A Seven-Minute Primer on D&D, it’s Easier Than You Think

First, a disclaimer. This post will not contain all the minutiae you need to play a full D&D campaign by the book. There are core rulebooks for that, particularly the Player’s Handbook (Also called the PHB) and the Dungeon Master’s Guide (Also called the DMG) that contain rules for how to figure out falling damage, rules for short and long rests, how to adjudicate different issues, etc. This is not that. The purpose of this piece is to give new players a rough outline of how the game is played, but every campaign is different. Some people want to run a game that is a little more grounded in reality, forcing you to monitor food and water, to avoid exhaustion, and obeying certain rules for how much stuff you can carry. Others are more loosey-goosey. This primer assumes that your DM will know how to apply the rules they want to follow.

Second, another disclaimer. Sometimes when I write or talk about D&D, I get people telling me about how there are better systems, more accessible systems, that D&D is overrated or not good for this or that, and I agree. D&D is neither the best nor the most intuitive system out there. But what D&D has is brand recognition. Few people say “I want to try a tabletop RPG” in my experience. Most people look around and say, “I wanna try D&D.” D&D is a good starting point because of the sheer amount of resources and the fact that most people know what it is. If it’s not your thing, I’d recommend checking out games in the Apocalypse System, FATE, Numenera, Dread, or countless others. D&D is what I know best, and what is best known. You can also find lots of free PDFs for systems based on properties like Fallout and Persona.

Ok, my seven minutes starts now.

D&D is a tabletop roleplaying game, emphasis on roleplaying. What you are here to do is create a story collaboratively with your friends. D&D is a set of rules that helps shape that experience, and which makes sure that there is enough balance to keep the game interesting. You are a player. You are playing a character, called a player character, or PC. Looking around the table, you should see other players, who are also controlling PCs. One of your friends is the Game Master or, because D&D has to have it’s own thing, the Dungeon Master, or DM. The DM creates the scenarios that your PC will engage with, decides how to interpret rules, and controls other characters, called non-player characters, or NPCs. The DM also controls enemies when you fight. But the key is that you are not fighting the DM. You are all working together to create a satisfying story, which may include tension and even character death.

Your character is made up of four parts. They have a race, a generalized fantasy term which more accurately refers to species, and which grants certain physical characteristics. Some can see in the dark. Most have a particular bonus to a particular aspect of your character. When first creating a character, choose for flavor and don’t worry about stats. Characters have a class, which refers to what they do and what suite of powers they have. Some classes are good at fighting. Some classes are for using magic. Generally, think about what kinds of things you want to do and choose a class that lets you do those things. When we talk about a character level, we’re usually talking about the amount of experience they have in a class. So a level 4 Fighter has a level of skill surpassing someone who is a level 3 Fighter. Characters have a background, which is a brief description of what they did before they became an adventurer. It might provide a benefit (former criminals, for example, know how to contact criminal circles), but mostly it provides a jumping off point for backstory.

Lastly, your character has stats. There are a lot of ways to determine the stats of a character. My advice is to ask the DM what they want you to use, and use an online calculator like OrcPub to figure out stats. The most common systems are called Point Buy, where you buy stats, Standard Array, where you assign a preset series of numbers to stats as you choose, and Rolled Stats, where you roll dice to determine stats. The best thing to do is to figure out what stats to prioritize for your class and assign accordingly. You can do this by consulting your DM or by googling the class you want to use. I’ll say what the stats are and what they do below, but for the time being, know this. If you are brand new, and you have someone who is willing to do this, consider either working alongside your DM, or ask nicely if they are willing to make it for you according to your concept. I once made seven characters in about an hour on OrcPub, and that included creating custom subclasses, so the process sin’t too laborious for someone who knows what they are doing.

You individual stats are referred to as attributes. Starting from the top, we have Strength (STR), which is a measure of how strong you are. It’s used for hitting things, lifting things, wrestling with people, and anything else that might involve physical might. Dexterity (DEX) is a measure of your speed, quickness, and finesse. You use this to pick locks and pockets, do flips, climb, and get out of the way. Constitution (CON) gives a sense of how tough you are, and helps determine your hit points. It can be used for resistance to illness, poison, or even alcohol and unfamiliar food. Intelligence (INT) tracks book smarts, and is favored among Wizards. Wisdom (WIS) is for street smarts and awareness, and is favored by Druids and Clerics. It also determines your Passive Perception, which is your general awareness. Finally, Charisma (CHR) is a measure of your social impact, whether you are handsome or intimidating. In short, in a bar, you arm wrestle with STR, play darts with DEX, do shots with CON, win trivia with INT, sense danger with WIS, and charm or intimidate to avoid it with CHR.

Each PC has skills, which are tied to different attributes. However, you can also specialize in skills according to your class. These are marked on your character sheet, and you can add your proficiency bonus to them. You also have saving throws which are connected to skills, and which help you out when you are threatened in a particular way.

You add the modifier from your attributes and your skills when you make a roll. If you want to pick a pocket, you make a Sleight of Hand Check. You roll a 20-sided die, add your DEX modifier (if you are proficient in it, you can also add your proficiency modifier) and you tell the DM what the final number is. If it beats the Difficulty Check (DC) of the task, you succeed! If not, you fail, and have to figure out something else. Either way, even a failure should move the story forward.

For a number of reasons, you might have advantage or disadvantage on a roll. With advantage, you roll the 20-sided die twice and keep the higher number. With disadvantage you do the opposite. Your DM should be able to tell you whether and why you have advantage or disadvantage.

Ok, so a lot of D&D is running around towns or the wilderness, rolling die to complete tasks, and talking to locals played by your DM. But then sometimes you fight.

If you get into a fight, you have to roll for initiative, this determines the order in which you take turns. When it is your turn, you may move up to your movement speed, and take an action. Your action might be to attack or something else, like cutting down a bridge, or interacting with the environment. To attack, you use whatever weapon you are holding to hit an enemy in range. You should have your weapons listed in your attacks section of the character sheet. Ask your DM if the enemy is in range. Roll a 20-sided die and add the attack modifier, which should be next to the name of the weapon. If it is higher than the enemy’s Armor Class (AC) (which is a measure of how hard you are to hit and damage) you hit them. Good job! Roll the appropriate die to do damage. When an enemy has 0 hit points, they are out of combat.

When an enemy attacks you, they only do damage if they roll higher than your AC. If you get to 0 hit points, you may roll a 20-sided die to see if you die or live. You must roll above a ten 3 times to survive, or below 3 times to die. You roll once per turn. Talk to the DM about doing things like knocking out enemies instead of killing them. You get XP for defeating enemies or finding ways to thwart them.

Finally, we can talk about spells. You have spells called Cantrips, these are used freely and cost nothing, so use them as much as you can. Other spells have Spell Slots which scale up to the power of the spell you are casting. Depending on your level, you have a certain number of spell slots you can use without resting. It’s smart to make a check box so you can mark off ones you’ve used. Ask your DM for more clarity and to help monitor your spell slot usage.

All other rules can be explained as needed by your DM. Don’t be shy about asking, but do be patient if they have to look something up. With this info, you know just about everything you need to just get started. Leveling up is it’s own whole thing, and you can also ask your DM to help you with that. Happy Adventuring!