What is Dungeons and Dragons?

Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) is a table-top role playing game played by a group of people. It requires a minimum of about 5 people, although the usual size of a group of people playing a session is between 6 and 8 inclusive. The game would be difficult to play with more than 8 people.

One of the players plays as the Dungeon Master (DM) and is in charge of ensuring that the gaming session is done at a good pace. The other players play as a party each controlling a character that they created and have to work as a team to complete the adventure or quest. That adventure might be a pre-created one that the DM has found for the party to play or one that the DM created himself. When the party gets into combat the DM controls the monsters.

D&D has been around for a long time in different versions or editions and every time some mechanic’s and rules have slightly changed with that editions rule books. It started with being called Dungeons & Dragons, then Advanced Dungeons & Dragons came out. After that they came out in the following order: Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition, Dungeons & Dragons v3.5, Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition and only recently they brought out Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition.

Rules and Set-up

The rules and necessary information for playing D&D is separated into 3 core rule books. The Player’s Handbook, which is all the rules those playing in the party need to be able to play the game, Dungeon Masters Guide, which contains the rules and information the DM needs to create adventures and play as the DM and the Monster Manual, which is also necessary for the DM as it contains the statistics of the monsters that the party might encounter. Along with the core rule books there are also supplement books that aren’t necessary to be able to play the game but do add extra options for the party players and the DM.

Along with the rule books another couple things are needed to play the game:

• A grid board that you are able to draw up representations of the battlefield to put miniatures on.
• A miniature figurine for each party member and potential monsters the party might encounter.
• A 20-sided dice (the most important dice) and other different sided dice. e.g 4-sided, 6-sided, 8-sided etc.