Me and my dad and sister wanna start playing dnd. We have absolutely no gear and my dad hasn’t played in years. We would like books to learn how to play and how monsters work, as well as a place to get figures and miniatures for a good price. We live in a area with no real clubs around so we will be DM’s ourselves- dad volunteering. Is it really hard to pick up and be a DM with no experience
I recommend you get the 2024 rules. As you are starting out, it is logical to assume at some point in the near future they 2014 rules will no longer be supported.
5E is both 2014 rules and 2024 rules. Anything published before the summer of 2024 will use the 2014 rules. While compatible, you probably do not want those.
DND Beyond does run periodic sales. If time is on your side, you may want to wait for the next sale. The black Friday sale was a bit of a bust.
Getting digital & books bundled is normally cheaper then doing it separate.
If your dad is the DM, how computer savvy is he? That will influence what you buy in hardcopy, what you get in digital and if you bundle.
You would need the players handbook, the DMG, and eventually the monster manual (MM). But the MM can be delayed if you use some of the premade adventures to start off https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources#Adventures
To echo the reply above, the first things you want to look at obtaining are the Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual . These are the Core Rulebooks: * The Player's Handbook covers the rules of play, character creation and advancement. * The Dungeon Master's Guide provides information for running the game, building a playable world, providing rewards and creating adventures. * The Monster Manual contains statblocks for allies, enemies, monsters, animals and... really, anything you the players may need to interact with, and some suggestions on how to modify or make your own statblocks.
There is a difference between the 2014 fifth edition releases and the new 2024 ruleset.
Aside from these, you may want to obtain a few sets of dice (Though digitial dice-rollers are typically free, or built into the various websites that facilitate digital play!) and, optionally, an adventure module - These vary in theme and difficulty, and for first time players, and particularly a first time DM, it is highly recommended that you start with some of the lower levelled adventures. Starter Set bundles are ideal for this, and typically include some dice, though, with the 2014 versions being Lost Mines of Phandelver or Dragons of Stormwrack Isle. The 2024 starter sets are Heroes of the Borderlands and the Stranger Things: Welcome to the Hellfire Club box sets, they are designed and packaged more as introductory 'board game' sets, with tokens, pre-printed spell and item cards and other features to streamline introductory play. DND Beyond does have a few free, claimable digital mini-adventures - Take a look in the Sources tab and see if you can claim the following: Uni and the Hunt for the Lost Horn Borderlands Quest: Goblin Trouble Scions of Elemental Evil Hold Back The Dead Forgotten Realms: The Tenebrous Stone Each are short two-or-three encounter adventures aimed at low levelled play and are ideal for new players and first-time DMs simply because they aren't overly complex and can be run, likely in their entirety, in one or two sessions of gameplay.
Miniatures are also optional and expensive - speaking as someone with an absurd collection - The official D&D miniatures come in a variety of options, though most are prepackaged blind-boxes that contain four random miniatures (Typically three small or medium models and one large, but this varies from set to set) from their respective set. A good starting point for general play is the 'Icons of the Realms: Monster Manual 1 Collection' which is entirely monsters from the 2024 Monster Manual and covers many common low levelled enemies but does NOT contain any great options for player characters. If you're aiming to get specific minis, the Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures product lines are unpainted character and monster figures, which are typically a lot more affordable, or you can take a look at the premium painted figures from the Icons of the Realms line or the WizKids Wardlings which cover most combinations of classes, species, gender and appearance. There is also a strong market for individual miniatures - Though that could be limited by your location. Shipping can add up, even if the miniatures themselves are very reasonably priced! I could suggest a few sites that I've personally used while hunting for specific miniatures, but the official Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast sites are www.dndmini.com and www.wizkids.com. Others can be suggested, if you want, but I'll point you in that direction first.
Nobody's mentioned that you can use a good chunk of the rules on DDB for free. You get all the base classes, with one subclass each, most of the spells, a good chunk of monsters, etc. It's entirely playable, and if you're trying to play on a tight budget, or just try it to see if you like it, it's pretty useful.
If you want a more directly-focussed starter set, they've made several over the years, and you can buy them digitally here, or try to pick them up new or used. Heroes of the borderlands is the current one.
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Me and my dad and sister wanna start playing dnd. We have absolutely no gear and my dad hasn’t played in years. We would like books to learn how to play and how monsters work, as well as a place to get figures and miniatures for a good price. We live in a area with no real clubs around so we will be DM’s ourselves- dad volunteering. Is it really hard to pick up and be a DM with no experience
I recommend you get the 2024 rules. As you are starting out, it is logical to assume at some point in the near future they 2014 rules will no longer be supported.
5E is both 2014 rules and 2024 rules. Anything published before the summer of 2024 will use the 2014 rules. While compatible, you probably do not want those.
DND Beyond does run periodic sales. If time is on your side, you may want to wait for the next sale. The black Friday sale was a bit of a bust.
Getting digital & books bundled is normally cheaper then doing it separate.
If your dad is the DM, how computer savvy is he? That will influence what you buy in hardcopy, what you get in digital and if you bundle.
You would need the players handbook, the DMG, and eventually the monster manual (MM). But the MM can be delayed if you use some of the premade adventures to start off https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources#Adventures
To echo the reply above, the first things you want to look at obtaining are the Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual .
These are the Core Rulebooks:
* The Player's Handbook covers the rules of play, character creation and advancement.
* The Dungeon Master's Guide provides information for running the game, building a playable world, providing rewards and creating adventures.
* The Monster Manual contains statblocks for allies, enemies, monsters, animals and... really, anything you the players may need to interact with, and some suggestions on how to modify or make your own statblocks.
There is a difference between the 2014 fifth edition releases and the new 2024 ruleset.
Aside from these, you may want to obtain a few sets of dice (Though digitial dice-rollers are typically free, or built into the various websites that facilitate digital play!) and, optionally, an adventure module - These vary in theme and difficulty, and for first time players, and particularly a first time DM, it is highly recommended that you start with some of the lower levelled adventures.
Starter Set bundles are ideal for this, and typically include some dice, though, with the 2014 versions being Lost Mines of Phandelver or Dragons of Stormwrack Isle.
The 2024 starter sets are Heroes of the Borderlands and the Stranger Things: Welcome to the Hellfire Club box sets, they are designed and packaged more as introductory 'board game' sets, with tokens, pre-printed spell and item cards and other features to streamline introductory play.
DND Beyond does have a few free, claimable digital mini-adventures -
Take a look in the Sources tab and see if you can claim the following:
Uni and the Hunt for the Lost Horn
Borderlands Quest: Goblin Trouble
Scions of Elemental Evil
Hold Back The Dead
Forgotten Realms: The Tenebrous Stone
Each are short two-or-three encounter adventures aimed at low levelled play and are ideal for new players and first-time DMs simply because they aren't overly complex and can be run, likely in their entirety, in one or two sessions of gameplay.
Miniatures are also optional and expensive - speaking as someone with an absurd collection - The official D&D miniatures come in a variety of options, though most are prepackaged blind-boxes that contain four random miniatures (Typically three small or medium models and one large, but this varies from set to set) from their respective set. A good starting point for general play is the 'Icons of the Realms: Monster Manual 1 Collection' which is entirely monsters from the 2024 Monster Manual and covers many common low levelled enemies but does NOT contain any great options for player characters.
If you're aiming to get specific minis, the Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures product lines are unpainted character and monster figures, which are typically a lot more affordable, or you can take a look at the premium painted figures from the Icons of the Realms line or the WizKids Wardlings which cover most combinations of classes, species, gender and appearance.
There is also a strong market for individual miniatures - Though that could be limited by your location. Shipping can add up, even if the miniatures themselves are very reasonably priced!
I could suggest a few sites that I've personally used while hunting for specific miniatures, but the official Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast sites are www.dndmini.com and www.wizkids.com.
Others can be suggested, if you want, but I'll point you in that direction first.
Nobody's mentioned that you can use a good chunk of the rules on DDB for free. You get all the base classes, with one subclass each, most of the spells, a good chunk of monsters, etc. It's entirely playable, and if you're trying to play on a tight budget, or just try it to see if you like it, it's pretty useful.
If you want a more directly-focussed starter set, they've made several over the years, and you can buy them digitally here, or try to pick them up new or used. Heroes of the borderlands is the current one.