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D&D Stater Guide
D&D Stater Guide
V0.2
Introduction
This document is meant to be a brief guide on how to start
playing Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), specifically the latest 5 th
Edition of the game. It provides links to resources that will assist
first-time gamers and provides advice about how to run games.
If you can’t find people or stores in your local area, try one of the handy player-finding websites
out there. These include:
1. www.penandpapergames.com – specifically designed to find gamers in real life.
2. www.meetup.com – general site that often has D&D or Roleplaying groups.
3. www.obsidianportal.com – a site for online games but also good for finding real life
groups. Good for campaign notes and tools.
4. www.roll20.net – a site for playing online, includes lots of DM tools.
5. www.invisiblecastle.com – online gaming forums.
6. www.enworld.org/forum/memberlist.php - player search on one of the largest D&D sites
out there.
7. http://locator.wizards.com/ - Zipcode player/GM/Store Events finder.
8. http://nearbygamers.com/ - neighbourhood player finder.
You can also buy the official adventure books, Hoard of the Dragon Queen, The Rise of Tiamat
or Princes of the Apocalypse. Or you can make your own world and adventures (there are rules
for making your own settings and adventures in the DMG). You don’t have to buy official
adventures, but sometimes they save you a lot of work. See below for more Expeditions
adventures.
How do I Play?
D&D and roleplaying games in general are all about using stories and your imagination to go on
adventures. That can be a tricky thing to explain to beginners but here’s some help:
http://www.nerdsourced.com/dm-next-comprehensive-beginners-guide-dming/
http://www.dungeonmastering.com/campaigns-adventures/the-first-game
Mapmaking Programs:
Campaign Cartographer – www.profantasy.com
Hexographer – www.hexographer.com, www.dungeonographer.com
Dundjinni – www.dundjinni.com
Fractal Mapper – www.nbos.com/products/mapper/mapper.htm
Dungeon Painter – www.pyromancers.com
Donjon Random Dungeon Generator – http://donjon.bin.sh/5e/dungeon/
Dwarven Forge – http://mapmaker.dwarvenforge.com/
Ye Olde Map Maker - www.yeoldemapmaker.com
AutoREALM – http://autorealm.sourceforge.net/
Dave’s Free Old School Mapper – http://davesmapper.com/
Online Tools & Virtual Tabletops
If you want to play online or use online tools to assist your DMing, here are a few:
Fantasy Grounds – www.fantasygrounds.com
RPTOols – www.rptools.net
Infrno – www.infrno.net
Roll20 – www.roll20.net
OpenRPG – www.rpgobjects.com
Battlegrounds – www.battlegroundsgames.com
Character Sheets:
http://www.pathguy.com/ddnext.htm
http://www.enworld.org/forum/rpgdownloads.php?categoryid=23
5E Spells listed by class, along with crib sheets and rules summaries:
www.mediafire.com/folder/eh8nkkrmq3dy8/PDFs
http://learntabletoprpgs.com/
http://www.dungeonmastering.com/
http://www.enworld.org/forum/rpgdownloads.php?categoryid=23