How to Play

The Dungeons & Dragons game features many worlds filled with magic, monsters, brave warriors, and spectacular adventures. Rooted in medieval fantasy, these worlds incorporate unique creatures, places, and magic. All D&D worlds exist within a vast multiverse, connected in mysterious ways to other planes like the Elemental Plane of Fire and the Infinite Depths of the Abyss. This multiverse contains a variety of worlds, including official settings, along with countless others created by players. You can even design your own world.

While these worlds share common traits, each has its own history, cultures, monsters, and geography. Races may have unique traits; for example, halflings in Dark Sun are jungle-dwelling cannibals, while Eberron features warforged—living soldiers created for war. Your Dungeon Master (DM) may choose a published world for the campaign or create one themselves. Due to the diversity among D&D worlds, check with your DM regarding any house rules that may affect your gameplay. Ultimately, the DM is the authority on the campaign and its setting.

The Dungeons & Dragons game consists of a group of characters embarking on an adventure presented by the Dungeon Master (DM). Each character brings unique capabilities to the adventure, including ability scores, skills, class features, racial traits, equipment, and magic items. Every character is different, with various strengths and weaknesses, making a balanced party essential for overcoming challenges. Cooperation among adventurers is crucial for successfully completing the adventure.

An adventure features a fantastic setting—such as an underground dungeon, crumbling castle, wilderness, or bustling city—and includes a rich cast of characters, both player-controlled adventurers and nonplayer characters (NPCs). NPCs may serve as patrons, allies, enemies, or background figures, with one often acting as a villain whose agenda drives much of the action.

Throughout their journey, characters encounter various creatures, objects, and situations. They may engage in combat, converse with creatures or magical objects, or solve puzzles and obstacles. Adventurers also explore the world, making decisions about their path and actions.

Adventures vary in length and complexity. A short adventure might take a single session to complete, while a long one can involve numerous challenges across multiple sessions. Typically, the end of an adventure is marked by the adventurers returning to civilization to rest and enjoy their rewards. Each adventure can be seen as an episode in a larger campaign, which consists of a series of interconnected adventures followed by the same group of characters.

This book is divided into seven chapters.

Chapter 1 details basic rules for D&D. It also provides guidance you will need to make the character you’ll play in the game.

Chapter 2 is a detailed list of all the races you can choose from while creating your character. This will include subraces, which are permutations on a general race design, and even some sub-subraces!

Chapter 3 is a deep dive into the many classes that you can play as during your adventure. Each has a detailed description of each subclass which will add even more variety to your gameplay.

Chapter 4 describes all of the backgrounds your character can come from.

Chapter 5 talks about everything to do with equipment such as weapons, armor, and adventuring gear. You will look at this more often than you think.

Chapter 6 goes over all of the rulings that will be used when playing a campaign with this book. You should read through this as it goes into detail about how things work specifically. It takes the best ideas and decisions from all D&D content. You’re welcome.

Chapter 7 will describe Spellcasting and the rules surrounding it. You will also have access to a full spell list.

The play of the Dungeons & Dragons game unfolds according to this basic pattern:

The DM Describes the Environment The Dungeon Master (DM) tells the players where their adventurers are and what’s around them, presenting the basic scope of options available (such as how many doors lead out of a room, what’s on a table, who’s in the tavern, etc.).

The Players Describe Their Actions Players then describe what they want to do. Sometimes one player speaks for the whole party, saying something like, “We’ll take the east door.” Other times, different adventurers might engage in separate actions: one might search a treasure chest while another examines an esoteric symbol on a wall, and a third keeps watch for monsters. The players don’t need to take turns, but the DM listens to every player and decides how to resolve those actions. Sometimes, resolving a task is straightforward. If an adventurer wants to walk across a room and open a door, the DM might simply say that the door opens and describe what lies beyond. However, the door could be locked, the floor might conceal a deadly trap, or some other circumstance might complicate the task. In those cases, the DM determines what happens, often relying on the roll of a die to decide the outcome of an action.

The DM Narrates the Results After the players take action, the DM narrates the results. This description often leads to another decision point, bringing the flow of the game right back to step 1. This pattern holds whether the adventurers are cautiously exploring a ruin, conversing with a devious prince, or engaged in mortal combat against a mighty dragon. In certain situations, particularly during combat, the action is more structured, and players (and the DM) take turns choosing and resolving actions. However, most of the time, play is fluid and flexible, adapting to the circumstances of the adventure. Much of the adventure takes place in the imagination of the players and the DM, relying on the DM’s verbal descriptions to set the scene. Some DMs like to use music, art, or recorded sound effects to enhance the mood, and many players and DMs adopt different voices for the various adventurers, monsters, and characters they portray. Occasionally, a DM might lay out a map and use tokens or miniature figures to represent each creature involved in a scene, helping players keep track of their positions.

The game uses polyhedral dice with different numbers of sides, which can be found in game stores and many bookstores. The different dice are referred to by the letter "d" followed by the number of sides: d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20. For instance, a d6 is a six-sided die (the typical cube used in many games). Percentile dice, or d100, work differently. You generate a number between 1 and 100 by rolling two different ten-sided dice numbered from 0 to 9. One die (designated before you roll) provides the tens digit, while the other provides the ones digit. For example, rolling a 7 and a 1 results in a total of 71. Two 0s represent 100. Some ten-sided dice are numbered in tens (00, 10, 20, etc.), making it easier to distinguish between the tens and ones digits. In this case, a roll of 70 and 1 gives 71, while 00 and 0 gives 100.

When you need to roll dice, the rules specify how many dice of a certain type to roll and what modifiers to add. For example, “3d8 + 5” means you roll three eight-sided dice, add the results together, and then add 5 to the total. The same notation applies to expressions like “1d3” and “1d2.” To simulate a roll of 1d3, roll a d6 and divide the number rolled by 2 (rounding up). To simulate a roll of 1d2, roll any die and assign a 1 or 2 to the result depending on whether it was odd or even. Alternatively, if the number rolled exceeds half the number of sides on the die, it counts as a 2.

Does an adventurer’s sword swing hurt a dragon, or does it just bounce off its iron-hard scales? Will the ogre believe an outrageous bluff? Can a character swim across a raging river? Can a character avoid the main blast of a fireball, or do they take full damage from the blaze? In cases where the outcome of an action is uncertain, the Dungeons & Dragons game relies on rolls of a 20-sided die, or d20, to determine success or failure.

Every character and monster in the game has capabilities defined by six ability scores: Strength (STR), Dexterity (DEX), Constitution (CON), Intelligence (INT), Wisdom (WIS), and Charisma (CHA). These scores typically range from 3 to 18 for most adventurers, although monsters might have scores as low as 1 or as high as 30. These ability scores, along with the ability modifiers derived from them, form the basis for almost every d20 roll that a player makes on a character’s or monster’s behalf.

Ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws are the three main types of d20 rolls, forming the core of the game’s rules. All three follow these simple steps:

Roll the die and add a modifier. Roll a d20 and add the relevant modifier. This is typically the modifier derived from one of the six ability scores, and it sometimes includes a proficiency bonus to reflect a character’s particular skill.

Apply circumstantial bonuses and penalties. A class feature, a spell, a particular circumstance, or some other effect might provide a bonus or penalty to the check.

Compare the total to a target number. If the total equals or exceeds the target number, the ability check, attack roll, or saving throw is a success. Otherwise, it’s a failure. The DM usually determines target numbers and informs players whether their ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws succeed or fail.

The target number for an ability check or a saving throw is called a Difficulty Class (DC), while the target number for an attack roll is called an Armor Class (AC). This simple rule governs the resolution of most tasks in D&D play. Whenever you divide a number in the game, round down if you end up with a fraction, even if the fraction is one-half or greater.

Sometimes an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw is modified by special situations called advantage and disadvantage. Advantage reflects the positive circumstances surrounding a d20 roll, while disadvantage reflects the opposite. When you have either advantage or disadvantage, you roll a second d20 when making the roll. Use the higher of the two rolls if you have advantage, and use the lower roll if you have disadvantage.

For example, if you have disadvantage and roll a 17 and a 5, you would use the 5. If you have advantage and roll those numbers, you would use the 17.

There are three types of dice rolls we have talked about using a d20 in this chapter; Ability Checks, Attack rolls, and Saving throws. This section will explain what all of those are, how they work, and what to add to them. Ability Checks, Attack Rolls, and Saving Throws all fall under the umbrella term: D20 test.

Every character belongs to a race, one of the many intelligent humanoid species in the D&D world. The most common player character races are dwarves, elves, halflings, and humans, with some races having subraces, such as mountain dwarf or wood elf. Chapter 2 provides more information about these races, as well as the less widespread dragonborn, gnomes, half-elves, half-orcs, tieflings and much, much more.

The race you choose significantly contributes to your character’s identity by establishing a general appearance and granting natural talents from culture and ancestry. Each race provides specific racial traits, such as special senses, proficiency with certain weapons or tools, proficiency in one or more skills, or the ability to cast minor spells. These traits often align with certain class capabilities (see step 2). For example, the traits of lightfoot halflings make them exceptional rogues, while high elves tend to excel as powerful wizards. However, playing against type can also be enjoyable—half-orc paladins and mountain dwarf wizards, for instance, can create memorable characters.

Additionally, your race increases one or more of your ability scores, which you will determine in step 3. Be sure to note these increases and apply them later. Record the traits granted by your race on your character sheet, including your starting languages and base speed.

Every adventurer is a member of a class. Class broadly describes a character's vocation, what special talents he or she possesses, and the tactics he or she is most likely to employ when exploring a dungeon, fighting monsters, or engaging in a tense negotiation. The character classes are described in chapter 3.

Your character receives a number of benefits from your choice of class. Many of these benefits are class features—capabilities (including spellcasting) that set your character apart from members of other classes. You also gain a number of proficiencies: armor, weapons, skills, saving throws, and sometimes tools. Your proficiencies define many of the things your character can do particularly well, from using certain weapons to telling a convincing lie. On your character sheet, record all the features that your class gives you at 1st level.

For classes other than Melee types, go to the following link:

Player's Handbook Classes

Much of what your character does in the game depends on their six abilities: STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, and CHA. Each ability has a score, a number you record on your character sheet.

To generate your character's six ability scores, roll four six-sided dice (d6), discard the lowest roll, and add the total of the remaining three dice. Repeat this process five more times to generate six numbers. If you prefer not to roll or want to save time, you can use the standard set of scores: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8. Assign these six numbers to your character’s abilities—STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, and CHA—based on what best suits the character you have in mind. Afterward, adjust your scores based on the bonuses provided by your chosen race.

Once your scores are final, determine each ability’s modifier using the following table. Alternatively, calculate the modifier by subtracting 10 from the score and dividing by 2 (rounding down). Record the modifiers alongside the corresponding ability scores on your character sheet.

Once you know the basic game aspects of your character, it’s time to flesh them out as a person. Your character needs a name. Spend a few minutes thinking about what they look like and how they behave in general terms.

Using the information in Chapter 4, you can flesh out your character’s physical appearance and personality traits. Choose your character’s alignment (the moral compass that guides their decisions) and ideals. Chapter 4 also helps you identify the things your character holds most dear, called bonds, and the flaws that could one day undermine them.

Your character’s background describes where they came from, their original occupation, and their place in the D&D world. A background gives your character a feature (a general benefit), proficiency in two skills, and may also grant additional languages or tool proficiencies. Record this information, along with the personality details you develop, on your character sheet.

There are many ways to play a character, choosing an alignment helps you make decisions in many situations that come up. Dungeons and Dragons as a whole leans towards mostly good heroes but feel free to discuss with your Dungeon Master if another alignment is suitable for the adventure.

Alignments broadly describe ethical attitudes and ideals. It is a combination of the morality (Good, Evil, or Neutral) and the attitude towards order (Lawful, Chaotic, or Neutral) that all sentient beings have in Dungeons and Dragons.

Races all have an innate alignment that should be thoughtfully considered when putting together a character.

Lawful Good (LG): They try to do the right thing as expected by society. They fight for justice and protect the innocent without hesitation.

Neutral Good (NG): They do the best they can. They work within the rules but are not bound by them. They are kind and help others.

Chaotic Good (CG): They act as their conscious directs with little regard for the expectations of others. They are a rebel who uses their means to fulfill the greatest good they can.

Lawful Neutral (LN): They act in accordance to law, tradition, or personal codes. They are someone who follows a disciplined way of life and isn’t swayed by the demands of others whether it be to help or be tempted into acts of evil.

Neutral (N): They prefer to avoid moral questions and they do not take sides and simply do what they think is best at the time.

Chaotic Neutral (CN): They follow their whims and value their personal freedom above all else. They prefer to live on their own wits and merits.

Lawful Evil (LE): They methodically take what they want within the limits of their traditions, codes, or order.

Neutral Evil (NE): They are untroubled by the harm they cause as they pursue their desires.

Chaotic Evil (CE): They act with arbitrary violence, spurred with their hatred or bloodlust.

Your class and background determine your character's starting equipment, including weapons, armor, and other adventuring gear. Record this equipment on your character sheet. All such items are detailed in Chapter 5.

Instead of using the gear provided by your class and background, you can purchase your starting equipment. Your class determines the amount of gold pieces (gp) you have to spend, as shown in Chapter 5. That chapter also includes extensive equipment lists with prices. If you like, you can also choose one trinket at no cost (see the trinket table at the end of Chapter 5).

Most D&D characters don’t work alone. Each character plays a role within a party, a group of adventurers working together for a common purpose. Teamwork and cooperation greatly improve your party’s chances to survive the many perils in the worlds of Dungeons & Dragons. Talk to your fellow players and your DM to decide whether your characters know one another, how they met, and what sorts of quests the group might undertake.

As your character goes on adventures and overcomes challenges, they show their merit and experience. When the DM determines that merit has reached a threshold, perhaps after completing the first major part of a quest, your character advances in capability. This advancement is called gaining a level. When your character gains a level, their class often grants additional features, as detailed in the class description. Some of these features allow you to increase your ability scores—either increasing two scores by 1 each or increasing one score by 2. You can’t increase an ability score above 20. Additionally, every character’s proficiency bonus increases at certain levels.

Each time you gain a level, you gain one additional Hit Die. Roll that Hit Die, add your CON modifier to the roll, and add that total to your hit point maximum. Alternatively, you can use the fixed value shown in your class entry, which is the average result of the die roll (rounded up). When your CON modifier increases by 1, your hit point maximum increases by 1 for each level you have attained.

Tiers of Play The following illustrates the four tiers of play. These tiers don’t have specific rules associated with them but provide a general description of how the play experience changes as characters gain levels.

First Tier (Levels 1–4): Characters are apprentice adventurers, learning the features that define their classes, including major choices such as a wizard’s Arcane Tradition or a fighter’s Martial Archetype. They face relatively minor threats, often endangering local farmsteads or villages. Some DMs joke that this is the survival horror portion of your adventuring life as you are quite weak at this point, but don’t listen to them.

Second Tier (Levels 5–10): Characters come into their own. Spellcasters gain access to 3rd-level spells like fireball and lightning bolt, crossing a new threshold of magical power. Weapon users gain the ability to make multiple attacks in one round. These adventurers face dangers threatening cities and kingdoms. These levels are where adventures tend to spend a lot of their time.

Third Tier (Levels 11–16): Characters achieve power that sets them above the ordinary populace. At 11th level, spellcasters gain access to 6th-level spells with previously impossible effects. Other classes gain features that make them even more formidable. These heroes often confront threats to entire regions or continents. This is approaching upper tier play and many DMs will keep players in this range and it makes for more fun and engaging play.

Fourth Tier (Levels 17–20): Characters reach the pinnacle of their class features, becoming heroic (or villainous) archetypes. Their adventures might decide the fate of the world or the multiverse. These levels can often be tedious as there is so much you have to keep track of, so they are generally kept for players who have some experience under their belt.

Any spell with a casting time of an action or 1 minute or longer and is cast using a spell slot can be used as a Circle Spell. The spell still follows the usual rule for spellcasting.

A Circle Spell has a primary caster. The spell’s primary caster determines the spell’s targets, maintains concentration, provides the spell’s components, expends the spell slot for the spell, and decides any other options noted in the spell’s descriptions. The spell originates from the primary caster.

To cast a Circle Spell the primary caster takes the Magic action. When they do so they choose which Circle casting options they are using for the casting and must meet any requirements described in the option. Until the Circle Spell’s casting is complete, the primary caster must maintain concentration on the spell.

Any reaction to the casting of a spell such as the casting of the spell Counterspell also triggers at this time.

Casting a Circle Spell requires two or more casters. Secondary spellcasters must have the Spellcasting feature or Pact Magic feature. After initiating the spell, each secondary spellcaster takes a Magic action. Secondary casters take this action before the start of the primary caster’s next turn and must be within 30 ft of the primary caster.

If the spell has a casting time of an action, the Circle Spell’s effects occur immediately after the secondary casters take the required action. The primary caster chooses the order of the secondary casters.

If the spell has a casting time of one minute or more, the primary and secondary casters must take the Magic action on each of their turns for the entire casting time and the primary caster must maintain concentration for the entire duration.

If a Circle Spell fails, nothing happens. The spell slot is not expended, and any material components are not consumed. The entire process must be started over.

You can use one Circle casting option at a time. If a spell has a “Casting as a Circle Spell” option, you can choose that option instead.

When you cast a spell with a range of at least 5 ft, you can increase the range of the spell by up to 1,000 ft per secondary caster up to a distance of one mile.

When you cast a spell that requires Concentration, you can disturbed the mental load among the primary and secondary casters. Once the casting is complete, all casters that participated maintain Concentration on the spell. As long as one of the participants is maintaining Concentration on the spell, the spell’s effects remain active.

When you cast a spell with an area of effect, you can increase the dimension of the spell’s area by 10 ft per secondary caster. For example, if the spell’s area of effect is a 20 ft radius sphere with two secondary casters the radius of the sphere is increased to 40 ft. A spell that creates a line that is 5 ft wide and 300 ft long with two secondary casters is either 25 ft wide or 320 ft long.

Each secondary spellcaster must expand a spell spell (No action required). If the spell fails, these spell slots are not expended.

When you cast a spell with a duration of 1 minute or longer, you can increase the duration of the spell depending on the number of secondary casters.

Each secondary spellcaster must expand a spell spell (No action required). If the spell fails, these spell slots are not expended.

When you cast a spell with an area of effect, you carve out a safe zone within the area of effect that is unaffected by the spell for the spell’s duration. This safe zone is a number of 5x5 ft cubes equal to the primary caster’s spellcasting ability modifier + the number of secondary spellcasters. You can arrange the cubes as you like, but each cube must be contiguous with at least one other cube.

If the spell’s area of effect can be moved, the safe zone moves along with it.

When you cast a spell that requires at least one Material component with a specified cost that is consumed by the spell, you can reduce the minimum cost of one such Material component by 50 gp per secondary spellcaster. For example, casting Revivify with two secondary spellcasters would reduce the Material component to 200 gp.

Each secondary spellcaster must expand a spell spell greater than or equal to the spell’s level (No action required). If the spell fails, these spell slots are not expended.