D&D Rules for Beginners: A Simple Guide

Welcome to the engine room of Dungeons & Dragons. The rules of D&D can seem like a mountain, but they’re really just a handful of simple concepts that build on each other. Their purpose isn’t to restrict you; it’s to provide a shared framework for a game of limitless possibilities. This guide will walk you through the absolute essentials you need to understand to play your first game.

The Core Mechanic: The Mighty d20

If D&D has a heart, it's the 20-sided die, or d20. Almost every action your character takes where the outcome is uncertain is resolved by rolling this die. Want to swing your sword at a goblin? Roll a d20. Try to persuade a stubborn guard? Roll a d20. Attempt to leap across a chasm? You get the idea.

When you declare an action, the Dungeon Master (DM) will often ask for an ability check, an attack roll, or a saving throw. In all three cases, the process is the same. You can find the official rules on this in the D&D Beyond Basic Rules.

The Universal Formula: d20 roll + ability modifier + proficiency bonus (if applicable)

Your goal is to meet or beat a target number. For an ability check, this is the Difficulty Class (DC) set by the DM. A DC 10 task is considered 'Easy', while a DC 20 is 'Hard'. For an attack roll, you're trying to meet or beat the target's Armor Class (AC).

The Magic Numbers: Natural 20s and Natural 1s

Sometimes, fate intervenes. If you roll a 20 on the die itself (a "nat 20"), it's an automatic success on an attack roll, often with a dramatic flair described by your DM. In many games, it's also treated as a "critical success" on ability checks. Conversely, rolling a 1 (a "nat 1") is an automatic failure on an attack roll, often leading to a comical or unfortunate misstep. These moments of pure chance are what make D&D so unpredictable and exciting.

Decoding Your Character Sheet

Your character sheet is your hero's dashboard. It can look like a tax form at first, but it's logically organized. Let's focus on the absolute must-knows:

• Six Core Abilities: Strength (STR), Dexterity (DEX), Constitution (CON), Intelligence (INT), Wisdom (WIS), and Charisma (CHA). These are your raw capabilities. Each has a score (e.g., 16) and a modifier (e.g., +3). The modifier is the number you'll actually add to your d20 rolls.
• Hit Points (HP): Think of this as your health or stamina. When it drops to zero, your character is knocked unconscious and is in danger of dying!
• Armor Class (AC): This is the number an enemy has to beat with their d20 attack roll to hit you. A higher AC means you're harder to wound.
• Skills: These are specific applications of your abilities. For instance, sneaking around is a Dexterity (Stealth) check. If your character is "proficient" in a skill, you get to add a special Proficiency Bonus to your d20 roll, making you significantly better at that task.

The Three Pillars of Adventure

A typical D&D session is a mix of three core activities, which you can read about in the official rules:

1. Exploration: This is everything that involves moving through the world. It’s traveling across a fantasy landscape, navigating the twisting corridors of a dungeon, finding hidden clues, and overcoming environmental obstacles like traps or locked doors.
2. Social Interaction: This is the roleplaying heart of the game. It involves talking to the non-player characters (NPCs) that the DM portrays. Through social interaction, you'll gather quests, negotiate treaties, bluff your way past guards, and make friends or enemies that shape the story.
3. Combat: When words fail and swords are drawn, the game shifts into a more structured, turn-based mode. Combat is where your character's martial prowess, magical abilities, and tactical thinking are put to the test.

Combat 101: What You Can Do on Your Turn

Combat is fast-paced, but it follows a clear structure. On your turn, you can do a few key things. You can find a full list of options in the Actions in Combat section on D&D Beyond.

• Action: This is your main activity for the turn. The most common action is the Attack action, but you can also Cast a Spell, Dash (to double your movement), or Dodge (to make yourself harder to hit).
• Move: You can move up to your character's speed. You can break up your movement, moving before and after your action.
• Bonus Action: Some classes and spells give you an extra, quicker thing you can do on your turn. If you don't have a specific feature that grants a bonus action, you don't get one. It’s an extra, not a given.

You also have one Reaction per round, which you can use on someone else's turn, but only if a specific trigger allows it. The most common reaction is an opportunity attack—if an enemy moves out of your reach, you get to make a free swing at them!