Long post incoming; some of this stuff is copied from other posts I've made:

Getting into D&D is going to be a lot simpler and easier to rolling your own RPG system, unless the system you design is ultra simple and rules-light. And unless your friends happen to be game design experts or prodigies, what they come up with probably isn't going to be as fun, balanced or robust as a system designed and iterated upon by professionals and the RPG geek community.

D&D isn't rocket science, but the first few sessions will almost certainly be fraught with confusion, rules referencing, and/or people getting the rules wrong... but all that's OK. The key is to keep a relaxed attitude and for the DM err on the side of what seems most fun and entertaining. After a few sessions, everyone will probably have a decent grasp on the fundamental rules and things will go a bit more smoothly.

If you do decide to play D&D, you have to decide upon an edition to play, as there are several and they aren't compatible with each other. Right now the two most popular and recent editions are 3.5 and 4th edition. A 3rd party spin-off of 3.5 called Pathfinder is also popular. A big advantage to Pathfinder if you're on a tight budget is that pretty much the entire system is available online for free. For your conservative friends, the fact that it's not called D&D may also eliminate some of the social stigma, making it an easier sell.

My preferred edition though, and the one that is most newbie-friendly, is 4th edition. A slightly dated and incomplete overview of 4e's rules is available in this free quickstart guide. This tells you about 90% of what you need to know to sit down at a table and play as a player, and includes some pregenerated characters, but lacks the rules for character creation and progression.

A free 4e adventure, Keep on the Shadowfell can also be downloaded and perused by the DM, but KotS is not the finest example of adventure design, though you can find fan suggestions online to improve and tweak it.

As far as what products you should or need to buy, the Red Box Starter is probably the simplest and most straight-forward route. Avoid paying more than $25 for it new (a lot of 4e products seem to have spotty availability, which means sometimes they are overpriced).

Like the free quickstart guide, however, the Red Box does not you access to the full rules, but rather a simplified and stripped down overview. It almost follows the model of a choose your own adventure book in some respects rather than true D&D, which can make it a good stepping stone, though some players are impatient with it. It does, however, include some items that will remain useful to your game even when you outgrow the rules and content of the box: a double-sided poster map which can be reused, punch-out cardstock tokens to represent player characters and monsters and a set of dice. At $20 shipped, it's a good value if you feel your need a really gentle introduction into D&D.

However, if the members of your group are not averse to doing a couple hours of reading before their first adventure, and would rather skip the frying pan and jump straight into the fire, you can safely skip the Red Box.

What you really need is: a book that descriptions character creation and level 1-30 character options, an encounter design guide for the DM, a monster resource, plus some physical tools/props.

As for as the player resource goes, any one of the following will fulfill the need: the Player's Handbook, Heroes of the Forgotten Lands, Heroes of the Fallen Kingdoms. I would recommend the latter two, as they are 4e "Essentials" products, which are more up to date and feature more newbie-friendly steamlined design. However, all of the books are compatible with each other, and you can use them all.

You also need a book that tells the DM how to design encounters, run skill challenges, and reward teh players. You have basically three options here: the Dungeon Master's Guide, the DM's Book from the DM's Kit or the Rules Compendium.

Each has their pros and cons. The DMG is written with the new DM in mind and gives you all the rules info you need that isn't include in the players' books, but as one of the originally published books in the edition, it's less refined and does not include the latest errata (which you can download online, though it's a bit of a pain to read through all of it). It's probably your least expensive option.

The DM's Kit seems to be out of print (or on a reduced print run) so it's selling at above retail price. IMO it'd be the best option for a new DM, as it contains useful goodies (tokens, maps, and two quality published adventures) like the Red Box, plus a more up to date version of the Dungeon Master's Guide. But if you have to pay $55+, that's kind of difficult to justify.

The Rules Compendium has all of the rules information a DM needs, and it includes most of the latest errata, and it's generally a handy reference that you'll probably want to get eventually anyway. The problem is just that: it's a reference, and is light on insight and advice on how to build entertaining adventures and run a fun game. Like the DM's kit, it may be out of print, but it's still a good value. The Rules Compendium may be the best option if you're willing to read forums and web sites for DMing advice, which can be system neutral.

The DM also needs a monster resource. Hands down, the best option here is the Monster Vault. It's basically a far superior revision of 4e's Monster Manual, and contains an adventure, a ton of tokens and a battle map to boot. It's a steal at $20.

Another recommended product would be a D&D Insider subscription, which will give you access to the Character Builder, which as the name implies, makes building/progressing characters a cinch, and the Compendium, which gives you access to every bit of crunch in the entire published history of 4e: all the classes, powers, feats, races, monsters, items, themes, etc. as well as a glossary which describes much of the rules. You also get access to Dragon and Dungeon magazine archives, which contains a lot of flavor, design advice, and many pre-made adventures (see this thread for some highlights). It also has a handy monster builder tool. A subscription is $10/month or less if you commit to a longer subscription. Getting one subscription and sharing it among the group can be worthwhile.

Finally, you also need some physical things:

• A sufficiently large playing surface and seating.
  
• Pencils, paper for character sheets.
  
• Dice. You could get by with a single set (including 1d20, 1d12, 1d10, 1d8, 1d6, 1d4) but you probably want a full set for every player plus some duplicates. A pound of dice would likely suffice.
  
• A blank/customizable gridded map. There are at least three good options for this:
  
• A basic Paizo flip mat to be used in conjunction with erasable markers
  
• Gridded easel pads which work equally well for preparing detailed, pretty maps before a session, or whipping up something quick and dirty at the table -- a single pad will last you a good long time. This is what I use.
  
• Gaming paper which is like a compromise between the previous two options.
  
• Miniatures, tokens or other markers to represent monsters. As previously mentioned, several 4e Essentials products include tokens (if you get the Monster Vault, you're set). You can also buy miniatures from gaming stores, on eBay, etc. or you can use just about anything that's roughly a square inch in diameter -- coins, polished stones used in aquarium bedding, dice (though this can get confusing), etc.
  
  Finally, as for convincing your friends, as you've said, D&D is essentially no different from Skyrim, World of Warcraft, etc. D&D is pretty much the granddaddy of those games. If you can tolerate the "occult" elements in those other games, there shouldn't be anything offensive about D&D. And ultimately, the DM and players have full control over what they want to allow in the game. Have a discussion and decide if there's any subject matter that is the party finds offensive and exclude it from the game (or re-fluff it so it it's not so offensive).

Amazon in my experience is one of the best places to buy the books when it comes to price. The books are almost always constantly on sale for 20% or 30% off.

It also depends on his role. Is he mostly just a player? An aspiring DM? Either way, if he already doesn't have it he should have the players handbook. Probably the Dungeon Masters guide, and a few others. The top books I'd say he should have (in order of priority) are probably:

1. Players Handbook
   
2. The Dungeon Masters Guide
   
3. The Monster Manual
   
4. Xanathar's Guide to Everything
   
5. Volos Guide to Monsters
   
6. Mordenkainens Tome of Foes
   
   There's also a bunch of other books and adventures, but these are most important. For adventures I highly recommend Tales From the Yawning Portal, Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Curse of Strahd and Storm Kings Thunder.
   
   
   
   Now, if you want to make the gift more special, there are a few of the more prestigious (or at least cool) items.
   
   
   
   The Rook and the Raven makes superb notebooks. I use them, my wife uses them. I highly recommend them. They are a bit pricey for a notebook, but they are well made, disco-bound so you can add pages and customize your layout, and there are pages with special prompts to help you brainstorm and organize. Whether you are a DM or player, I highly recommend them. Start with either a player diary or DM planner, then go from there. Warning, your skills order these right away. They makes each book custom from scratch, so fulfillment can take a while (sometimes 8 weeks or so).
   https://shop.therookandtheraven.com/
   
   
   Want to get him the books, but make it a bit more memorable? Get the Core Rulebook Gift Set with Limited Edition Covers. Very nice looking, has the players handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide, and Monster Manual with special edition covers, as well as a special edition Dungeon Masters Screen. You can find it on Amazon (see link below) or sometimes at your local game store.
   Dungeons and Dragons RPG: Core Rulebook Gift Set Limited Alternate Covers https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HFG969C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_IiERDbMK8RT3K
   
   
   
   Dice. Dice. Dice. Players and DMs alike love Dice. Especially cool or special dice. You can look around on Amazon for large sets of regular dice (Wiz Dice Bag of Devouring: Collection of 140 Polyhedral Dice in 20 Guaranteed Complete Sets for Tabletop Role-Playing Games - Solids, Translucents, Swirls, Glitters, Alchemic Oddities https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KP4T6TQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_rlERDbMH5C6AB), miniature dice (Wiz Dice Halfling's Haversack - 140 Mini Polyhedral Dice, 20 Colors in Complete Sets of 7, Miniature 10mm Pocket Size is Portable and Great for Travel https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BWK7HVB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_HkERDb6P484G7) or some sets of special material dice, like metal dice (TecUnite 7 Die Metal Polyhedral Dice Set DND Role Playing Game Dice Set with Storage Bag for RPG Dungeons and Dragons D&D Math Teaching (Shiny Black and Blue) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CVT3RZR/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_GmERDbQ090HDB).
   I would also check out Artisan Dice. Very pricey, but VERY nice. There are some dice from here made from ACTUAL stones like Malachite, and some even made from Bison Horn.
   
   
   If he's a fan of Critical Role you should of course check out their Merch Shop. Plenty of cool items there, like apparel, maps, tankards, etc.
   https://shop.critrole.com/
   
   
   If he likes using digital tools at the table, you can always get him a subscription to D&D Beyond. It can be a very useful, intuitive tool.
   
   There's so much out there, it's hard to choose. And everyone has different tastes, so its hard to make specific recommendations. If you have any questions, let me know. Getting new players more involved in the hobby is one of my favorite things. And honestly, you sound like an awesome mom. I would have loved for my mom to have supported my hobbies like this when I was younger, and it's impressive the kind of research you are doing. Hes a lucky kid.
   
   Edit:
   Just remembered a few more things. Reaper makes excellent miniatures he can use in his games, and mini painting is a great hobby he can get into. Check out Reaper Miniatures (https://www.reapermini.com/) and some sets of paints. I recommend Vallejo or Citadel for paints, but Reaper also has some nice starter kits. For tutorials, have him look at YouTube, especially channels like Goobertown hobbies, Miniac, Black Magic Craft, etc.
   
   Also, right now Reaper has a kickstarter going on. They've done this a few times before and it's been quite successful in the past. It's going in now and will end Nov. 1st. Basically, you pledge a certain amount of money and they give you a TON of minis at a much lower cost per mini. I think the core set is like $120, but I think you get well over a hundred minis, so it's a great value. If you don't mind waiting on the actual gift (fulfillment is expected around Feb 2021?), it can be a great way to quickly get a ton of cool minis.
   Reaper Miniatures Bones 5: Escape from Pizza Dungeon, via @Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/reaperbones5/reaper-miniatures-bones-5-escape-from-pizza-dungeon?ref=android_project_share

First trick is deciding which edition you want to play, for new players I highly recommend sticking to 4th edition, the rules are simpler and combat is generally more interesting. If you guys are brand and are new starting with nothing, I highly recommend picking up the 4th edition DM Manual 1, Monster Manual 1, and the Player's Handbook 1.

If your DM wants to take his hand at designing his own adventures I also highly recommend picking up a wet erase play mat as well as wet erase markers. I recommend wet erase over dry erase as dry erase can easily be wiped off during combat and such.

You'll also want to buy some dice for everyone to use, there are a few ways to go about that, you can mismatch dice from local hobby shops, you could buy dice sets or you could purchase the Chessex "Pound of Dice" for the whole group's use and ease. I, as a highly superstitious gamer, own 2 dice sets of my own and an additional lucky D20 that I don't let anyone touch (as they'll likely suck the luck out of it), so figure out what kind of gamers you are and what dice will best suit you.

As you guys grow and expand you may want to look into getting the other Player's Handbooks, to increase your options as players, as well as the other monster manuals for easier adventure creation for your DM.

I also highly recommend your DM (for his ease in adventure creation) look into reading materials on the internet (easily found for free) to help create the most interesting and fun adventures possible. One I can recommend off-hand is Chris Perkin's (a writer for the D&D books and "professional DM") "blog" called "The DM Experience."

Also if you have any other questions feel free to ask me in a comment or message me, I love to see new player getting into the game and would like to help in any way possible.

Just be sure to have fun, happy gaming :D

Here's something I typed out for someone else who asked the same question a while back.

Basically a quick guide to what you should get to get started:

------

Here's what I'd buy, in order (5e):

• 1. Starter Set. This contains an excellent adventure for new players - I highly suggest running it if you're a 1st time DM - you can easily transition into a homebrew campaign or other adventures after it's over, using it as a "jumping off point". Also contains core rules and classes (which you can also download online so everyone in your group can have their own copy). The character options are limited, but you can always add more later.
     
     
• 2. Player's Handbook. Ideally, everyone has their own copy of this, but at least 1 copy vastly expands your party's customization options, and gives you the option to level up past 5. If you continue on past the first adventure, you will need this eventually.
     
     
• 3. The Monster Manual. You have enough monsters to work with from the starter set, but this gives you a lot more. Good to have in the long-term... not necessary while you're playing the starter set adventure, since all the monsters used there are included.
     
     
• 4. Dungeon Master's Guide. Honestly, I have little use for this, and I only open it rarely. However, if you run a more "random" or "sandbox" campaign where the players are more free to explore wherever they want in your world, this can be very handy for you. The one thing I do use it for is the magic items, which it has a huge collection of. This one can wait.
     
     As for non-book stuff, I'd highly suggest the following:
     
     
• EXTRA DICE. I suggest having 1 d20 for each player since it's by far the most common roll. On top of that, have, for the table, a set of at least: 2d12, 2d10, 6d8, 6d6, and 2d4. Having that set greatly speeds up the game as you level up, so you don't want to have to roll your one d6 8 times to get the damage of your attack.
  
  
• An erasable grid. (Something like this one) and some dry erase markers. Some people say "Theater of the Mind" play works fine for them - personally, I think having a grid speeds things up, takes a lot of pressure off the DM, and makes the combat side of the game more "fair". You don't have to be a fantastic artist, just sketch in some borders for the room, and you're good to go.
  
  
• To go with the above, find something to use as tokens. You can buy a big bag of army men, use the player pieces and houses/hotels from the monopoly game you have buried in your closet, or just get some pennies and tape scraps of paper on top of them. Anything you can use to mark where someone is.
  
  
• A DM screen. It may seem like "cheating", but it's actually a good thing to be able to fudge results sometimes (e.g., if you find out you balanced an encounter too hard), or to roll things in secret from players (e.g., a monster's perception roll to see if they know the party is coming). If you don't want to buy one, you can cut one out of a cardboard box, or just prop up a large book in front of you that you can roll dice behind.
  
  
• Food and drinks. The mark of a good D&D game is good friends, good RP, and smooth progression. The mark of a great one is all that plus pizza and beer.
  
  
  Good luck!

First off you'll need to pick an edition you want to play. Most people reccomend 5th edition (also called 5e) to beginners since it is the simplest to learn and has the most support online.


Then you'll need to learn the rules. There's a free basic rulebook that you could start with if you don't want to spend money, or you could shell out $30 for the Player's Handbook for the complete set of rules. The only thing the basic rule book doesn't have is a few of the player races and classes so you won't miss out on too much if you go the cheap route. Don't worry about knowing all of the rules but read the book over once and then read over your class abilities a couple times so you know them well.


You'll also need a set of dice. If you for some reason have a bunch of dice laying around, a complete set consist of dice of the following side counts: 20, 12, 10, 8, 6, and 4. You'll also need a percentage die also but you can also just use your d10 for that. If you don't have loose dice laying around then you can buy a set from Amazon or your local game store. You can also just use an online dice roller if you're concerned about money but physically rolling them is more fun and dice are cheap.

You can also buy the DnD starter set which comes with a basic rule book, a set of dice, and a book for a pretty good tutorial adventure that you could play with friends.


Speaking of friends, you'll need a group to play with. You can convince a group of 4 or 5 friends to play if you have them or you can play with strangers. A good place to meet strangers is on /r/lfg where you could either find a local or online game, or you could trot down to the local game shop which will probably have a weekly dnd night that welcomes beginners.

If you need help understanding the rules or making a character you can ask here or on /r/dnd /r/dndnext or /r/dnd5th

Good luck getting started, you'll have a lot of fun.

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.

Grab the 5th edition starter set, it will have a book for your DM on how to run the adventure, 5 pre-made characters so you can just get right into playing, and a set of dice.

Heads up. Like 2 minutes in everyone is going to realize they want their own set of dice rather than sharing one set as a group. They range from $5 to $15. Grab 'em before you start playing.

I'd also recommend getting a DM Screen for multiple benefits. On the inside are quick formulas and name/quest/monster tables and hints for the DM to use. The other benefit is the players can't see what the DM rolls.

The DM's #1 job is to make sure people have the most fun they possibly can. So if he rolls something that would wreck your party, and decides that wouldn't be very fun, he can fudge the roll to something else, and since the DM is rolling behind a screen, the players are none the wiser.

Almost every group starts out rotating the role of DM because everyone wants to have a character. This isn't the wrong way of doing it, but every group eventually comes to the realization that they're better off if one person is the full-time DM.

Here are some good rules of thumb for DMing.

Make sure whoever is DMing is up to the task and understands their job is to maximize the amount of fun for everyone else, not necessarily themselves. A good DM will find enjoyment in his players having fun. He will challenge them, not punish them.

It is not PCs vs DM. To liken it to Skyrim, it's 3-5 Dovakhiin traveling together, and the DM is Skyrim. He is the world and all it's inhabitants. The world isn't out to get you, but if you make poor decisions there will be consequences.

----

>These games take like a week or so to finish.

It took us like 5 or 6 sessions that were 3-4 hours each to get through the adventure in this pack, and we only had 3 players.

The game never really finishes. It's like Skyrim, completing an adventure doesn't end the game, you just move on to the next one.

----

Check out /r/DnD, it's way more active. And for the whoever DMs /r/behindthescreen and /r/loremasters are helpful.

• I recommend this video series. The Combat Episode in particular covers a lot of the rules new players need.
  
  
• Read the Getting Started Guide in the /r/DND sidebar.
  
  

• • -
    
    > If you're looking to play in person:
    
    > Check in with your local gaming store.
    
    > Search for local board game / RPG Facebook Groups
    
    > Search for local board game / RPG Meetup Groups
    
    > /r/LFG search for local groups or post your own ad
    
    > Post in the subreddit for your town / area
    
    > LFG tools on Obsidian Portal, PenAndPaperGames, and WarHorn
    
    > Sites like FindGamers, NearbyGamers, GamerSeekingGamer
    
    > If you're looking to play online:
    
    > /r/LFG and /r/Roll20LFG
    
    > Roll20's game finder and LFG forums
    
    > Fantasy Grounds has a LFG Forum
    
    > Some folks play via Tabletop Simulator
    
    > RPG Discord servers like Dungeons & Downvotes, Pair O' Dice, etc... the /r/RPG wiki has a small list.
    
    
• • -
    
    Your local game store is a great place to start whether you eventually plan to play in-person or online.
    
    More than likely they've encountered others like yourself wandering in and expressing interest and can connect you to them. More often than not they also have calendars or bulletin boards and you can look for folks hosting events or post your own to find some folks.
    
    A lot of the times they also host organized play events like Adventurer's League. While not quite the same as a home game, it would let you sit down at a table and play the game which is the best way to learn. Using that foundation you would then be better armed to seek out recruiting groups or start forming your own.
    
    
• • -
    
    If you end up building a fresh group, I highly recommend the Starter Set.
    
    It's $15 on Amazon, has the core rules, a set of dice, premade characters, and an adventure that will last you a half dozen sessions or so. It's a great place to start--go figure--and is designed for brand new players and brand new DMs. The adventure is laid out in a way that introduces concepts as you go along rather than expecting you to know everything up front.
    
    The premade characters are big because you want to get straight to the playing not sit there explaining character creation to a brand new player. Without the context of how things are used, its just a wall of data and memorization... which isn't fun.
    
    
• • -
    
    You can also grab the free Basic Rules PDF though which will have a little more in it than the Starter Set including some core character generation options.
    
    
• • -
    
    Absolutely any questions you have at any point you can just respond to one of my comments and I'll gladly help out.

Hmm, let's see. Kind of a long topic and I'm only going to go over the newest version of the game. D&D Fifth Edition just came out, and you might sometimes hear it called "D&D Next" or "D&D 5E".

BOOKS

• Currently, only 1 book is available for purchase- the Player's Handbook which contains rules for every race, class, equipment and magical spells (and more!).
  
• Later this month you can expect the Monster Manual which contains detailed information about things you can expect to fight.
  
• Later this year there will be the Dungeon Master's Guide that contains more in-depth and complex rules for the DM to create interesting campaign adventures for his or her party.
  
• This Starter Set contains an adventure book, pre-generated characters (VERY handy if none of you know what you're doing!!), character sheets for when you feel like making your own character, and a set of dice.
  
• There is a free, watered-down "Basic Rules" PDF of this information available here which contains only some of the races and classes.
  
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  
  OTHER THINGS TO GET [Applicable to all versions]
  
  
• Lots of dice. If you search around the internet for a set of polyhedral dice you'll find results very similar to this set of 7 dice. It contains one four-sided die, one six-sided, one eight-sided, two ten-sided, one twelve-sided and one twenty-sided die. You'll often seen this abbreviated as a d4, d6, d8, d10, d12 or d20 for the sake of shortness. People will use that shorthand aloud as well, you'll find. If you guys really don't want to spend money, you can make due with just 1 set of dice and add the totals in your head as needed but this will make things take longer. For example, if you're using a Maul as a weapon you'd roll two d6 (written as "2d6") every time you attack.
  
• Erasers and pencils; no ink! You'll frequently be making adjustments to your characters' sheets as you take damage, earn EXP, gain items and grow.
  
• A dry erase board isn't a terrible idea, so you can write down temporary things about your character without dirtying up your character sheet
  
• Gridded mat for playing on such as this, though I'd advise you find a dry erase friendly one. It really helps to visualize a fight, so you know where you and your friends are and where the enemies are. Basically, in D&D, everything is measured in feet or squares on a grid; general rule of thumb is that 1 square = 5 feet. Most things move up to 25-30 feet, so 5 or 6 squares. So this helps let you see if something's in range of your throwing axe without having to ask the DM, or whatever. Just an extra visual element, really.
  
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  
  Honestly, D&D is one of those games that's only as complex as you make it. If your whole party rolled up Barbarians and Fighters you'd probably be ready to play very quickly. Once you get into spell casting, generating a character and really knowing how to play is a little bit more complex but it's not that bad. I'd recommend you hit Facebook or Meetup.com to try and find a group of experienced players who can teach one of you, then propagate that information to the rest of your friends. In my experience, the player base is very diverse but everyone I've met has been super friendly and loves finding new players to help. Just remember to speak up and ask questions if you're not sure of something (or if it comes up during a session, write it down to ask later and work with your friends in the mean time to find a common answer to a question so you don't have to pause the fun).

I'm amazed the comments section isn't full immediately...

So! One of the best places to start with D&D if you're coming at it with little to no experience is YouTube. If you've been watching shows like Acquisitions Incorporated, Critical Role, or Force Grey: Giant Hunters, you might already have some idea of what to expect. There are a plethora of other YouTube personalities that are very education and encouragement-driven.

If you're just looking for the best things to buy or download to get started, for D&D specifically, the 5th edition Starter Set is terrific. It's only $20 in-store and provides you with multiple levels of play along with prebuilt characters and a decent-length adventure:

https://amzn.com/0786965592

The official D&D site also has great free material to take your game further without spending any money:

http://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/trpg-resources

Also, I would recommend starting with pre-written adventures until you get a feel for how to run a game and populate worlds with interesting people. A great site for cheap premade adventures is the DMs Guild (formerly D&D Classics).

http://www.dmsguild.com/

Quick note: assuming you can wrangle a group of friends into playing, if you're the one putting in the most work at the outset you'll almost certainly be the de facto Dungeon Master. Just be ready for players to not put in the effort as much.

Hi. So I don't really have the time to sit an talk with you (I'm in EU and going to sleep soon). But I'll try to point you in the right direction for information to get started.

So first off, if you really have no idea what D&D is I'd suggest watching some youtube videos. There are videos of people explaining the basic concepts and videos of groups playing which can be quite entertaining and will help you get a grasp of how the game works. In particular I'd recommend the "Acquisitions Incorporated" live shows.

So amusing you now understand the basic idea and want to get a game going with your friends here's what you need. you can get the 5th edition basic rules for free on the D&D website. 5th edition is the latest edition and I'd recommend it for new players. Don't feel like you need to read the entire thing or memorise the rules, just get a feel for it.

For your DM I would personally recommend the 5th edition starter set. It's only 20 bucks (your group could pitch in together making it like 5 each) and is designed specifically for new players and new DMs. It has everything you need to run a game; a story module for the DM to run, a set of dice, several pre-made character sheets for you and the other players to use, and a paper copy of the basic rules. It will be able to explain most of the answers to the questions you have, and if not feel free to come back here and ask more specific questions and I'm sure people will be happy to help.

If you have more questions now feel free to ask me now. Otherwise I hope this was helpful and good luck on your new adventure :)

The starter set is pretty good to start out with (as advertised). If you enjoy it then I would def say get a copy of the Players Handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide, and Monster Manual. As for figures, there is nothing saying you need figures, a lot of people use paper figures for a while. However if you want actual figures there are a few options. You can always look for what you want on amazon or miniature market, if you are looking for pre-painted, however this can get pretty pricey. Now you can also buy figures unpainted (which is what I do) for pretty cheap. If you leave them unpainted then the cost is really low, however painting figures is another hobby all together and can start to get pricey depending on paints and other supplies.

​

If you don't have a selection of figures yet and need specific things for your game, then Reaper Miniatures is a good place to start. They have a large selection of plastic figures that are pretty cheap plus you can pick and choose what you get. They have metal versions of many of the figures but these are more expensive and probably not worth it if you are just trying out the figure part of the game. Another relatively cheap rout to go for figures is the line of WizKids Unpainted figures. They are more expensive than the Reaper plastic figures however they are a bit higher quality plastic and are monsters straight from the Monster Manual. If you want custom figures than Hero Forge is a great option. However these are pretty pricey for people just stating out as even their cheapest option is still going to run you about $40 USD just for one figure. The other option you have is getting booster packs like this. They come with 4 pre-painted figures but are not a good choice if you need something specific for your current game.

​

I know this was a long post but I hope it answered your questions and gave you a good starting point. If you have any questions let me know. Been playing for about 15 years.

Awesome! I love how the organs look wet and sticky to the touch!

To readers who want this mini: I can't find it on Amazon, but it is Gravestorm the Dracolich from the Dungeons and Dragons: Castle Ravenloft Board Game. If it comes guaranteed in a booster or on it's own, I can't find it... but it's also past 4 in the morning here, so that may be a factor!

SO, let's take a quick look at the Castle Ravenloft Boardgame. Looking for Dracolich minis, I'm seeing most sitting at around $18 (and I couldn't find this particular one). The game box I listed is around $52. Almost three times the price!

However.

The box comes with 5 hero figures, 7 villain figures (Gravestorm is one of those, and that base he sits on is slightly larger than the bottom of a Rockstar can, so massive), and 30 monster figures, for a total of 42. So that's about $1.50 a model. These are high quality models, on par with Reaper or Nolzur's. They do not come prepainted, but with the paintjobs I've seen on some prepainted minis, I'd say that could be a pro, a con, or just a neutral to you, depending.

Honestly, if you're going to paint it, I'd get some paint tips from /u/GreedoLandooo, because as you may have noticed, his looks pretty wizard.

But wait, there's more! It also comes with 41 dungeon tiles! What are those, you didn't ask? Those are a bunch of interlocking tiles, compatible with any tiles from any of the D&D boardgame sets (Ravenloft , Wrath of Ashardalon , Legend of Drizzt , Temple of Elemental Evil, and Tomb of Annihilation , the last one being the only one I don't own, and that only due to money issues at the moment.)

Here are 11 together , Here are, uh...more than 11, I'm tired, fight me about it..

Everything you see in that second pic comes in the box, except for that upside-down box that says "One Night". I have no idea what that is, but I'm assuming the people who took the photo use it as a dice rolling area.
EDIT: Those minis you see on there have regulation-size bases, about the size of a quarter, to give you a sense of scale.

You may have noticed cards and tokens galore. As it turns out, this board game is also a board game! The heroes have abilities they can use, monsters have different attacks and tactics depending on player positioning, there are magic items, traps, etc. Some people really enjoy the board games. I found them neat, but I really just wanted the minis because of the quality and the tiles because...c'mon, really easy dungeon setup. Most D&D boardgame tiles are not doublesided, so you can either preconstruct a dungeon for buds but leave undiscovered ones flipped over for "fog of war", or handle it like the board game does, drawing new tiles from a stack when a player enters discovery range. Surprises for the party and you!

Also, I'm going to list all the minis that come in the set. Gravestorm is the largest in the box by far, but each board game comes with some big guys. Ashardalon has Ashardalon, the Red Dragon, I believe Drizzt comes with a massive Balor, etc.

So, mini contents of Ravenloft:

Allisa, Human Ranger

Arjhan, Dragonborn Fighter

Blazing Skeleton x3

Count Strahd, Vampire and general villainous jackass.

Flesh Golem. This guy is a bit on the large side, but not as big as the Dracolich.

Gargoyle x3

Ghoul x3

Gravestorm, Dracolich.

Howling Hag

Immeril, Eladrin Wizard

Kat, Human Rogue

Klak, Kobold Sorcerer. I'm very fond of this guy.

Kobold Skirmisher x3

Rat Swarm x3

Skeleton x3

Spider x3

Thorgrim, Dwarf Cleric

Werewolf with bladder issues, I assume.

Wolf x3

Wraith x3

Zombie x3

Zombie Dragon. Not Gravestorm. This is a smaller dude.

Now a picture of the whole happy family

And finally, if you would like to buy from the D&D official site, you can find it here for $65.

In terms of a grid for your table, I'd recommend working with a reusable grid mat or grid paper. You can also buy mats with terrain prints, but that is an investment. As a new DM who also doesn't want to spend a lot of money (right away), my first priority is to get a mat for good maps/combat spaces. I've played with grid paper and nice maps, with reusable maps, and nothing. I feel like it takes away from the story if you don't have a visual aid there (also makes combat difficult).

You can generally find these things for a decent price on Amazon. I try to buy from local stores, but they usually jack up the price. Also, you probably already know this, but all of the information you'll ever need for Pathfinder is on d20pfsrd. Good luck and have fun! :)

Edit: Also, as someone who's played D&D (3.5, 4.0 and pathfinder) for 2 years (meaning I don't have a ton of experience) and is just starting to DM, I'd say trying to play a DMPC (thanks, r/Yawhg for that term) would be A LOT, even if you are running an adventure path. You're already going to be running 1+ characters during combat and role playing every other character in the game. But, if you've got the time and mental power to invest, definitely try it out.

First of all,
>are those the only items?

These are the only pre-made items, obviously. But are they the be all and end all of the magical items available to you? Not at all. As DM and the master of your world you are free to create magical items to your hearts' content, making them as weak or as powerful as you feel like.
The short of it is yes, yes you can make any kind of items you'd like for your friends to find or enchant.
>are there 'rules' to creation?

No, not really. If you want your player(s) to have a +5 Sword of Awesomeness, you go ahead and give it to them (read: let them get it).
>how would my players go out getting a +5 Sword of Awesomeness?

Once again, as the DM, this is really up to you. If you want there to be an NPC that sells magical items in the city/village/wherever your players are, then you do that. Or you can work it into an adventure. Perhaps your players overhear an NPC talking about the nearby tomb of Melvin Awesomesword. They decide to go investigate, and once they overcome the challenges you present them with, lo and behold, there lies Melvin in his tomb. And with him? Why, it's a +5 Sword of Awesomeness! That's just an example, obviously. You've got to make it your own. There really are no rules as to how you give items to your players. If you want it to fall out of the sky in a meteorite, fine. Do it! My advice would be to not make it too easy for them however. It should be a challenge. You (in my opinion) don't want to offer them stuff on a silver platter. There's no better feeling than completing a challenge or winning a fight and being rewarded accordingly!

>tools for making a decent playing mat?

Not really my area of things, but I use this and it works great. You can draw whatever you like on it, and simply erase it afterwards.

Sorry this was a bit wordy! Hope it's helpful...

1. Reaper Bones ($3-$40) Good detail, relatively cheap price, always unpainted. Softer plastic that can have problems with deformation. Some classic D&D monsters (like beholders) cannot be found.
   
2. Wiz Kids painted minis ($15+). Whether in blind boxes or sets, you can find Wiz Kids stuff branded for D&D, Pathfinder, and D&D Attack Wing. The painting job is usually better than a novice painter, but not as good as someone with about 12+ hrs of practice at mini painting. They are rarely in single figure sets when you want to get just the right one for your wizard or whatever, and if they are then they're grossly overpriced.
   
3. Pathfinder Pawns ($20-$40). A super cheap and easy alternative to regular minis. They take up way less space, but are much less flashy than plastic minis. I've found about a 60-80% crossover between the pathfinder and D&D bestiaries represented in these boxes, therefore about 20 to 40% of the pawns from any given box will not be useful because there is not visually similar D&D monster for which they can stand-in. Similarly there are a number of D&D monsters that have no visually analogous representations in Pathfinder, so you will have to find different miniature options to represent them.
   
4. Wiz Kids Unpainted Minis ($5-$30). A relatively new addition to your miniatures options (previous unpainted minis were all rare limited edition ones). These have good detail (similar to Bones) but are stiffer and more durable than Bones minis (inconsistent reports indicate they may also be pre-primed). There are official designs that match the creatures and even poses of the monster manual beasties. In some cases there are figures with integrated transparent and opaque elements making it much more easy to paint that flaming hellhound or a readied fireball.
   
5. Pathfinder Arena of the Planeswalkers ($15-$30) This series of board games has between 20 and 40 minis per box, usually with 3-5 of them pre-painted. Sometimes the boxes can even be found on sale shelves for really cheap ($5-10) making them the cheapest price per plastic mini you can get. The quality is lacking compared to the other plastic minis, however. They are certainly passable, but they just don't have the same minute details as other minis, even gaudily pre-painted ones. Also the bases for these are made for a 1.25" hex, so they don't fit well on a 1" grid or hex that is common in D&D tactical play.
   
6. D&D Adventure System Board Games ($40-$60) These cooperative board games are great resources for DMs to pillage -- in addition to unpainted (but highly detailed) minis, each has a trove of useful dungeon tiles and various tokens that can be reused at the game table. Though some of the minis will deform in the packaging (bent outstretched swords, etc), the mold and plastic are all high quality. There are 5 sets released so far, each one containing 30-35 minis.
   
7. Other Miniature board games like Descent (~$70) have minitatures that can be raided fro use with D&D.
   
8. Miniatures not designed with gaming in mind... there's a lot of these out there with similarly varying quality and price.

Actually to start you can download the Basic Rules for free from D&D Beyond. That should be enough to at least get you started for reading current rules and having enough information to learn basic mechanics like combat, how to cast spells, etc. http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules

There are several free intro adventures here and there online by original writers, but this Death House one from Wizards (producers of D&D) is an official free product of theirs. It’s a prelude to their Curse of Strahd adventure, and is designed for taking new characters through level 3. https://media.wizards.com/2016/downloads/DND/Curse%20of%20Strahd%20Introductory%20Adventure.pdf

Beyond that, I recommend a set of dice (D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, D20, D100 (like a D10 but it counts by tens)) for every person playing. If you need them ASAP then somewhere like a local Barnes and Noble or an Amazon order will get them to you ASAP. However if you have a couple weeks, some of the eBay sellers from China have their dice sets for as low as $2. If you’re going to have a lot of dice available for players (like I did last year when I gave all my starting players two sets each), I recommend the $19.99 Wiz Dice bag linked below. You’ll get something like 14 or 15 sets and then a few mismatched dice added in. Then each player can have their own sets or you can store all of them in a candy jar ready for each game night.

Wiz Dice Random Polyhedral Dice in Multiple Colors (100 + Pack) Bundle with Wiz Dice Pouch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009R6J8RY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ndQRCb9175K9R

Good luck to all of you!

Yeah pick up the Starter Set:

http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Roleplaying/dp/0786965592

Everybody can download a copy of the Basic Rules:

http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules

This is enough to get going, but if everybody wants to make their own character from scratch and don't want to be limited to what's in the basic rules, then you should pick up the Player's Handbook:

http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606

That should be plenty to get you started. Also you might want to get more than just the dice that come with the starter set, which can be found in any game shop or online in lots of places, but there are online die rollers that work just as well. I use this one:

http://www.brockjones.com/dieroller/dice.htm

Or you can find apps for your phone as long as you trust each other not to cheat =)

Most importantly, one of you will have to be Dungeon Master (DM), who should probably be the person with the most creativity, but should definitely be the person who is most willing to put extra time into preparation and will have fun by creating fun for his friends. The DM is not the enemy of the players, think of him as the narrator of the story and each player is one of the characters.

1. Where do I start?

I always recommend The Starter Set from Wizards of the Coast. This has easy to read rules, pregenerated characters so you can start right away (plus the rules to create you own if you want), and a complete campaign which is really fun and has lots of side quests and hooks to keep the game going for years.

If you're not sure you want to shell out $12.59 USD, then you can try out the Basic Rules as a FREE download from the Wizards of the Coast website. Download them, read them, and feel free to ask questions here in this sub. 🙂

Wizards of the Coast recently released The Essentials Kit which is similar to The Starter Set but includes rules for a 2 player game (one DM and one Player) and has the adventure Dragon of Icespire Peak. I haven't played this kit, but it looks very promising.

If you want to DM, then check out /r/NewDM


Good luck! And welcome to the world of Dungeons and Dragons.

Try the D&D board games (Castle Ravenloft, Wrath of Ashardalon, Legend of Drizzt). Mechanically, they aren't D&D, but they do mirror several aspects of it in abstract tones.

Arguably closer to D&D in terms of playstyle, though not there by any means, is Fantasy Flight's 2nd Edition Descent: Journeys in the Dark. It's exciting, offers campaign play, involves dungeon crawling of a sort, and offers a chance for one player to "Overlord" against "hero" players, the latter of which controls one or more characters who gain equipment, abilities and so forth as the campaign progresses. Great fun and probably your closest shot at getting her into a D&D boardgame without making the jump to D&D itself.

To answer your second question: If you have a group of friend and none of you have ever played any tabletop roleplaying game then I recommend getting the starter set. The starter set has an introduction adventure for 5-6 people, one of which is the Dungeon Master and the rest are characters. The set also contains pre-made characters, a set of dice, and a short rules book. (To answer your first question you'll need a 7 dice set of polyhedral dice. The prices range based on how fancy they are, but they all work the same.)

If you have a friend that has played an RPG before then ask them to run one or to join their group. Ask them if it's okay to borrow dice and stuff for the session to see if you like it or not.

If none of your friends are interested then look for a group online and let them know you're a beginner. I occasionally see people offering to teach beginners.

To answer your last question, I tried to make an informative imgur album a while ago but I dunno how useful it is. http://imgur.com/a/bqOI9

It all depends on your preference but I recommend 5th edition also theirs a starter kit https://www.walmart.com/ip/Dungeons-Dragons-Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Game/37282882 if you down to buy that it comes with a premise campaign for beginners and I believe it comes with premade characters it’s ideal for 4-6 players. One of you will have to be the dungeon master(dm) who leads the characters through the story and plays the npcs(non playable characters) you’ll also play the creatures/characters your players fight against id recommend these books for now or later on when you start building your own characters etc... this for the dm https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Dungeon-Rulebook-Roleplaying/dp/0786965622 and this for more monsters https://www.amazon.com/Volos-Guide-Monsters-Wizards-Team/dp/0786966017 and this for character creation etc https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606 as for dice it’s not that hard each player needs one d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and a d20 you’ll also want a 10 sided percentile die here’s a cheap set off amazon with plenty of dice(theirs probably cheaper this is just the first thing I saw) https://www.amazon.com/Polyhedral-Drawstring-Dungeons-Pathfinder-Including/dp/B07DSCST6K now non of this is required of course for character creation you can always use sites such as dnd beyond or apps like fight club 5 which are free the only thing that’s really required is the dice. Now I know that’s a lot but honestly it’s a externally fun game and I’ve met some of my closest friends through it

I would highly recommend buying the 5th edition starter kit. Being the newest D&D edition available, you'll find a lot of official support for it. Wizards of the Coast is even releasing a Ipad/Android app sometimes soon.

The starter kit comes with a pretty sweet adventure, all the basic rules you need (except the character creation section which is free online), pre-made characters, a blank character sheet you could photocopy or download form-fillable and printable pdfs from wotc website, and even a set of dice.

relevent links:

5th Edition Basic set on Amazon

This page has free pdfs of character sheets, basic rules and some supplements for available adventures. Def worth checking it all out!

WotC Resources Page

The different "E"s are the different editions of the game, with 5e (fifth edition) being the current edition. I personally think fifth edition is a great place to start. The basic rules are available on Wizard's site for free. And if you want to try it and spend as little money as possible, I'd recommend getting the Starter Set. The adventure in the Starter Set is very good for beginner DMs, from what I understand, and it's very cheap compared to the other adventure books. I've played through it and enjoyed it a lot as a player.

If you want to invest more than the bare minimum, the Player's Handbook is the most essential of the core books. While you can play using just the premade characters in the starter set or by making characters with the basic rules, the Player's Handbook gives a lot more race and class options to your players. There's other books worth purchasing, but I'd see what you want to do after the starter adventure before worrying about investing more.

If you're new to RPGs in general, watching other people play can help a lot in understanding how the game works. It helped me a lot, at least. I'd recommend watching Acquistion's Inc, Critical Role, or Dice, Camera, Action for some good gameplay examples.

Well you could ask your friends if they'd be interested in playing. Then all ya really need is the book and some dice. There are plenty of places that can help you DM and there are premade campaigns for you. You could get the D&D starter box that has a ton of stuff for a first campaign. The best way to start is to just dive in! Oh, and you could check out roll20.net which does dnd over webcam. Your friendly redditors will be here to help :D

http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Roleplaying/dp/0786965592/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407303094&sr=8-1&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons

I believe the easiest way is buying the $20 starting kit. It has pregen characters, basic rules, and a fun adventure to run. Only other book you need is the Player’s Handbook, and you don’t HAVE to have it if you buy the starting kit. Good to have for reference though.

Amazon is the best place to buy material, normally $5-20 cheaper than shops. Also great if you have prime!

Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786965592/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_G71dBbS55YNEB

As others have pointed out, the essential book is for 4th edition and is not compatible with what you are doing.

Here is a list of books

• The starter-set will be fine to get started. That´s all you need.
  
• This is the free version of the rules. This is what you can send to your players if they want to read up so all of you don´t have to share starter-set pamphlet.
  
  After you have run the starter set:
  
  
• Later on I recommend that your group own at least one players handbook. But usually each player has one (when they are invested). I gave one to each player as a Christmas gift ;). A player usually have the players handbook and dice. This will give you more options as well. Look at this to give you an idea.
  
• As a DM you might also want to invest in the Dungeon Masters guide as well.
  
• You will now have two option. You can buy and run adventures or create your own. If your planning on creating your own I recommend that you buy The Monster manual.
  
• You also want to buy a gaming mat. Something like this.
  
  That will keep you busy for years. Don´t worry about investing in 3D terrain, or getting all of the books, unless you really want to.
  
  Some tips:
  
  
• Above all else, this is a game, and the goal is to have fun. Say this before you start the game to everyone. Goal is to have fun. This means that the players can´t be dicks because they think it´s fun (like stealing from other players). AKA the don´t be a dick rule. It also means that if a player comes up with a crazy cool idea, you as a DM should try to make that happen. Be the yes man "within reason".
  Player: "Ok so I want to like do like a somersault above the monster and while I am in the air try to hit him with my swords!"
  DM: "As it happens there is a chandelier right after the table and before the monster, you can run up on the table, grab the chandler to get enough height and momentum, do a dex check".
  
• The DM makes the rules, the rules in the books are just a suggestion. At sessions, especially at the beginning it´s going to be a lot of discussions about how things work. This is good as all of you are learning. BUT there will moments when some one starts to act like a lawyer, DO NOT FALL FOR IT! Instead make a quick ruling and say that after the session you can have that discussion, you will look up more exactly how it´s done afterwards and make a permanent ruling. Keep the game flowing.
  
• Delegate. The DM does not have to do everything. These are thing I delegate. One players keep tracks of conditions on monsters and add appropriate token on the player mat. One player get´s to schedule the next session. One player get´s to decide when to break.

It should have everything he needs to kick things off yeah! But if anything I would recommend getting him a 5th edition players handbook

Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook (Dungeons & Dragons Core Rulebooks) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0786965606/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_RrghAb1KKEQQD

He himself will know what he wants to do if he watches a lot of it. He will know if he wants to play the game as a player character or wants to play the game as the dungeon master in charge.

If he wants to play the latter then get him a 5th edition dungeon masters guide

Dungeon Master's Guide (Dungeons & Dragons Core Rulebooks) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0786965622/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_jughAbBXWK1M1

Good luck!! He’s about to jump into what I think is the best hobby you could possibly have!

For you, try watching critical role

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7atuZxmT954bCkC062rKwXTvJtcqFB8i

If you haven’t already.

That's an easy one—pick up the Starter Set for $12.

And (optionally) check out the free basic rules while you wait for it to arrive.

If you want to make your own characters instead of using the pregenerated ones, you can get the Players' Handbook, but honestly, the Starter Set is probably the best place to start—the special rules for each character are spelled out right on the character sheets.

The link to hottopic is the starter set as mentioned. You can get it cheaper off of amazon. Linked here is the companys official dungeons and dragons page. https://www.amazon.com/Wizards-RPG-Team/e/B009KAKQIC/

If he is starting out for the first time, the starter set is great. If he has any experience in table top rpgs or if he does know a good deal about dnd from all the shows he watches, i recommend buying him the players handbook. Its a hardcover book, that goes 20xs more in depth then the starter box and he will never need another book again unless he gets into building and running his own dnd games. https://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Other gift ideas are Dice Set for about $7, maybe a small battle map from Chessex for $20, perhaps dnd figurines for $10-$20 for a handful.


Keep in mind the only gifts he will need to actually play the game in person are these two options.

Beginner

1.) Dnd Starter Set: Comes with Short version of rules, dice, character sheets, and camping book. ($20)

Novice - Advanced

2.) Players Hand Book (Complete set of dnd rules used for play) and set of Dice. ($35)

Hello, and welcome!

Here is a link to the basic rules of D&D 5e (I'm assuming that's what you'll be running):

http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules

That will give you a good idea of what to expect in regards to combat, dice rolls, and the way a campaign plays.

If you feel as though this is something you enjoy, and want to continue playing, the players handbook (https://www.amazon.ca/Players-Handbook-Wizards-RPG-Team/dp/0786965606 or at your local game store) is a great resource. It gets into depth about the classes, races, and rules.

I hope this helps!

For the plexiglass, I think you can get something like this:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/OPTIX-24-in-x-48-in-x-093-in-Acrylic-Sheet-MC-13/202038048

or this:

https://www.amazon.com/Acrylic-Plexiglass-Plastic-Sheet-24/dp/B00C13ZSBA

Honestly, I just walked into a Home Depot and asked for a big sheet of plexiglass. It was about $25. Someone above suggested that Hobby Lobby may be cheaper.

Here's the battlemat:

https://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O

Grab some whiteboard markers, and the whole thing will run you about $50. But honestly, I've used this same setup for 4 years and it's been great.

A few thoughts:

• The plexiglass doubles as a great protective surface for whatever table you're playing on. We've been saved from many spills because of it!
  
• The plexiglass is a little heavy and cumbersome. My group meets at a different place every week, and it's a little annoying having to carry around everywhere. It's great if you have a dedicated gaming room, though.
  
• The plexiglass can get dirty, but I never notice while playing. Just wipe it down with windex every now and then.
  
• Get colored markers! It's so nice being able to track hp in red ink right next to minis as they move around the map, and my players love drawing out possible tactics/formations, etc.
  

If you buy local you may pay as much as $1 per die. If you’ve got amazon prime the link below is $10 but gives you five sets of dice. Especially if you are a caster it will be more convenient to have multiples, because situations may call for 6, 8, or even 10 dice. But if budget is king you can totally play with only one of each. Enjoy your adventures!

Smartdealspro 5 x 7-Die Series Two Colors Dungeons and Dragons DND RPG MTG Table Games Dice with FREE Pouches https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ABST9S4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_TNXLBbSX3JTJY

The D&D starter kit comes with pre-generated character sheets, dice, basic rules and a really cool adventure called The Lost Mines of Phandelver. There's a lot in this adventure, we played it for five sessions and didn't see half of the things in it! It's a great start, and the adventure book assumes that you are a brand new DM with little or no experience. I highly recommend it!

amazon link but get it from a local game store if you can, it's always cool to support real businesses :-)

Agreed. I wasn't qualified when me and my buddies bought our first kit at 13. I guess no DM is their first time. But beginner DMs work GREAT with beginner players.

If you guys do it yourselves, I'll guarantee there's at least 1 great Dm in your crew already. If the first person isn't great, someone in the group will be more than eager to try their hand.

Amazon - DnD starter kit has everything you need.

I highly recommend getting the Starter Set. It's really well priced, I got mine delivered for about £10. Here it is on Amazon.]

In that you get the basic rules, sample characters, character sheet to photocopy, dice, and an adventure that'll get your character to about level 5.

It's worth ~£10 for the adventure alone - it's a really good deal.

You can also get the Basic Rules for free here. Have a read through them while you're waiting for your starter set to arrive!

Mini's can get pretty expensive depending on your budget. If you're looking to drop a couple hundred dollars you can get a pretty decent setup, but if you're like me and want to go cheap you can check out these [guys] (https://www.amazon.com/Paizo-Publishng-Inc-Pathfinder-Pawns/dp/1601255616/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478136158&sr=8-1&keywords=pathfinder+pawns)
They're super high quality for cardboard cutouts and the set brings a lot.
I use those for generic monsters and then I am going to attempt to 3d print the PC's and the important boss monsters.

This is easily the best place to start with Dungeons & Dragons - a very fun and classic adventure that’s not too long and that comes with basic rules and pre-made characters for an incredibly low price. (There’s also this version which comes with some extra dice and printable goodies which is up to your discretion if you want, it’s more expensive so it might just be better to order a collection of dice, such as this so you’ll have enough for everyone).

Well, If You don't have the money, then getting the starters set is really good, it has character sheets, sample adventures, and a basic rulebook for levels 1-5. I'll Put a link to the Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Wizards-Team/dp/0786965592/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502026751&sr=8-1&keywords=d%26d+5e+starter+set
If you Buy it used it's only about ten dollars, but there really is nothing like flipping through the player's handbook and learning a lot more. Happy to help!

Normally D&D is more about imagination, and less about boards and miniatures(these are great supplements that enhance the game).

BUT the board games are good starting points if you are 100% new. They will help you learn terms and ideas, before you move on to winging it.

Actual D&D books can be a bit confusing to a new player, as they have expansive contents.

If you want to stay on the board game route. Wrath of Ashardalon is a modern D&D board game. http://www.amazon.com/Wizards-Coast-5511558-Wrath-Ashardalon/dp/0786955708/ref=pd_bxgy_t_img_y

If you want to try actual D&D the 'Red Box' as many users have mentioned is a great starting point.
http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Fantasy-Roleplaying-Game/dp/0786956291/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1395670764&sr=8-4&keywords=d%26d+red+box

You can find copies of this at your local nerd or book store for much less than 60 I think.

I would say to pick up a few things. Just starting out, and if you've got the money I would recommend this stuff if you want to do a full homebrew story:

[Minis](
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00W5WSN5A/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A1B7M9EQGNCLQA&psc=1) - You need creatures for your game, and while minis can be expensive I see these as being a good start.


Of course the rulebook.


Monster Manuel. Just flipping through it will give you ideas for encounters.


Erasable Grid Tileset - great for anything, from dungeons to wilderness. I would predraw before your session.


[Dice!](
https://www.amazon.com/Kuuqa-Polyhedral-Complete-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/B01MF5G9DY/ref=sr_1_7?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1517791222&sr=1-7&keywords=D%26D+dice) Enough for all your adventurers and yourself.


The books can be expensive, so if you're looking for a PDF version of anything really check here.

I started playing about a year ago so I'm not the expert.

To be honest you already have the most important and difficult thing needed to play D&D; a group of friends. (That's something that I'm still working on) So first you'll need this Amazon is usually the cheapest route but any game shop and most book stores have it.

From there you can create characters and begin adventuring. Someone will need to be the Dungeon Master. The DM will know the whole story before the game starts and will run the game. The other players will roleplay their characters and make choices/kill bad guys.

That's just a super basic idea of the game. Sorry, I'm at work at don't have a ton of time to write more extensively.

Hey op for future reference Amazon has a lot of dice in an assortment of designs

Also if you want to get just bulk dice there's a pound of dice

It's nice buying separate sets of 7 but only for super flashy sets [like these] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MSTMSWV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ehtJBb05KKN21)

• edit thanks for the down votes because I don't want OP over spending

Regarding your points..

1. I try to make sure I don't purposely work against them, but I do make sure to challenge them.
   
   
2. Is this basically "Whatever you think is best"? E.g., a fat dwarf wants to try to swing across a chasm on a very tiny, frayed rope - best guess he needs to roll a 15 on a 1d20 to make it successful due to the circumstances?
   
   
3. Is there any kind of premade gameboard or other kind of map for any adventure? My roommate keeps asking about it.
   
   
4. I don't plan on killing someone at start - going to be a laid back night, and if I kill someone it won't be until later into the night when we start getting tired/bored. Not a very serious group.
   
   
5. I write a lot, so world building is my strong-suit. Character building is my weakness.
   
   How essential is the Player's Handbook or any other resource? Any online resources you would suggest I have pulled up while DMing?

As a matter of fact, there is a starter kit! It includes a basic set of rules for D&D, a short adventure, a set of dice, and some pregenerated characters. If you have $12.59 to spare, I suggest picking it up and reading through the rules. Chances are it won’t all make sense to you, but you can always come back and ask questions.

If it helps, basically D&D is just a group of people getting together and telling a story, and resolving certain actions by rolling the dice. Like, imagine playing Cops and Robbers, but instead of arguing about whether or not someone got caught, you roll some dice, do a little math, and that tells you what happens. Typically, one person acts as the Dungeon Master. They set the scene and narrate the action. The other players each control their own character, and declare how they act and react in each scene.

1. Check some videos of real sessions so you know what it is. SOme are:
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-p9lWIhcLQ
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJN1JvnRGWE&list=PLZoi2erIV05CGoKVXtHElCcpE9Hk-5hwe
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLEMb_RIZ3o
   
   
2. Download and read the free manuals from wizards
   https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules
   
   
3. Locate a store when you can signup for weekly D&D Encounters and try it!
   http://locator.wizards.com/#brand=dnd
   
   
4. Buy a starter (it's cheap) and try to find at least three friends who culd be interested in playing
   http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Roleplaying/dp/0786965592/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449051385&sr=8-1&keywords=starter+dungeons

If you haven't read the rules, download the free basic rules.

If you need dice, buy the starter set for about USD $13.

To find other people to play with, either ask your friends or post on the Looking For Games subreddit, /r/lfg.

Hope this helps!

Get the D&D Starter Set. It provides a premade adventure with guidance on how to run it as a DM, along with five pregenerated characters and just enough rules to run those characters. It also comes with a set of dice, though you may want to buy additional dice.

Extremely recommended: Get the D&D 5th edition Players Handbook. It will expand greatly on the options available in the Starter Set, and let you and your players create your own characters.

In decreasing order of recommendation: the D&D 5th edition Monster Manual and the D&D 5th edition Dungeon Master's Guide. If you don't want to spend the money on those, you can get by with the D&D 5th edition System Reference Document and the D&D 5th edition Basic Rules, the latter two of which are available for free download from Wizards of the Coast.

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Rulebooks-Slipcase-Handbook/dp/0786966629/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=D%26d&qid=1567754912&s=gateway&sr=8-4

This is a great deal which gives you everything you could possibly want to play and run a game!

If he already plays a lot then he may already have these and in that case I would search for supplemental books, cool dice, and miniatures to add to his game!

If you you decide to buy anything the order should be thus:

1. A set of dice you think is lit af
   
   

• Chessex is pretty common. Q Workshop has some neat designs
  
  

2. maybe get the Player's Handbook
   
   
3. Another set of dice that is lit af
   
    
   
   Check out a local game store to see if they host any games or get online and play through Roll20 or another platform like that.

One of the cheapest ways to get into D&D 5e is to but the starters kit (link below). It contains one set of dice and enough information to run a premade adventure with premade characters. From there if you enjoy yourself I recommend buying the Players Handbook.

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Roleplaying/dp/0786965592/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474925689&sr=8-1&keywords=dnd+5e+starter+set

The 5th edition starter is probably the best option at the moment. 5th edition DnD is pretty easy to get into and learn.

Check out local game store. A lot of places run what's called Adventurer's League; basically "official" gameplay. It's a great place to learn from some more experienced players and is available pretty much anywhere you go.

D&D Starter Set

Edit: got rid of the friends comment because I'm an idiot who can't read. But left the starter set link because it's nice to have if you want it.

I would highly recommend purchasing the D&D 5e Starter Set. It has everything you need to get started. I would also recommend getting the 3 core books (PHB, DMG, and MM) at some point.

Have fun!

Solutions I've used in the past:

• Vinyl battlemats with wet-erase markers (I've had more success with these over dry-erase).
  
• Grid paper easel pads or grid paper rolls with your drawing utensil(s) of choice.
  
• I used to have a simple tile-based dungeon maker app (I'll see if I can find it once I get home) that would export to an image that I'd then take to Office Depot and have them print on their large format engineering printer. It would usually be <$10 for all the maps needed for a one-shot adventure (B&W only).
  
• Similar to above, I had another DM print gridless maps on large-format paper and just said that 1" = 5ft and let us move in any direction.
  
• I've even played games simply on 8.5 x 11" graph paper. The DM would draw the map, and lightly draw where we were in pencil, erasing and redrawing when we moved.
  
• At PAX, I saw DMs using full-color printouts on regular printer paper, and players and the DM would simply point out and explain on the map where they were and what they were doing, using theater-of-the-mind for everything else.
  
  There are tons of options, and you can do whatever works for you.

Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786965592/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_coLUCbA49SGK9

The D&D starter set is a great place to start. For slightly more than a set of dice you get rules, premade characters, dice, and a starting adventure for you and your friends.

5e is the newest version out there. The basic rules can be found here. Your players will each control a player character (PC), and you the Dungeon Master (DM) will control all of the non-player characters(NPCs), and environments. Together you tell a story of adventure.

I recommend getting the starter set. It contains a few pre-made characters and an adventure for you to run. If you like it and want to do more, then look into getting the rest of the books. PHB, MM, and DMG.

Try this? I just started playing a month or so ago. Started with this box set, loved it, bought more things. :)

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Roleplaying/dp/0786965592/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1486518187&sr=1-1&keywords=D%26D+starter+set

Getting him a good copy of the Player's Handbook would be great, maybe with the Dungeon Master's Guide to go along with it. They're both on sale on Amazon right now.

There are these bucket of figures that are great, and super cheap for how many you get.

Monsters

Skeletons

Zombies

Knights

Dragons

And so on. Super cheap. Tons of figures, less than $20 for each set.

I'd recommend staring with 5 for simplicity, try the Starter Set then if you all had a good time get the players hand book. If after a while you all want to give it a go,I'd also suggest you try out Pathfinder or other 3.5e stuff, the amount of customization and player-created content is immense

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01ABST9S4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524512869&sr=1-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&dpPl=1&dpID=51TLq9O7vtL&ref=plSrch

This is what I went with. The dice are fine quality and they come with individual baggies if you want to play with friends and loan out some dice to them. Maybe they chip in a buck or two and it only costs you like $5 or less for your set. Though I don't know the shipping rates to you.

If price is an issue, don't go with chessex. It's not worth it.

Fantastic. Looks like the starter set goes for just over $13 US (https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Wizards-Team/dp/0786965592)

Also, though I can't find the link offhand, there's the SRD for 5e that has more of almost everything and could help you bridge that gap until the starter kit arrives.

I started with a thing of crayola washables from walmart (cost like $2) but found they took too long to "dry" and not smudge. So I upgraded to expo wet erase markers when they were on sale. After a couple of seconds you are able to touch the lines you've drawn which means you can add stuff on the fly easily and keep it looking semi nice.
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00006IFGW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_DMSFDbMVHWMDX

https://www.amazon.ca/Players-Handbook-Wizards-RPG-Team/dp/0786965606?th=1&psc=1&source=googleshopping&locale=en-CA&tag=googcana-20&ref=pd_sl_2uzio69dvk_e


That's the set of core rules you need, for now follow only what the rule booklet in the starter set says, the compendium is pretty much bunk!


Also, check out Dndbeyond.com

Happy gaming!

http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules?x=dnd/basicrules
The basic rules for 5th edition d&d are free. If you download and read through the pdf in the above link you will understand the mechanics of the game and be able to play. If you read through that and still feel interested, the next step would be buying the players handbook. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786965606/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_T8IZxbRBJ3RX0

If you wanted to go with Magic the Gathering, there are packs called Duel Decks that come with a couple of pre-made decks so you can just start playing right out of the box. Here's one on Amazon, but feel free to search for others!

As for D&D, the Essentials kit has rules for playing with fewer people.

The monster manual, [player's handbook] (http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1417066240&sr=8-2&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons), and the soon to come out Dungeon Master's Guide will all tell you what you need to know in each category.....now granted I wouldn't buy these until you and a group of friends have decided that you want to play. However once you do, these books will do most of the heavy lifting.

The starter kit is a pretty solid starting point, gives you everything you need to run a campaign with your friends, assuming one of you steps up and DMs

If you are going to be playing in person, the Pathfinder Pawns are a great starter tool if they are available in Europe.

• https://www.amazon.com/Paizo-Inc-Pathfinder-Pawns-Bestiary/dp/1601255616/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=pathfinder+mini&qid=1567704398&s=gateway&sr=8-1
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Pathfinder-Pawns-Villain-Codex-Box/dp/1601259255/ref=pd_bxgy_21_2/136-8293912-7255750?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1601259255&pd_rd_r=7d2705d9-4e9a-42c0-b255-3d5e783ce650&pd_rd_w=09leI&pd_rd_wg=BYx7L&pf_rd_p=a2006322-0bc0-4db9-a08e-d168c18ce6f0&pf_rd_r=WSTG5NBZHKT6PDTF8J5W&psc=1&refRID=WSTG5NBZHKT6PDTF8J5W

Pathfinder Pawns!! I just got some for my campaign!

NPC's- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1601254725/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

A few Monsters- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1601255616/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Monster Codex- http://paizo.com/products/btpy9g25?Pathfinder-Pawns-Monster-Codex-Box

The NPC one is perfect for Player Characters and Villagers n stuff. And the Monster Codex would hook you up with monsters. And the Bestairy Box is just more monsters and devils and stuff.

They are pretty freaking dope my players love em

I looked it up and found the pack with the three core books and DM screen all with alternate covers on Amazon for $199.99 plus $24.99 shipping. Amazon. Says they will be available Nov 7th and arrive December 14th if you pre-order. Given the price and the shipping time, buying at an local game store would probably be your best option.

Here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-RPG-Rulebook-Alternate/dp/B07HFG969C/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540402409&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons+gift+set+limited+edition&dpPl=1&dpID=51zkcYDTtuL&ref=plSrch

I honestly just bought this and started by following the written instructions: https://www.amazon.com/Reaper-Miniatures-08906-Learn-Paint/dp/B00NTMC49G

After I painted the minis, I just went to my FLGS and grabbed a handful of cheap minis to practice on and a few paint brushes from Michaels. The basic techniques you learn from that book are like 80% of painting a mini. The rest comes with experience and playing around with techniques, colors, layers, etc

Also, I am the least artistic person and I feel mine arent terrible.

Edit: As for the issue with time, whenever I want to watch a show, I setup my stuff and paint while I watch. It passes the time and I get two things done at once. I would recommend no distractions for the first minis you paint though to get a feel for how it works.

Get into D&D by finding a group already playing it. This video goes over various ways to do that. Adventure League in a local game shop might be a good place to start.

As far as stuff to buy, I'd find the group first, and then buy a Players Handbook, and dice.

Yes i have found those I was just wondering if there is anywhere where they are cheeper as hero forge has them for 10 dollars I can't really afford that as I am planing on buying this set as a starter set https://www.amazon.ca/Dungeons-Dragons-Rulebooks-Slipcase-Handbook/dp/0786966629/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=dnd&qid=1567777868&s=gateway&sr=8-1

I️ would recommend the Starter Set. I️t comes with basic rules, premade character sheets, dice, and an adventure they can play.

Ever heard of Amazon? It's a pretty cool website. They sell a few things there..

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-RPG-Rulebook-Alternate/dp/B07HFG969C

Hey, that sounds great, do you have a link for that? Or what is it called besides "Starter Set"? Is it "5E Starter Set"?

Is this it?

http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Roleplaying/dp/0786965592

Are you playing in person? You really don't need minis at all, everything can exist in the theatre of the mind.

But if you like minis (and I absolutely do!), a cheap way to get all set up is:

• Paper minis! Print, fold, tape, done. https://www.google.com/search?q=d%26d+paper+miniatures&rlz=1C1MSIM_enUS541US541&espv=2&biw=1920&bih=950&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjs14nx0oPSAhUKS2MKHRZ7C2cQ_AUIBygC
  
• Chessex wet-erase mat. Draw your map! https://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O
  
• Wet erase markers: https://www.amazon.com/Wet-Erase-Overhead-Transparency-Markers-Assorted/dp/B00006IFGW/ref=pd_bxgy_21_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00006IFGW&pd_rd_r=JB1YHHX9GY8SN66SXRRZ&pd_rd_w=QTuyY&pd_rd_wg=Qyyt2&psc=1&refRID=JB1YHHX9GY8SN66SXRRZ
  
  And done!

Usually the local game stores have them or can order it for you if they don't have them in stock.

They are also available on online stores such as amazon https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Wizards-Team/dp/0786965592 but I don't know how much they cost with shipping (if free shipping is over 20 or 25$ some minis or extra dice always come in handy and also you don't have to pay the shipping fee)

I got this from my wife and LOVE IT


Wiz Dice Bag of Holding: 140 Polyhedral Dice in 20 Guaranteed Complete Sets https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01476QV14/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_yZWUAbZ5K7XT1

The D&D Starter Set is what you need at this point. It's the best way to jump into the game and get playing.

For you, OP, I'd recommend studying both of the booklets as much as you can before your first session.

You can also find some YouTube videos on the official D&D channel that show an experienced DM running the first part of the adventure. These types of videos are "for your eyes only" - by that, I mean the DM (you) can and should watch them, but the players should not.

Local game store deal for $170 (10% off on preorders), although I think Amazon offers it for a significant price jump.

Edit: Correction, they are slightly cheaper on Amazon but support your LGS.

A good place to start is the Starter Set (link below).
It has basic rules, a set of dice, and an adventure that will potentially take characters from 1st to 5th level.

Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set: Fantasy Roleplaying Game Starter Set (D&D Boxed Game) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786965592/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_l7D6xbBXRHB1V

Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786965592/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Zd4LDbF4NJYB3

15 bucks on amazon. Includes a starter dungeon to play, full rule book, full book on explaining everything you need to know, as well as dice and character sheets 🙌🏻

Edit: this is how I got started and just expanded from there

A logical place to start would be the starter set. ☺ https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786965592/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_kTGevb0F9EW95 It's nice if everyone has their own dice (7 die polyhedral dice set), but there's plenty of dice rolling apps if you just want to get your feet wet and see if you like it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/wiki/resourcelist

Links to the free basic Players and DM rules, characters, OGL, adventures, etc.

The Starter Set, aka Lost Mines of Phandelver, is less than $13 on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Roleplaying/dp/0786965592

If you go with the starter set, I suggest sticking with the pregenerated characters because they have story tie-ins.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Boxed-Game/dp/0786965592/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=dnd+starter+set+5e&qid=1563332066&s=gateway&sprefix=dnd+starter+set&sr=8-1

That one is the one I was thinking about. It come with pre made characters with options for homemade ones if you prefer. Great price for a starting point to see if you are into it as a group.

Absolutely the 5th edition starter. It's amazing!
http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Roleplaying/dp/0786965592/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451617645&sr=8-1&keywords=d%26d+5th+edition+starter+set

This is the 5e handbook:
http://www.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409674884&sr=8-1&keywords=player+handbook

If you are only starting out the Starter Set might be a good idea:
http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Roleplaying/dp/0786965592/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=undefined&sr=8-1&keywords=starter+set


In my opinion it would be better for you to start with the 5th edition (above) as it is the newest, it should be relatively easy to find people at least willing to try it out.

Another option is to try the 4th edition as it is also fairly straightforward and already established. 5th and 4th editions are VERY different from one another so if you don't like one, don't dismiss the other.

As for the editions before that I would not recommend it mostly because you will have a hell of a time finding people to play with.

Get the starter set from Amazon or your friendly local game store: http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Roleplaying/dp/0786965592/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1410175375&sr=8-2&keywords=dungeons+and+dragons

I bought the Lost Mines of Phandelver as a new GM with all new players. The book spells it out for you on how to DM. You might also want to check out Matthew Mercer's Critical Roll . He even did a special with Vin Diesel ! Also check out Matthew Colville on youtube.

Being somewhat of a DnD noob myself, I think some things that might help are maps, miniature figures, and dice. I love being able to see where people and creatures are in combat. I think it helps with the immersion into the world. When I started playing (a month or so ago) our DM had miniatures he bought from his group in the army. Seeing them made me start buying Reaper miniatures and painting them myself.

For a group of people, this set of dice works. You get 20 sets and a bag for $30. They're not the best dice, but they work.

Grab yourself the D&D Starter Kit for fifth edition. Very beginner friendly.

> There's another company that does a pound o' dice who's name I can't remember

You're probably thinking of Wizdice. They have The Bag of Holding & The Bag of Devouring. Can attest to the dice in Bag of Devouring to be very nice!

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Wizards-Team/dp/0786965592/ref=sr_1_1?crid=7E61LLXO5218&keywords=lost+mines+of+phandelver+5e&qid=1566223220&s=gateway&sprefix=lost+mines+of%2Caps%2C380&sr=8-1

This one, the story is called Lost Mines of Phendelver.

You'll also need a set of polyhedral sided dice for you and your friend like

https://www.amazon.com/Smartdealspro-Colors-Dungeons-Dragons-Pouches/dp/B01ABST9S4/ref=pd_sbs_14_1/130-3048006-0259517?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01ABST9S4&pd_rd_r=7e6a966d-b401-4382-92fe-e355866afc28&pd_rd_w=GyTNc&pd_rd_wg=ELdb7&pf_rd_p=1c11b7ff-9ffb-4ba6-8036-be1b0afa79bb&pf_rd_r=D66MX5CM6JY5PAW62FHJ&psc=1&refRID=D66MX5CM6JY5PAW62FHJ

if not for your friend, they can buy their own. If you guys don't want to buy dice, use an app on your phone. Part of the fun is rolling dice, but its up to you.

books:

this is a super deal https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786966629?aaxitk=WduEhv.EHUvQm-WhzpHLUA&pd_rd_i=0786966629&pf_rd_p=9420597b-7dad-4cbd-a28d-7d676ac67378&hsa_cr_id=3779166900401&sb-ci-n=asinImage&sb-ci-v=https%3A%2F%2Fimages-na.ssl-images-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FI%2F71BURLYgGhL.jpg&sb-ci-a=0786966629

I would post the PDF's for you but reddit mods have heart attacks over pirated material

You can try getting a replacement from Wizards like the guy said below. If that doesn't work, the 5e Handbook is only $20.98 on Amazon now.

For some laughs, these aren't too expensive.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003IHTZGW/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1370665569&sr=8-2&pi=SL75

Yep, just amazon it. Get the green one first, then the blue if you want more
Reaper Miniatures 08906 Learn To Paint Bones Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NTMC49G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_QG2QDbVC4XT3A

If you're wanting a full adventure with prebuilt characters and lots of new-player-support, check out the Starter Set:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0786965592/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482462550&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=lost+mines+of+phandelver&dpPl=1&dpID=51Ykm93n8ML&ref=

It contains the intro dungeon "The Lost Mines of Phandelver," really easy to run for complete newbie players and DMs.

Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786965592/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_dr31CbVFBRNFP

As good a place to start as any

They look like the Wiz Dice from the Bag of Devouring set.

Link for Amazon USA.

It is part of a special edition Core Rule Book Set

It’s $15 on Amazon here, are you out of the US by chance?

I use "pawns" from Pathfinder like these:


Pathfinder Pawns: Bestiary Box https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601255616/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_7K7kDbE4HHMK6

Yeah, you want to use the Wet Erase markers.

These are ours:
https://www.amazon.com/Wet-Erase-Overhead-Transparency-Markers-Assorted/dp/B00006IFGW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473867224&sr=8-1&keywords=Wet+erase+markers

If you do decide to get a battlemat, I recommend this one.

How about something like this? These guys are basically like army men, but they're all monsters.

Thank you.
Here's the one I bought:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NTMC49G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Lego minifigs for miniatures, put a 2x2 plate under them for stability. They are also configurable in terms of weaponry and accessories.

For a battlemat I'd go with this: https://www.amazon.com/Chessex-Role-Playing-Play-Mat/dp/B0015IQO2O

You can draw on it and it is very easy to take with you anywhere.

so I was thinking about buying this https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/reviews/0786966629/ref=cm_cr_dp_mb_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8 is it worth the money for what it is?

Are you following any tutorials? I'm new to mini painting myself and may i suggest something? Reaper Miniatures Learn To Paint Bones Kit is what i bought and what i'm learning from. I think it might be worth trying out.

Here's my first mini, i'm working on the second one from the kit now : The Orc.

I took a look at Canadian Amazon, and they really do charge you guys a lot for the books, huh? This isn't so bad, though. https://www.amazon.ca/Dungeons-Characters-Character-Rulebook-Adventure/dp/0786965592/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?keywords=players+handbook+5th+edition&qid=1573321671&sprefix=player&sr=8-8

Is this not the same?
Dungeons and Dragons RPG: Core Rulebook Gift Set Limited Alternate Covers https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HFG969C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_hbm8BbRJVC3MM

Here is the Amazon link

Learning Resources Jumbo Foam Polyhedral Dice https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003IHTZGW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_vyZfzbRPZFVMB

The 6 sided I had for a while and can't remember where I got them.

if you don't mind waiting, it's very cheap on Amazon.

Pathfinder Mat. 24x30, 1" grid, dry erase, both sides usable and have different background colors, $12.99 on Amazon Prime.

I picked up these 5 sets for $10. It's more than enough, and lets me switch them out when they lose their luck.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ABST9S4

Amazon? And a larger one.