Can anyone explain to me how to play D&D?

[Jemini]

It's best to learn from doing with something like D&D. To do that, of course, you need to have friends who already know how to play. Preferably friends you can meet face to face.

For this reason, it is best to get to know who you will prospectively be playing with before you buy anything related to the game. The game has several different versions out, and whoever you're playing with will have their favorite pet version. It is best if you conform to the group in order to ease things along.

(Just, if possible, avoid anyone playing 4th edition.)

 

[GreenHexagon]

pick a class, roll the dice for an action, and if you roll nat 20 you get to fuck anything you want

roll nat 1 you get absolutely screwed

 

[Nahrenne]

roll nat 1 you get absolutely screwed

Or you end up with something absolutely hilarious.

X

 

[Alski]

Since your asking here you might want to start with a system that is lighter on the rules.

 

[FlutterOfCrows]

A good rule of thumb, as dnd is meant to be fun rather than a painful experience is "No dnd is better than bad dnd."

 

[Foxxy]

i am going to give an example of how a campaign can go with my campaign's last 4 sessions (my party consists of a dragonborn barb, V.Human warlock 2 lvls and 4 rogue lvls[me having expertise in acrobatics, stealth, SoH], a bard, and a druid both human and all of us level 6)
backstory: a mysterious guy walks up to us(me) after shopping in Town A saying that we need to get to Town B with NPC K to put her up for an underground noble's auction..... I show NPC K the note she leaves the room and a few minutes later we find her tied up and bleeding from the mouth (self-inflicted) we then proceed on the way to town B having a few encounters.... 2 people who we end up killing (I hid the bodies well enough), a decently high-level paladin type NPC we ignored, a level.....8-10ish rogue which we had a stealing battle that ended up killing him, (hiding the body once again and end of session 1.

Start of session 2: our group managed to dismantle 2 carriages in a 3 carriage caravan with no combat involved with 4 players vs 18ish NPCs (I have a bag of holding at this point in time and we also stole the 4 horses pulling the carriages) reassembled the carriage later down the road ran into some bandits, I shot the leader our barb lassoed the leader pulled him into our carriage and ignored the ambush (bandits were too shocked to do anything) arrived at town B gave bandit leader to the guards and got his bounty which was around 800 gold pieces and sold a carriage to a merchant, end of session 2.

Session 3: we did some shopping getting resources, magic items, healing items, and started the underground auction, giving NPC K to the auctioneer, mingled with nobles and I stole 47 pieces of jewelry from the nobles, auction gets crashed by a witch who was exiled said witch was our reason for coming, I decided to loot all of the action items met with the witch who had 2 other accomplices and NPC K knew the witch and it was an "escort mission" (looked super shady carrying around a >15 yr girl tied up and bloodied on said escort but....yeah) and they invited us to start a coup end of session 3.

Session 4 we needed to prove our worthiness to see if we actually have the power to help and started a time attack, NPC's would pull out a zombie from a bag of holding and we had to fight them, with random mobs joining in at various points in time, since 2 of our party wasn't here I asked the DM if they could still serve as meatshields with 4-5x health but can't move or attack...DM agreed (missing members was the druid and barb)...... after defeating the 3rd zombie and a wolf I decided to steal the bags of holding from NPCs first thought was to cause a spatial explosion but that would be a waste so I went off to the side and turned 2 bags inside out releasing 26 zombies.....NPCs were scared at my move, wolf 2 joined in, I cast burning hands at the zombie horde hitting 11ish asked dm if burning effect applied and if fire spread was allowed.... he said yes.....the horde was killed in 3 turns.... 2 burning hands and a few dagger stabs (including wolf 2) NPCs were baffled on how quick it was and wolf 3 joined the fray....but I used my +9 in acrobatics and with some momentum (20ft) I threw the druid meatshield to serve as a chew toy while we killed wolf 3... NPCs agreed we could join the coup but need to be stronger and gave us a list of tasks to do to get stronger (lvl ups) as the NPCs were walking away I stole the remaining 2 bags of holding. end of session 4

we only have an hour-long session each but there can be a lot of things done and in every session I had to make at least 15 dice rolls up to around 80, and bu dice roll I mean the time I roll a set amount of dice (2d4 would be 1 roll instead of 2)

 

[Cipiteca396]

Anyways, d20s are great on attack rolls and all, but it's when they're gained on ability checks(when you do an action and need to roll for it based on a list of skills, such as athletics, history, arcana, survival, etc.) and great things happen. For example, seducing a dragon.

Technically, you can't crit an ability check. Otherwise you could make an unskilled acrobatics check at level 1 to survive a two hundred story fall and succeed because you rolled a 20. If a 19 is instant death and a 20 is a perfect success, it's kinda wonky. Obviously it's allowed if you aren't playing seriously, though.

---

I've been meaning to learn ho to play D&D for a long time but I just, uhh, didn't have the time(also procrastinated).

I was looking at a few tutorials on YouTube but I just got more confused. i learned a little bit from JoCat's vids but it was mostly just memes. all I know is knowledge gained from copious amounts of manga, anime, rpgs, mmorpgs, and anime.

Basically, please assume I know next to nothing on how to play dnd.

Thanks in advance.

As a lot of other people have mentioned, your best bet is to start playing. That's the best way to learn the mechanics. Except maybe playing a videogame like Neverwinter Nights. But honestly, DnD isn't a mechanics based game. You can play the entire thing without rolling a die. What you need is a role to play, and people who will help you play that role(DM and players).

JoCat's vids are mostly memes, but you should have an idea of the class you want from that, right? If not, you can narrow it down to what you want your character to do. Magic, skill, swordsman, so on. The more details you work out, the easier it will be to pick your class. In most cases, what you want will be in the game already, but you can also just make something up as well.

Once you know your class, you can make your character. Hmm? The order's off? Whatever. You can make a backstory, and that backstory will affect the mechanics of the character. Nobleborn? You can just walk into the mansion that everyone else has to sneak into. Musician? The innkeeper will give you a room free of charge if you entertain his guests, and people from towns you've performed at might recognize you.

It's essentially the same as writing, only you spend all your effort on a single character. If you know the DM, the two of you can collaborate to make a story that fits in the DM's world. If not, they'll have to scramble to make it work, but that can also be fun. Just don't make a Mary Sue if you want the DM to like you.

If you have a character in mind, explain it and we can help you define it mechanically. Also, if you don't care about the role playing and just want to make the strongest character ever- well it's not impossible. There's a lot of min-maxy DnD content on YouTube.

 

[DarkeReises]

Technically, you can't crit an ability check. Otherwise you could make an unskilled acrobatics check at level 1 to survive a two hundred story fall and succeed because you rolled a 20. If a 19 is instant death and a 20 is a perfect success, it's kinda wonky. Obviously it's allowed if you aren't playing seriously, though.

---

As a lot of other people have mentioned, your best bet is to start playing. That's the best way to learn the mechanics. Except maybe playing a videogame like Neverwinter Nights. But honestly, DnD isn't a mechanics based game. You can play the entire thing without rolling a die. What you need is a role to play, and people who will help you play that role(DM and players).

JoCat's vids are mostly memes, but you should have an idea of the class you want from that, right? If not, you can narrow it down to what you want your character to do. Magic, skill, swordsman, so on. The more details you work out, the easier it will be to pick your class. In most cases, what you want will be in the game already, but you can also just make something up as well.

Once you know your class, you can make your character. Hmm? The order's off? Whatever. You can make a backstory, and that backstory will affect the mechanics of the character. Nobleborn? You can just walk into the mansion that everyone else has to sneak into. Musician? The innkeeper will give you a room free of charge if you entertain his guests, and people from towns you've performed at might recognize you.

It's essentially the same as writing, only you spend all your effort on a single character. If you know the DM, the two of you can collaborate to make a story that fits in the DM's world. If not, they'll have to scramble to make it work, but that can also be fun. Just don't make a Mary Sue if you want the DM to like you.

If you have a character in mind, explain it and we can help you define it mechanically. Also, if you don't care about the role playing and just want to make the strongest character ever- well it's not impossible. There's a lot of min-maxy DnD content on YouTube.

Also, if you want to have some real fun, just make a peasant railgun.

 

[Foxxy]

Also, if you want to have some real fun, just make a peasant railgun.

we do not speak of the peasant railgun to newbies...... maybe after the first few campaigns

 

[DarkeReises]

we do not speak of the peasant railgun to newbies...... maybe after the first few campaigns

I was a newbie(still am) when I learned of It... I shall spread the pain.

 

[peelsdeeni]

It requires friends.

Told her that myself, I think she cried.

It's best to learn from doing with something like D&D. To do that, of course, you need to have friends who already know how to play. Preferably friends you can meet face to face.

For this reason, it is best to get to know who you will prospectively be playing with before you buy anything related to the game. The game has several different versions out, and whoever you're playing with will have their favorite pet version. It is best if you conform to the group in order to ease things along.

(Just, if possible, avoid anyone playing 4th edition.)

Why do people keep mentioning having to have friends?!?
How could you do this to me D&D, makig me have to have friends?!?!?

Also, if you want to have some real fun, just make a peasant railgun.

we do not speak of the peasant railgun to newbies...... maybe after the first few campaigns

I was a newbie(still am) when I learned of It... I shall spread the pain.

I-
Do I want to know?
From what I've gleaned from multiple yt vids and your guys' advice. (I use guys, dude, and bro as gender neutral terms and no I won't stop... unless it gives you feelings of dysphoria then I will)

The DM/GM is an all powerful, omniscient deity who narrates and knows everything you and your friends do and will detail it as much as possible breaking/ignoring probably a few privacy laws.

You as the player creates your own character much like in many mmorpgs, you life depends on your class and if you play bad or roll a 1, you have fucked up your party and the campaign is basically over. Race gives you a few bonus points/stats and could have a few skills special to that race... or Darkvision. It also only dictates what the reason you wet on an adventure and basically your life story, nothing much, especially for a person who loves lore and backstories, no problem right?

Character sheets are complicated at first and will be the bane of your existence, that and your perpetually full/busy schedule.

The actual campaign itself will usually be a group decision between the DM and the players, you don't really need to worry that much about it, that's the DM's problem, if it's not a group decision, as I said, DM's problem.

I may or my not have exaggerated a few parts but this is essentially what I've learned.

I haven't gotten around to the finer details like sub classes and the specific races/types or the spells and attacks yet. I figured I would learn the basics first and then I could mentally overwhelm myself. I don't have the Player's Handbook yet so I can't really look anything up. And before you suggest using the basically magical powers of the internet/Google, no. That's it, no.

 

[DarkeReises]

Why do people keep mentioning having to have friends?!?
How could you do this to me D&D, makig me have to have friends?!?!?



I-
Do I want to know?
From what I've gleaned from multiple yt vids and your guys' advice. (I use guys, dude, and bro as gender neutral terms and no I won't stop... unless it gives you feelings of dysphoria then I will)

The DM/GM is an all powerful, omniscient deity who narrates and knows everything you and your friends do and will detail it as much as possible breaking/ignoring probably a few privacy laws.

You as the player creates your own character much like in many mmorpgs, you life depends on your class and if you play bad or roll a 1, you have fucked up your party and the campaign is basically over. Race gives you a few bonus points/stats and could have a few skills special to that race... or Darkvision. It also only dictates what the reason you wet on an adventure and basically your life story, nothing much, especially for a person who loves lore and backstories, no problem right?

Character sheets are complicated at first and will be the bane of your existence, that and your perpetually full/busy schedule.

The actual campaign itself will usually be a group decision between the DM and the players, you don't really need to worry that much about it, that's the DM's problem, if it's not a group decision, as I said, DM's problem.

I may or my not have exaggerated a few parts but this is essentially what I've learned.

I haven't gotten around to the finer details like sub classes and the specific races/types or the spells and attacks yet. I figured I would learn the basics first and then I could mentally overwhelm myself. I don't have the Player's Handbook yet so I can't really look anything up. And before you suggest using the basically magical powers of the internet/Google, no. That's it, no.

Yeah pretty much all you need to know. If you do play, just play with an experienced DM who has the patience to help new players. They'll guide you through everything.

 

[Agentt]

Well, no... That's not how it works.
We'll go with your example of a goblin.

When attacking them, you roll a d20, and you have to beat the Goblin's armor class(AC), which is 15. Meaning your d20 roll has to be 15 or higher. If you get a success, that means your attack hits, and now you roll for damage. What changes based on class and level, is your own bonus to your d20 rolls to hit them, as well as the damage you can deal in a single successful hit. Meaning a level 10 player character can theoretically miss every hit on a goblin, while the goblin can get 20s on their roll every time, meaning they crit and roll twice the amount of dice when you roll for damage(Meaning if you were to roll 2 d4s normally, you'd now roll 4 d4s.). Basically, having a higher level only greatly increases the chance of getting successful rolls, since your bonuses are higher, and you're likely to kill them in a single hit. Not to mention magic-casting classes have access to better spells that pretty much guarantee a hit and can instakill lower-level mobs.

Anyways, d20s are great on attack rolls and all, but it's when they're gained on ability checks(when you do an action and need to roll for it based on a list of skills, such as athletics, history, arcana, survival, etc.) and great things happen. For example, seducing a dragon

Why do people keep mentioning having to have friends?!?
How could you do this to me D&D, makig me have to have friends?!?!?



I-
Do I want to know?
From what I've gleaned from multiple yt vids and your guys' advice. (I use guys, dude, and bro as gender neutral terms and no I won't stop... unless it gives you feelings of dysphoria then I will)

The DM/GM is an all powerful, omniscient deity who narrates and knows everything you and your friends do and will detail it as much as possible breaking/ignoring probably a few privacy laws.

You as the player creates your own character much like in many mmorpgs, you life depends on your class and if you play bad or roll a 1, you have fucked up your party and the campaign is basically over. Race gives you a few bonus points/stats and could have a few skills special to that race... or Darkvision. It also only dictates what the reason you wet on an adventure and basically your life story, nothing much, especially for a person who loves lore and backstories, no problem right?

Character sheets are complicated at first and will be the bane of your existence, that and your perpetually full/busy schedule.

The actual campaign itself will usually be a group decision between the DM and the players, you don't really need to worry that much about it, that's the DM's problem, if it's not a group decision, as I said, DM's problem.

I may or my not have exaggerated a few parts but this is essentially what I've learned.

I haven't gotten around to the finer details like sub classes and the specific races/types or the spells and attacks yet. I figured I would learn the basics first and then I could mentally overwhelm myself. I don't have the Player's Handbook yet so I can't really look anything up. And before you suggest using the basically magical powers of the internet/Google, no. That's it, no.

*hugs*
Good luck dearie.

 

[Foxxy]

a recommendation is don't play a multi-class character until you have played 3-5 of the basic classes maybe not til lvl 20 but like level 7-10

 

[SilvCrimBlac]

Never played it. I just steal some of the more obscure monsters from it's beastiary from the online wiki's for writing ideas.

 

[Cipiteca396]

And before you suggest using the basically magical powers of the internet/Google, no. That's it, no.

There's actually a public document called the Basic Rules that they give out for free, if you're worried about pirating. Otherwise, buy your player's handbook and read it already.

https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf

 

[peelsdeeni]

I'm currently planning my first campaign with one of my irl friends and it sounds like a blast. They're obviously going to be the DM while I try to get the hang of the ttrpg. We haven't decided on a day to play yet, it's still a work in progress. I think they said that we're going with the 5th edition. I already made my character's profile and stuff. It took me over an hour.

regret

Thanks to everyone who replied with advice and tips to help! It was actually surprisingly helpful
I say surprisingly because of, ahem.

Also, if you want to have some real fun, just make a peasant railgun.

I still want to know what that is.

 

[2021]

Do dumbshit and roll for it

 

[Jemini]

Do dumbshit and roll for it

Specify "dumbshit."

--------------
DM's guide character takes one look into a room and yells at everyone to "run, NOW!"

Cleric: "What? What's in there that we are running from?" *looks inside while everyone else is running*

*Horrific munching sounds are heard.*

*Party fights off an army of ghouls, and finds the Cleric's half-eaten corpse after they finish up.*
---------------

And that, boys and girls, is the story of how curiosity killed the cleric.

 

[Zirrboy]

I'm currently planning my first campaign with one of my irl friends and it sounds like a blast. They're obviously going to be the DM while I try to get the hang of the ttrpg. We haven't decided on a day to play yet, it's still a work in progress. I think they said that we're going with the 5th edition. I already made my character's profile and stuff. It took me over an hour.

regret

Thanks to everyone who replied with advice and tips to help! It was actually surprisingly helpful
I say surprisingly because of, ahem.

I still want to know what that is.

Peasant Railgun:

You can hire/command people with sufficient stats.
The easiest to get are peasants, but any intelligent creature would do.

You line them up and tell each of them to get ready to pass an item forward.

The passing part happens in a single round. which, regardless of the actions taken, lasts 6 seconds.

So if you have 6 kilometers of peasants, the, say rock has a speed of 1 km/s at the end assuming it reaches full speed instantly, more otherwise, without upper limit.

The last peasant in the line throws the item at whatever you want wiped from existence.