the game is to have fun. If you're not having fun, something is wrong. It could be that you don't get on with the game, buy it can you lot of fun, so try to fix it first. Which is to say, if you're not enjoying it, discuss it. It could be that you (or someone else) isn't approaching it right. Obviously, keep it neutral, try and put it in terms of "I'm really not getting into my character, I'm not sure what to do with him..." or "I can see why the others might find it fun, but I'm not keen on the competitiveness and because im struggling, I'm not getting as much loot, making it worse..." Be honest, but put it without blame.
2. At the beginning, you'll be heavily dependent on the DM and other players to guide you on how to do things. This is fine and expected. You have a lot to learn, let others help you.
3. That said, the DM has much more to worry about than you. In one fight, I had 23 characters to worry about (that's before player characters), the layout of the map, tracking what all the players were doing (we were doing theatre of the mind back then) as well as trying to figure out how they all interacted. DMs should be able to help out, but when you're comfortable, take back some of the responsibilities of your character. Keep track of your inventory, remember your character's abilities, understand the part that you play in the party, keep track of your stats. As you become confident in your character, take some more control until you can even start helping the DM by controlling NPC allies and so forth. Currently, all I do for the players is track their HP to make it easier to see how the battle is going (they still track it themselves too). If I remember, I'll remind them if it seems like they should be using an ability, but the responsibility is on them, not me.
4. No books at the table. Don't spend 10 minutes trying to figure out whether your longsword does 1d8 or 1d10 damage. The DM should know or at least be able to wing it. Have as much information as possible on your character sheet, but trust your DM when you can't easily find it (or if it's not there). Books make things too slow.
5. On a related note, have as much information as clear as possible on your character sheets. I create character sheets for my party, and I include all the regularly used info in an easy to read format. For example, I have a list of their main attacks, that reads something like -
"Longsword (2h) - +2, 1d10+4 Slashing.
Longsword (1h) - +2, 1d8+4 Slashing.
Crossbow - +4, 1d10+6 Piercing."
It's in a table that labels it so it's clearer than that, but they know that for the crossbow they roll a d20 and add 4, then if that hits, they roll a d10 and add 6 to get the damage. No flaffing around trying to remember what modifiers they can add, whether they're proficient, what type of damage it does, etc. It's all right there.
6. As mentioned by someone else, in an encounter (the periods where you're taking turns and have rounds), your turn is not for planning, it's for doing. Plan on everyone else's turns. This is how I do it, if there were 5 characters participating (I'll be character #3, and I've just taken my turn and everything has just been resolved):
During Character #4's turn: I'll be assessing what the situation is. Who has what health and where, who is fighting who, what they're goals are.
Character #5's turn: I'll quickly reassess changes from #4's actions, and plan what I'm going to do on my turn.
Character #1's turn: Again, I'll reassess according to what's happened, but this is mostly a rest period, unless #5 has massively changed things and forced me to change my plans.
Character #2's turn: I'm up next, I get my dice ready, fine tune exactly what I'm going to do, and prepare hiw I'm going to describe it.
Then I do it.
Obviously, you wouldn't be expected to do all that straightaway, but you also will have more time- usually the party alone is 5 characters, plus you'll have the enemies, allies, etc. You'll have a lot more "rest" turns where you can just soak up the action. There are two main advantages to doing it this way:
1. Because you have more time, there is less pressure. You can think more about how your actions will affect things and come up with better plans.
2. You're more engaged, rather than just sitting there waiting for your turn to come around. That makes it easier to get into the game and understand what is happening.
3. Combat moves much faster, resulting in a more e enjoyable experience.
Want to play D&D? Try the following resources first (each section withing vertical bars is a clickable link to find the resource).
|The free Basic Rules.|
|Some free short adventures| and |some more here too.| |Here is a series of encounters, some of which link together form a mini-adventure|.
You've played a few games and now want to buy materials? |Here's my guide on what to buy next|.
A couple of YouTube videos I would recommend to new players are the character sheet and dungeon master vids from the "A Crap Guide to D&D" series by JoCat. The explanations are done in character as his fast talking and perpetually wisecracking and smack talking alter ego JoCrap, which serves to convey a lot of information in a straightforward and way that's also entertaining so you don't get bored. And he's good enough at presenting this info that Wizards of the Coast later actually paid him to do a sponsored video in the same style to promote Magic: the Gathering as well. The Crap Guide series also has overview videos for each class which are also helpful and entertaining but the character sheet has the most straight up "this is how you play D&D" info, and the DM one both explains what a DM does and also gives a little story about how a session can go badly (from both an inflexible DM and memetastic ditz players) then brings it home with a heartwarming "let's all have fun together" moment.
Thank you! I don't know why I join the d&d community so early, as my first game isn't until February. But your advice is pretty good. About the crap guide to d&d: is it clean? I saw the thumbnail, and the title sounded like it might not be clean.
Nvm I watched and it's not clean
*Ironically uses comic sans*
Hello! How is your afternorning? Good? Great! ヾ(•ω•`)o
Come flex your storytelling skills here!
Am bakk!
I am in the Twinkling Stars Tavern, and I play Oliver Axolotl at Cafe [Redacted].
[WIP sig, will add tavern links soon]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
I learned how to do a character sheet from a web article, although I don't really remember how it works.
*Ironically uses comic sans*
Hello! How is your afternorning? Good? Great! ヾ(•ω•`)o
Come flex your storytelling skills here!
Am bakk!
I am in the Twinkling Stars Tavern, and I play Oliver Axolotl at Cafe [Redacted].
[WIP sig, will add tavern links soon]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
Yeah, it has some profanity in it, actually quite a bit, but not in any overtly raunchy or hostile manner.
And there's nothing wrong with getting into the community early. If you actually learn the rules and manage to have a general idea of what you're doing when you sit down at the table for the first time your DM will likely appreciate it. A lot.
Ok, got it! Any vids you might recommend? No swears in them, please.
*Ironically uses comic sans*
Hello! How is your afternorning? Good? Great! ヾ(•ω•`)o
Come flex your storytelling skills here!
Am bakk!
I am in the Twinkling Stars Tavern, and I play Oliver Axolotl at Cafe [Redacted].
[WIP sig, will add tavern links soon]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]