Hey, I am new to D&D and going to start DMing for a couple different group of friends online. I plan on playing on Foundry so I can import character sheets and monsters from here into the game. I know I will have to pick up at least the Player Handbook and the DM Guide but I am wondering what other sourcebooks I should buy. Thanks for any info :)
Monster Manual would be a definite (covers all basic monsters). There's also Volo's Guide To Monsters and Mordakainen's Tome of Foes with even more monsters.
Xanathar's Guide to Everything is also apparently very good though I haven't really used it.
I have Xanathar's Guide to Everything, it is very powerful in terms of player options, and has some great rules on tools, racial feats, and downtime activities if you're interested in that.
I do not have Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, but I hear it also has a rather large amount of player options, and some other rules, though I don't know the specifics.
In short, if it's raw options and subclasses for the players, I recommend Xanathar or Tasha.
Do you know which module you're wanting to run, or are you wanting to home brew for your group?
Your answer to that will directly affect the source-books I'd recommend to a new DM. If you wanted to run something like 'Lost Mines of Phandelver' (or one of the other 'starter' adventures), I'd honestly say that you have everything you need in that one book and you wouldn't need anything other than the player handbook. These kits are specifically designed for people dipping their toes into the game, so the initial down payment is quite low.
That said, I can recommend the other source books for different reasons. They are basically supplements for both the PHB and the DMG, offering new sub-classes for players, and an updated revision of some of the rules found in the the DMG. Your players will probably appreciate the extra choices of sub-classes, but this is a case by case basis. I really liked the revision of downtime activities in Xanathar, and Tashas has some cool stuff with group patrons and puzzles.
Other source books you'll see on the store are more for world building, doing the heavy lifting for you if you wanted to run your game in a non-traditional fantasy setting. As such, your mileage out of them will vary a lot.
The monster manual as others have said. Lost Mine or Dragon of Icespire peak, or one the first level DM Guild module. I would not buy anything else until you get a couple of dozen play hours in. No use in spending lots of money if there is a chance of you not liking the hobby.
Great question! I will be doing one homebrew for one group of friends and then a more typical type adventure for another.
If it helps to understand the homebrew: I am going to take our hometown as the place and make everyone a senior in high school again. Still have all the classes and magic but do it in like a early 2010's thing to relive some high school nostalgia.
Like a home town Harry Potter type adventure? That sounds pretty fun - hope it goes well! I think you should definitely try it, but as a word of caution, I have found that running the D&D rules for a modern setting is a little mismatched. You’ll be doing a lot of work reskinning stuff, or having to make sure everyone is on board with what you are trying to do.
For example, spells like ‘sending’ are kinda redundant if they have flip phones, so either don’t have phones (or the phone -is- the spell). You get the idea. Alternatively, you could look around for other TRPG systems that are specifically designed for what you are looking to do
Knowing what you’d like to do, assuming you are sticking with D&D system, I’d say you should be picking up the PHB and the MM. I really would say thats all you -need-. Anything else is varying degrees of usefulness.
The DMG is good if you need advice on homebrewing your own monsters, or a moderate library of magic items, but the majority of it might not serve your setting. Xanathars Guide is a little bit better for low level adventures since there is a whole section on minor magic items, which are oddly absent from the DMG. The other two monster books are neat, but mostly focus on higher level challenges, which you might not get to for a very long time.
Just out of curiosity, what was the more typical adventure you were running? An adventure book, or something else you’re writing?
Fun fact: you actually don't need either of those books. I started DMing for free. The basic rules are enough.
The DMG is good if you want to create your own adventures. Otherwise, if you're on a budget, buy a campaign book, and it will have everything you need.
Player's Handbook is, as the name suggests, for players, and it isn't 100% necessary even for them. Without it, your options for subclasses are a bit limited. The free basic rules only give you one or two subclass options per class. But that's still perfectly playable.
I would say personally as someone who owns most of the sourcebooks and a couple of campaign books the books you have to buy are.
PHB and Lost mines of Phandelver or Dragon of ice spire peak. Those 2 adventures include all the magic items and monsters you need to get started. You can make a start playing the game using the full rules, let your players have a go at making characters and then see how you all go. Then if you enjoy DMing and they enjoy playing get a copy of the Monster Manual.
The DMG is useful but, if you have an imagination and want to homebrew your world I would argue about 50% of it may well be ignorable. I bought is for a sense of completeness and I think I refer to it maybe once a month or so, potentially pay here for access to the magic items in it, but for getting started you have access to loads of cool stuff for your players for free in DnD beyond.
As has been said the other books just add more and more choice and choice is not a good thing for even experienced players sometimes. When I start a new campaign I will always limit my players available choices of race, class and even subclass taking the PHB as standard and then swapping out those standard choices for a few other alternatives but for new players focus just on what’s in the PHB before you let them go off playing a Hexblade Warlock, or a Druid of the spore. As you progress and start to get to grips with the game, then go out and buy the source books that you think look the most useful.
Something that will be written a bit along the way. I am going to read up on different things along the way cause my understanding of John Hughes movies is a bit higher than my understanding of fantasy.
I really appreciate the help!
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Hey, I am new to D&D and going to start DMing for a couple different group of friends online. I plan on playing on Foundry so I can import character sheets and monsters from here into the game. I know I will have to pick up at least the Player Handbook and the DM Guide but I am wondering what other sourcebooks I should buy. Thanks for any info :)
Monster Manual would be a definite (covers all basic monsters). There's also Volo's Guide To Monsters and Mordakainen's Tome of Foes with even more monsters.
Xanathar's Guide to Everything is also apparently very good though I haven't really used it.
I have Xanathar's Guide to Everything, it is very powerful in terms of player options, and has some great rules on tools, racial feats, and downtime activities if you're interested in that.
I do not have Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, but I hear it also has a rather large amount of player options, and some other rules, though I don't know the specifics.
In short, if it's raw options and subclasses for the players, I recommend Xanathar or Tasha.
I second monster manual. And if you want additional monster options definitely go with Volo's and/or Mordenkainen's.
My Homebrew Backgrounds | Feats | Magic Items | Monsters | Races | Subclasses
Do you know which module you're wanting to run, or are you wanting to home brew for your group?
Your answer to that will directly affect the source-books I'd recommend to a new DM. If you wanted to run something like 'Lost Mines of Phandelver' (or one of the other 'starter' adventures), I'd honestly say that you have everything you need in that one book and you wouldn't need anything other than the player handbook. These kits are specifically designed for people dipping their toes into the game, so the initial down payment is quite low.
That said, I can recommend the other source books for different reasons. They are basically supplements for both the PHB and the DMG, offering new sub-classes for players, and an updated revision of some of the rules found in the the DMG. Your players will probably appreciate the extra choices of sub-classes, but this is a case by case basis. I really liked the revision of downtime activities in Xanathar, and Tashas has some cool stuff with group patrons and puzzles.
Other source books you'll see on the store are more for world building, doing the heavy lifting for you if you wanted to run your game in a non-traditional fantasy setting. As such, your mileage out of them will vary a lot.
The monster manual as others have said. Lost Mine or Dragon of Icespire peak, or one the first level DM Guild module. I would not buy anything else until you get a couple of dozen play hours in. No use in spending lots of money if there is a chance of you not liking the hobby.
No Gaming is Better than Bad Gaming.
Great question! I will be doing one homebrew for one group of friends and then a more typical type adventure for another.
If it helps to understand the homebrew: I am going to take our hometown as the place and make everyone a senior in high school again. Still have all the classes and magic but do it in like a early 2010's thing to relive some high school nostalgia.
Thanks so much for the input
Like a home town Harry Potter type adventure? That sounds pretty fun - hope it goes well! I think you should definitely try it, but as a word of caution, I have found that running the D&D rules for a modern setting is a little mismatched. You’ll be doing a lot of work reskinning stuff, or having to make sure everyone is on board with what you are trying to do.
For example, spells like ‘sending’ are kinda redundant if they have flip phones, so either don’t have phones (or the phone -is- the spell). You get the idea. Alternatively, you could look around for other TRPG systems that are specifically designed for what you are looking to do
Knowing what you’d like to do, assuming you are sticking with D&D system, I’d say you should be picking up the PHB and the MM. I really would say thats all you -need-. Anything else is varying degrees of usefulness.
The DMG is good if you need advice on homebrewing your own monsters, or a moderate library of magic items, but the majority of it might not serve your setting. Xanathars Guide is a little bit better for low level adventures since there is a whole section on minor magic items, which are oddly absent from the DMG. The other two monster books are neat, but mostly focus on higher level challenges, which you might not get to for a very long time.
Just out of curiosity, what was the more typical adventure you were running? An adventure book, or something else you’re writing?
I would say that you don't really need the DMG. Or maybe just the magic items bit.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
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"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Fun fact: you actually don't need either of those books. I started DMing for free. The basic rules are enough.
The DMG is good if you want to create your own adventures. Otherwise, if you're on a budget, buy a campaign book, and it will have everything you need.
Player's Handbook is, as the name suggests, for players, and it isn't 100% necessary even for them. Without it, your options for subclasses are a bit limited. The free basic rules only give you one or two subclass options per class. But that's still perfectly playable.
I would say personally as someone who owns most of the sourcebooks and a couple of campaign books the books you have to buy are.
PHB and Lost mines of Phandelver or Dragon of ice spire peak. Those 2 adventures include all the magic items and monsters you need to get started. You can make a start playing the game using the full rules, let your players have a go at making characters and then see how you all go. Then if you enjoy DMing and they enjoy playing get a copy of the Monster Manual.
The DMG is useful but, if you have an imagination and want to homebrew your world I would argue about 50% of it may well be ignorable. I bought is for a sense of completeness and I think I refer to it maybe once a month or so, potentially pay here for access to the magic items in it, but for getting started you have access to loads of cool stuff for your players for free in DnD beyond.
As has been said the other books just add more and more choice and choice is not a good thing for even experienced players sometimes. When I start a new campaign I will always limit my players available choices of race, class and even subclass taking the PHB as standard and then swapping out those standard choices for a few other alternatives but for new players focus just on what’s in the PHB before you let them go off playing a Hexblade Warlock, or a Druid of the spore. As you progress and start to get to grips with the game, then go out and buy the source books that you think look the most useful.
Something that will be written a bit along the way. I am going to read up on different things along the way cause my understanding of John Hughes movies is a bit higher than my understanding of fantasy.
I really appreciate the help!