Adventurer's Backpack: A Bare-Bones Guide to Getting Started in Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons and Dragons. Simply stated, one of if not -the- best and long-standing table-top roleplaying game of all time. If you like creating your own story and living out your imagination, this is the game to play. It's great fun with your friends, especially if they have the same creative mindset as you do. Even if they don't the challenges of working with players that have conflicting ideas gives the game an amazingly diverse flavor. No campaign is the same. No group of players is the same. No adventure is the same. So if you're ready to dive into an ever-changing world of fun, fantasy, monsters, heroes and adventure, this is the game for you.

What Do I Need to Start Playing?
If you are a brand new player, there are really only a few things you need to get started.

1. The Player's Handbook. Depending on what edition you want to play (there are currently 5, 4th edition being the newest and most revamped, and 3.5 being, in my opinion the preferred and most played currently) you can get this book on Amazon.com, or Barnes & Noble if you're playing 4E. Though I would highly suggest 3.5E over 4E, 4E would be much easier to get as 3.5E has been out of print for a while. There are a few options on acquiring this essential tool to play, you can buy it, borrow it, or have a communal copy for your group's sessions. I strongly recommend getting your own hard copy of the book, and having each player have their own because it is more convenient to have more books especially when dealing with character creation and leveling purposes.

2. Your Crew. It gets kind of lonely starting out on your own. I've been through that and while it's all fun and good to read through the books and imagine what wonders could come out of it, to have a game you have to have players. There is one essential role that needs to be filled, not necessarily by yourself, however if you are with a group of players completely new to the game and feel up to the challenge, it might be fore you. This role is that of the Dungeon Master. This is the person that leads each session, creates the scenarios for the heroes, and is generally 'The Boss'. A good sized group is about five people, one DM and four players. Granted you can have less, but I suggest no less than four total unless you're just trying to get a feel for the game and want to try out a few easy and short campaigns to get your feet wet. You can also have more players, but be wary of having too many people as the story can get confusing and off-topicness can run rampant. I've played in a campaign of four which has worked out decently well, although our DM is having to play three characters in our party as well as the NPCs (Non-Player Characters) that aid the story as well. I've also played in campaign of seven which was overwhelming and it took us three sessions to finish one day's worth of in-game time. So be aware of how many people you have/want to play with but if you only have a few people that wish to play, four is definitely enough to run a good campaign.

3. Time. This game is time consuming and you should be ready for it. In the campaign I'm currently involved with, we set aside at least six hours of play a week (3pm to 9pm on Sundays) which gives us time for recap, socializing and a good enough time to get where we want to get in the campaign. You can go for more or less time, don't think you have to play 24-7 to have a worthy campaign. People have different schedules with work, school, and other commitments, so find a day that works for everyone in the party and set a decent chunk of time away.

4. Tools. There are certain things you need to start playing. Here are some things I highly suggest bringing to every session:
-A Seven Piece Dice Set. This includes several dice needed to play which include a d20 (20 sided dice), two d10s (also known as a 'd percentile' one with double digits and one with single digits), a d12, a d8, a d6 (a standard 6 sided die), and a d4. You will need all of these at some point in your career and you can get them VERY cheap at RPGStore.com.

-Pencil. ALWAYS HAVE A PENCIL. I cannot stress this enough. This is your greatest tool. You will need this!

-Character Sheet. You can get these online for free at the Wizards 3.5E Archive (for 3.5E) and Wizards D&D Site for 4E. You will ALWAYS need your character sheet. This is your lifeline. Don't lose it. I suggest having a folder with all of your notes, character sheet and anything else you want to bring with.

5. Imagination. This is a key ingredient to D&D and you will always need to have it with you. When you play, you aren't John Everyman, you're Clavicus Falconhammer, Dwarven Paladin devoted to Moradin and slayer of all evil. You are your character and you need to think how your character would in these situations. It might be hard to get into the mindset, but if you're mind is open for an adventure, you'll get into it quite quickly.

This is a bare-bones list of things you need to start playing. There are extra things that enhance the game, like supplementary books by Wizards or otherwise that give players an array of variant rules for classes, spells, and pretty much anything else you need to play. You can also play with miniatures, tiny models of characters and monsters. These can greatly enhance the game play, especially in exploration and battles. Wizards makes these, or you can use things like bottle caps, sticky notes, or even extra dice you aren't using. A great tool my group has found to use are those colored gem-like stones that you can put in fish tanks. We've used these for characters and mapping out walls in dungeons. They work really well if you can't afford to buy miniatures and they come in all colors in one size so it's easy to map out a battle or a dungeon.

Check out my other articles on D&D for more information, tips and experiences I've had with the game. Fare thee well, Adventurer!