You’ve heard about D&D. Maybe you played Baldur’s Gate 3. You want to get started. You don’t even know how.
You’re in the right place.
I’m going to tell you everything you need to do to get started playing D&D, and what you can do RIGHT NOW.
If you think this article isn’t for you, who in your life would like to see it?
There are four categories you need, including one that people don’t normally talk about: STUFF, PEOPLE, a PLACE, and IDEAS.
STUFF
You need a few physical things to get started, but they’re mostly inexpensive and you can probably still work it if you’re broke.
Rulebook. For D&D, you need the Player’s Handbook. It’s abbreviated to PHB or PH a lot of times. You can buy one at a game store or online. For less money, you can share a copy with someone else, check one out from your local library, or download the basic rules in the System Resource Document (SRD) from the Internet.
Kobold Press has our own fork of the D&D rules called Black Flag, which is free. We also make the Tales of the Valiant RPG, based on Black Flag. Both are completely compatible with D&D, but the classes are a little stronger to give players an edge. They’re a ton of fun to play, but check with the person running your D&D game (that’s your game master or “Dungeon Master”) if you want to bring in something from outside the PH.
Dice. A full set of D&D dice consists of seven dice: a 4-sided die (d4), a six-sided die (d6), an eight-sided die (d8), two ten-sided dice (d10), a twelve-sided die (d12), and the grandaddy of them all, the twenty-sider (d20). You can buy some sweet dice here, but you can also get less expensive ones or just mooch off someone else as you get started.
Paper and Pencils. A character sheet on paper helps you keep track of what your character can do, and a pencil because duh.
PEOPLE
You can play an RPG solo, but that’s a whole other article. Here, we’re talking about games you play with friends. Or friendly acquaintances. Or friendly strangers. You’re picking up on the pattern here, right?
To play, you need to find a game master to run the game. That person knows the rules pretty well, sets up the in-game situation, asks you what your character does, and then tells you how the world responds.
Then you need at least a couple other players. Something like 3–6 players is best.
PLACE
You need a place to play where you can be noisy, but nobody’s going to bother you for a few hours. Here are some good options:
Home. This is the classic location, somebody’s living space. There’s always talk about a “table” (as in tabletop RPG), but you don’t even need that. You can sit around someone’s living room or in a dorm room.
Library. According to science, approximately 60% of librarians are secret anarchists who just want you to have a good time with books. Give them enough notice and you can probably reserve a room for free. Just clean up after yourselves when you’re done.
Game Store. Lots of game stores provide play space, and the better stores host game nights already, so you just have to show up. (You should call ahead anyway.)
IDEAS
This is the one no one ever talks about, but it might be the most fundamental thing. Luckily, you’re probably already on your way.
You need to have cool ideas about your character, about how you can contribute to the game, and how you can be a part of something. There’s no wrong way to do this, and in fact, bringing your own take on the game is part of what makes it unpredictable and fun.
Sit around and draw or write and imagine what could be. Don’t get married to any of it, but think of stuff that would be fun to do and interesting to be and what would work with a group of friendly acquaintances. You can (and should) do this just about anywhere. And you can start NOW.
WRAP-UP
If you need more help or want to throw around some ideas, head over to our Kobold official Discord server to find friendly, like-minded folks. Games are waiting for you!
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