[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":380},["ShallowReactive",2],{"page-\u002Fwiki\u002Fintroduction":3,"navigation-main":266},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"description":258,"extension":259,"meta":260,"navigation":261,"path":262,"seo":263,"stem":264,"__hash__":265},"wiki\u002Fwiki\u002F2.introduction.md","Introduction",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":248},"minimark",[9,13,16,21,24,33,36,40,43,56,68,71,75,78,81,89,103,106,110,113,119,125,141,147,150,154,157,160,163,167,170,186,211,216,245],[10,11,12],"p",{},"Dungeons & Dragons is a game you play by talking. A few people sit down, one of\nthem describes a place, and the rest say what they do about it. The rules exist\nfor the moments when what happens next is genuinely in doubt — that is when the\ndice come out.",[10,14,15],{},"If you have never played, start here. This page covers what the game is, what an\nevening of it looks like, and what you need to begin. None of it is a rule you\nhave to memorise.",[17,18,20],"h2",{"id":19},"what-this-game-is","What This Game Is",[10,22,23],{},"There is no board and no screen. The game happens in description: someone tells\nyou the door is iron and slightly ajar, and you decide what to do about a door\nlike that. Everything else follows from those two halves.",[10,25,26,27,32],{},"Most of what you decide simply happens. You walk down the corridor, you ask the\ninnkeeper who owns the mill, you draw your sword — nobody rolls for any of it.\nThe dice are reserved for the things that could plausibly go either way, and\nthey almost always take the same form: someone rolls a twenty-sided die, adds a\nnumber, and compares the total to a target. That is a\n",[28,29],"tooltip",{"label":30,"tooltip-key":31},"D20 Test","rules\u002Fd20-test",", and it is the engine\nunder nearly every rule on this site.",[10,34,35],{},"What makes it a game rather than a story you are told is that nobody at the\ntable knows how it ends. Not even the person running it.",[17,37,39],{"id":38},"the-two-roles","The Two Roles",[10,41,42],{},"Everyone at the table plays one character. One person instead plays everything\nelse.",[10,44,45,46,50,51,55],{},"Most of you will be ",[47,48,49],"strong",{},"players",". You each control a single\n",[28,52],{"label":53,"tooltip-key":54},"player character","rules\u002Fplayer-character"," — one\nperson in the world, yours to speak for and decide for. You say what they try;\nthe dice and the rules settle whether it works.",[10,57,58,59,62,63,67],{},"One of you is the ",[47,60,61],{},"Dungeon Master",". The DM describes the world, runs every\n",[28,64],{"label":65,"tooltip-key":66},"nonplayer character","rules\u002Fnonplayer-character"," in\nit from the innkeeper to the dragon, and decides what the world does in\nresponse to the players. They are also the one who says when a roll is needed\nand how hard it is.",[10,69,70],{},"The DM is not your opponent. This is the misconception most newcomers arrive\nwith, and it is worth putting down early: the DM has no side to win for, and a\nDM who wanted the party dead would not need dice to arrange it. Their job is to\nmake the world respond honestly — generously when you are clever, harshly when\nyou are careless — not to beat you.",[17,72,74],{"id":73},"what-a-session-looks-like","What a Session Looks Like",[10,76,77],{},"Three or four hours, most of it conversation.",[10,79,80],{},"Someone recaps where you left off. The DM sets a scene — you are in the market\ndistrict, it is raining, the contact you were promised is not here. The players\nsay what they do. Someone talks to a guard, someone else goes looking at the\nrooftops, and the DM answers each in turn. That back-and-forth is the bulk of\nthe evening, and much of it involves no dice at all.",[10,82,83,84,88],{},"When something is uncertain, the DM calls for a roll. You want to know if the\nguard believes you, or whether you can get up the wall — that is an\n",[28,85],{"label":86,"tooltip-key":87},"ability check","rules\u002Fability-check",", and the\nresult decides what happens next rather than whether you are allowed to try.",[10,90,91,92,96,97,102],{},"Sometimes it turns into a fight. Then the game tightens up: everyone rolls\n",[28,93],{"label":94,"tooltip-key":95},"Initiative","rules\u002Finitiative"," to establish an\norder, and play goes around the table in turns until it is resolved. Combat is\nthe most rules-heavy thing D&D does, which is why it has\n",[98,99,101],"a",{"href":100},"\u002Fwiki\u002Fplaying-the-game","a chapter of its own",".",[10,104,105],{},"Then someone checks the time, you stop somewhere memorable, and you pick it up\nnext week.",[17,107,109],{"id":108},"what-you-need","What You Need",[10,111,112],{},"Less than you would think.",[10,114,115,118],{},[47,116,117],{},"People."," Three to six is comfortable: one DM and a few players. Fewer works;\nmore gets hard to give everyone a turn.",[10,120,121,124],{},[47,122,123],{},"Dice."," A polyhedral set — d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20 and a percentile die.\nThe d20 does most of the work; the rest mostly measure damage and healing. One\nset between two people is survivable, and any dice-rolling app is free.",[10,126,127,130,131,135,136,140],{},[47,128,129],{},"A character each."," A\n",[28,132],{"label":133,"tooltip-key":134},"character sheet","rules\u002Fcharacter-sheet"," is just\nthe record of who your character is and what they can do. You can fill one in on\npaper, or use the ",[98,137,139],{"href":138},"\u002Ftools\u002Fcharacter-builder","character builder"," here, which\nwalks the same decisions as a form.",[10,142,143,146],{},[47,144,145],{},"Somewhere to play."," A table, or a voice call. The game does not care.",[10,148,149],{},"You do not need to have read the rules. One person who knows roughly how it\nworks is enough to get five people through a first evening.",[17,151,153],{"id":152},"before-you-start","Before You Start",[10,155,156],{},"This section is the one piece of advice on this page that is not a rule — no\nbook requires it, and it will improve your game more than any rule here.",[10,158,159],{},"Before the first session, talk about what you are all in for. How often you can\nrealistically play and for how long. What kind of story you want: grim survival,\nheroic adventure, comedy. What nobody at the table wants to encounter in a game\n— everyone has something, and it is far easier to say so in advance than in the\nmiddle of a scene.",[10,161,162],{},"It takes twenty minutes and it prevents most of the ways a group falls apart.",[17,164,166],{"id":165},"how-to-use-this-wiki","How to Use This Wiki",[10,168,169],{},"This site covers the 2024 rules, and it is arranged so that nothing is explained\ntwice.",[10,171,172,175,176,180,181,185],{},[47,173,174],{},"Terms with a dashed underline are definitions."," Point at one — like\n",[28,177],{"label":178,"tooltip-key":179},"Advantage","rules\u002Fadvantage"," — and the full text\nopens where you are. Every one of them lives in the\n",[98,182,184],{"href":183},"\u002Fwiki\u002Frules-glossary","Rules Glossary",", so the wiki pages can explain how the\npieces fit together without restating what each piece is.",[10,187,188,191,192,196,197,196,201,205,206,210],{},[47,189,190],{},"Anything the database holds in full is linked, not copied."," The\n",[98,193,195],{"href":194},"\u002Fdb\u002Fclasses","classes",", ",[98,198,200],{"href":199},"\u002Fdb\u002Fspecies","species",[98,202,204],{"href":203},"\u002Fdb\u002Fspells","spells"," and\n",[98,207,209],{"href":208},"\u002Fdb\u002Fmonsters","monsters"," have their own pages, with the real numbers on them.",[10,212,213],{},[47,214,215],{},"Where to go next:",[217,218,219,226,233,240],"ul",{},[220,221,222,225],"li",{},[98,223,224],{"href":100},"Playing the Game"," — how a session actually runs, from\nthe rhythm of a scene to how a fight is resolved. Read this one first.",[220,227,228,232],{},[98,229,231],{"href":230},"\u002Fwiki\u002Fcreating-a-character","Creating a Character"," — the six decisions that\nmake a character, in the order that costs you the least backtracking.",[220,234,235,239],{},[98,236,238],{"href":237},"\u002Fwiki\u002Fdungeon-mastering","Dungeon Mastering"," — running the game from behind\nthe screen, from preparing a session to setting its difficulty.",[220,241,242,244],{},[98,243,184],{"href":183}," — every term, defined once.",[10,246,247],{},"If you would rather just start, make a character and read the rest as it comes\nup. That is how most people learn this game, and it works.",{"title":249,"searchDepth":250,"depth":250,"links":251},"",2,[252,253,254,255,256,257],{"id":19,"depth":250,"text":20},{"id":38,"depth":250,"text":39},{"id":73,"depth":250,"text":74},{"id":108,"depth":250,"text":109},{"id":152,"depth":250,"text":153},{"id":165,"depth":250,"text":166},"What Dungeons & Dragons actually is, what you need to play it, and how this wiki is arranged.","md",{},true,"\u002Fwiki\u002Fintroduction",{"title":5,"description":258},"wiki\u002F2.introduction","xe93DMa6qb-zi1uaaEQPJRaYn50KUKEy28bMxkwtfA8",[267],{"title":268,"path":269,"stem":270,"children":271},"Wiki","\u002Fwiki","wiki\u002F1.index",[272,273,274,318,346,348],{"title":268,"path":269,"stem":270},{"title":5,"path":262,"stem":264},{"title":224,"path":100,"stem":275,"children":276},"wiki\u002F3.playing-the-game\u002F1.index",[277,278,282,286,290,294,298,302,306,310,314],{"title":224,"path":100,"stem":275},{"title":279,"path":280,"stem":281},"Damage and Healing","\u002Fwiki\u002Fplaying-the-game\u002Fdamage-and-healing","wiki\u002F3.playing-the-game\u002F10.damage-and-healing",{"title":283,"path":284,"stem":285},"Conditions","\u002Fwiki\u002Fplaying-the-game\u002Fconditions","wiki\u002F3.playing-the-game\u002F11.conditions",{"title":287,"path":288,"stem":289},"Rhythm of Play","\u002Fwiki\u002Fplaying-the-game\u002Frhythm-of-play","wiki\u002F3.playing-the-game\u002F2.rhythm-of-play",{"title":291,"path":292,"stem":293},"The Six Abilities","\u002Fwiki\u002Fplaying-the-game\u002Fthe-six-abilities","wiki\u002F3.playing-the-game\u002F3.the-six-abilities",{"title":295,"path":296,"stem":297},"D20 Tests","\u002Fwiki\u002Fplaying-the-game\u002Fd20-tests","wiki\u002F3.playing-the-game\u002F4.d20-tests",{"title":299,"path":300,"stem":301},"Proficiency","\u002Fwiki\u002Fplaying-the-game\u002Fproficiency","wiki\u002F3.playing-the-game\u002F5.proficiency",{"title":303,"path":304,"stem":305},"Actions","\u002Fwiki\u002Fplaying-the-game\u002Factions","wiki\u002F3.playing-the-game\u002F6.actions",{"title":307,"path":308,"stem":309},"Social Interaction","\u002Fwiki\u002Fplaying-the-game\u002Fsocial-interaction","wiki\u002F3.playing-the-game\u002F7.social-interaction",{"title":311,"path":312,"stem":313},"Exploration","\u002Fwiki\u002Fplaying-the-game\u002Fexploration","wiki\u002F3.playing-the-game\u002F8.exploration",{"title":315,"path":316,"stem":317},"Combat","\u002Fwiki\u002Fplaying-the-game\u002Fcombat","wiki\u002F3.playing-the-game\u002F9.combat",{"title":231,"path":230,"stem":319,"children":320},"wiki\u002F4.creating-a-character\u002F1.index",[321,322,326,330,334,338,342],{"title":231,"path":230,"stem":319},{"title":323,"path":324,"stem":325},"Choosing a Class","\u002Fwiki\u002Fcreating-a-character\u002Fchoosing-a-class","wiki\u002F4.creating-a-character\u002F2.choosing-a-class",{"title":327,"path":328,"stem":329},"Origin","\u002Fwiki\u002Fcreating-a-character\u002Forigin","wiki\u002F4.creating-a-character\u002F3.origin",{"title":331,"path":332,"stem":333},"Ability Scores","\u002Fwiki\u002Fcreating-a-character\u002Fability-scores","wiki\u002F4.creating-a-character\u002F4.ability-scores",{"title":335,"path":336,"stem":337},"Alignment and Details","\u002Fwiki\u002Fcreating-a-character\u002Falignment","wiki\u002F4.creating-a-character\u002F5.alignment",{"title":339,"path":340,"stem":341},"Equipment","\u002Fwiki\u002Fcreating-a-character\u002Fequipment","wiki\u002F4.creating-a-character\u002F6.equipment",{"title":343,"path":344,"stem":345},"Beyond Level 1","\u002Fwiki\u002Fcreating-a-character\u002Fbeyond-level-1","wiki\u002F4.creating-a-character\u002F7.beyond-level-1",{"title":184,"path":183,"stem":347},"wiki\u002F5.rules-glossary",{"title":238,"path":237,"stem":349,"children":350},"wiki\u002F6.dungeon-mastering\u002F1.index",[351,352,356,360,364,368,372,376],{"title":238,"path":237,"stem":349},{"title":353,"path":354,"stem":355},"Running the Game","\u002Fwiki\u002Fdungeon-mastering\u002Frunning-the-game","wiki\u002F6.dungeon-mastering\u002F2.running-the-game",{"title":357,"path":358,"stem":359},"Preparing a Session","\u002Fwiki\u002Fdungeon-mastering\u002Fpreparing-a-session","wiki\u002F6.dungeon-mastering\u002F3.preparing-a-session",{"title":361,"path":362,"stem":363},"Setting Difficulty","\u002Fwiki\u002Fdungeon-mastering\u002Fsetting-difficulty","wiki\u002F6.dungeon-mastering\u002F4.setting-difficulty",{"title":365,"path":366,"stem":367},"Building an Encounter","\u002Fwiki\u002Fdungeon-mastering\u002Fbuilding-an-encounter","wiki\u002F6.dungeon-mastering\u002F5.building-an-encounter",{"title":369,"path":370,"stem":371},"Running a Combat","\u002Fwiki\u002Fdungeon-mastering\u002Frunning-a-combat","wiki\u002F6.dungeon-mastering\u002F6.running-a-combat",{"title":373,"path":374,"stem":375},"Between Scenes","\u002Fwiki\u002Fdungeon-mastering\u002Fbetween-scenes","wiki\u002F6.dungeon-mastering\u002F7.between-scenes",{"title":377,"path":378,"stem":379},"Rewards","\u002Fwiki\u002Fdungeon-mastering\u002Frewards","wiki\u002F6.dungeon-mastering\u002F8.rewards",1767225600000]