Reddit reviews Out of the Abyss (Dungeons & Dragons)

You are playing a module called Out of the abyss

The story starts with you as a prisoner of the drow in the underdark. Seems your DM wanted to do a pre-session showing how the characters end up there, so indeed he was not going to give you a choice there.

Overall it seems you DM is just new and trying to follow the module to the letter. It takes time for you to improve and be able to be more flexible and work with the ideas that come from the players, improvising as you go.

These sort of problems are quite common with inexperienced DMs. You have to figure out if you are having enough fun and willing to wait the DM get more confident or if you would rather leave the group and search for a more experienced DM.

In case you decide to stay, try to explain to your DM what certain parts of the adventure you didnt like and why. At the same time, try to mention the parts you did like. DM job is tough and can benefit from friendly constant feedback.

Hope it works out for you

• Out of the Abyss is a great one for 5th edition.
  
  
• A Paladin in Hell is a classic from 2nd edition that should be easy to convert for any experienced 5e DM.
  
  Alternatively, make up something based on DOOM. Believe it or not, that video game was based on a D&D campaign!

So for 5e there are a couple of things you can look at getting:

• Basic Rules: Look at the section for "Free Basic Rules". These PDFs are basically what you need to start playing D&D. The D&D 5e Player's Basic Rules has information about the basics of the game for players. It's got 4 races (Dwarf, Elf, Halfling, and Human) and 4 classes (Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, Wizard) and one "subclass" for each class (Life Domain Cleric, Champion Fighter, Thief Rogue, and School of Evocation Wizard). Items, customization, character building, and the general "here's how you play!" are included in this document. Great resource for a simple lookup if you want to introduce someone to the game, since the characters you can build out of it are generally solid characters. The D&D 5e Dungeon Master's Basic Rules is the starting point for your DM. For the most part is bunch of creature/enemy stat blocks with explanations on how to balance encounters to the players' levels, as well as a quick off-hand on how to generate magic items. DMs are the creative source of the campaign, so there isn't much required to actually build a simple campaign.
  
• Dungeons & Dragons 5e Starter Set: This is the most basic form of the game you can get with most things included. Looks like it's $13 on Amazon right now, which is pretty good. The box set comes with a 32-page player guide (mini Player's Handbook), a 64-page Dungeon Master's guide (mini Dungeon Master's Guide/Monster Manual), a couple of pre-generated characters, and a few dice. It's good for getting into 5e if you've never played before since the rules are greatly reduced down to levels 1-6 and there are only 8 classes. Most of the content is the same stuff you can find in the Basic Rules, minus the story that comes with the Starter Set. If someone gets this, everyone else can download/print the Basic Rules and should be good. Most of the content is all about how to play the characters that are in the starter set, not about character generation and the like, so make sure to look at the Basic Rules if you want to play a Halfling Fighter for example. See this comment for more explanation.
  
• Player's Handbook (Dungeons & Dragons 5e): This is the core of most of your games of 5e at this point. This has all of the basic necessities, like character classes, character races, items, spells, feats, etc. This is exactly what you need if you are a player, since this and some imagination allows you to build some pretty fun characters. If you end up playing 5e a lot, I'd recommend that everyone have somewhat regular access to a PHB, considering that 90% of the characters you make will come in most part from this books.
  
• Monster Manual: This is where you'll find the largest collection of all of the "basic" monsters that you can meet in a game of D&D. Enemies in general are in this book, and there is a lot of good explanation into the monsters, their stats, their decision routes, etc. This is super helpful since you can basically do whatever you want with this book and make some awesome fights. Find an enemy you like, but it's too high level? Nerf it somehow, and have your players fight it. I'm actually planning on setting a dragon with her wings clipped and her firebreathing removed, give them a fight, and see how they react.
  
• Dungeon Master's Guide: This is basically world building, combat building, enemy building, item building... basically, if it's not covered in the PHB or MM, the creation of object X or something similar will be in the DMG. It's there for the DMs to be able to balance items or enemies against certain requirements, since there is a lot to take into account. Helpful for the DM who doesn't have as much experience.
  
  So the Basic Rules help out a lot, the Starter Set is basically a physical copy of the basic rules (plus some), and then the core 3 books in order of (my personal opinion of) usefulness are PHB > MM > DMG. I'd say you probably want at least everyone to have a PHB, or access if you guys continue to play.
  
  Aside from that, most of the other 5e stuff you can pick up from wizards are modules. Modules are pre-created campaigns that have quests, items, locations, enemies (number, size, etc.) already pre-designed for you. Each of the following books has some sort of extra character information (like more subclasses, new races, etc.), but nothing is absolutely required. Generally if one person wants to play something (say, an Half-Elf Bladesinger Wizard) they should pick up the book to help build their character and to provide the GM with references to how the character works, but it's not necessary.
  
  
• Hoard of the Dragon Queen and The Rise of Tiamat are two halves to the same campaign aimed at stopping the biggest baddest dragon of them all, the five-headed chromatic dragon Tiamat.
  
• Princes of the Apocalypse is a cool campaign all about cults related to the 4 elements (Air, Water, Earth, Fire) trying to be bad. Pretty well designed, I'm currently running this with my group. They seem to be liking it a lot, but then again, I'm throwing a lot of other things in with it.
  
• Out of the Abyss is a campaign set in the Underdark. it sounds really cool, but I haven't looked into it much.
  
• Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide isn't a campaign but rather a campaign setting book. It's useful for reading up on how the Sword Coast in Forgotten Realms (the "main" D&D world) works. It's interesting.
  
  If you need any other help, please feel free to ask!

I play 5th edition and all advice is for that edition. 5E is pretty wallet friendly if you don't get it all at once. Here's a bunch of stuff you can look at to help your decision, though not all of it is mandatory.

• Number one, the cheapest, is to simply review the (somewhat limited, I'll admit) materials available on Wizards of the coast and start from there.
  
  
• Second is available in the form of the 5th edition starter set. I own one of these and it comes with everything you need for a game with a group of friends. A criticism I have of it though, is that experienced players will probably destroy the module included with it. I'd just forego this option entirely if you plan to buy any other materials, but it's a very low risk purchase.
  
  
• Third is just a player's handbook, which you really should own regardless of anything . The 5th Edition PHB has enough material to easily homebrew your own campaign with, but it will definitely leave you wishing you had more to work off of.
  
  
• Fourth is any of the several available modules for the game out right now. Having only played Hoard of the Dragon queen (And it's direct follow up, Rise of Tiamat), I can say that with the exception of a long, slightly boring segment in the middle, it's a solid adventure all the way through for the players.
  
  
• Fifth is the supplemental Dungeon master's Guide and Monster Manual, additional resources to help you craft better campaigns, but unnecessary until later. The monster manual should definitely be the first of the two purchases, in my opinion. I wouldn't even recommend the sword coast adventurer's guide unless you plan to specifically adventure in Faerun.
  
  So now that books are out of the way, let's talk figurines. You really don't need them, because ANYTHING can represent things on a board. But they're a fun thing to collect and use. BUT they are a great and fun thing to have. What we do at my table is have everyone acquire their own. I like to buy from Reaper Miniatures, but local comic book and hobby shops might have them as well. Make sure you have bases that are less than an inch wide (A square inch works best), because if you're using miniatures, then you're using a battle grid.
  
  Speaking of battle grids, they're also not entirely necessary, but they definitely help. This is a very reliable one if you take care of it and don't crease it too much. But the fun thing is, if you have a printer, you can print your own Battle Maps! Just set it to print a grid set to 1-inch increments and have as big or as small as a battle mat as you need. 5E technically uses a hex grid for outdoor maps, but we've always ignored that at our games.
  
  As for dice, I think it's the players responsibility to acquire their own dice, but on the off chance you just want to buy the things for everyone, I find a lot of enjoyment in picking through a Chessex Pound-o-Dice, or a Wiz Dice 100+ pack just so everyone has some. Plus, you never know when you'll suddenly need 20d6 for maximum fall damage!
  
  Other than that, just have pencils, paper, and a good way to keep notes handy and you're set.
  
  This is far from a comprehensive guide, and probably the worst thing you could do is buy everything or nothing right at the start. Consider asking friends or checking libraries for these books (And secondhand bookshops near you!) to save a penny or two.
  
  So, in summary, if I were starting out DMing and buying anything, it would be a player's handbook, a set of dice, and if I weren't confident in my ability to homebrew, I'd buy a module or a dungeon master's guide. But you can go further or less far if you like.

If you want to do Forgotten Realms and only have $75 to spend:


5e Starter Set $13.07

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Roleplaying/dp/0786965592/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488305292&sr=8-1&keywords=5e+starter+set


Storm King's Thunder $31.42

https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Kings-Thunder-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/0786966009/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488305205&sr=8-1&keywords=storm+king%27s+thunder

Out of the Abyss $27.17

https://www.amazon.com/Out-Abyss-D-Accessory/dp/0786965819/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488305481&sr=8-1&keywords=out+of+the+abyss


That gets you a pretty fun sandbox from levels 1 to 5, an epic sprawling set your own pace sandbox across the Savage Frontier, and an alternative hook into the Underdark. Two to three solid years of adventuring.

You also get a ton of information on the Savage Frontier and The Underdark.

You get three different Level 1 to 5 scenarios, two different 5 to 10, then one level 10 through 15.
Lots of replay value. And you can fight a dragon, fight giants, and fight demons.

Also, if you don't want to have to create everything from scratch the pre-packaged adventure books are great. Whether you follow them, or whether you rip ideas from them, they are an amazing resource that can save you a ton of time.

• If you liked CR's Underdark arc, check out Out of the Abyss for a fantastic trek through the Underdark
  
• If you liked CR's Briarwoods arc, check out The Curse of Strahd for a sophisticated "Count Vampire" adventure
  
  The great thing about these books (and others) is you can take as much or as little from them as you like.
  
  Re: other comments about having friends, make new ones! I got into playing IRL D&D by posting on my local /r/[city] saying I was looking for a D&D group, and that I'd be happy to host. Had a weekly group going two days later. Playing D&D is a great way to become friends with people.

There aren't a lot out there specifically for 5e (assuming you're playing 5e, don't remember if you mentioned it) yet. In fact the only ones I'm aware of are of the campaign variety (a string of 'adventures') and there's nothing wrong with any of them. I've run Hoard of the Dragon Queen, The Rise of Tiamat, Princes of the Apocalypse and I'm currently running Out of the Abyss..

You can always take a module from an older version of the game (or from a completely different game even) but you'll have to do some work to get it ready. The stats for the monsters will be different - you'll need to look up the same or similar monsters in the Monster Manual and have the stats ready. Other than that though the plot, maps and the rest can be used as-is.

DriveThruRPG has some modules that don't cost too much. You get them as a pdf instead of a physical book, but everything you need is there. Again, if you use one from an older version of the game you'll have to do some prep work.

You can find them on EBay as well. Some of the most famous ones are Tomb of Horrors (really though - don't do it. Your players will hate you), Ravenloft (my personal favorite module of all time which a Redditor has converted to 5e) and here's a list that I largely agree with.

Get your guide:

https://www.amazon.com/Out-Abyss-D-Accessory/dp/0786965819

It's an amazing resource for all things Underdark.

For any backround information, just refer to the wiki:

http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

For the adventures, buy either of the following:

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Wizards-Team/dp/0786965592/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496916563&sr=8-1&keywords=5e+starter+set

https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Kings-Thunder-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/0786966009/ref=pd_sim_14_9?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0786966009&pd_rd_r=G32SS8JKKV8E0RJEWD11&pd_rd_w=q2eos&pd_rd_wg=Fl90h&psc=1&refRID=G32SS8JKKV8E0RJEWD11

https://www.amazon.com/Hoard-Dragon-Queen-Adventure-Wizards/dp/0786965649/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496916592&sr=1-1&keywords=hoard+of+the+dragon+queen

https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Tiamat-Adventure-Wizards-Team/dp/0786965657/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496916610&sr=1-1&keywords=rise+of+tiamat

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_10?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=princes+of+the+apocalypse+d%26d&sprefix=princes+of%2Cstripbooks%2C573&crid=1MNP7K2PCNO3F

https://www.amazon.com/Out-Abyss-D-Accessory/dp/0786965819/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496917649&sr=1-1-fkmr0

You could also learn the lore while playing games like:

• Neverwinter Nights (1&2)
  
  
• Baldurs Gate (1&2)
  
  
• Neverwinter Online
  
  
• Sword Coast Legends

Shameless plug...
I helped create this module, The Claws of Madness. It can be scaled down for one player, but she might need NPC help in some parts though, like a cleric lacky who follows her, or let her have an animal companion.

About the cleric lacky, make up a cleric for her who is totally devoted to her, does what ever she says to do, but doesn't offer any advice. This person just follows, heals and fights, nothing more. The cleric will level with her and she gets to pick the spells. You roll for the cleric and your wife gives orders to him/her. "Percy, heal me!" "Percy, kill that goblin!" "Percy, climb up that rope." Etc. Think of him as a squire, like Podrick from Game of Thrones.

If you want to do a full campaign for her, Rage of Demons scales down nicely since you need to have NPCs that can fight with you during a good portion of the adventure. The Adventure's League modules are really good too. You can buy the bundle or an adventure at a time. I ran this for my wife and daughter (2 people) and they had a lot of fun.

• To echo everyone else, I would also say start with the starter set because it has everything you need to start, including a pretty nice set of dice. You could get away with this for your first session, but you will probably want some
  
• dice This may be your most cost effective way of having a set for everyone, and enough spares for people to grab from for crits and spells like fireball. Everyone will eventually get nicer sets they like more, but this is a good way to start with matched sets. Depending on how happy people are with the player options in the starter set, your next investment will either be the
  
• PHB for more player options, spells, items, and guide lines for how things should work. This is far and away the most import of the three books. As most people have said, you will probably get to the point where everyone wants access to this book. During play, you will probably want 2-3 of these at the table.
  
• Battle Mat D&D can be played in Theater of the mind, but grid combat makes a lot of rules easier to implement and officiate with a grid. The one I linked is pretty big without being overly huge (there are larger ones), and it is vinyl which makes it durable, and it erases pretty well with good wet erase markers.
  
• Miniatures is something else entirely. Most of the groups I play with have more than enough for me to ever have to buy any. Some players will make or buy a mini for his/her character. There are the round cardboard tokens that you could use for cheap. I run a D&D game on Fridays at the school I teach at and have the students use one of their dice as their mini. Monsters are usually balls of playdoh.
  
• After finishing of the LMOP (the adventure in the starter's set) you will either want to pick up one of the other adventures like Out of the Abyss or Princes of the Apocalypse. You might need a Monster Manual to go with it. PotA has a digital supplement with the extra monsters, while OotA does not.
  
• The DMG is optional really. It is great for magic items, alternative rules you could use, and world building strategies. You'll want a copy eventually, but like the MM, you wont need more than 1.
  
• Other things. Look around for things like the Elemental Evil Player's Guide and Unearthed Arcana articles. They have a bunch of free content you could use in your games. They are usually rough drafts so they might be imbalanced, but you might find something you really like in there. There are also tons of homebrew monsters, classes, races, and items if you wanted to expand your game that way.
  
  angel14995 has a great summary of all the books. This list is more useful as a logical purchasing progression guide.

I've been playing a Dungeons and Dragons Out of the Abyss campaign for a few weeks with some friends now, and i'm really getting into it.

I'm playing a bard storyteller, so outside of the campaign i like to write down the adventures from the point of view of my character. (+- 2 to 3 pages of text per session).

The clue is that when it's all done, my bard would have written the most epic tale in the world.

I'm thinking of posting them to r/DnD when I'm happy with the quality of the text, but i'm by no means a storywriter and it shows: it often looks like a ten-year old telling about his field trip at school. Even if nobody likes it, i'm practicing my writing skills (and English written skills, as it isn't my native language)