I’m new to Dungeons & Dragons and super excited to dive in! I’ve been learning a lot, but I still have a few questions and would love some guidance from more experienced players.
If anyone has tips on character creation, understanding the rules, or getting started with my first game, I’d really appreciate your help!
I don't know what help/guidance you're after. If you have a specific question about a rule or mechanic then this is the right place. General guidance might be available in general discussion but overall it's a case of read the source books and build character from that, if you're not sure about anything then ask here.
There are other sites that specialize in putting together guides and optimized builds but it really depends on what you're looking for.
If you're asking what is the easiest class to start as, that'd be fighter, Fighter has the easiest mechanics to understand, most of the complexity from fighter generally comes from subclass/archetype choice. Where Warlock tends to be the most complex but the greatest fun for people that like playing around with builds, since it has so much customization.
Personal recommendation, read over each class and see which one interests you most. And biggest recommendation of all, have fun. D&D is about a fun group experience, what you really want is a character who's strengths cover the weaknesses of other members of the party while having weaknesses that other members of the party cover for you.
A character who synergizes with the group is always better than one that is a lone wolf trying to be good at everything type of build. Flaws are more interesting, failures can be entertaining, do not shy away from a character that has some type of obvious flaw. Maybe they are not good at socializing (low charisma), perhaps they aren't the smartest (low wisdom/intelligence), or maybe they have a history of crime (criminal background) or got fired from being a guard due to a bad decision at the gate (guard background)... interesting characters are always better for Roleplaying.
Hi! Thanks for the beginner class suggestion! I’m also looking for help with understanding the rules, as it’s a bit complicated for me. Any tips or resources you could recommend would be really appreciated!
Just edited the comment to add more, but there are a lot of rules, it's too complicated to explain the whole game in a post, is there any specific rules you're having issues with? If you need more guidance, I'd ask your Dungeon Master to set-up a Session 0, so you can ask these types of questions. Most DMs (and campaigns) should take the first few sessions easy and introduce mechanics as you go, so it becomes easier to understand how the game works and is a more natural way to learn the game.
Thanks for the tips about Session 0 and the importance of easing into the rules! I hadn’t thought about that, and I’ll definitely ask my DM about it.
I’m interested in playing a Wood Elf Ranger or Druid, but I’m a bit confused about how combat works and the action economy. If you could point me in the right direction or explain a bit about it, I’d really appreciate it!
Fundamentally combat is not that different between these. The basic premise is you get the follow resources on your turn:
Action, Bonus Action, Free Actions & movement. There are some small differences between versions such as how item interactions work but in most combats you only need to worry about these four things.
Action: This is the main thing you're performing on your turn, many things require an action. Attack Action and casting a spell with a casting time of 1 action or features that require using an action.
Bonus Action: This is a secondary thing you can do in your turn. if you attack. Using an off-hand weapon with Two-Weapon Fighting to perform an additional attack is usually a bonus action, casting a bonus action spell or using some features which require a bonus action.
Free Actions are things that can be used without expending any type of action, usually it's specialized class features, for example for Rogue, activating sneak attack on landing a hit against a creature within 5 foot of any ally, is a free action.
Movement, characters have movement speed, you can move that much distance in your turn, between the various actions you use. If you need to move further there is the dash action to move up to that movement speed again, some classes like rogue can bonus action dash too.
Other than that there is reactions, those are things you can use under certain circumstances and generally occur outside of your own turn. Casting the shield spell or absorb elements spell are examples of a reaction, there is also the Opportunity Attack reaction (often referred to as an Attack of Opportunity).
Lastly turn order is set at the start of combat using an Initiative roll, each character should have an Initiative Bonus which is how much you add to the D20 initiative roll.
If you still need help understanding it, please talk to your DM, they should have read all of this and should be able to guide you in session as to how this all works in combat.
Thank you so much for the detailed explanation and the links! I’ll definitely check out the resources you shared.
I appreciate the breakdown of actions, bonus actions, and movement—it makes things clearer for me. If I have more questions after looking through the materials, I’ll be sure to reach out or ask my DM for guidance in our sessions.
Thanks again for your help!
Edit: I just wanted to say a quick thank you for the links you provided. They were extremely helpful, and I appreciate you taking the time to share them with me!
Hi everyone,
I’m new to Dungeons & Dragons and super excited to dive in! I’ve been learning a lot, but I still have a few questions and would love some guidance from more experienced players.
If anyone has tips on character creation, understanding the rules, or getting started with my first game, I’d really appreciate your help!
I don't know what help/guidance you're after. If you have a specific question about a rule or mechanic then this is the right place. General guidance might be available in general discussion but overall it's a case of read the source books and build character from that, if you're not sure about anything then ask here.
There are other sites that specialize in putting together guides and optimized builds but it really depends on what you're looking for.
If you're asking what is the easiest class to start as, that'd be fighter, Fighter has the easiest mechanics to understand, most of the complexity from fighter generally comes from subclass/archetype choice. Where Warlock tends to be the most complex but the greatest fun for people that like playing around with builds, since it has so much customization.
Personal recommendation, read over each class and see which one interests you most. And biggest recommendation of all, have fun. D&D is about a fun group experience, what you really want is a character who's strengths cover the weaknesses of other members of the party while having weaknesses that other members of the party cover for you.
A character who synergizes with the group is always better than one that is a lone wolf trying to be good at everything type of build. Flaws are more interesting, failures can be entertaining, do not shy away from a character that has some type of obvious flaw. Maybe they are not good at socializing (low charisma), perhaps they aren't the smartest (low wisdom/intelligence), or maybe they have a history of crime (criminal background) or got fired from being a guard due to a bad decision at the gate (guard background)... interesting characters are always better for Roleplaying.
Just edited the comment to add more, but there are a lot of rules, it's too complicated to explain the whole game in a post, is there any specific rules you're having issues with? If you need more guidance, I'd ask your Dungeon Master to set-up a Session 0, so you can ask these types of questions. Most DMs (and campaigns) should take the first few sessions easy and introduce mechanics as you go, so it becomes easier to understand how the game works and is a more natural way to learn the game.
I’m interested in playing a Wood Elf Ranger or Druid, but I’m a bit confused about how combat works and the action economy. If you could point me in the right direction or explain a bit about it, I’d really appreciate it!
If you have access to the 2024 PHB: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/phb-2024/playing-the-game#Combat
Free rules 2024: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/free-rules/playing-the-game#Combat
if you're playing 2014 instead
2014 PHB: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/phb-2014/combat
Basic Rules (free) 2014: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/basic-rules-2014/combat
Fundamentally combat is not that different between these. The basic premise is you get the follow resources on your turn:
Action, Bonus Action, Free Actions & movement. There are some small differences between versions such as how item interactions work but in most combats you only need to worry about these four things.
Action: This is the main thing you're performing on your turn, many things require an action. Attack Action and casting a spell with a casting time of 1 action or features that require using an action.
Bonus Action: This is a secondary thing you can do in your turn. if you attack. Using an off-hand weapon with Two-Weapon Fighting to perform an additional attack is usually a bonus action, casting a bonus action spell or using some features which require a bonus action.
Free Actions are things that can be used without expending any type of action, usually it's specialized class features, for example for Rogue, activating sneak attack on landing a hit against a creature within 5 foot of any ally, is a free action.
Movement, characters have movement speed, you can move that much distance in your turn, between the various actions you use. If you need to move further there is the dash action to move up to that movement speed again, some classes like rogue can bonus action dash too.
Other than that there is reactions, those are things you can use under certain circumstances and generally occur outside of your own turn. Casting the shield spell or absorb elements spell are examples of a reaction, there is also the Opportunity Attack reaction (often referred to as an Attack of Opportunity).
Lastly turn order is set at the start of combat using an Initiative roll, each character should have an Initiative Bonus which is how much you add to the D20 initiative roll.
If you still need help understanding it, please talk to your DM, they should have read all of this and should be able to guide you in session as to how this all works in combat.
Thank you so much for the detailed explanation and the links! I’ll definitely check out the resources you shared.
I appreciate the breakdown of actions, bonus actions, and movement—it makes things clearer for me. If I have more questions after looking through the materials, I’ll be sure to reach out or ask my DM for guidance in our sessions.
Thanks again for your help!
Edit: I just wanted to say a quick thank you for the links you provided. They were extremely helpful, and I appreciate you taking the time to share them with me!
Hey again! I have a thread in the Druid class forum where I’m asking about how animal companions work and if race affects anything. If you have any insights or can help out, I’d really appreciate it! Here’s the link: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/class-forums/druid/210088-druid-animal-companions-and-race-considerations.
Thanks!
Hey there,
Another option is to discover the game through Baldur’s gate 3 if you play it… Not exactly the same but you will clearly get the idea.