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D&D Basic Rules | Introduction
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The Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game is about
storytelling in worlds of swords and sorcery. It shares
elements with childhood games of make-believe. Like
those games, D&D is driven by imagination. Its about
picturing the towering castle beneath the stormy night
sky and imagining how a fantasy adventurer might react
to the challenges that scene presents.
Dungeon Master (DM):
After passing through the
craggy peaks, the road takes a sudden turn to the east
and Castle Ravenloft towers before you. Crumbling
towers of stone keep a silent watch over the approach.
They look like abandoned guardhouses. Beyond these, a
wide chasm gapes, disappearing into the deep fog below.
A lowered drawbridge spans the chasm, leading to an
arched entrance to the castle courtyard. The chains of
the drawbridge creak in the wind, their rust-eaten iron
straining with the weight. From atop the high strong
walls, stone gargoyles stare at you from hollow sockets
and grin hideously. A rotting wooden portcullis, green
with growth, hangs in the entry tunnel. Beyond this, the
main doors of Castle Ravenloft stand open, a rich warm
light spilling into the courtyard.
Phillip (playing Gareth):
I want to look at the gargoyles. I
have a feeling theyre not just statues.
Amy (playing Riva):
The drawbridge looks precarious? I
want to see how sturdy it is. Do I think we can cross it, or
is it going to collapse under our weight?
Unlike a game of make-believe, D&D gives structure to
the stories, a way of determining the consequences of the
adventurers action. Players roll dice to resolve whether
their attacks hit or miss or whether their adventurers
can scale a cliff, roll away from the strike of a magical
lightning bolt, or pull off some other dangerous task.
Anything is possible, but the dice make some outcomes
more probable than others.
Dungeon Master (DM):
OK, one at a time. Phillip,
youre looking at the gargoyles?
Phillip:
Yeah. Is there any hint they might be creatures
and not decorations?
DM:
Make an Intelligence check.
Phillip:
Does my Investigation skill apply?
DM:
Sure!
Phillip (rolling a d20):
Ugh. Seven.
DM:
They look like decorations to you. And Amy, Riva
is checking out the drawbridge?
In the
Dungeons & Dragons
game, each player
creates an adventurer (also called a character) and teams
up with other adventurers (played by friends). Working
together, the group might explore a dark dungeon, a
ruined city, a haunted castle, a lost temple deep in a
jungle, or a lava-filled cavern beneath a mysterious
mountain. The adventurers can solve puzzles, talk with
other characters, battle fantastic monsters, and discover
fabulous magic items and other treasure.
One player, however, takes on the role of the Dungeon
Master (DM), the games lead storyteller and referee. The
DM creates adventures for the characters, who navigate
its hazards and decide which paths to explore. The DM
might describe the entrance to Castle Ravenloft, and
the players decide what they want their adventurers to
do. Will they walk across the dangerously weathered
drawbridge? Tie themselves together with rope to
minimize the chance that someone will fall if the
drawbridge gives way? Or cast a spell to carry them over
the chasm?
Then the DM determines the results of the adventurers
actions and narrates what they experience. Because
the DM can improvise to react to anything the players
attempt, D&D is infinitely flexible, a
