Current Events > I'm going to my first Dungeons and Dragons game tomorrow!!

(+) Yeah! (+)

I am soo excited! I need to make a level 1 character and I'm leaning toward maybe a half elf wizard. I need to read more of the PHB bc there's just so much to it.

Do you have any tips in character creation or the game as a whole?

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Trust no one.
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Be a cleric, they're ridiculously powerful.
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Prepare your character ahead of time so you don't waste an hour of everyone's time trying to make a character up.

Be sure to make your character a dark, brooding loner who "doesn't work well with others". DM's absolutely love that, trust me.
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which edition
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Awesome man, always wanted to try it myself.

SideshowBob311 posted...

Be sure to make your character a dark, brooding loner who "doesn't work well with others". DM's absolutely love that, trust me.

I dont know the game so Im not 100% sure if I was meant to but I lold at this.
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I found this useful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53-W7ggmA6U" data-time="
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http://www.fastcharacter.com/

I tried rolling 5 characters just now and they're pretty optimized, would help you make a good one without worrying about messing up or being bad at min maxing stuff that more experienced players might be privy to.
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Basic tips:
1) Write notes. At the bare minimum, places you've been or are headed to. Basic events. Named NPCs of importance. Shopkeeper you bribed for info, yes, random guard who told you to turn back, not really. Guy you meet in a dungeon and heal up then have follow you so he can get out, definitely. Make a basic note of your interaction.
Maybe not this in depth but I had notes like this not too long ago: "Fought redcaps, rescued a dwarf they were attacking, his name was Valkheim Firebeard who we were looking for, convinced him to give us the key to Pale Keep."
2) Be considerate of the party. Don't attack an NPC just because he's suspicious, but do say "I whisper to the party that this guy seems untrustworthy". Don't run off by yourself, but if you want to take point say that you want to scout ahead and you draw your weapon as you do so.
3) Be lively and take chances. Sometimes a puzzle really can be skipped by just trying an unusual approach the DM never expected. I tried to parlay with some corrupted dryads a few weeks back and while it failed and cost 20 minutes trying to negotiate ultimately resulting in us just ambushing the dryads before they could respond, my table had no problem with me trying to avoid the bloodshed. Sometimes something stupid like "it looks dangerous so I chuck a rock at it" leads to you fighting something, maybe you would have had to regardless but it gives your team a surprise round as the creature wakes.
4) Try to figure out your move ahead of time. If there's 3 people, the first makes a move, then as the second does theirs you should be ready to make yours based off what they've done. If a target you wanted to go for falls, change it up or even just use the support action on somebody if you don't think you can get anything done that turn because you can't reach the enemies since they're flying and you're a dwarf barbarian.
5) Be descriptive when possible. "I screech back at the beast and move to attack" as you roll your dice is nice. You don't have to, but it can make some moments great. The other week I was furious at a harpy for taking my homonculus down so I walked up and did that sleeves up thing as I walked in real life, saying I get in their face and scream that I'll kill them. Then, instead of using my magic, I used my fist. Rolled a 2, so for an unarmed strike that wasn't going to hit. Then I said "ah, but I can dual wield, just with disadvantage." Still got like a 4. "I punch at them and miss... Then missed again as my anger got the better of me and I couldn't even focus."
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CarrieChan posted...

Prepare your character ahead of time so you don't waste an hour of everyone's time trying to make a character up.

Yeah that's what I am doing tonight.

It's Adventurer's League and the guy I messaged said there are also premade characters available. So i guess if i totally eff up mine I can just use one of those.

ThyCorndog posted...

which edition

I asssssuuuume 5.

gunplagirl posted...

Basic tips:

Thanks! That's basically how I envisioned myself playing. The guy said all I needed to do was show up but I'm bringing a notebook, for notes and stuff and I'm going to buy some dice for myself.

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Ok if you're playing AL I suggest finding a group of people and do a homebrew. AL is fine for meeting people but it's kinda power gamey and a lot of people don't roleplay. Plus it has a bunch of rules that restrict your character (think you can only be Evil if you're a faction agent for 2 houses and it's only Lawful Evil, can only use PHB + one other source book, gold isn't really a thing, etc).

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gunplagirlposted...

The other week I was furious at a harpy for taking my homonculus down so I walked up and did that sleeves up thing as I walked in real life, saying I get in their face and scream that I'll kill them.

This made me smile lol
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Blue_Dream87 posted...

Ok if you're playing AL I suggest finding a group of people and do a homebrew. AL is fine for meeting people but it's kinda power gamey and a lot of people don't roleplay. Plus it has a bunch of rules that restrict your character (think you can only be Evil if you're a faction agent for 2 houses and it's only Lawful Evil, can only use PHB + one other source book, gold isn't really a thing, etc).

I'm takin what i can get man lol. The game I'm attending is for level 1-6 so idk, I don't think it will be too bad.

I do have a question though a about what equipment i can choose as druid. It says:

(a) a wooden shield or (b) any simple weapon

(a) a scimitar or (b) any simple melee weapon

Does that mean I choose one a and one b, one from each? So i get either a scimitar AND a simple weapon or a shield AND a simple weapon??

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Yep, it's as written. Should go for the shield for more AC.
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Yeah if you're playing a Wizard you basically have no health. More lethal foes can kill you by literally breathing.

That said don't be afraid to invest in the more fun cantrips like Prestidigation. Stuff like that and spells like Minor Illusion adds a lot to the out-of-combat part of the game, which is a lot of the game.
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Yep got the shield. My AC is 15 if I did it right. Leather armor is 11, +2 dex mod, +2 for shield. I have 10 HP.

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Doe posted...

That said don't be afraid to invest in the more fun cantrips like Prestidigation. Stuff like that and spells like Minor Illusion adds a lot to the out-of-combat part of the game, which is a lot of the game.

I've watched some YouTube vids and they say the same thing, pretty much. I feel like I'll be a fairly creative player so versatile cantrips like that seem good

Edit because I don't want to triple post, but I'm not sure what starting weapon to get. My strength is -1. So I was thinking daggers, to throw. Except I would start with one dagger? Can I use the 5gp I get as a hermit to buy more daggers before I even start a game? It says they're 2gp each.

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Get a Finesse weapon as they allow you to use your Dex modifier instead of strength.

CarrieChan posted...

Get a Finesse weapon as they allow you to use your Dex modifier instead of strength.

Yeah but I don't want to get close to anyone D: group I'm in could be any levels between 1 and 6 so I assume monsters as well. If a level 6 monster hits me I'll probably die.

Did some reading and I can't spend money if I take my class equipment. Hmmm

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You should do what I did and play as a 6ft tall Halfing Rogue with a brain fetish who beat the shit out of an Orc with it's own arms.
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Rolling dice for starting spending money will most likely give you less to use than the value of the starting equipment you can otherwise select, and is probably not a good idea for a new player. The starting equipment is what it is for a reason.
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You say you're doing druid right? Take a quarterstaff and the Shileilegh (sp) cantrip, I believe it turns your attack mod to wisdom. Otherwise dagger is fine, or I believe it's light crossbow that's simple. You won't be up close hitting things often as a druid so it's not something to fret too much over. Pick a weapon that fits your character

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Doe posted...

Rolling dice for starting spending money will most likely give you less to use than the value of the starting equipment you can otherwise select, and is probably not a good idea for a new player. The starting equipment is what it is for a reason.

AL doesn't allow for gold rolls. IIRC you get like, treasure points and stuff for completing modules so there's really not much you can do about money

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https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules

read all of this

yeah its a lot but its super easy to digest and was really helpful when i started playing
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Doe posted...

Rolling dice for starting spending money will most likely give you less to use than the value of the starting equipment you can otherwise select, and is probably not a good idea for a new player. The starting equipment is what it is for a reason.

I decided to just take what the class gave me.

Which is good if what Blue Dream says is true about Adventurers League.

Blue_Dream87 posted...

You say you're doing druid right? Take a quarterstaff and the Shileilegh (sp) cantrip, I believe it turns your attack mod to wisdom. Otherwise dagger is fine, or I believe it's light crossbow that's simple. You won't be up close hitting things often as a druid so it's not something to fret too much over. Pick a weapon that fits your character

I was thinking this yeah. Thanks.

Also I have a question about how spells/slots work. It says I can have spells equal to my level + wis mod, which for me is 4. In the druid spell table it says at first level I have 2 level 1 slots. Does that mean I can only have use 2 spells before needing a long rest? But have 4 prepared? Why would you need more spells prepared than you can use when you can, as a druid, change spells when you long rest.

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MorbidFaithless posted...

I decided to just take what the class gave me.

Which is good if what Blue Dream says is true about Adventurers League.

I was thinking this yeah. Thanks.

Also I have a question about how spells/slots work. It says I can have spells equal to my level + wis mod, which for me is 4. In the druid spell table it says at first level I have 2 level 1 slots. Does that mean I can only have use 2 spells before needing a long rest? But have 4 prepared? Why would you need more spells prepared than you can use when you can, as a druid, change spells when you long rest.

yeah you prepare more spells than you can cast, but it means you have a pool of spells that you can choose from depending on the situation. Also there are spells that are rituals that don't spend a spell slot if you spend 10 minutes. Check the druid class and make sure they have Ritual Casting cuz I know one caster class can't use it without a feat

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as a low level wizard I would also really recommend you don't draw attention to yourself in combat. I dunno how hard your GM goes but you can easily get downed in one hit
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Blue_Dream87 posted...

yeah you prepare more spells than you can cast, but it means you have a pool of spells that you can choose from depending on the situation. Also there are spells that are rituals that don't spend a spell slot if you spend 10 minutes. Check the druid class and make sure they have Ritual Casting cuz I know one caster class can't use it without a feat

Cool thanks, that make sense. I can try to prepare by having a variety of diff spells. I've seen mention of ritual casting and spellcasting focus. I need to read more on those.

ThyCorndog posted...

as a low level wizard I would also really recommend you don't draw attention to yourself in combat. I dunno how hard your GM goes but you can easily get downed in one hit

Yeah no idea how it is going to go, so I very much intend to hang back and just support the party without drawing attention to myself.

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Blue_Dream87 posted...

Doe posted...

Rolling dice for starting spending money will most likely give you less to use than the value of the starting equipment you can otherwise select, and is probably not a good idea for a new player. The starting equipment is what it is for a reason.

AL doesn't allow for gold rolls. IIRC you get like, treasure points and stuff for completing modules so there's really not much you can do about money

Depends. I joined in the last part of the tomb of annihilation as they were entering it, so after my character died I was told to just make one and use leveled loot presumably found in the dungeon. Level 10 characters, so +1 gear for every slot was fine.

In the end, the DM was going to stop doing stuff at that game store but invited most of our table to a home game, we've been doing that since July. It's a lot nicer since we know for sure who will be there, AL scan have tables split up based on attendance and it meant we had a handful of times where there were kids with us who were well. Kids. I can't fault them for that, but it's too immature and too much energy for what I liked about the table.

Afaik it's like. Dm is in her early or mid 20s, I'm 28, one guy is in his 30s, other is probably late 30s or early 40s, and a married couple in their 40s. So nice, mature, we can joke around and make puns without derailing things, and it's the same people so there can be consistent developments and progression without a need to streamline us through the modules because we want to explore every corner.
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I'm like half an hour early lmao. No nat 1's, no nat 1's!

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Have fun TC! Best let us know how it goes

Also you get a free potion of healing for being a newbie so don't forget that

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Aah it was so fun. I healed the rogue from unconsciousness so he could pull the lever that stopped the spinning blades in the room, that he tried to run through. And I dealt the killing blow to the mimic we fought (after the barbarian and rogue whittled its health away lol).

I need to remember that if you want to try something all you have to do is ask and see what happens. The DM and other players encouraged me in that aspect which is nice.

I couldn't use the stats I rolled at home but I did that investing stat thing and I was pretty much where I was before, so that was okay.

I will def be there next week!

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MorbidFaithless posted...

Aah it was so fun. I healed the rogue from unconsciousness so he could pull the lever that stopped the spinning blades in the room, that he tried to run through. And I dealt the killing blow to the mimic we fought (after the barbarian and rogue whittled its health away lol).

I need to remember that if you want to try something all you have to do is ask and see what happens. The DM and other players encouraged me in that aspect which is nice.

I couldn't use the stats I rolled at home but I did that investing stat thing and I was pretty much where I was before, so that was okay.

I will def be there next week!

Glad you enjoyed it! Most DMs want players to have fun, so tell them what you want to do and what outcome you're aiming for. They'll work with ya on that.

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My wife works in prison and she says you would be surprised how many sex offenders play dungeons and dragons.
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Are inmates allowed to play DnD in prison
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Doe posted...

Are inmates allowed to play DnD in prison

They are and there are some organizations that donate material to prisons. It's just mainly they use spinners instead of dice

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Blue_Dream87 posted...

Glad you enjoyed it! Most DMs want players to have fun, so tell them what you want to do and what outcome you're aiming for. They'll work with ya on that.

Yeah. A few times I was like "Oh, I probably can't do x" and he was like, "well, try!"

I'm going again tonight lmao. Made another character because I think I'll be in a different group this time, with a different DM. Made a High Elf Wizard using some spells from XGE. Dndbeyond.com is so useful!


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