What you need to play hasn’t changed much since the game’s first publication in 1974.
As the Dungeon Master, you need this book plus the Player’s Handbook (which contains most of the rules of the game) and the Monster Manual. Your players need access to the Player’s Handbook, too, but they can share as needed.
Let players know beforehand what books (other than the Player’s Handbook) they can reference during a playing session. For example, it’s not appropriate for players to look up a monster in the Monster Manual (or the equivalent digital tool) while fighting that monster. If you’re running a published adventure, players should avoid reading that adventure so they don’t spoil any surprises.
One player has the special role of Dungeon Master.
Some people love being the DM all the time, while others can end up feeling trapped as the “forever DM” for their gaming group. The “Group Size” section in chapter 2 discusses possibilities for sharing the role of Dungeon Master among multiple players in a group.
Players who aren’t the Dungeon Master take on the roles of the heroes, also known as the characters or the adventurers.
D&D plays best with four to six players in addition to the DM, but it’s possible to run a game with fewer or more adventurers. See the “Group Size” section in chapter 2 for advice on doing so.
Where do you find players? Here are a handful of suggestions:
The bare minimum of space you need to play D&D is room for everyone in your group to gather and participate.
When choosing the space you’ll be playing in, enlist your players’ help. Think about any accessibility needs you or they might have. Some players might have difficulty with low light, background music, strong odors, cramped spaces, or specific allergens. Accommodate what you can; communicate what you can’t as early as possible.
If possible, play in an area with minimal visual or auditory distractions. Favor surroundings that reinforce your desired atmosphere and have little non-player traffic. If space is shared, reserve the space in advance.
You can also play D&D anywhere you might come together in an online space, from a group video call to a sophisticated virtual tabletop.
Scheduling Games
Sometimes the hardest thing about running a game is finding a time when everyone can play. Some groups play for a few hours every week, while others set aside a whole day once a month. Create a schedule that works best for your group.
For new groups, it often helps to schedule a single-session game (often called a “one-shot”) as a way for people to try it out. If everyone has a great time at that one session, it can be easier to get them to make a long-term commitment.
Scheduling conflicts are sometimes inescapable. The “Group Size” section in chapter 2 offers some advice on what to do when a player has to miss a session.
You need a full set of polyhedral dice: d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20. It’s helpful to have at least two of each kind. Ideally, each player should also have their own set of polyhedral dice.
Lots of digital dice rollers exist. Simple, browserbased dice rollers are easily found on the internet. Specialized dice apps can be found in app stores, and virtual tabletops typically have dice-rolling functionality built in.
Everyone needs some way to take notes. During every round of combat, someone needs to keep track of Initiative, Hit Points, conditions, and other information. Players often like to take notes about what happens in the adventure, and at least one of them should record any clues and treasure the characters collect.
Players need some way to record important information about their characters. Plain paper works fine, but players might find official or fan-made character sheets more helpful in organizing the information. A variety of digital character sheets are also available if you’re playing online or using digital devices at the table.
Throughout this book you’ll find tracking sheets you can use to make your work as a DM easier. They range from sheets you can use to track NPCs or settlements in your game to trackers you can use to make sure you’re giving the adventurers a good number of magic items. These tracking sheets can form the basis of a campaign journal (see chapter 5), and they’ll help you plan your adventures and build your world. You can scan or photocopy these sheets for your personal use, and you’ll find downloadable versions on DnDBeyond.com.
Various resources can enrich your game and make it more fun. Many of these resources might have digital versions, making computers, tablets, and smartphones essential elements in some D&D games and for some players.
A DM screen shields your books, notes, and die rolls from your players. (See the “Ensuring Fun for All” section later in this chapter for more about when and why you might want to hide die rolls.) Most DM screens have art on the outward-facing panels and handy rules information on the inside-facing panels. Others might be made of fancy wood or sculpted to help set the mood for your game.
You don’t need a physical screen to hide things if you’re playing online, but it can be helpful to have ready access to important information like condition definitions, common actions, and other key rules. Some DMs set up a physical DM screen near their computer screen. A virtual tabletop might have reference information like this built in.
Beyond the three core rulebooks, a plethora of additional content is available from Wizards of the Coast and other publishers. Adventures provide hooks, plots, maps, and encounters you can use in your game. Sourcebooks include things like new character options, new monsters, and inspiration for building your own adventures and campaigns. You can play D&D without any of these additional products, but many DMs (and players) find them to be exciting additions to the game.
Some DMs use a battle grid and miniatures to run combat encounters, which helps players visualize scenes when playing in person. A vinyl wet-erase mat with a printed grid, a gridded whiteboard, a cutting mat, a large sheet of gridded paper, or a printed poster map—any of these can serve as a battle grid. The grid should be marked in 1-inch squares.
You also need plastic or metal miniatures to represent characters and monsters in the game, but you can use coins, extra dice, paper counters, or even pieces of candy if miniatures are unavailable.
Many software tools designed to facilitate online D&D play provide a battle grid. Even without such tools, though, many online D&D games use screen sharing in combination with drawing programs, shared whiteboards, or similar tools as simple battle grids. Some DMs are comfortable with software that allows them to control lighting and show the players exactly what they can see; others find that complex software gets in the way of the game. Use whatever works for you and your group.
Some players and DMs find it helpful to have information available in the form of cards. You can buy (or make) cards with individual spells, magic items, monster stat blocks, rules reference, and similar information for easy reference.
