How to Play Dungeons and Dragons 5E

Dungeons and Dragons 5e is a lot more simple to pick up and play than it looks from an outside perspective. The players really only need a Character sheet for their individual Character which tells them all their skills and abilities and the DM (the person who is running the game) needs a game plan, statistics on creatures and NPCs (Non-Player Characters) and a few ideas on scenarios to present to the players. Most importantly, all the players need dice.

There are hundreds of various different books and materials you could pick up to add content to your game, but while all these are helpful, the only recommended books or reference materials you need when starting out are the Player’s Handbook for the players and the Dungeon Master’s Guide and Monster Manual for the DM.

If the books look a little intimidating, consider these books are used for reference alone 90% of the time. For example, if you decide to make a Human Fighter character, you really only need to read the 3 pages on humans and 6 pages on fighters in the book. You will then occasionally reference the book for items, prices, and rule clarifications (roughly 5% of the game, on average). The same is true for the DM, only the DM will use these references a lot more.

Now that we have the tools needed to get started, let's get to rolling dice.

Players

As a player, consider that you're an actor playing a role in a story. Your character is the part you are playing and their skills and abilities are the tools that you have at your disposal to take on the challenges the DM presents to you. The other players are your teammates that will help you conquer these challenges. When playing the game, it’s important to understand that the DM is using how powerful your entire

party is together when presenting a scenario, so working together as a team is critical to your own survival. Furthermore, the greatest part about TTRPGs (tabletop roleplaying games) is that unlike video games where you are limited by the parameters the programmers put into the game of what you can do in various situations and scenarios, what you are able to do is limited to your own imagination… if the DM allows it.

The DM

The DM is the person running the game. They decide how difficult performing a task, action, or skill is to achieve and they will set a DC (Difficulty Class) for whatever that might be. When players make ability checks, attacks or save from effects, they must meet the DC or exceed it for their action to be successful, rolling below being a failure. Players can have advantage on things, allowing them to roll twice and take the hig

her number, or disadvantage having them take the lower instead.

The DM also presents the players with the environment, creatures, NPCs and items for the scenarios the players will be facing. It’s important to note that while they are in control of the world the players are playing in, the DM’s core focus isn’t so much to kill the players (though this can happen), but to challenge them to make the game fun and engaging. Think of them more as a referee than an adversary. Nevertheless, the DM always has the final say on any rules or call during the session.

Gameplay

When you sit down to play the game for your first time, the DM will give a description of the when, where and whys of the scenario the players are in and ask them what they would like to do. The players then interact with the environment using ability checks. Those six core skills on the character sheet can be broken down into various skills more specific to the situations in question, some which your character might have a bonus in due to modifiers. Modifiers are added to the number rolled on a D20 die as a bonus, allowing specific things to be much easier if it’s something that character is good at or proficient in. The Skills are broken down as so:

StrengthAthleticsDexterityAcrobatics, Sleight of Hand, StealthIntelligenceArcana, History, Investigation, Nature, ReligionWisdomAnimal Han

dling, Insight, Medicine, Perception, SurvivalCharismaDeception, Intimidation, Performance, Persuasion

Let’s run through a few examples and hop right into it.

DM: You walk into the tavern and feel there’s a tension in the air. Two men sit at the bar and they are having a serious discussion with the bartender. What would you like to do?

Rogue: I want to try to get a little closer and listen in.

DM: Alright, make a perception check.

The rogue then looks at his character sheet and sees that there is a +3 to their perception. They then roll a D20 and get a 5 on the die. They then add the +3 and tell the DM they got an 8.

DM: You try to listen in (DM looks down at their NPC stat sheet and sees they have a passive perception of 10) and the two men at the bar turn and notice you trying to listen in on their conversation. One of them gets up. “Do you mind?” He says.

Fighter: I want to walk in between the Rogue and the men. “Friends, we don’t want any trouble. We are simply here to get a drink and rest.”

DM: Alright, make a

persuasion check.

The Fighter then rolls a 19 on a D20, looks at his character sheet with no bonus to persuasion. “19.” He says aloud.

DM: You see one of them roll their eyes and turn back to their conversation, now talking a little bit quieter.

Rogue: I want to walk in and try to pick his pockets when he has his back turned.

DM: … Ok, sleight of hand check. This is gonna be very difficult.

The rogue rolls a 16 and adds his +3 to sleight of hand. “19.” He says.

DM: You sneak beside him and are able to slip your hand in and slide a couple gold out. As you do this, the bartender brings him another drink. He slips his hand into his pockets. “Hey, where did my gold go? I swear I had 2 pieces…” he looks at the rogue and anger grows in his face. Everyone roll for initiative.

*Both the Fighter and the Rogue rolled 19s. One interaction was more successful than the other. The reason for this is simply persuading two strangers you mean no harm is much easier than stealing from someone who alread

y is aware of your presence and has shown irritation towards you. While you technically still successfully stole the gold, because of the difficulty of the situation, the outcome was much different. The DC for being able to perform this task with zero suspicion would have been more along the 20+ range.

Combat

When combat has been initiated, you will be asked to roll for initiative. This indicated turn order. A turn is 6 seconds. If you have any initiative bonus, it will be marked on your character sheet (generally determined by your DEX). Once the turn order has been declared, the round begins. On your turn you can move up to your character’s movement speed, perform any actions, and perform ability checks at your DM’s discrecion. When attacking with a melee weapon, you will roll a D20 and add your Strength modifier and if you are proficient with the weapon you are using, you will add y

our proficiency bonus to that as well, to see if your attack hits. If your roll meets or exceeds the target’s AC (Armor Class), the attack is successful. You can then roll the damage dice determined by the weapon and add your strength bonus to the damage. The same is done when using a ranged weapon or casting a ranged spell, only you will use your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength to hit and for damage. The damage is then subtracted from the target’s hitpoints. This goes on until the creature(s) you are attacking reach 0 hit points, run away, or give up.

If a player reaches 0 hit points, they are considered unconscious. An unconscious creature is not dead yet, but they can do nothing on their turn except for make a death saving throw. If the damage you take is enough to bring you far enough below 0 hit points to exceed your maximum HP, you die outright. To do this, you roll a D20, on a 10 or higher, you mark off a successful saving throw

(2 for a natural 20). If you roll below, you mark off an unsuccessful saving throw ( 2 for a natural 1). 3 successful saves allow you to regain consciousness with 1 hit point, 3 failures and your character is dead.