Hi, I am new to D&D and will be starting a group with my friends. Please could you give me some basic tips to get started? I have looked at the guide and read up on some info, but would still greatly appreciate any simple tips for easier understanding, gameplay or just general tips.
Also, I am creating my character, (a tiefling rogue) and am struggling slightly with my proficiencies. I have watched the 4 part playlist by Tabletop Games on YT, but some help with that would be very helpful too.
Are the others in your group equally new to D&D? If you have any members who have a degree of knowledge then you can ask them to run a quick training session first. Briefly go over how combat works, how magic works and other basic rules.
You started with the right idea, work through character creation as that will clarify stats, skills, equipment, races and classes.
As a group you need to decide where you want to play (online or in person), what style of game appeals (light or heavy role play, combat focus or social/adventure focus, whether combat will be using online maps, physical miniatures or all done via narrative). If you intend to use any house rules make sure they are clearly stated in advance and any disagreement is worked out before you begin.
Thanks for your help. Yes, all of us are new to the game except our DM. We will be playing in person, and I think most of our combat will be narrative based. I am not 100% sure about gameplay, but I imagine a 50/50 split of combat and social/adventure. I have essentially finished my character now, I am creating the backstory and working out what equipment I want. Anything you would recommend buying as a rogue?
Rogues come in many different forms so it really depends on what style you have in mind. For example you could be a con-man, high charisma and running scams. In that case you would consider disguise, illusion, actor and speech skills. Or perhaps you want a skill monkey, a guy who is a jack of all trades, lock picking, pick pocket, investigation, lots of tool kits and a variety of both range and melee weapons. Maybe take a whip for swinging, pulling or pushing at range.
Maybe you just want a ninja/assassin/killing machine, in which case you can consider fast movement, defensive skills for survival, high stealth and maximum damage output.
I would suggest that you make sure everyone has a unique class in mind. Finding out your secret build is the same as others would be awkward. For your first game I would recommend playing single class characters, then once you understand the mechanics better look at multi-class options down the track. It is also a good idea that spell casters discuss their starting spells, as duplication is a waste in many cases (mage hand, identify, detect anything etc). Not to say you can't have any duplication but at least with more variety you'll be prepared for more situations.
Equipment wise you need to consider a light source if you have any characters without dark vision, and figure out who carries it (someone needs a free hand, so two handed weapon plus a lantern is not going to work). There is standard adventuring gear like camping equipment, rations, clothing that matches the environment, rope and climbing equipment and if you intend to travel long distances then a cart or wagon becomes useful.
You need to decide if you are going to be a ranged attacker or a melee fighter. As a rogue you are not an effective tank so the best melee rogues are skirmishers, going in and coming out again, Swashbucklers (are particularly good at this if you want to go that way when you choose your archtype at level 3). If melee are you going to use one weapon or two?
Your choice then determines what to pick for starting equipment. I would recommend getting a bow even if you indend to mainly fight melee, so you can attack if nothing in is range or against flying enemies, this doews prevent you from wielding 2 short sword if you want to fight two handed but a short sword and a dagger only does marginally less damage. A rapier does the most damage of melee weapons but you can not use it if you fight with two weapons.
For one handed melee or ranged rogues get a rapier, and a short bow For two weapon fighting get a short sword and a short bow (two short swords as an option if you really never want to fight ranged)
Regarding light sources hooded lanterns are more versatile than torches but in my experiance if someone has the light cantrip that is a better option, if it is cast on your sword you do not need a spare hand and if you need it to go dartk you can sheath it.
A lot of equipment is often waived in the game. The exploers pack for example has a bed roll, but most DMs will not peanlise you for spending a night camping out without one (if you say take the burgler's pack. Many games don't even worry about things like food rations as many players do not enjoy micromanaging such things. As your DM is experianced have a word with them and they should tell you how they plan on ruinning the game and maybe advise you on things like equipment
Unless you are the main tank and don’t want to spark Opportunity Attacks or something, do not stand still on the battlefield. Especially at lower levels where you will have ranged attacks and/or cantrips, there is no reason to be in close with the enemy. Remember, even a goblin can crit drop you.
It really is the thing I bite my tongue on the most when playing with new players! “Why are you going to just keep standing in the doorway, damn it?!”
Thank you guys, this has been very helpful, I appreciate you taking the time to reply.
I am using a short bow, short word, two daggers and two sickles. I have studded leather armour as well, so my armour class is 14. Yes, I'll probably wait to enter fights and pick low targets who I can kill with (relative) ease without risking myself too much. Everyone in our group - except two people who have yet to make a character - have made their character, and we have 5 different classes and 4 different races, so we seem to be well-balanced.
I think for my Archetype at level 3, I will choose either Arcane Trickster, Swashbuckler, or Thief.
Thank you guys, this has been very helpful, I appreciate you taking the time to reply.
I am using a short bow, short word, two daggers and two sickles. I have studded leather armour as well, so my armour class is 14. Yes, I'll probably wait to enter fights and pick low targets who I can kill with (relative) ease without risking myself too much. Everyone in our group - except two people who have yet to make a character - have made their character, and we have 5 different classes and 4 different races, so we seem to be well-balanced.
I think for my Archetype at level 3, I will choose either Arcane Trickster, Swashbuckler, or Thief.
Some quick tips:
Drop the sickles as soon as you can afford to. They're strictly worse than the daggers, including the fact that you can't Sneak Attack with them.
In the same vein, ditch the shortbow for a light crossbow as soon as you can.
You're only Dex 15. Why? If your party is still in chargen and you have the opportunity to do so, I recommend being Dex 16 or 17 to start. The math of DnD will be far more forgiving for you this way. Starting with studded leather is a nice boon from your GM. I wasn't allowed to for my rogue. :)
Thieves are pretty bad. Arcane Trickster and Swashbuckler both have ways to make it legal to sneak attack in more contexts (the base way for ATs is the Find Familiar spell, but they pick up more later), so both are good choices, but you should start planning now what third stat (after dex and con) you want to have at a competent level - ATs don't need good INT to function, but it does improve them, while Swashbucklers obviously prefer good CHA.
Okay I will change the sickles, as our campaign hasn't started and I can still edit my character. Should I replace them or leave them out completely? Will do the same with short bow.
Dex 15 seems pretty good to me, but I might look at something I could use to change it.
I have Charisma of 14, and Intelligence of 12. Which would be better, more rounded and more useful out of swashbuckler and AT?
I have proficiency in deception, persuasion, so feel a high Charisma is good.
As a rogue dex is your most important stat by far and the way a D&D works is you only get mechanical benefits of an ability score as it goes to an even number so dex 15 is no better than dex 14 (until you get to level 4 when you would only need one ASI to get your modifier to +3).
How did you decide stats? What are your wisdom and strength? What race are you? Are you allowed to apply your racial bonuses to any stats (this is an optional rule)
I had a similar character concept as aswashbuckler half elf, we used point buy and I could not swap the racial bonuses. I went Str=8, Dex=15+1, Con=13+1, Int=10, Wis =14, Cha = 12+2. I kept my wisdom high do if I am trying to deceive someone I want to know if they believe me or not and if the party want me to lead the way through a dungeon due to my stealth I want ot be able to notice things (perception). You don't need to copy that exactly but you need to concentrate on what you want to be good at so leave the str and intelligence to other members of the party.
If you want to go AT then you need decent intelligence (and everyone needs reasonable con) but if you try to have dent charisma and wisdom you are spreading yourself too thin. You could go with a relatively low wisdom and rely on smeone else fo the perception and insight or leave the charismatic stuff to the bard / warlock / paladin / sorcerer.
How are you deciding equipment? In the standard rules you can either choose equipment (and have a small amount of gold from your background) or roll for gold and use that buy sall you need? Studed leather and sickles are not on the starting equipment list so did you roll for gold if so how much did you get? The only things I would consider replace the sickles with would be a second short sword if you plan on fighting with two weapons or a rapier if you plan on fighting with one though if you can not afford this you are fine as is regarding weapons. For a rogue a light crosbow is better than a short bow but is not on the starting equipment list. If you are buy with gold start with a cross-bow.
Okay I will change the sickles, as our campaign hasn't started and I can still edit my character. Should I replace them or leave them out completely? Will do the same with short bow.
Dex 15 seems pretty good to me, but I might look at something I could use to change it.
I have Charisma of 14, and Intelligence of 12. Which would be better, more rounded and more useful out of swashbuckler and AT?
I have proficiency in deception, persuasion, so feel a high Charisma is good.
Thanks for the tips :)
I don't know your budget - the sickles are a waste of money, but many things across the price spectrum are not. For example, it's very, very reasonable for you to buy chalk, which is dirt cheap, and silk rope, which isn't.
I don't know how you generated your statline, but both point buy and the standard array should let you generate a starting Dex of 15, and then you should be able to use your race to get up to 16 or 17 (as others have pointed out, 17 isn't better than 16 until you use a +1 feat on it to reach 18, so stopping at 16 is fine). If you're a variant human or a Tasha's custom lineage, meaning you have a starting feat, there are some good feats you might like that will grant +1 Dex, like Skill Expert (see below).
Deception and Persuasion are both excellent skills, no argument. Swashbuckler will make it particularly easy to justify your choices of leaning into being the party face, but AT provides spellcasting, so it's hard to answer your question about being "more rounded". Certainly if you're a Swashbuckler, the Skill Expert feat is an easier sell, whereas an AT might prefer Elven Accuracy (if you're an elf). Which of Swashbuckler and AT you'll enjoy more really depends on you, but the vibe I get from your posts is that you'll enjoy Swashbuckler more, for what it's worth. You sound kind of bardic, if you know what I mean.
Okay I will change the sickles, as our campaign hasn't started and I can still edit my character. Should I replace them or leave them out completely? Will do the same with short bow.
Dex 15 seems pretty good to me, but I might look at something I could use to change it.
I have Charisma of 14, and Intelligence of 12. Which would be better, more rounded and more useful out of swashbuckler and AT?
I have proficiency in deception, persuasion, so feel a high Charisma is good.
Thanks for the tips :)
I don't know your budget - the sickles are a waste of money, but many things across the price spectrum are not. For example, it's very, very reasonable for you to buy chalk, which is dirt cheap, and silk rope, which isn't.
I don't know how you generated your statline, but both point buy and the standard array should let you generate a starting Dex of 15, and then you should be able to use your race to get up to 16 or 17 (as others have pointed out, 17 isn't better than 16 until you use a +1 feat on it to reach 18, so stopping at 16 is fine). If you're a variant human or a Tasha's custom lineage, meaning you have a starting feat, there are some good feats you might like that will grant +1 Dex, like Skill Expert (see below).
Deception and Persuasion are both excellent skills, no argument. Swashbuckler will make it particularly easy to justify your choices of leaning into being the party face, but AT provides spellcasting, so it's hard to answer your question about being "more rounded". Certainly if you're a Swashbuckler, the Skill Expert feat is an easier sell, whereas an AT might prefer Elven Accuracy (if you're an elf). Which of Swashbuckler and AT you'll enjoy more really depends on you, but the vibe I get from your posts is that you'll enjoy Swashbuckler more, for what it's worth. You sound kind of bardic, if you know what I mean.
Yes, I used the Standard Array for my starting DEX, but my race is Tiefling? It gives me bonuses in INT and CHA which I think are useful and would help me being Swashbuckler or, to a slightly lesser degree, AT. Okay, I will get rid of the sickles, and get some silken rope and chalk. Anything else? Yeah, not sure we have many "face of the party" characters, and as you say, I sound kind of bardic so Swashbuckler looks quite fun and has good feats. Price range, is about 22GP without sickles or 24GP I can't quite remember.
No, I personally own none of the books, but may look to purchase a few in the future. My DM told me to use this website in place of the PHB as most information from it is on here, so there was no real need for me to buy it. Also, they own the PHB and told me I could borrow it any time I needed it.
So, I probably won't by the PHB, but what other books would you recommend buying when I do start to look for them?
Without the optional rule about swapping racial ability bonuses tieflings do not make the most optimal rogues. The optional rule is is Tashas caulbron of everything, you can ask your DM if they will allow it but if they do not own Tashas they probably won't.
If you can not swap ability scores you can either stick with your character and recognise it won't be quite as powerful as it could be or change the race to one that gives a bonus to Dex and preferably either cha or con. Half elf, human and galling would all make a good fit.
Regarding books, books like Tashas and Xanatjers increase your options as a player but only if your DM allows them. If you are buying physical books your DM might allow them if you let them have access to the book as well, but if they prefer to stick to phb only there is no point buying other books. What you might find useful if you are using this site to create you character sheets is to buy the bits of the phb you need. For example if you want to play variant human the feat you want is not in the free rules. You could homebrew the feat copying it from the paper copy of the book or you could buy the feat you want for $1.99 if you decide to buy the whole phb later the 1.99 would be deducted from the price.
In fact before Tasha's cam out one ofthe things a lot of people said was that they felt compelled to pick certain class / race combinations to be effective, if you wanted to play a rogue you felt as if you had to be a race that gave a bonus to dexterity in order to be effective.
Yeah I could definitely see that. On guides a few guides I read it said you would have to be an elf or variant or halfling for a competent rogue in older versions of D&D.
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Hi, I am new to D&D and will be starting a group with my friends. Please could you give me some basic tips to get started? I have looked at the guide and read up on some info, but would still greatly appreciate any simple tips for easier understanding, gameplay or just general tips.
Also, I am creating my character, (a tiefling rogue) and am struggling slightly with my proficiencies. I have watched the 4 part playlist by Tabletop Games on YT, but some help with that would be very helpful too.
Thank you, have a nice day/night. :)
Are the others in your group equally new to D&D? If you have any members who have a degree of knowledge then you can ask them to run a quick training session first. Briefly go over how combat works, how magic works and other basic rules.
You started with the right idea, work through character creation as that will clarify stats, skills, equipment, races and classes.
As a group you need to decide where you want to play (online or in person), what style of game appeals (light or heavy role play, combat focus or social/adventure focus, whether combat will be using online maps, physical miniatures or all done via narrative). If you intend to use any house rules make sure they are clearly stated in advance and any disagreement is worked out before you begin.
Thanks for your help. Yes, all of us are new to the game except our DM. We will be playing in person, and I think most of our combat will be narrative based. I am not 100% sure about gameplay, but I imagine a 50/50 split of combat and social/adventure. I have essentially finished my character now, I am creating the backstory and working out what equipment I want. Anything you would recommend buying as a rogue?
Rogues come in many different forms so it really depends on what style you have in mind. For example you could be a con-man, high charisma and running scams. In that case you would consider disguise, illusion, actor and speech skills. Or perhaps you want a skill monkey, a guy who is a jack of all trades, lock picking, pick pocket, investigation, lots of tool kits and a variety of both range and melee weapons. Maybe take a whip for swinging, pulling or pushing at range.
Maybe you just want a ninja/assassin/killing machine, in which case you can consider fast movement, defensive skills for survival, high stealth and maximum damage output.
I would suggest that you make sure everyone has a unique class in mind. Finding out your secret build is the same as others would be awkward. For your first game I would recommend playing single class characters, then once you understand the mechanics better look at multi-class options down the track. It is also a good idea that spell casters discuss their starting spells, as duplication is a waste in many cases (mage hand, identify, detect anything etc). Not to say you can't have any duplication but at least with more variety you'll be prepared for more situations.
Equipment wise you need to consider a light source if you have any characters without dark vision, and figure out who carries it (someone needs a free hand, so two handed weapon plus a lantern is not going to work). There is standard adventuring gear like camping equipment, rations, clothing that matches the environment, rope and climbing equipment and if you intend to travel long distances then a cart or wagon becomes useful.
You need to decide if you are going to be a ranged attacker or a melee fighter. As a rogue you are not an effective tank so the best melee rogues are skirmishers, going in and coming out again, Swashbucklers (are particularly good at this if you want to go that way when you choose your archtype at level 3). If melee are you going to use one weapon or two?
Your choice then determines what to pick for starting equipment. I would recommend getting a bow even if you indend to mainly fight melee, so you can attack if nothing in is range or against flying enemies, this doews prevent you from wielding 2 short sword if you want to fight two handed but a short sword and a dagger only does marginally less damage. A rapier does the most damage of melee weapons but you can not use it if you fight with two weapons.
For one handed melee or ranged rogues get a rapier, and a short bow
For two weapon fighting get a short sword and a short bow (two short swords as an option if you really never want to fight ranged)
Regarding light sources hooded lanterns are more versatile than torches but in my experiance if someone has the light cantrip that is a better option, if it is cast on your sword you do not need a spare hand and if you need it to go dartk you can sheath it.
A lot of equipment is often waived in the game. The exploers pack for example has a bed roll, but most DMs will not peanlise you for spending a night camping out without one (if you say take the burgler's pack. Many games don't even worry about things like food rations as many players do not enjoy micromanaging such things. As your DM is experianced have a word with them and they should tell you how they plan on ruinning the game and maybe advise you on things like equipment
KEEP MOVING AND USE THE ENVIRONMENT.
Unless you are the main tank and don’t want to spark Opportunity Attacks or something, do not stand still on the battlefield. Especially at lower levels where you will have ranged attacks and/or cantrips, there is no reason to be in close with the enemy. Remember, even a goblin can crit drop you.
It really is the thing I bite my tongue on the most when playing with new players! “Why are you going to just keep standing in the doorway, damn it?!”
Thank you guys, this has been very helpful, I appreciate you taking the time to reply.
I am using a short bow, short word, two daggers and two sickles. I have studded leather armour as well, so my armour class is 14. Yes, I'll probably wait to enter fights and pick low targets who I can kill with (relative) ease without risking myself too much. Everyone in our group - except two people who have yet to make a character - have made their character, and we have 5 different classes and 4 different races, so we seem to be well-balanced.
I think for my Archetype at level 3, I will choose either Arcane Trickster, Swashbuckler, or Thief.
14? What is your DEX?
15 Dexterity, Studded Leather Armour and 14 Constitution.
Some quick tips:
Okay I will change the sickles, as our campaign hasn't started and I can still edit my character. Should I replace them or leave them out completely? Will do the same with short bow.
Dex 15 seems pretty good to me, but I might look at something I could use to change it.
I have Charisma of 14, and Intelligence of 12. Which would be better, more rounded and more useful out of swashbuckler and AT?
I have proficiency in deception, persuasion, so feel a high Charisma is good.
Thanks for the tips :)
As a rogue dex is your most important stat by far and the way a D&D works is you only get mechanical benefits of an ability score as it goes to an even number so dex 15 is no better than dex 14 (until you get to level 4 when you would only need one ASI to get your modifier to +3).
How did you decide stats? What are your wisdom and strength? What race are you? Are you allowed to apply your racial bonuses to any stats (this is an optional rule)
I had a similar character concept as aswashbuckler half elf, we used point buy and I could not swap the racial bonuses. I went Str=8, Dex=15+1, Con=13+1, Int=10, Wis =14, Cha = 12+2. I kept my wisdom high do if I am trying to deceive someone I want to know if they believe me or not and if the party want me to lead the way through a dungeon due to my stealth I want ot be able to notice things (perception). You don't need to copy that exactly but you need to concentrate on what you want to be good at so leave the str and intelligence to other members of the party.
If you want to go AT then you need decent intelligence (and everyone needs reasonable con) but if you try to have dent charisma and wisdom you are spreading yourself too thin. You could go with a relatively low wisdom and rely on smeone else fo the perception and insight or leave the charismatic stuff to the bard / warlock / paladin / sorcerer.
How are you deciding equipment? In the standard rules you can either choose equipment (and have a small amount of gold from your background) or roll for gold and use that buy sall you need? Studed leather and sickles are not on the starting equipment list so did you roll for gold if so how much did you get? The only things I would consider replace the sickles with would be a second short sword if you plan on fighting with two weapons or a rapier if you plan on fighting with one though if you can not afford this you are fine as is regarding weapons. For a rogue a light crosbow is better than a short bow but is not on the starting equipment list. If you are buy with gold start with a cross-bow.
One question, are you running with the PHB only, or do you have the other source books to refer to?
Feats that give dex are bad in the PHB but there are several options in other books (Xanathar's and Tasha's have a couple of dex feats each).
I don't know your budget - the sickles are a waste of money, but many things across the price spectrum are not. For example, it's very, very reasonable for you to buy chalk, which is dirt cheap, and silk rope, which isn't.
I don't know how you generated your statline, but both point buy and the standard array should let you generate a starting Dex of 15, and then you should be able to use your race to get up to 16 or 17 (as others have pointed out, 17 isn't better than 16 until you use a +1 feat on it to reach 18, so stopping at 16 is fine). If you're a variant human or a Tasha's custom lineage, meaning you have a starting feat, there are some good feats you might like that will grant +1 Dex, like Skill Expert (see below).
Deception and Persuasion are both excellent skills, no argument. Swashbuckler will make it particularly easy to justify your choices of leaning into being the party face, but AT provides spellcasting, so it's hard to answer your question about being "more rounded". Certainly if you're a Swashbuckler, the Skill Expert feat is an easier sell, whereas an AT might prefer Elven Accuracy (if you're an elf). Which of Swashbuckler and AT you'll enjoy more really depends on you, but the vibe I get from your posts is that you'll enjoy Swashbuckler more, for what it's worth. You sound kind of bardic, if you know what I mean.
Yes, I used the Standard Array for my starting DEX, but my race is Tiefling? It gives me bonuses in INT and CHA which I think are useful and would help me being Swashbuckler or, to a slightly lesser degree, AT. Okay, I will get rid of the sickles, and get some silken rope and chalk. Anything else? Yeah, not sure we have many "face of the party" characters, and as you say, I sound kind of bardic so Swashbuckler looks quite fun and has good feats. Price range, is about 22GP without sickles or 24GP I can't quite remember.
No, I personally own none of the books, but may look to purchase a few in the future. My DM told me to use this website in place of the PHB as most information from it is on here, so there was no real need for me to buy it. Also, they own the PHB and told me I could borrow it any time I needed it.
So, I probably won't by the PHB, but what other books would you recommend buying when I do start to look for them?
Without the optional rule about swapping racial ability bonuses tieflings do not make the most optimal rogues. The optional rule is is Tashas caulbron of everything, you can ask your DM if they will allow it but if they do not own Tashas they probably won't.
If you can not swap ability scores you can either stick with your character and recognise it won't be quite as powerful as it could be or change the race to one that gives a bonus to Dex and preferably either cha or con. Half elf, human and galling would all make a good fit.
Regarding books, books like Tashas and Xanatjers increase your options as a player but only if your DM allows them. If you are buying physical books your DM might allow them if you let them have access to the book as well, but if they prefer to stick to phb only there is no point buying other books. What you might find useful if you are using this site to create you character sheets is to buy the bits of the phb you need. For example if you want to play variant human the feat you want is not in the free rules. You could homebrew the feat copying it from the paper copy of the book or you could buy the feat you want for $1.99 if you decide to buy the whole phb later the 1.99 would be deducted from the price.
Okay thanks. I don't think my DM would mind too much if I used those in future and will look into them.
In fact before Tasha's cam out one ofthe things a lot of people said was that they felt compelled to pick certain class / race combinations to be effective, if you wanted to play a rogue you felt as if you had to be a race that gave a bonus to dexterity in order to be effective.
Yeah I could definitely see that. On guides a few guides I read it said you would have to be an elf or variant or halfling for a competent rogue in older versions of D&D.