Can someone "explain like I'm 5" what D&D is?

Statistic gaming when you play from a child to godhood. With a large bunch of reference material for those curious for more.

@RedDeerGuy1 can you answer the other questions?

Are you required to have people to play with, or can you play alone? What do I have to look out for as a total beginner?

@Mimishu1995 The video games can be played alone. You can read the novels for fun alone. The novels stick to core rulebooks. So every book read immerses one even deeper into a living story.

I played chess, and Dungeons & Dragons, by myself and was fun. It was a bit pathetic, but I was desperate. Mostly I just read the reference material for another fun tool in my recovery from mental illness.

I am now into reading GURPS rule books, for fun, and guide to life. It and Dungeons & Dragons are another tool into managing my day to day life.

@RedDeerGuy1 There’s nothing wrong with playing alone. In some cases you have to play alone when there is no one around who is interested enough or understand what game it is like in my case.

So how do you choose your character? And how does things like character sheet works?

@Mimishu1995 I find it is fun to do a ~120 multiple choice 10 minute Free test.
What Kind of D&D Character Would You Be?
You can go the quiz for fun, selecting the quiz for what your imaginary character would be; Or you can pick yourself and learn about your self.

If you are interested, you can watch YouTube videos on D&D character selection. To play the table top game you need to buy something called the “Players Handbook” From 1st – 5th edition. The new ones cost around $50. First edition is rare and very expensive.

@Mimishu1995 After buying the Players Handbook, you need to find a DM, or Dungeon Master to referee the game. The DM should have the DM’s handbook and who runs the game. 3 -6 people are idea for playing with a DM .

So what exactly is D&D?
It is a roleplaying game where you pick a fictional character that can be human, orc, elf, etc. You can roll dice to decide stats such as Charisma, Intelligence, and others. There are set rules but it depends on if you are playing classic D&D or a variation.

As for how character creation works, its totally up to you. You pick the race, the backstory, etc. Usually stats are rolled with dice. If you are following classic D&D, there are races already that you can pick from I think.

In simple terms: You pick the character and backstory, you roll dice for stats, and you roleplay as that character.

Are you required to have people to play with, or can you play alone?
Video games can be alone. Classic D&D is in a group.

What do I have to look out for as a total beginner?
I don’t know what you mean. Every group has variations. Some follow the D&D storyline, some make up their own.

My explanation sucks. It’s hard to ELI5 this
1. Make a character. Give it a name, a race, and a class. Race as in orc, elf, human. Class as in mage, cleric, wizard.

2. Roll dice for stats. That’s determined by the game master and how they want to run it.

3. The game master has it planned out. They are the narrator. You go through situations as your character. What would your character do if confronted by a pack of wolves? Stuff like that

@SergeantQueen Thank you. At least your answers are much clearer than @RedDeerGuy1 :P

Make a character. Give it a name, a race, and a class. Race as in orc, elf, human. Class as in mage, cleric, wizard.

So for example, the case of my link specifically, they have a list of characters to choose from. But I read the handbook and they say something like pick a nation and stuff for the character. So do I have to choose the characters in the list or can I just make up one myself?

Roll dice for stats. That’s determined by the game master and how they want to run it.

Where do you get the dice? Do they have a specific dice for D&D, or do I just need a regular dice?

The game master has it planned out. They are the narrator. You go through situations as your character. What would your character do if confronted by a pack of wolves? Stuff like that

So is there a possibility of two different game masters having two different scenario for the same game? For example: again, my link specifically, let’s say we have two game masters. One has a story about the characters fighting the Bunker Hill battle and everyone is losing. The other has a story about Washington’s secret operation on the Delaware river and everyone has to cross the river while not having eaten for 3 days. Is that allowed?

And also I notice some stuff in the character’s sheet like number of bullets and attack point. How do they function in a game?

It is like “cops and robbers” or “cowboys and indians” that little children used to play, but by nerds sitting in a basement around a table, pretending to be wizards, elves, and other fantasy creatures.
Almost like furries in colourful fursuits getting it on in a hotel room after their furry convention, except without the sex.

I played it for a while back in the 90s with a group, not as a video. I think it is more fun that way. We each had a character with certain attributes and characteristics and went on fantasy adventures determined by the D&D Master and gained or lost attributes depending on the actions you chose. Characters were similar in some ways to those in Lord of the Rings – elves, dwarves, thieves, wizards, etc.

Playing an RPG by yourself is entirely possible, but uncommon and not what the rulebooks assume.

One actual person would do everything, doing everything the Gamemaster and the players do, and pretending not to have access to the information that would normally be unknown to a player.

The term for doing that is generally “solitaire roleplaying”, and there are various blogs by people suggesting ways and resources for that, such as this one: https://www.storytellerscircle.com/threads/solitaire-role-playing.630/

Another common way people enjoy role-playing games alone, is simply to read the books.

Oh, there are also “programmed adventures” which are like “choose your own adventure” books, which are designed to let you play an adventure without a human Gamemaster (and so are easier to play solo, and a great way to get started and learn how the games are played), but there might not be any for this particular flavor you’re interested in.

I would imagine there are online communities where you could participate via Zoom/Skype/Facetime etc. These games are meant to be played with other people (that’s kind of the whole point). If you’re not into the Tolkienesque inspired fantasy universe of D&D, there are many other tabletop RPGs out there spanning all kinds of fantasy realms. There’s Battletech for example if you’re into Mechs. It seems you’ve found one you’re interested in.

If you’re interested in tabletop gaming I would encourage you to check out some videos from Critical Role. Normal D&D campaigns can take hundreds of hours and over years and they have several on their YouTube channel. What’s great about Critical Role is they have legit actors (that you may recognize) playing out the campaign. There are also “one-shot” campaigns designed to be played out over a short duration as a one-time story instead of a long-term campaign. Watching one might give you a feel for how a tabletop RPG plays out. Here’s a playlist of some one-shot campaigns.

In the 80s we born again Christians thought it was the debil’s game!

@Dutchess_III Yes! My mom would have freaked if she knew I played. Once we had a D&D house party with a Wiccan coven haha! Wasn’t anything different than playing with my hs friends.

Mimishu

1) Yes you can make it up, or you can choose from the list. All depends on how the GM or game master wants it.

2) There are dice for D&D. D20 is a 20 sided die, D12 is 12 sided, so on. I think there is only d6, d8, d12, and d20? Again, amount of sides depends on game master and what they want the amount used for or your stats. Example: based on your stats, you may be able to roll a d20 for attacks, meaning you can do up to 20pts in damage. But you may only be able to roll a d12 for defense, meaning you can potentially defend against 12 points.

3) Yes, two people can run a game very different. You don’t have to follow any book, you can make up your own story. However, typically one person runs a campaign and that person stays with it until the end.

To elaborate on dice:

Someone has a d12 for attack, you have a d6 for defense. They roll an 11, you roll a 5. I believe then you would only get hit with 6 points of damage

It doesn’t need to be fantasy. I am in one game that is reenacted D-day and the Allied counterattck on the Germans.

@SergeantQueen That’s not exactly how it works but your concepts are correct.

@Caravan That sounds more fun!

That’s exactly how it works in simple terms yes. There’s obviously a lot more to it, but that’s the basics

@SergeantQueen I’m curious what edition of D&D you play.

@KNOWITALL I’m also in a game where we are playing in San Francisco in 1849 during the Gold Rush, another in modern day 1990s in the Bay Area tracking down supernatural threats. I run a zombie apocalypse game, a horror Dracula-inspired game, and an underground fantasy game. My favorite game is one where my character is a kung fu panda.

@Caravanfan Wow, they all sound amazing but the Gold Rush?! Cool.

@KNOWITALL yeah, in that game my character is a Clint Eastwood inspired gunslinger.

Do they have an Oregon Trail DnD? Like where everybody dies? :)

@Caravanfan and I thought my game was weird… :P I used to stumble upon a rulebook for a film-noir D&D, but at that time I didn’t know what D&D is so I just tossed it aside :(

@KNOWITALL I’m really curious how you played back then. Did the game span for several days or did you all stay until you finished the game? What kind of game did you play? And also why was your mom against it? :P

Her mom was against because she was a Christian. We were brainwashed to think kids were acting out DnD debil things in real life and killing people.

@Mimishu1995 When I played it, we met once a week for a few hours and played the same story line.

And also I seem to notice something odd: this character page has a “difficulty” level for the character. What’s with all of that? So if I’m a beginner I can’t choose a moderate character? Aren’t you supposed to choose whoever you like?

@Mimishu1995 “What’s with all of that? So if I’m a beginner I can’t choose a moderate character? Aren’t you supposed to choose whoever you like?”

I’d imagine you can choose whoever you want. It’s just going to be more challenging for you. Perhaps his armor and hit points are lower than alternative choices, but he’s probably got other advantages that make him stronger in those roles.

@Mimishu1995 Generally the GM will have you start at 1st level, but sometimes I have people start at second because first level characters die easily. The GM runs the game, sets up the situations and the combat and you gain experience. Once you go over a threshold then you “level up” and get more abilities.

In terms of “choosing whatever you like” that is correct. You can do anything that is within the rules or what the GM will allow.

So like Pokemon, D&D battles use character stats and probabilities to determine outcomes. But characters in D&D are created by the players instead of by the company and the GM sets the storyline.

@RocketGuy Just to expand on your great description, the biggest difference between tabletop and something like a video game RPG is creativity. If you want to try to smuggle yourself past the guards in a barrel, you may have to roll a stealth check, but in a video game, it’s simply not an option unless the developers explicitly anticipated this approach and coded it in. You’ve got freedom to achieve whatever goals you want (you still have to roll skill checks and the like) and aren’t restricted by a set of pre-defined options that the developers created for you. There’s no “invisible walls.”

@gorillapaws In my games I allow stuff like that all the time. Basically if it’s hilarious I’ll allow it.

@Caravanfan Just goes to show. . .docs are human, too! >8^)

@RocketGuy I have never played Pokemon cards, only the video game. So I have knowledge of stats and stuff, just not how they operate outside of video games :)

I’m amazed how many people here are knowledgeable about D&D. I thought it was just a niche thing for a few people. And sounds like everyone had fun with it.

@Mimishu We usually just played all day, casually. The Wiccans took it more seriously and had a table full in multiple rooms, some dressed up.

And yes, @Durchess_III is correct. Most parents here said that ouija or D&D, anything ‘not of God’ opens the door to the Devil. I never watched a true horror film in my mother’s home, to this day.

Nowadays I play way more often than I used to. In the covid before times I’d play only at gathering of friends (we’d call them Cons, whether they were conventions or not). Now I play weekly online. The individual gaming sessions are much shorter than they are in the cons (1.5 hours vs. all day) but playing every week is something I look forward to.

Last week, in my game, the heroes just broke out of jail and today they have to convince the duegar king that his consort is really a succubus who is warping his mind, while avoiding being thrown back in jail. Meanwhile, the red dragon is insane and is planning on incinerating the city.

See? Pure evil I tell ya!

@Dutchess_III Oh yes. Evil indeed. However the D&D party are forces of good battling evil. And there is evil and EEE-VILLLL. For example, the party has aligned themselves with the police chief (lawful evil and overall reasonable) against the succubus (chaotic evil and out to enslave minds)

Oooo. Like when the Evil Power Rangers tried to take over Wis.dm!

Hilarious that chaotic evil is being fought by lawful evil. She must be breaking certain significant laws.

@RocketGuy You are misunderstanding the dividing line between chaos and law, good and evil. Lawful evil characters have no use for chaotic evil characters, and will often be opposed.

For example let’s say you have an authoratarian police state that relies partially on a slave economy. The police force of this state brutally suppresses opposition to keep order. Then, the chaotic evil red dragon, who is an asshole, goes apeshit and starts randomly burning things in the city. The lawful evil police force are going to do everything they can to bring down the dragon.