I know it has been a bit, but who doesn't need a break every once in a while?
Considering all that is happening with economics, pandemics & politics, I bet you do too. That is why I thought I would share with you my latest time-killer: the wide world of TTRPG and Dungeons & Dragons.
As a fan of everything Lord of The Rings, Star Wars, and Star Trek, D&D has always been a mystery I felt I should explore. With the quarantine not getting better with the atrocious news cycle recently, what a better time to find a healthy escape! So there I went.
As one would expect, with fellow geeks having advanced stories, lore, theories & rules since the late 70s when the game was introduced by Gary Gygax & Dave Arneson, there is a lot, A LOT, of material. Just the recommended trilogy of books for the well-versed player spans over 1000 pages! For the curious ones, you can probably double that number when you include expansions like Volo's guide or Xanathar's guide.
To the untrained eye reading on D&D, any sane person would be instantly turned away at the prospect of a 1000 page rulebook to play a game between friends... This being said, the 'untrained eye' misses the point of the game, which is not to win, but rather hangout with friends. As such, rules are only as important as you and your friends' need for structure.
So, having spent the last couple of weeks figuring out the lay of the land, I thought I would make it easier for the next adventurer 😉
Ok, without further ado:
What is D&D?
In its simplest form, D&D is a cooperative game that relies on player imagination inviting you to explore fantastic worlds in wild adventures!
How do I get to play?
You need a character, a group of friends & a thrilling story.
For the first and last part, there are tons of help online with getting pregenerated characters for free (though I recommend going through the exercise, it's half the fun 😊 )
So all you really need is to convince a group of friends to embark on an adventure with you in the "Theatre of the Mind"
How does D&D work?
Description, description and more description. The game follows a repeating pattern which all developments in the game follow: the DM (dungeon master, bearer of rules & arbitrator) describes the context, the players describe their actions and then the DM narrates the results, that simple!
To ensure fairness and some challenge, most decisions in the game are resolved though the roll of a dice, most often a 20 sided one (d20). The DM then determines whether or not the outcome is good or bad based on some threshold.
Long story short, D&D rules are more like guidelines. It should act as a system to manage chance in a fair way for everyone. This allows all players (DM included!) to focus on the fun they're having together.
But enough about what I think. My goal here is to help you sort through the good, the bad & the ugly...
For reference, trying to understand a new game, you should always start with a simple exercise. You start any first person shooter and the first thing you do is look up and down, start moving, then run and shoot. It should be the same for D&D.
Get the feel for it: here's a short one with Stephen Colbert returning to the game after a 30 year hiatus! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8rTAeiepNg
If you're a fan of The Fast and Furious, then this is a must https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8rTAeiepNg
Of course, as this all happens in the 'Theatre of the Mind', make sure to read up plenty on it. Here are my favorites:
https://dmdave.com/how-to-play-dnd-fifth-edition/
In case you wanted more: https://slyflourish.com/start_here.html
Another great resources for those wanting to play as a couple (or as a duet!), I highly recommend this resource: https://dndduet.com/dnd-for-two/
This is actually where me and my girlfriend started! For me, I got their 'First Blush' adventure and it was a blast! It's pay what you want and it comes on pdf... Does anybody know a better deal?
If you don't like to spend money, you can grab a free copy of the basic rules from the D&D official website. Do skim them. It will make it so much more fluid for your first session. I can say this from experience....
Then, you need some dice! For that you can some for fairly cheap if you want the feel, if not, your phone works fine. The Dice Ex Machina app and the Dice Roller apps are perfect just for that. I prefer Dice Ex Machina since it offers more functionalities, but it's up to you!
Then you're all set for a first run! Obviously, you can supplement this with many other things such as miniatures, official D&D content, pregenerated characters or stories, maps, trinkets, tokens, cards and so much more. Some other resources for these little extras can be found among these gems:
You want to build everything? https://halflinghobbies.com/
If you'd rather make it yourself -> http://www.thedmscraft.com/
Here's a last one for the crafters 😉 https://makezine.com/2017/02/03/the-make-guide-to-dungeon-master-crafting/
You want to play like the pros? https://pandemoniumwarehouse.com/
Now, all you need is some time and a bit of imagination!
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