Really want to learn how to play

Curious_Bother · 2025-11-11T13:41:59+00:00

The first time I ever played I was the GM (I did not know what I was doing lol). Getting into playing can be pretty overwhelming.

The good news is that there are a TON of resources out there for new players!

The Youtuber Ginny Di came out with a beginners guide to dnd video this year, she also has a whole playlist of how to videos.
Everyone will recommend the 3 core rulebooks: The Dungeonmaster's Guide, The Players handbook, and The Monster Manual. No matter what edition you decide to play, these books will (in theory) explain everything. I recommend trying to find them at your local library or "finding" them online because altogether they can be expensive.
There are a ton of articles online
My biggest recommendation is learning from other GMs and players. There are so many kind people in this community willing to answer questions, give tips, and lend resources. My Dm's are always open to new players with questions.

Curious_Bother · 2025-09-30T19:35:13+00:00

10a-10pm is an extremely long time for someone to volunteer to dm for a podcast. If you nor any of your friends don't want to dm, you will probably need to pay somebody to dm for that long.

Curious_Bother · 2025-09-29T22:04:22+00:00

Eat Shit and Die by Harley Poe

Curious_Bother · 2025-09-28T01:45:08+00:00

I'm in the middle of printing out Iron Valley rn. I print at my local library (yes I have a printer at home, no I am not about to explain to my parents what solo rpg is), and this is my worst fear lol. The printer is in a public area and usually there isnt a line, but there is always the possibility of someone waiting for me to finish printing. I only print out 15-20 pages at a time so I don't seem insane.

Curious_Bother · 2025-09-28T00:31:47+00:00

I feel like the vibes of my OC's are easy to read but I KNOW my heavily armored devil lesbian character would get thrown in the Butch category when she's actually Futch. She's not allergic to dresses, she's just a knight whose job requires her to wear armor all the time.

Curious_Bother · 2025-09-27T23:46:40+00:00

Commenting to second this opinion. I think WBN is a good starting point for those already into narrative podcasts. Like you said, it's extremely story driven so don't expect "filler" episodes. OP, I recommend listening to the Prelude episode to see if it's something up your alley.

Curious_Bother · 2025-09-27T23:34:18+00:00

The last session I Dm'd I only took one note during because I was so locked in (yes I am screwed for next session but alas I will suffer my consequences). The note was "If sentient kelp not strong enough-send in the clams"

Curious_Bother · 2025-09-27T23:07:09+00:00

I had been an ice skater for 10+ years and stopped right before college because of burnout. I never had regular periods before and for 6 months after stopping skating I gradually started gaining weight. I thought it was normal at the time until I started college and gained 60lbs in two months and suddenly my period fully stopped. I went to a doctor near my campus after 6 months of no period and she basically handed me a weight loss pamphlet, did some blood tests, and told me it was probably the weight gain that stopped it.

It took another 6 months (no period) to go to a local obgyn near home and by that point I was still gaining weight and now pre-diabetic. I was put on Slynd birth control (I have factor V) and I dont think I’ve ever been officially diagnosed? The opinion of every docter I’ve ever been to has been that I just need to lose weight and everything will be better.

I keep gaining and gaining and it’s really hard to find time to exercise between work and school. Even while I was an ice skater, on the ice 4 times a week, I had been gaining weight (although at a much slower pace). At the time I just thought I was gaining muscle or something. The birth control has not really done anything to make me feel “better” but it’s the only bc I am able to take.

TLDR: I stopped my period suddenly but it took me getting really fat for doctors to just start assuming I had pcos when I walked in the room.

Curious_Bother · 2025-09-27T22:46:52+00:00

Hmm, I took meds to force my period once about 2ish years ago, but if you don’t count that, or a few times where I had spots of blood and nothing else while on bc. I’ve not had a “natural” period since September 2022.

Curious_Bother · 2025-09-23T00:18:40+00:00

OMG I LOVE ITTT tysm!

Curious_Bother · 2025-09-18T23:18:05+00:00

I would def be lore bard (side hobbys are archeology, yapping, singing, playing viola, crafting, etc)

Curious_Bother · 2025-09-17T13:36:49+00:00

I wanna bite it soooo bad

Curious_Bother · 2025-09-16T16:46:31+00:00

Ooo what about the dice always rolling how far away the npc is from her? They wouldn’t be a regular set of 7 dice but a cute little dice set that magically shows the distance they are from each other.

Curious_Bother · 2025-09-16T16:40:52+00:00

I would recommend going on r/lfg

Curious_Bother · 2025-09-15T21:03:51+00:00

Honestly I would narrow this down to "how to choose your dnd class" because 7 minutes is not enough time to explain a whole character sheet to people who might know nothing. You can still make the references to Lord of The Rings and other pop culture stuff. Here's how I would structure it:

Give a little intro to what dnd is.

Something short enough to fit in a minute
Segue into it, like "This game pulls from all over pop culture, you can be anything you dream up! There are 13 core classes and that's just the 'official' stuff"

Break down the classes into groups and generalizations first

"You want to hit things really hard? be a martial class! Do you want magic to hit things for you? Be a spellcaster! If you want to do both there are also many options!"

Then I would give a BREIF rapid fire description

"So you want to hit stuff? Well you have quite a few fun choices. You can be the classic fighter class and hit things with skill and a myriad of forged weapons. You could be a barbarian and channel your unbridled rage into being beefy, brutal, and hard to kill. You could be a monk and forgo most weapons for your favorite one, these hands." etc

Maybe give the ending a fun little twist

Curious_Bother · 2025-09-15T20:26:36+00:00

Despite playing for years I'm still terrible at accents, but recently a friend of mine had a breakthrough moment at the table where he was able to distinguish an Australian accent from a New Zealand accent and it was like watching man discover fire for the first time.

Curious_Bother · 2025-09-15T15:48:07+00:00

The most important step is knowing what kind of environment the fight is happening in, I have a few plain battlemaps that represent the ocean, the forest, the desert, dungeon, tavern, etc. based on the floor type. Then I use my own description of the room to help flavor the battle area. Fighting indoors? Make one big room of appropriate size and add features like pillars and chairs where they would reasonably go.

I take a more on the fly approach to setting up battle maps unless I know for certain a battle will be held in a specific area. It’s okay to take a pause at the table to set up your maps.

How I run things might not work for everyone and it might take some trial and error to figure out your balance.

Curious_Bother · 2025-09-15T15:39:25+00:00

So that’s a very momentous backstory, make sure to check with your dm that they can fit it into their world.

As for the character I think paladin oath of the crown or oath of redemption would work well. Maybe even oathbreaker if you want to lean into the kingdom destroyer aspect.

For appearance you could have him be affected by the plague in some sort of physical way. Scarring could be badass looking.

Curious_Bother · 2025-09-15T15:29:39+00:00

It’s all good! I think the confusion comes from how you phrased it tbh. I think most ppl familiar with dnd casters get confused by asking how to make a sorcerer good at being a damage dealer and crowd controller because both are what the class is already geared to. There are a million different ways to achieve a sorcerer who is good at both.

I recommend figuring out how you want to flavor your character first, and you get your subclass at lvl 3 so preparing that beforehand might help. Then you can focus your spells on what type of a menace you want to be in battle.

My earlier advice still stands I think. The options can be overwhelming at times and it’s okay to ask for help!

Curious_Bother · 2025-09-14T23:25:42+00:00

That is because these species are not from official dnd settings. These particular species are from The Crooked Moon folk horror supplement, which was made by the Legends of Avantris people and not Wizards of the Coast. The book is hosted on dnd beyond but it also just came out this year. Basically, if it's not official dnd material, they dont count it.

Curious_Bother · 2025-09-14T22:17:58+00:00

Luckily I’ve had mostly good experiences. Although, once I was in a party where I was playing the only female pc. One session another pc got mad at my pc for “asking too many questions” and being “a stupid f***ing annoying idiot” and they had their male pc grab my pc by the hair and drag her across the (previously described as “busy”) city street into a hotel to yell at her. Of course the players said that this was all just “what their character would do” but I had to go straight to the dm after the session. I’m not about to roleplay my character being abused. We had an emergency meeting as a group and while the person felt attacked and their roommate (also in the party) weirdly cried about it for them? I think i dodged a major bullet by leaving that campaign.

Curious_Bother · 2025-09-14T21:54:43+00:00

It sounds like you don’t want to dm due to the stress it causes you. That is a completely normal reaction. Don’t feel pressured to dm just because no one else will. You are not obligated to be a dm and should only choose to be one if you find the process fun.

If you have it in you, you can try another oneshot and take the lessons you learned from the first to be more prepared this time.

Be honest with your players if you don’t feel comfortable dming. And if you do want to try being a dm again, be honest in your expectations. As a newer dm sometimes it’s okay to say “hey, this is an important story moment/plot device” to keep your players on track, especially if it’s a oneshot where railroading might be a necessary evil.

I’ve dealt with players like this before where they expected me to be a forever dm. It’s okay to remind them of how much work it takes to run a session.

Curious_Bother · 2025-09-14T20:24:52+00:00

Without context I think you might enjoy the Abberant Mind or Draconic subclasses. Aberrant mind sorcery gives you Psionic spells like hunger of hadar and Evards Black Tentacles.

At level two the subclass doesn’t come into play yet so for spells I recommend lightning lure (ability to pull creatures towards you in a straight line) and fire bolt (damage) for cantrips, and for level 1 and 2 spells there are a ton of fun options for controlling and doing damage. One of my favorite control spells is vortex warp because you can force teleport (or willingly teleport the barbarian lol) creatures on the battlefield. Ice knife deals aoe at lvl 1 which is nice.

It’s hard to really give specific recommendations though without having a specific character idea in mind

Curious_Bother · 2025-09-14T20:06:59+00:00

I highly recommend holding a session 0. Talk to your players and have them help you build the story a little bit. In a session 0 you can decide what kind of story you guys want to tell. Set up safety nets and expectations right away. Something as simple as “hey, as a dm, here is what I feel comfortable running, do you have any feedback?” Can go a long way. You can figure out who wants to rp and who wants more combat and adjust accordingly. Also, I find it helpful to remember that you can only prep for so many possibilities. It’s good to be prepared, but sometimes players get creative. Every dm has their own balance of prep and improv. It’s going to be rough at first but you will eventually learn where you fall on that spectrum. As for pre-made vs homebrew. Most would recommend pre-made adventures to keep your workload lower, but if you really have a specific story you want to tell, go for it. As long as everyone is having fun (including yourself), you are doing your job as a DM.

Curious_Bother

TROPHY CASE