A Redditor messaged me, “You’re a board game guy so i figured I’d take a shot in the dark and ask for your advice. Basically wanted to start Dungeons and Dragons and wanted your recommendation on the cheapest way to get everything I needed to actually start playing for real[assuming my boyfriend and our friends want to make it a regular thing]. I’ve seen people debating on what handbooks and packs i need to start, and i want to be sure I’m not wasting my money on useless books and all that”
It’s been way too long since I played or talked about D&D, so I’m sharing my response here, in case it’s helpful to other people.
Hey! I’m so glad you asked me, and I’m happy to help. This is one of those questions that wakes up the gatekeepers and can lead to people giving up and walking away from D&D before they ever start. I’ll do my best to give you a simple answer, and then some more information that you can come back to later, if you’re interested.
Speaking as a voice of experience, who has played the game since 1983, and who is intimately familiar with every edition and potential entry point: the very best way to get started is to pick up the 5th edition starter set. It has everything you need to learn and play the game, and if it turns out that D&D isn’t for you, you’ve only spent around $20. It’s widely available in bookstores, toy stores, and tabletop game shops. It’s written specifically for people who are new to the game, so it walks you through the basics and gives you information that you need when you need it, instead of overloading you with a bunch of facts all at once. For your twenty bucks, you’ll get enough to play for several sessions, and by the time you’re finished with the adventure it contains, you’ll know if you want to keep playing, or if D&D just isn’t for you.
You can stop now, and come back later if you’re still interested in the game, and want some more resources.
Okay, so if you want to get a deeper look at the rules that are in the Core Rule Books, Wizards of the Coast has a lot of free resources online to help you get your feet wet, including the basic rules.
Matt Mercer and Satine Phoenix have made tons of super helpful videos for Geek and Sundry about running games, including little tricks and things that can make adventures more interesting and fun for the players. They’re on the G&S YouTube channel.
If you’ve decided that you love D&D and you can’t wait to dive in a little deeper than the starter set, you will need to get the Core Rule Books. This is your first substantial investment, because there are three of them at minimum, and they all cost around $30 each. These books teach you how to design and create your own characters and adventures. They also give you the information you need to play through the published campaigns that Wizards has released, like Tomb of Annihilation, or Hoard of the Dragon Queen.
If you love that, and you want to start building your own adventures and campaigns in that world, Wizards has these incredible and detailed guides to their primary fantasy world, The Forgotten Realms (think if it like Middle Earth for D&D), including the Sword Coast Adventures Guide. These books don’t give you a specific adventure to run, but they tell you everything you need to know about the history, geography, fantasy races, cities and towns, and secret lore of that world.
I could go on and on, but I already have, so I’ll stop here. Feel free to shoot me a message if you have additional questions at any point in the future!
So this got me thinking: what’s going on in D&D right now? Is there a published adventure you love? A campaign setting you think veteran players should check out? Tell us, if you’re interested in sharing that sort of thing.
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I recently started a 5E campaign using the Adventures in Middle Earth material from Cubicle 7. Introducing my wife to D&D has been great so far. I have a character creation session and a one-on-one session with each person before the campaign starts. This gives each person a handle on their characters before they interact with the party.
I’ve just bought 3 of the Adventures in Middle Earth Books as well. I’ll be spending my down time during the Christmas holidays reading them. So far they look like a great addition to the 5e rules. At some point I’m going to pull out my old I.C.E. MERP books and see if I can design a campaign, but that’s a long way off.
Wise words Wil, that 5e box is an great start I picked it up just to see how things had come on since 2e, seems fine, players griping about 3/3.5/4 etc being ‘unbalanced’ etc alway always engrumpled me as back in the ‘old skool’ pre-Internet days we just winged it and bodged our own house rules under the aegis of ‘you cant be having fun wrong’, I partly blame computer RPG’s as whilst a precious few tell worthwhile tales many focus on essentially combat algebra with the ‘roleplaying’ limited to moral ‘choices’ that aren’t really aren’t, but back to the point, The Realms is most likely my favourite setting, although Thedas might be fun if uncoupled from the limits of video games
My issue with 3.x being unbalanced is more to do with how it codifies and limits play… and if you are ignoring the plethora of rules then people are still going to feel left out.
It is also far more intensive to run as a GM if you are running it properly.
5e strikes a nice balance as did 2e because while they are able to be “broken” they allow for more variation and don’t assume certain levels of mechanical progression in the system it’s self.
But at the same time, there are lots of good RPGs out there these days and it is the best time to be a gamer.
5E brought me back to DnD. I’ve played it since roughly 1980, and somehow 5E brings back the feel of old-school (the good parts that is), while capitalizing on modern RPG design.
Xanathar’s Guide to Everything just released, and I find it to be a solid addition to the game. I would recommend it to players who are frequent players.
I started playing D&D with the original books in 1975, moved up to AD&D, switched to Rolemaster for a very long time, and then returned to 5th Edition when it released and I have to agree with you about how to give the system a try. I think Wizards of the Coast was wise to release the box set to get people back into the system. As to a resource for campaigns, I started my world with the Judges Guild material from way back, and I still use it with some modification to this day.
If you played in the 70s did you ever play a play by mail called Rythlondar? Castle Morbundus?
I never did PBM I’m afraid. I was spending too much time playing FTF.
I first encountered D&D during high school in the early ’70’s, when we were passing around faded mimeographs of early rule books, and using velum to trace over and copy dungeons.
My geek/nerd friends and I instantly fell face-first into D&D. It wasn’t until my second or third time as DM that I realized I much preferred DM-ing over playing, and my friends were more than happy to have me assume that role on a semi-permanent basis. I created and ran several dungeons we enjoyed, but when the game had its commercial debut a few years later, it soon became clear I was only a so-so DM, at best.
The best DMs knew both the game and the players very well, often posing situations keyed to both the character and real-world personalities, making game play more visceral and immersive. By ’78 I was neither a DM nor a player, and drifted away from the game.
The D&D-like games played on TableTop have rekindled my interest, and may be the softest possible (re)entry into the D&D world. Watch those videos and see which ones resonate best!
Definitely something you’d love Wil, is Tales from the Yawning Portal …
It has:
The Sunless Citadel
The Forge of Fury
The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan
White Plume Mountain
Dead in Thay
Against the Giants
Tomb of Horrors
ALL updated for 5e.
I agree Josh. The three core rulebooks, Volo’s guide to monsters, and the new Xanathar’s guide to everything along with the above book as what I currently own.
Below was my answer to this very question on Quora.
https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-start-learning-to-play-D-D/answer/Glenn-Rittenhouse?srid=axvP
I’ve been running a 5e game in a homebrew setting. Well, I say “homebrew,” but it’s based heavily on the setting in the Dishonored video game franchise. The Dishonored Wiki serves as my campaign setting guide, and there are enough blanks in their lore to fill in with my own. Mixed some off-brand Cthulhu into their flavor of low fantasy steampunk… it really hits the spot.
My new favorite campaign setting is called Karthun Lands of Conflict. Is a setting for a few different styles, and it is a wonderful setting.
D20monkey Represent!!
Man, I remember starting off with the AD&D (2nd Ed) starter set, then getting the Player’s Handbook, DM’s Guide, and Monster Manual, then going through the Giants modules, Drow, Queen of the Demonweb, with a side trip against the Lich King.
That’s a really good response!
Last winter, my mom emailed me to ask about getting the boxed starter set for my 8-year-old nephew for Christmas, after he’d sent her a link to the Amazon page and asked her for it. She wanted to know if he was too young for it, but I started playing when I was a couple of years older than him, so I told her he should be fine. Then she said he already had a group of friends who wanted to play, and I said, “Good lord, woman, yes, get him the game!” As far as I know, he’s still playing.
Excellent advice, Wil! My group and I have been playing in Chult, using Tomb of Annihilation as a reference. I greatly enjoy taking the new adventure books and putting a spin on them. We also love streaming our games and have been doing so for four months. It’s fun to share our love of the game with other people.
I have to agree with everything above. In addition, I have to say I’m rather impressed with the progress made by Fantasy Grounds, Roll20, and DnD Beyond in regards to digitizing RPG’s documents and accounting. While they certainly aid with remote gaming sessions, they really help the PCs and DM speed through a lot of the non-Roleplaying activities without the need to ignore them. I distinctly remember coding a system in Ada in the 90’s, but these tools far exceed whatever I was trying to accomplish.
I’ve been working my way through the Critical Role archives, and just recently saw the episodes where you guest-played. It was really great seeing you having fun despite the beastly unfairness of your dice (except for that one Perception check on the Rakshasa’s motives). I also loved that first season of Titan’s Grave that you ran a while back, and it’d be great to see more. I really encourage you to do more on-camera tabletop roleplaying, on either side of the screen. You seem to enjoy it a great deal, and almost as important you’re good at it.
If money is a serious issue, try to find used books. Gaming stores sometimes carry them, or Craigslist, or sometimes you can ask on local message systems. It helps if you’ve played in someone else’s game. I fudged all through my first campaign because I couldn’t yet afford the books, but I had played in two or three other systems before then. Once I got books, it was tons easier, but I kept some of the uniqueness acquired by doing things the hard way. If you want to ever – like EVER – DM for tournaments, you need to learn the rules pretty much by the book, and it has to be the newest edition (usually). That uniqueness I kept also meant my home-brew game was never appropriate for tournaments.
Be flexible and remember that the game is about the players writing the story. Worst DM I ever had made us fit his storyline to the point that one of our players committed suicide to stop things from going the way the DM wanted. When even that didn’t work, we all quit playing with him. Free will, dude. The friends you make playing D&D may stay with you your whole life. Mine did. I started with first edition in 1980, ran my first campaign in 1981, and still have friends from that first gaming group – along with friends from every move since. Now I play with my kids and grandkids and their friends. Still I persist.
Oh, I need to clarify, too. The player didn’t die – his character committed suicide. I’m sorry for saying it wrong.
YES to used bookstores. The big one near me (I live on a city) has TONS of used gaming books for significant discount.
Also-cool as published adventures are-remember that you are always allowed to DIY-from scratch if you want to. Go ahead and stretch your storytelling skills if you’d like!
had one of those. he was also so predictable, so at the end we just figured out who the bad guy was and nailed him right off and then everyone quit.
This is a great response, Wil! I started playing about three years after you did, as a 30 year old adult even! Some friends I met at a sciifi/fantasy convention (who were even older than me!) convinced me that it was just for high school nerdboys and they were sure right! I have been playing with this same group of friends every month since 1986, more than half my life. They are my family. I don’t know what I would be doing if I hadn’t made these friends through this silly, exasperating, exciting, amazing game. D&D is what you make of it, I suppose, and I will be forever grateful to Harold and Jamie for making me part of this world.
“Not” just for high school nerdboys! Worst typo ever!!!
I’m in the midst of a campaign that’s repurposing the basic D&D series of modules and writing a bit of extra to glue them together with an overall story (with Bargle as the big bad, naturally). They’re super easy to update to 5e. Pretty much just replacing the stats for the monsters with the new edition equivalents. And you can pick up any or all of the modules on dndclassics.com for about $5 each. Mystara will always be my favorite official D&D setting, even with it being abandoned for 20 years.
I’m not sure I can explain why, but I have a great love for Mystara.
As someone who did this exact thing one year ago, I cannot say enough just how accurate Wil’s answer is. The entry point is engrossing enough to satisfy even some of the hardcore veterans while still being friendly enough for anyone to jump in a learn. The game realizes it has a learning curve and uses its various products to slowly suck you in….errrrr teach you how to play. The supplemental products are a ton of fun, and while yes, they are a bit expensive, if you break down how many hours of enjoyment you get from each, and multiply it by the number of people playing, you get a very comparable return on your dollar.
I started a group with my wife and son (age 11) and 2 friends and 1 year later we still play twice a month!
A great ressource to get started as a Gamemaster/Dungeonmaster with DnD 5th Ed is the youtube-Channel of Matt Colville.
Matt Colville is a river unto his people. I wouldn’t call his videos an entry to the hobby, but maybe a Step 2. Now that you’ve played a few games, maybe even a campaign, your buddies are begging you to DM for them and you don’t know where to start. Matt’s channel is the place to go.
Thank you for the link to Matt Colville’s channel.
since most of us who grew up with D&D are getting to be of a “certain age”, there needs to be games played at senior centers.
and there most definitely needs to be a good GM on any flight to Mars.
I daydream about running RPGs at whatever retirement home I end up in.
I’d like to get a job running them for the social activities.
I want to be in your retirement home
Marginally related: Does anyone do a (reputable) online core rules course for aspiring GMs? Not for any kind of official certification, necessarily–just as a tool to ensure you understand the rules correctly.
You can check out Web DM on YouTube, they do a good series of videos about the classes and races in D&D 5e, and break down a lot of the rules and such. From there, YouTube will flood you with other options, and you can pick and choose. 🙂
Good question and thanks for the tip on Web DM.
I’m not a D &D player but husband and his buddies regularly play via roll20, because they are in Michigan, Ohio and California.
Currenting playing in a homebrew and Storm Kings Thunder. Love one shots did a session where we were all kobolds (one of the best games night ever). Looking forward to running Rise of Tiamet following on from Hoard of the Dragon queen.
Dnd is a big part of my life and its weird when I go more than a week without it
My group got roughly 50 hours of game time out of the Starter Set. As a first time
DM, I appreciated how easy it was to run. Everyone loved the story. Most of the other 5e adventures include advice on how to transition a group into that adventure from the Starter Set adventure.
I still play with some of my old friends who are now in different areas via Standing Stone Games’ Dungeons and Dragons Online (11 year old pc/mac game) once in a once in a while. They’re still adding content (Ravenloft expansion on December 5th). There’s 11+ races and 14 classes (with triple multiclassing) and the first ~8 levels have free to play content. Also fully voice-acted dungeon master for all content including such notable voices as Gary Gygax (Delera’s Undead L5-8 module), Dave Arneson (Threnal L9-12 module), Ed Greenwood (Haunted Halls of Eveningstar), and this guy named Wil (Temple of Elemental Evil L7-L9).
The new player area for L1 has a very gentle set of quests and people can learn the rules solo or get together with friends to try it out. Edition wise it started as 3.5++, but is definitely its own thing with WotC supervised updates. But is still a great glimpse into D&D.
I’m so glad you posted this. I’m the librarian on Tumblr who got a grant for games a few months ago. It’s been going well, but they’ve been begging for D&D and I had no idea where to start. Now I do. Might have to start a second game day.
I’m thinking this would be a great Christmas gift for my kids aged 12 and 9 – they love Hero Quest (which I played as a kid) and also make up their own fantasy adventure games (both board games and storytelling games) but before delving into D&D I just wanted to make sure the content would be suitable for their ages? Would love any feedback thankyou!
It’s been a while since I’ve played D&D. I’ve just spent 2 years on One Ring and about a month ago that campaign ended and we started Symbaroum. That is a violent and scary system. I
Thank you for this. My 13 year old daughter just started a D&D club at her middle school. All the kids have become obsessed because of Stranger Things.
Thanks for this, Wil! I know a few interested folks I’ll pass this advice to.
I’ve really enjoyed D&D 5e for the space it’s given me to create my own campaign world. I really enjoy Pathfinder, but Golarion is such a rich campaign environment with a metric buttload of source material, that I’ve never felt the need to create anything for that world. But when they released 5e they didn’t release the setting books right away, and so I used that time to look at the game, and then create a campaign setting to both highlight and play with some of the class/race tropes. I’ve really enjoyed that, because it isn’t something I’ve done with D&D in decades. It felt like getting back to my gaming roots.
My gaming friends and I recently started a new campaign in a new world. One of the players suggested that everyone should be a bard or bard/something. I agreed to be DM and thought about the worst thing that could happen to a group of bards… so I set up a situation which forced the party to load up a wagon and perform Shakespeare (the local equivalent is “Broken-Axe”) for the local Orcish tribes.
Then I sat down and watched Spinal Tap… but this time I took notes!
“Orcis and Cressida” was a big hit! Except that the Orcish blacksmith had helpfully sharpened the stage-swords. And the goat ate the leading lady’s skirt while she had bent over. And the Orcs hated the Elvish prince in the play and shot at him with arrows. And threw scumgolian (an orcish liquor brewed inside the bodies of dead animals) at the actors they didn’t like, and the Orcish women were much too passionate about the guy who did the whip tricks.
And now the wagon full of bards is headed to the Dark City where the Orcish version of Teresa de Avila (she complains whenever Sauron causes her to levitate after performing a sacrifice) is waiting for her long-promised true love – the selfish and twisted Elven Duke who is leading the bards on a secret mission…
D&D beginner
Over the last year i have fallen massively into board gaming (thanks Wil) and from there to Wil’s Titansgrave: The Ashes of Valkana. This led me to find out what the whole ‘Critical Role’ thing was about, then here I am, getting sucked into D&D.
I haven’t actually played yet, let’s say that I’m doing research: starting with the 5e Starter Set, excellent value I think; followed by the Sword Coast Adventures Guide; and most recently the Tomb of Annihilation book. These books are gorgeous to look at and read.
I’ll keep listening to the Critical Role Podcast and watching Force Grey to both enjoy and learn from. I plan to buy the core rulebook and monster manual later. On a slightly different tack, I recently purchased the Castle Ravenloft board game and plan to get the sequels. All this wonderful resource material is fantastic.
Oh! I also started reading Salvatore’s Legend of Drizz’t books too. I’m 49 and soooo late to this party, but glad to be here.
I’ve been watching Acquisitions, Inc. and wishing Aeofel (or another character played by you) would make an appearance.
I haven’t been playing D&D for a while, though. What I HAVE been playing is O.L.D., which is a fantasy-style RPG and part of a set called What’s OLD is NEW.
Find somewhere (Meetup works really well in my area) running Adventurer’s League. It may not be the long campaign-style game you want, but it’ll introduce you to the people who run those long campaign-style games, and it’ll get you into the swing of the rules. AL is full 5e, with shorter adventures, typically broken into modules (1 evening) and submodules (1-2 hours) so it’s easy to join up midstream if the DM is smart. My game pub (Pawn and Pint) runs AL nearly every night, and we usually have an open space or 3. It’s also super-easy to DM an Adventurer’s League module, just takes some study time and you’re ready to go, it does a lot of the background work for you so you can focus on player interaction while you build your multitasking skills.
Also, the modules are fairly inexpensive ($2-3 on dmsguild.com).
This right here. I started playing D&D for the first time three years ago via Adventure League play at my awesome local game store. I needed nothing to start – just showed up and was offered a pre-generated character and a group to join; the DM even loaned me dice and a mini. It was an excellent way to get my feet wet without much up-front cost and I made some fantastic friends who are still my core group three years later.
You can get materials lots of places, but there is nothing like a good local store to help you get started.
I played Basic D&D in the early 1980s plus 3.5, 4th, and now 5th edition (Hoard of the Dragon Queen). IMO for beginning players the Hoard of the Dragon Queen campaign drags on too long – better to start off with a campaign that can be wrapped up in one or two sessions.
Keep in mind that some of the rules in D&D may seem archaic or defy logic to new players. While Wizards of the Coast has done a good job with 5e, the rules have still inherited a lot of baggage from earlier editions & could use streamlining (but in so doing would admittedly lose the D&D authenticity). For example, the Vancian magic system, where magic-users have to keep track of spells in their spell book as well as allocated spell slots and prepared spells, is a bit fiddly for beginners (the spell pt system is simpler). Combat in D&D can slow the game down to a crawl with multiple players & monsters rolling for initiative and taking turns, and sometimes feels like a game with a game. Which is ironic, since killing monsters, taking their stuff, and earning XPs is the central theme of the game. And don’t question too deeply what, exactly, do hit points, armor class, or experience pts represent? The game rules abstractly represent reality – D&D is not meant to be a simulation but rather an epic fantasy game. Other RPG systems (such as GURPS) offer a more adequate “reality simulation”.
There are multiple ways to begin playing D&D? 😉
I thought the only way to begin playing D&D was to get a white box full of poorly printed stapled booklets and spend an inordinate number of nights & weekends inventing hideous monsters to fight and beautiful damsels to save
Checking Ebay prices, it’s too bad I got rid of that stuff. Original 5th edition White-box sets in good condition are selling for a car-payment. I probably got mine after mom had surgery… which was the same year TSR published the 1st White-box Edition. Who knew it would ever become a collector’s item.
But to me, its value was in giving a young boy something to do other than worry about his mom – and later – to given an awkward college underclassman a good way to make friends.
However you get into it, Summon your inner child & enjoy! The amount of fun you have will depend on the group of people and their willingness to suspend disbelief and immerse themselves. Just get a cheap base-set, call some some friends and start killing monsters. You’ll quickly determine whether you like it and have the requisite time. Anymore, Lords of Waterdeep is more my speed.
I got lucky and found an awesome group on roll20 for my first ever DnD session a few months ago. They were very welcoming and helped me as a newbie, but I also did my homework and watched the first 20 or so episodes of Critical Role to get an idea of what is expected of me and the other players and DM.
From a technical standpoint, roll20 is very impressive considering there’s no app to download (there is a tablet app, but I play in a browser on my desktop PC). I don’t know how good it is from the DM’s standpoint, but as a player, it is very helpful. As a group we still like to use “meat dice” for some rolls, but I’ve enjoyed putting together macros for things like Hunter’s Mark and skill proficiencies that the DM has approved.
Last night I joined my first ever D&D game with a few old friends and new ones. It was all that I wanted it to be and I’m so pleased that they’ve invited me to join the troop. My Players Handbook is on order. A player was absent last night so they let me run his character for the night, I managed not to get her killed, so my next task is to create a character of my own and work with the DM to see how they’ll fit me in. Fun, fun FUN!
I still have yet to play 5th. It is the only edition of D&D I have not played. Mostly because it came out while I was broke, and the only group that I know of that plays near me (Other than adventures) while I’m in my current living situation plays on Wednesday nights. Which I can’t do. So, just playing Pathfinder and Starfinder.
I would also suggest that if they could also check out the core rule books from their local public library and use those or at least peruse them if money is tight.
My suggestion mirrors a lot of what Wil wrote, but slightly reordered.
I would suggest reading the first section (5 pages) of the Player’s Basic Rules first. They’re free on the Wizards of the Coast website to which Wil linked, and give a basic overview of what D&D is. This way you can confirm that D&D sounds like something you’d find fun to do. Next skim or read the sections on character races, classes, and personalities/backgrounds. At this point I wouldn’t worry so much about the mechanics and more about whether you think you could put yourself “in the shoes” of a character of one of those races, classes, or backgrounds and have fun.
If what you’ve read so far has you excited, the next step would be the Starter Set. I haven’t actually bought this but I’ll take Wil’s word on what it contains.
If reading and playing using the Starter Set has you interested in taking the next step, that’s the three core rulebooks. But one thing Wil didn’t mention is that not all players will necessarily need all three core rulebooks. If you think of a Dungeons and Dragons game like a TV show, the players who are acting “in front of the camera” may be able to share one or two Player’s Handbooks or each may want their own copy. But not all players will need the Dungeon Master’s Guide or the Monster Manual. Those are targeted more at the “directors” / dungeon masters who control the “extras” that populate the world in which the actors act. Some players may want all three books, particularly if they want to act in front of the camera in one “show” / campaign and want to direct / be dungeon master for another.
That means a group of players who can share may only need a couple of Player’s Handbooks, one Dungeon Master’s Guide, and one Monster Manual rather than one of each for each player. That makes things a little less expensive. But I would also splurge on an extra set of dice. You can share dice, but it’s convenient to have at least two sets since that way one person can be getting the appropriate dice from one set ready to roll while another is rolling from the other set. Plus if you do something really good it’s fun to fill your hands with dice (some borrowed from your friends) and roll the whole lot to unleash ruin upon your enemies 🙂
Thank you for posting this. I’ve been wanting to get into D&D for awhile now, but each try has fallen through. I know there’s game shops here that i could go to and probably find a group. But being new it’s intimidating all the people I know in real life who play want to play on the computer using fantasy grounds. Which I guess i could do, and probably would if it didn’t keep falling apart. (the group not fantasy grounds). but i like the physical feel of die i think someone should invent bluetooth dice where you roll it and it records on a computer. There’s also a gaming cafe in nashville, but i get totally undone by traffic there like i cry which is why I could never live in LA. I had to take my mom to the airport yesterday and at one point i started crying. I just get overwhelmed when there’s too much going on at once. But I am going to play magic for the first time in years tonight, I know not the same thing. But I’m still pretty excited.
My own story is a bit odd. My brother was an AD&D snob when 1E was competing with the Moldvay/Cook and then the Mentzer boxed sets. I was never ever allowed to play in his games. I started acquiring games before actually playing them so I had Mentzer B/X – GM’d it once and never got to be a player. My friends and I first started any kind campaign with the Palladium FRPG after I had already played once in a Palladium TMNT game – so I knew the system. With the exception of D&D 3E (for a few months), I have almost never played any edition of D&D/AD&D but some other game, typically FRPG or Superhero (the big 2 genres).
There are currently many easy-to-understand alternatives to D&D and the entry cost is usually quite a bit less.
First of all, you have all the OSR works including Basic Fantasy, OSRIC, Labyrinth Lord, Swords and Wizardry, and many others. These are great because they not only preserve previous versions of the TSR classic but also because one book typically includes everything you need. Swords and Wizardy is even available as a free PDF.
Additionally, there are more modern takes on D&D/AD&D such as Castles and Crusades, Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC), Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea, Fantastic Heroes and Witchery, and Adventurer Conqueror King, to name but a few. All of these can be obtained in PDF at reasonable prices. Furthermore, DCC is one volume costing 30 to 40 dollars and you have a complete game. Castles and Crusades can be skimped down to just the $20 to $25 Player’s Manual if you are willing to make up your own monsters and treasures.
I was raised with the classics from the time I could read and write, and as someone who has gone through each iteration of Dungeons and Dragon, I agree 5th edition is best for new players to start with. My personal favorite setting is Ravenloft, mainly because I love the horror scenarios.
There is always Tunnels and Trolls for an inexpensive option. Also you can buy the manuals from used book stores to save money.
RPG geek is a good source for online used RPGs. And no I don’t work for them.
Another thing to help people new to D&D is to watch one of the many online broadcasts. Critical Role and Titansgrave got me into it and was a great resource for learning how to take it beyond the hack and slash and into a more serious RP oriented game.
Also, Hero Kids is awesome to introduce kids to RPG.
My answer would be:
1. Go to DNDBeyond or the WotC website.
2. Get the basic rules. They’re free. You can play now.
They don’t give you a rundown of a game to if that’s interesting…
3. Buy the D&D5 Starter Set. At 20-30$, it has everything a group needs to play including a short adventure.
4. If you liked that, the PHB will set you back 30-50 bucks and contain all the rules for playing more deeply.
5. An adventure season’s book, enough to run your party from level 1 all the way to the higher tiers, cost about 20-30 bucks and would probably keep you busy for at least six months of weekly sessions.
6. If you really want to get in depth in creating your own world or campaign, the DMG is another 30-50 bucks.
7. The MM is completely optional and only for completionists. The monsters you really need are already available to you.
IMHO, I would reverse your points 6 and 7 – the MM is one of the things I like best about the core books (in any incarnation of the game), and the DMG adds something, but is utterly optional unless you want to run the game yourself. But I’m perfectly willing to accept that my love of the Monster Manual is entirely subjective.
So, this is late, and possibly irrelevant, but I’m going to say it anyway, because I’m a geek and I have opinions, damnit. First, Wil, you’re %1000 right – the Starter Set is an EXCELLENT place to start, even if you are already familiar with D&D in a general sense. However, if you are lucky enough to have a friend who is already into D&D, and who already owns the core books, encourage them to pick up Tales from the Yawning Portal and run one of the shorter adventures for you. They are low risk, low investment adventures, many can be brought to a satisfactory conclusion after a single session, and all should give you a taste of how the game plays.And absolutely, if you can, buy it from a local gaming store, if the local gaming store is a pleasant, friendly, clean place you would not be concerned about dropping your teens off at – we appreciate the support!
Hi. I am 63 and most people would say, too old to be role playing D &D. However, last year (2016) the most amazing thing happened. After 20 years in haiatis, I joined a D&D game and played one evening. I enjoyed the game but the amazing part is that in the following year I wrote four science fiction books. I consider that one game stirred my imagination to creativity. I have published other books about more mundane subjects, but I am so proud of my sci-fi work.