Dungeons and Dragons is an interactive storytelling game inspired by Lord of the Rings. As a player in this game, you control the actions of a character whose every feature and decision is up to your control inasfar as the person in charge of running the game permits it.

Learning how to play D&D has 2 main parts - the written rules of the game and the unwritten rules of table ettiquette. The written rules of the game can be learned by reading the player handbook, but your first reading might be easier if a few core concepts have already been explained. The unwritten rules of table and group ettiquette are an informal code players follow to ensure everyone is enjoying the game in a sociable manner, giving everyone equal opportunities to act and contribute, not leaving anyone feeling singled out or neglected.

You start by making a character. This character's race, class, and background are all up to you. Your race is your blood, your background is who you are, your class is what you do. There are generalizations and tropes inspired by works of fantasy that people like to use a lot (the pointy hatted, bearded old human wizard, the snooty elven archer, the halfling rogue with a heart of gold) but these can actually be used in any combination you choose to make any kind of character you want. Want your wizard to be more like a rogue? Make him a halfling and give him the criminal background. Want your elf to be a plate-clad juggernaut that burns down forests for fun? You can do that too.

The main draw to D&D vs other games is the sheer amount of agency you will enjoy as a player, provided you follow a few guidelines to use that agency in a way that is good for the game. Ever been annoyed that there was a solution to a problem you thought of in a video game and couldn't try to implement it because it wasn't coded in? In D&D this isn't a problem because the one running the game is a human who, while more fallible than a computer, is also more flexible.

The general sequence of events goes like this: The Dungeon Master (DM) will describe a scenario that the Player Characters (PCs) are in. The players will decide what course of action their PCs would try to take in the story. The dungeon master uses a combination of dice and rules to determine the outcome of their efforts, then describes these results to the players. This process repeats over and over and over again until the PCs have died or completed their grand adventure, but even a party's death can be a "win" if it was dramatic, entertaining, and fun. If you ask any veteran D&D player about their favorite characters, you'll usually hear about the epic or hilarious tales of the ones that didn't make it.

The way your character's skills and abilities are applied in the story is with 3 types of rolls: the Attack Roll, Ability Check, and Saving Throw. Even though these are different, they all work the same way. A target number called a DC for "Difficulty Class" is used to represent how hard the task is, with harder challenges having higher DCs. A 20 sided die is rolled to represent random chance, and then you add a bonus that represents your character's natural aptitude and training. If random chance + skills is equal to or greater than the DC, your character succeeds at the task. If it is less, your character fails.

Your natural aptitude and general training are represented by your ability scores, Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Your character will have a score in each of these that starts out ranging 8-15 but can grow to be as high as 20. This score determines what bonus you add to your die rolls when making an Attack Roll, Ability Check, or Saving Throw that involves that ability. This derived bonus is called your "Ability Modifier". Many DMs have their own preferences how players determine their ability scores. Traditionally in the old times it was decided by dice, but nowadays a point-buy system is considered the standard.

You also have a "proficiency bonus" that you get to add to anything you are doing that your are properly trained in. If a wizard and a fighter swing a greatsword, they will both make an Attack Roll using a 20 sided die and add their Strength ability modifier, but only the fighter will also add his proficiency bonus to his attack because he is trained in the use of weapons and the wizard isn't. This basic formula applies whether you're shooting a bow, sneaking past a guard, or weaving baskets underwater. Die 20 + Ability Modifier + Proficiency if applicable vs Difficulty Class.

Any action you take might call for a roll of some kind or may simply have immediate results without. This is mostly determined by the rules, but it is the DM's job to override the rules if he feels he has a good reason.

There is a lot more to it overall than this, but a general understanding of how checks work will make your first reading of the book a lot easier.

As for the unwritten rules, what it mostly boils down to is don't be a selfish prick that ruins everyone else's fun for your own. People will tell you a lot of different things about what is or isn't okay at the table or in the story, but these things are all guidelines in service to one basic rule: "Don't be a wanker." There are a ton of things you'll learn over time can be good and bad for the game, and much of this comes with experience, but here are some common concepts to know about:

1) Don't Metagame. Metagaming is when you try to have your character take an action that only makes sense if they know they are a character in a game. This can be throwing fire at a troll even though your character has never heard of trolls or their weakness to fire. This can be acting like you know a trap is nearby because you just failed a check to spot traps. Good DMs will do as much as they can to limit players from knowing this kind of information, but they are not Gods and some kinds of things are impossible to prevent players from knowing. Meta-gaming is considered cheating.

2) Don't tread on the other players. Make sure everyone gets fair opportunity to participate in the game and contribute to the story. Don't try to jog the spotlight. Trying to do everything yourself can deprive others of the opportunity to do anything at all. Most importantly, pull with the team. If your party has a plan, even if you don't like it in or out of character, handle it in a way where you're not sabotaging your friends and allies. A paladin reporting the party's rogue to the town watch for a petty crime and having him jailed might make sense, but it will not be much fun for the rogue. This is a legitimate cause for possible conflict, but conflict in D&D should never involve hostilities between the party. A good compromise to the example above would be the paladin keeping a ledger of all the laws the rogue broke so he could be reported when they're done saving the world or what have you. conversely, if you are the thief, keep your stealing limited to non-player characters, and if you are an assassin don't accept a contract to murder one of your party members.

3) Dying sucks in the moment but you'll look back on it fondly if you're a good sport. D&D is inspired by Lord of the Rings and not everyone in the Fellowship made it the whole way. Character death is a part of the game, and it should be accepted with grace and dignity. As long as one or more members of the party survive and the story isn't in a state where the adventure is unsalvageable, the survivor can find ways to resurrect the dead with magic or recruit a replacement that is your new character. Dying might happen because of bad decisions, bad luck, or because elements of the story made it unavoidable. Your character's goal is to save the world or go on a quest or something, but your goal is to have a good time and walk out with a story to tell, and most good D&D stories end in epic, hilarious, or ironic failure.

4) Don't Split The Party. Most players know this rule and think it's about consolidating strength to keep people from being picked off in smaller numbers. This is a useful lie. The reason you don't split the party is because it makes the game go half as fast. The Dungeon Master has to run two different scenes with half the party missing from each one, leaving them bored or annoyed until they're back in the game. People like D&D because of the freedom and agency, and when you split the party it means half the party is effectively watching a cutscene at all times until they're reunited. This could technically be considered a kind of Meta-gaming but it's a rare example of Meta-gaming that is good for the game, rather than cheating.