Many people have heard of Dungeons and Dragons, but most have never played it. It’s not a typical “board game”, but instead the seminal entry in a category referred to as tabletop role playing games (TTRPGs). D&D doesn’t require any special boards, pre-boxed cards, terrain, or figures. All of these things can add color, interest, or excitement, but when the game was first developed in the 70’s, it was simply a rule system, paper sheets for keeping track of a character’s stats, and some special dice. The one thing that is required: a little imagination.

The most recent set of rules for D&D is referred to as Fifth Edition or 5E. It’s a less cumbersome system than past editions and has been made more popular by Twitch streams with large followings, like Critical Role. There isn’t as much math required as other versions and it offers more flexibility to play styles.

It took me a while to realize that D&D is simply a system. The system has been designed to be balanced between classes – think a spellcasting wizard versus a sword-wielding fighter – and between the players and the monsters they fight. Beyond that, you can make the game whatever you want. It needn’t take place in a typical fantasy setting with castle backdrops and literal dungeons and dragons. The campaign that I most recently kicked off is taking place on a rough and tumble pirate refuge of an island, but it recently underwent a hostile takeover by an enterprising new governess who has converted the island’s blood-stained hideouts into a family friendly resort. Ridiculous right? Newly reformed pirates offer newcomers self-guided tours of the historical points of interest and remind visitors that the local mermaids will be performing at the Siren’s Grotto at 1, 3 and 5pm. As an avid storyteller who especially loves the set-up of a tale, being the Dungeon Master – or DM – really appeals to me.

The goal of the DM is to help tell the story. You know mostly what can or even “should” happen, but ultimately you should facilitate the players’ decisions as much as possible. Is there a clue to their story waiting with the Voodoo Priestess turned fortune teller? Maybe, but if they want to go explore the suspicious new governess’s chateau, that’s up to them.

In order to actually adventure through the environment and attempt challenges, players generally roll 20-sided dice called d20’s. Rolling a one generally represents failure while a twenty is considered a critical success. The player’s character has different statistics that can add or subtract to the total. So, if your wizard is super intelligent but not very charismatic, you could have a -3 penalty to your attempts to generally schmooze. Most people think that the randomness of your attempts isn’t realistic, but it’s the fate of these fickle dice that ultimately paints the story. And it’s the DM’s job to adlib what that success or failure means. For example, even if the player describes a most eloquent deception of a guard, when they roll a 3 (minus 3 because of the wizard’s low charisma) you might explain that they accidentally spit on the guard’s face while they were speaking way too closely. Alternatively, chance could give them a natural 20, and despite being generally off-putting, the awkward wizard could find success a different way.

It’s these open-ended features of D&D that can really scare people off. D&D famously can’t be “won”. But that’s not really accurate. All stories have ends. Characters have arcs. But no, D&D does not have straightforward, black and white terms for victory. That’s partially because as you play and successfully defeat monsters – be it a ruthless corsair in a pirate themed tourist trap or a zombie poodle in the frozen food isle – your character gains experience and will eventually level up. With each level (20 is the max) your character earns new abilities and feats and becomes generally more powerful. If you’re a wizard, for example, you might unlock more powerful spells that allow you to summon some beastly fiend to fight in your stead. Or you could have the ability to cast 7 spells instead of just 4.

So, you could say you’ve achieved success when you get your character to level 20, but that’s still not the point – not for most people. And that’s because of that whole RP (role playing) part of the TTRPG genre. Playing D&D isn’t just about who can grind through their levels as quickly as possible. That’s what video games are for. Instead, roleplaying can serve as a big part of the game – but again – only as much as you and your group want it to be. Some folks go as far as only speaking as their character for the duration of a 4-hour gaming session. Others will just casually say “I think my character would look around the room before stepping in – she’s supposed to be a cautious investigator.”

So, once you understand the basic rules, and collect a few cheap dice, all you need is your imagination and some time. But you can find a “D&D Essentials Kit” online or at your local game shop. It can be had for about $25 or so. Now, this will include those typically fantasy themes including some magic casters, rugged dwarves, and a dragon or two. But once you have the mechanics down, you can take your game to outer space, Neverland, or even an abandoned Bed, Bath, and Beyond – who cares?

The good news is you also don’t need to be some expert world builder who creates the entire world from scratch – most would caution against this. There are several really well-designed modules that will help the DM keep the story on track and give the adventures a series of puzzles, battles, and mysteries to solve.

With all these options in commitment level and casualness of play, you might as well feel it out for yourself. Watch a YouTube video or two – there are some great intros to the basics. But above all else, D&D is what you make it, so you might as well make it fun.

Matt Hebert is an engineer and self-published author. His dopamine-fueled creative pursuits have spanned from chicken keeping, sand sculpture, acting, and public speaking, but writing is nearest and dearest to his heart. He lives in Bellevue with his wife and two daughters. You can find him on Instagram at @jerkofalltradeshebert or email him at matt.hebert.books@gmail.com

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