So, ive made a proper character (i think), ive set up a roll20 account, a DDB account, and a discord, but whats next? which campaign should i buy? how do you guys find groups? Im mostly available on weekends, but when i can play is negotiable. Is there any crucial lore i need to read before playing or should i just dive in? i have all of the questions you can imagine, thank yall for yalls time!
Don't buy a campaign (yet, anyway). All that stuff, lore, setting background etc depends on what the DM does - maybe they use one of several published settings, maybe they use one of their own, maybe they use something from a previous edition. No point in reading stuff left and right until you know what will be pertinent to the group you'll be playing with.
There's a Looking For Group forum on DDB, you can look through campaigns looking for extra players on Roll20, you can see of there are Adventurers League games near you, you can even simply google "Dungeons & Dragons in [your area here]" and see if anything pops up.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Welcome to the game.If you’re looking for an online group, there are boards specifically for that, both here and on roll20. If you’re looking for an in person game, check with a local game store, if you have one, there’s often opportunities there.
I’m guessing you mean to play, not DM. You n that case, don’t buy any campaign, as you probably won’t need it. Don’t get too attached to your character, since whatever campaign you end up joining may have its own house rules or other rules about making characters.
Don’t worry about lore at all. If you end up playing in a Forgotten Realms game, there’s plenty of it, but none will be necessary. It may be fun, but not necessary. Or your DM might use a different published setting, or have a homebrew world, where other lore will be irrelevant.
As for some general advice, be really clear that you’re a new player. Some groups are much more welcoming than others, and you don’t want to be stuck with a bunch of snobs who are angry because you haven’t memorized the five stages of exhaustion or something. When you do have a character, make sure you understand what they can do, and how their powers work, as best you can, so you can try not to slow things down too much.
So, ive made a proper character (i think), ive set up a roll20 account, a DDB account, and a discord, but whats next? which campaign should i buy? how do you guys find groups? Im mostly available on weekends, but when i can play is negotiable. Is there any crucial lore i need to read before playing or should i just dive in? i have all of the questions you can imagine, thank yall for yalls time!
Ah good good, MrNoobie you have come to the right place.
So assuming you have the players handbook, the most important campaign to get by a long shot is Dungeon of the Mad Mage. This campaign will teach you exactly what D&D actually is, at its core. I can’t overstate how important it is for a brand new player to really soak it all in.
It will teach you about combat, tactics, map movement, traps, puzzle solving, resource management, dungeoneering, and treasure finding- everything you to prioritize learning as a brand new player.
Make 4 characters and control them all as you explore the dungeon, and play it straight. Practice.
Another great thing about this campaign is that if you are struggling to find a group, (very real chance of this, on roll20 there is a 100:1 player:DM ratio) you can resort to DMing and make your own dungeons following the Mad Mage methodology. Learn from it, and create and organize your own dungeons in a similar way.
Welcome to the game.If you’re looking for an online group, there are boards specifically for that, both here and on roll20. If you’re looking for an in person game, check with a local game store, if you have one, there’s often opportunities there.
I’m guessing you mean to play, not DM. You n that case, don’t buy any campaign, as you probably won’t need it. Don’t get too attached to your character, since whatever campaign you end up joining may have its own house rules or other rules about making characters.
Don’t worry about lore at all. If you end up playing in a Forgotten Realms game, there’s plenty of it, but none will be necessary. It may be fun, but not necessary. Or your DM might use a different published setting, or have a homebrew world, where other lore will be irrelevant.
As for some general advice, be really clear that you’re a new player. Some groups are much more welcoming than others, and you don’t want to be stuck with a bunch of snobs who are angry because you haven’t memorized the five stages of exhaustion or something. When you do have a character, make sure you understand what they can do, and how their powers work, as best you can, so you can try not to slow things down too much.
...There are six stages of exhaustion, I can't believe you call yourself a DnD player
(YES! This IS a JOKE)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
Welcome to the game.If you’re looking for an online group, there are boards specifically for that, both here and on roll20. If you’re looking for an in person game, check with a local game store, if you have one, there’s often opportunities there.
I’m guessing you mean to play, not DM. You n that case, don’t buy any campaign, as you probably won’t need it. Don’t get too attached to your character, since whatever campaign you end up joining may have its own house rules or other rules about making characters.
Don’t worry about lore at all. If you end up playing in a Forgotten Realms game, there’s plenty of it, but none will be necessary. It may be fun, but not necessary. Or your DM might use a different published setting, or have a homebrew world, where other lore will be irrelevant.
As for some general advice, be really clear that you’re a new player. Some groups are much more welcoming than others, and you don’t want to be stuck with a bunch of snobs who are angry because you haven’t memorized the five stages of exhaustion or something. When you do have a character, make sure you understand what they can do, and how their powers work, as best you can, so you can try not to slow things down too much.
...There are six stages of exhaustion, I can't believe you call yourself a DnD player
I would start out with reading the New Player's Guide up at the top of the page in the menu. At least take a look at it if you have not already. Right next to that in the menu is Quarantine Resources, and there are two Adventures in there you can check out for free. There are Articles to read and YouTube videos for you to watch under Media. If you haven't already, under Tools, you can use the Character Builder to make as many as six characters, you can delete and replace any of them, so you can check out all the different things you can do with it.
Under Sources, you can pick up the Basic Rules and the Sage Advice Compendium for free. Look those over if you get confused. When you have a specific question you can find everything imaginable under the Game Rules menu.
When it finally comes the time to spend some money, head into the Marketplace. I'd suggest Candlekeep Mysteries, as that is the one currently featured, and goes from 1st level all the way up to 16th!
Obviously, you can use the forums at every step of the way, but I'd advice you not to post. There is rarely any agreement on any topic, and even the most exacting and specific question gets poor results for me most of the time. I end up being even more confused than when I asked.
I'd say don't worry about getting a campaign book/module/etc yet. As a completely new player I would strongly suggest not going beyond the Player's Handbook (aka the PHB) for your first character. Yes there are lots of other options in other books, but those are options and for your first game you should just pick a race and class in the PHB, follow the character building guide, and learn what all the abilities for that character you've made actually do and how they work. Read the adventuring and combat rules, they really aren't all that long and you don't have them memorized but you should at least know what the difference is between an action and a bonus action, for example. Also, if your character casts spells, read the rules on spellcasting and know what any spells you choose for your character to know do. Nobody, regardless of how little or much experience they have, should ever say to the DM "I sact magic missile! Um, what do I add to my attack roll for that?" Don't worry about memorizing all the rules, but if it's on your character sheet then you should know how it works.
Then find a game. If you're looking to play with a group online thanks to the wonders of modern technology, as mentioned there are LFG (Looking For Group) forums here on DDB and also on Roll20's forums. I also personally recommend Googling for "Dungeons and Dragons Discord" as there are quite a few Discord servers out there dedicated to D&D specifically or TTRPGs in general with channels dedicated to advertising and finding games. As also mentioned above, make sure to make it clear that you're a new player; many DMs/groups are fine with helping a newbie learn the game but, like any situation where you're dealing with people, there are some jerks out there and it's best to avoid unnecessary conflicts if possible.
So, ive made a proper character (i think), ive set up a roll20 account, a DDB account, and a discord, but whats next? which campaign should i buy? how do you guys find groups? Im mostly available on weekends, but when i can play is negotiable. Is there any crucial lore i need to read before playing or should i just dive in? i have all of the questions you can imagine, thank yall for yalls time!
Don't buy a campaign (yet, anyway). All that stuff, lore, setting background etc depends on what the DM does - maybe they use one of several published settings, maybe they use one of their own, maybe they use something from a previous edition. No point in reading stuff left and right until you know what will be pertinent to the group you'll be playing with.
There's a Looking For Group forum on DDB, you can look through campaigns looking for extra players on Roll20, you can see of there are Adventurers League games near you, you can even simply google "Dungeons & Dragons in [your area here]" and see if anything pops up.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Welcome to the game.If you’re looking for an online group, there are boards specifically for that, both here and on roll20. If you’re looking for an in person game, check with a local game store, if you have one, there’s often opportunities there.
I’m guessing you mean to play, not DM. You n that case, don’t buy any campaign, as you probably won’t need it.
Don’t get too attached to your character, since whatever campaign you end up joining may have its own house rules or other rules about making characters.
Don’t worry about lore at all. If you end up playing in a Forgotten Realms game, there’s plenty of it, but none will be necessary. It may be fun, but not necessary. Or your DM might use a different published setting, or have a homebrew world, where other lore will be irrelevant.
As for some general advice, be really clear that you’re a new player. Some groups are much more welcoming than others, and you don’t want to be stuck with a bunch of snobs who are angry because you haven’t memorized the five stages of exhaustion or something. When you do have a character, make sure you understand what they can do, and how their powers work, as best you can, so you can try not to slow things down too much.
Ah good good, MrNoobie you have come to the right place.
So assuming you have the players handbook, the most important campaign to get by a long shot is Dungeon of the Mad Mage. This campaign will teach you exactly what D&D actually is, at its core. I can’t overstate how important it is for a brand new player to really soak it all in.
It will teach you about combat, tactics, map movement, traps, puzzle solving, resource management, dungeoneering, and treasure finding- everything you to prioritize learning as a brand new player.
Make 4 characters and control them all as you explore the dungeon, and play it straight. Practice.
Another great thing about this campaign is that if you are struggling to find a group, (very real chance of this, on roll20 there is a 100:1 player:DM ratio) you can resort to DMing and make your own dungeons following the Mad Mage methodology. Learn from it, and create and organize your own dungeons in a similar way.
...There are six stages of exhaustion, I can't believe you call yourself a DnD player
(YES! This IS a JOKE)
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
😁
I would start out with reading the New Player's Guide up at the top of the page in the menu. At least take a look at it if you have not already. Right next to that in the menu is Quarantine Resources, and there are two Adventures in there you can check out for free. There are Articles to read and YouTube videos for you to watch under Media. If you haven't already, under Tools, you can use the Character Builder to make as many as six characters, you can delete and replace any of them, so you can check out all the different things you can do with it.
Under Sources, you can pick up the Basic Rules and the Sage Advice Compendium for free. Look those over if you get confused. When you have a specific question you can find everything imaginable under the Game Rules menu.
When it finally comes the time to spend some money, head into the Marketplace. I'd suggest Candlekeep Mysteries, as that is the one currently featured, and goes from 1st level all the way up to 16th!
Obviously, you can use the forums at every step of the way, but I'd advice you not to post. There is rarely any agreement on any topic, and even the most exacting and specific question gets poor results for me most of the time. I end up being even more confused than when I asked.
<Insert clever signature here>
I'd say don't worry about getting a campaign book/module/etc yet. As a completely new player I would strongly suggest not going beyond the Player's Handbook (aka the PHB) for your first character. Yes there are lots of other options in other books, but those are options and for your first game you should just pick a race and class in the PHB, follow the character building guide, and learn what all the abilities for that character you've made actually do and how they work. Read the adventuring and combat rules, they really aren't all that long and you don't have them memorized but you should at least know what the difference is between an action and a bonus action, for example. Also, if your character casts spells, read the rules on spellcasting and know what any spells you choose for your character to know do. Nobody, regardless of how little or much experience they have, should ever say to the DM "I sact magic missile! Um, what do I add to my attack roll for that?" Don't worry about memorizing all the rules, but if it's on your character sheet then you should know how it works.
Then find a game. If you're looking to play with a group online thanks to the wonders of modern technology, as mentioned there are LFG (Looking For Group) forums here on DDB and also on Roll20's forums. I also personally recommend Googling for "Dungeons and Dragons Discord" as there are quite a few Discord servers out there dedicated to D&D specifically or TTRPGs in general with channels dedicated to advertising and finding games. As also mentioned above, make sure to make it clear that you're a new player; many DMs/groups are fine with helping a newbie learn the game but, like any situation where you're dealing with people, there are some jerks out there and it's best to avoid unnecessary conflicts if possible.
Good luck!
Do a one shot first so you get the feel of the game and no pressure to commit if it ain't your cup of tea.
1 shot dungeon master