Watched Stranger Things? Here’s How to Start Playing D&D!

The Stranger Things TV show did an amazing job illustrating why D&D is an amazing game. This post is for the person who has never played, or who hasn’t played in a long time, and how they can start playing D&D.

Why D&D is Awesome

Stranger Things shows off many of the reasons why D&D is an incredible game and hobby. It brings friends together in ways that are rare today – face to face, huge excitement over a single die roll, collaborating and solving situations together, stepping out of our everyday lives, exercising our creative sides, and with no devices (unless you choose to use digital tools or to play online).

D&D can be a casual game. But it also can be so much more. Bonds are created between friends as we learn to trust one another and weave stories today. The Dungeon Master (DM) gets to create a world and paint scenes, to which the players add depth and developments. Together, players and DM have a blast telling a collaborative story, while rolling dice and seeing what fate has in store.

Unlike many games, D&D is complex. This is a good thing, because you don’t play it once or even for a few years and finish the game. The game continues to reward everyone over time and everyone keeps finding new ways to hone skills and create an even more amazing experience year after year. While D&D is rated for ages 12 and up, it can be great for many kids earlier than that, helping to start a love for reading, math, creativity, problem solving, history, and many other disciplines.

Should it be helpful, you can find a video version of this blog post here.

Okay, so how do we get started? Here are five ways:

1) Your Friends and a Starter Set

If you have like-minded friends, including coworkers or classmates, you can jump right in. One person buys the most recent D&D Starter Set and you start playing (see my videos on the Heroes of the Borderlands Starter Set, starting here). The set even allows you to take turns being the DM, so everyone can try out that role.

2) Find a Local Party

If you don’t have quite enough friends, you can find groups already active in the area and join them. Local stores may run games there, or have a signup area to find other area gamers. Wizards of the Coast has a store locator. Store events are excellent because they can help you get started with an experienced DM and players who will make learning easy. In some areas, games may be organized in schools, cafes, libraries, book shops, or other public spaces. Online places, such as the D&D Discord server, often have a “Looking for Group” area where you can seek out gamers. Web sites such as Match.RPG.Net are set up to help you find people in your area.

In the rare event your area has no current locations running games, you can often work with a store or public location to organize a game. I used to travel for work and would routinely find a place that would gladly host a game. Then I began recruiting players with their help. It does take a few weeks to land three or more players, but it is well worth it!

3) Online Games

In very low population areas, or if you prefer being online, online games are an option. The easiest way to get started online is to join the highly organized Virtual D&D Weekends run by Baldman Games. These games run once a month, for a fee, and feature amazing DMs who do this all the time. The DMs are very new person friendly, with several types of games offered. You can also find games on Match.RPG.Net, StartPlaying, Demiplane, and similar sites.

4) Hire a Pro DM

Hiring a professional DM provides you with an expert who excels at running games for a group. They can teach you the game and build a campaign around your preferences. Professional DMs often have an account on StartPlaying, where they may run periodic online games. You can also contact them there or on their personal website to find if they travel or where they may run games locally. The cost, when divided among all the players, is very reasonable for the awesome time you will have.

Pro DMs are fantastic. I provided links to a few I know in the information section of my video.

5) Attending Conventions

Most large urban areas in the US will have one or more small local conventions each year. There are also large national conventions, such as Gen Con, Origins, and the various Comic Cons and PAX conventions. In between are medium longstanding conventions such as Winter Fantasy, Gamehole Con, PAGE, and many others.

Small local conventions can be great ways to learn D&D and meet gamers in your area. They can also be something fun you do each year, providing you with inspiration you can take back to your homegame. Larger conventions can be overwhelming, and expensive, but also a ton of fun. I looked at the cost of large conventions I attend here.

Conventions may offer continued play in the form of organized play programs such as Adventurers League. These programs let you drop in and play an adventure (part 1) and at any later time play the next adventure (part 2) even if it’s with different DMs and players. Your character continues to advance, gaining levels and treasure and exploring more of the story.

Learning the Rules

A great way to learn is to play with someone who already knows the game, such as at a local store. You can also watch people play at a public location or online, though usually this helps when you already have read through the rules.

Starter Sets will have a short version of the rules, making it easier to read through the most vital parts of the rules, including how to run a game and make a character. The newest D&D Player’s Handbook and Dungeon Master’s Guide books have many more pages, but also have specific sections that show examples of play to help you see how the rules play at the table. The Stranger Things: Welcome to the Hellfire Club boxed set also has these kinds of examples for newer players.

If you are anxious about playing or DMing for the first time, take some comfort in knowing that all great players began this way and no one expects perfection even from highly experienced DMs. The rules are complex, but they are guidelines and what is most important is having a great time. At experienced tables, when someone doesn’t know a rule we usually make a quick ruling and look up how it works later. Perfection isn’t the goal. And players recognize the value of the DM – the person running the game is facilitating the fun. Players are almost always very patient with a new DM because of this. Our hobby is awesome because we continuously get better and can always learn from someone else.

There are also some official resources on D&D Beyond’s site, including How to Play D&D and the free Basic Rules.

As you build expertise, seek out additional information. My blog covers all sorts of topics and each week my friend Shawn Merwin and I explore news and RPG topics on the Mastering Dungeons podcast (also on YouTube).

Which Adventures to Start With?

The Heroes of the Borderlands Starter Set really is a fantastic way to start. That’s why I spent several videos helping you run it! This set really captures the magic of D&D, using a special type of character board to help you learn the game.

The Stranger Things Welcome to the Hellfire Club boxed set is also excellent, and will remind you of several parts of the first few seasons. This set uses pregenerated character sheets based on the heroes the kids play in the show, though you could make your own.

There are older starter sets, though they use a slightly older version of the 5E rules. You can also find anthologies, which bring together a bunch of adventures into one book. The most recent is Dragon Delves, collecting several dragon-themed adventures. Or, you could run a mega-adventure, where the entire hardback book is a single campaign spanning multiple levels. In an upcoming video I will review the different anthology and hardback campaign options. It’s also worth noting that there are third party products that provide adventures as well, though most are not for beginners.

If you want to create your own campaign, as the kids on Stranger Things do, you can take a published adventure and pull out pieces you like, or simply use the rules to completely make up your own. A technique I suggest for new players and DMs is to create a 5-Room Dungeon using the process I describe here, making it easy to learn a part of the character sheet and the game at a time.

Jump In and Pass it on

There is never a better time to start playing D&D than right now. Jump in and don’t worry about getting the rules right. This is an era of perhaps too much information, but all you really need is a few friends, dice, and paper. And, perhaps, a bit of patience as you all figure it out. The reward will be a lifetime of fun.

Don’t forget to pass it on. Just as on the show, Lucas’ sister Erica inherits D&D and Mike’s sister Holly starts a new campaign as the older kids head to college, it’s important to keep teaching new generations, to share resources, and to bring new friends into our awesome hobby. Enjoy.