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ELI5: The rules of D&D (latte.isnot.coffee)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

17 comments fedilink hide all child comments

My friends and I want to start a campaign. We don't know the ruling for the game. We are waiting for our official book to come in so we can start our first session. Can anyone explain in a simplistic manner the rules for D&D? Classes and Races we will review ourselves. Just want to know the basics.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Players say what they want to do. DM tells them to roll dice. DM tells them what happens depending on the dice roll.

[–] annegreen 1 points 1 year ago

This is truly the core resolution mechanic for DnD.

I tell my players who are new that there are only 2 things they can do: 1) ask me clarifying questions, and 2) describe what they want their character to do. That’s literally the game.

Everything beyond that is determined by the dice (more or less). Whenever an outcome is certain, it just happens. For example, no roll should be necessary for a character to just walk up the stairs. But if a character wants to scale a cliff wall in a torrential rain, then they’re going to roll to see if they actually accomplished their task. A vast majority of the time, these “can you do it?” questions are resolved by rolling a twenty-sided die, or a d20. As the DM, you generally decide what the players need to roll to succeed - the DC. An easy task would have a low DC, while a difficult task would have a high DC. If characters are proficient in related skills, they get to add bonus numbers to their rolls, making it more likely for them to succeed.

I truly believe that’s all you need to start playing the game. From there, the rules just work on establishing a consistent and balanced way of deciding judging actions. How hard is it to hit you? That’s your AC. How many times can you get hit before you go down? That’s your hit points. How hard can you hit others? That’s your attack modifier. How often can you do something cool to turn the tide of a battle? That’s your class abilities.

@[email protected] feel free to PM me if you want more help, and have fun!