I’ve been interested in DnD since I was like 5 but was never allowed to play it because it was “evil” and gave my parents a vague bad feeling. However the long DnD embargo has finally been dropped and though I’m a bit intimidated I’d love to give it a try. What should I know before I first play? I’d really appreciate any tips or tricks you can tell me. Thank you!
Play with your friends if you can get a group together, it will likely be a better experience than doing it with strangers, at least at first. Get either the essentials kit of the starter kit. They both come with pre-written adventures that can help teach you how to play.
Like a class in school, the one running the group can make or break the experience. You want to have a good DM to run the game.
Part of that means having a "session zero" where the group gets together and you discuss what sort of game you want to have. For instance, if something would make you uncomfortable, make it known, and a good, or even decent DM won't cross your lines. If you have any phobias or hot-button issues you don't want to interact with at all, a session zero is the best time to bring it up. It's also a good chance to feel out the types of characters the other players want to bring to the table so you can tie some of the backstories together so at the start of the game, the characters have a reason to be traveling together beyond "the story demands it".
The next big thing is to remember that it's a cooperative game. Try to play your character in a way that facilitates everyone at the table having fun. Your characters can be at odds with each other as long as the players are enjoying the banter/in-game-conflict, but if it's not fun for everyone, try to find something that is.
For your character, try to remember that the game isn't designed for anyone to be good at everything. One of the hardest things for me to pick up was that a character's flaws/weaknesses help to make it dynamic and memorable.
I'd also suggest taking everything on the forums with a grain of salt. If you have a question about how rules interact, re-reading the rules is a good place to start, followed by the "sage advice compendium" (an official FAQ for the game). If that doesn't answer your question, you can ask on the forums, but know that even if something you want to do is 100% in compliance with "rules as written", there will be people who will argue endlessly that you can't do it. Ultimately the only two people that have to agree on any ruling are you and your DM. As long as the ruling is consistent for your table, it really doesn't matter if it's technically in compliance with the "rules as written". If it's fun for your table, go for it!
If you're playing as a Player, rather than as a DM, then always keep the following in mind:
The edgy, loner character is done to death, and rarely fun in a D&D game because D&D is a collaborative game.
Your character must at all times have a motivation to be with the party, stay with the party, and should want to participate willingly in the overall campaign story that the DM has created. D&D is a team game, and the rest of the party need to have a reason for keeping you around. This reason needs to be that you're good for them, and working to achieve the same goals.
Characters should typically therefore be motivated either by money (neutral), wanting to do good/help people (good), or a desire for power/fame/acclaim (neutral/evil). There can be other more complex motivations than these, but most boil down to one of these three.
If your character's motivation is too specific to their backstory, they will flounder when the DM's story (which usually involves having to motivate 4+ characters) doesn't directly follow the character backstory. For instance, if your character only cares about taking vengeance on the people who stole his cows, then what happens when the storyline is not focused on that?
Finally "But it's what my character would do" is the bane of many games when the character actions aggravate other players or the DM. You aren't the main character in the story, and a character who annoys/angers the other characters will likely struggle to find a reason to keep them in the game. Trying to steal from other characters, hiding treasure, murdering NPCs without thought, or doing things in opposition to the team's goal will all cause strife at the table. The threshold for this varies from table to table, but you need to assess what the other players want from the game as much as you do yourself.
1) Do some research. Learning about D&D has never been easier. There are loads of videos on Youtube, just search 'how to be a good D&D player.' It's also helpful and fun to watch live streams of games as well. I actually spent a long time just watching D&D being played when I was building up the nerve to find a group.
2) The most common dice you will use in D&D is the D20, a 20 sided dice. Rolls ranging between 1-9 are seen as bad or less than average. Scores from 10-14 are seen as okay / good while scores ranging from 15-20 are seen as good / great scores. This can change depending on what is happening but for simplicity's sake is a good rule of thumb.
3) It's not as hard as you think, just listen to your DM. For the most part, when you're first starting out all you need to do is listen to what your DM is saying and do what they ask you to. That means answering their questions such as 'what would you like to do?' and rolling whatever rolls they ask you to make. You really don't need to know much more than that.
4) Boring is better and more realistic where character backstories are concerned. Remember, your character starts out as a lvl 1 adventurer. They're not super strong, they're not a bad ass hero ..... yet. So don't say you defeated 100 orcs becaue you'll look stupid when you get beaten by a lowly bullywug at lvl 1. Simiarly, it is very temping to go for a cliche backstory but please don't. We've seen the orphan, amnesiac, my entire family and tribe were murdered by orcs a thousand times. It get's old....fast....
Instead think about the following:
Who are your mother and father? Where did you grow up? Do you have any other family or friends? Are you with a significant other? Do you have any children of your own? The more bonds you have the better. Why you ask? Because it will give your DM more opportunities to introduce characters from your backstory into the campaign, making you and the other players feel more invested.
What sort of life have you lived? This will relate to your backstory. Even a soldier may never have seen much battle. Again, remember you're lvl 1.
What were you doing before you decided to become an adventurer?
Why did you decide to leave and become an adventurer? Even with a loving and stable family life, that doesn't mean you have to stay. My most recent character, a life cleric, left his wife and children because he had heard of a great evil that he knew would eventually threaten his safe haven, so he ventured out to face it in order to keep the world a safe place for his family.
Hope it helps and have fun!
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I’ve been interested in DnD since I was like 5 but was never allowed to play it because it was “evil” and gave my parents a vague bad feeling. However the long DnD embargo has finally been dropped and though I’m a bit intimidated I’d love to give it a try. What should I know before I first play? I’d really appreciate any tips or tricks you can tell me. Thank you!
That's a very vague and open ended question lol. Click on the "New Player Guide" at the top of the screen and go from there.
Play with your friends if you can get a group together, it will likely be a better experience than doing it with strangers, at least at first.
Get either the essentials kit of the starter kit. They both come with pre-written adventures that can help teach you how to play.
You can also find many online videos of people playing D&D. Even watching one will give you a good picture of how the game flow works.
Like a class in school, the one running the group can make or break the experience. You want to have a good DM to run the game.
Part of that means having a "session zero" where the group gets together and you discuss what sort of game you want to have. For instance, if something would make you uncomfortable, make it known, and a good, or even decent DM won't cross your lines. If you have any phobias or hot-button issues you don't want to interact with at all, a session zero is the best time to bring it up. It's also a good chance to feel out the types of characters the other players want to bring to the table so you can tie some of the backstories together so at the start of the game, the characters have a reason to be traveling together beyond "the story demands it".
The next big thing is to remember that it's a cooperative game. Try to play your character in a way that facilitates everyone at the table having fun. Your characters can be at odds with each other as long as the players are enjoying the banter/in-game-conflict, but if it's not fun for everyone, try to find something that is.
For your character, try to remember that the game isn't designed for anyone to be good at everything. One of the hardest things for me to pick up was that a character's flaws/weaknesses help to make it dynamic and memorable.
I'd also suggest taking everything on the forums with a grain of salt. If you have a question about how rules interact, re-reading the rules is a good place to start, followed by the "sage advice compendium" (an official FAQ for the game). If that doesn't answer your question, you can ask on the forums, but know that even if something you want to do is 100% in compliance with "rules as written", there will be people who will argue endlessly that you can't do it. Ultimately the only two people that have to agree on any ruling are you and your DM. As long as the ruling is consistent for your table, it really doesn't matter if it's technically in compliance with the "rules as written". If it's fun for your table, go for it!
I hope this is helpful.
If you're playing as a Player, rather than as a DM, then always keep the following in mind:
Welcome to the wonderful world of D&D!
So where to start?
1) Do some research. Learning about D&D has never been easier. There are loads of videos on Youtube, just search 'how to be a good D&D player.' It's also helpful and fun to watch live streams of games as well. I actually spent a long time just watching D&D being played when I was building up the nerve to find a group.
2) The most common dice you will use in D&D is the D20, a 20 sided dice. Rolls ranging between 1-9 are seen as bad or less than average. Scores from 10-14 are seen as okay / good while scores ranging from 15-20 are seen as good / great scores. This can change depending on what is happening but for simplicity's sake is a good rule of thumb.
3) It's not as hard as you think, just listen to your DM. For the most part, when you're first starting out all you need to do is listen to what your DM is saying and do what they ask you to. That means answering their questions such as 'what would you like to do?' and rolling whatever rolls they ask you to make. You really don't need to know much more than that.
4) Boring is better and more realistic where character backstories are concerned. Remember, your character starts out as a lvl 1 adventurer. They're not super strong, they're not a bad ass hero ..... yet. So don't say you defeated 100 orcs becaue you'll look stupid when you get beaten by a lowly bullywug at lvl 1. Simiarly, it is very temping to go for a cliche backstory but please don't. We've seen the orphan, amnesiac, my entire family and tribe were murdered by orcs a thousand times. It get's old....fast....
Instead think about the following:
Hope it helps and have fun!