Valerie
Like you, I am a (barely-not) brand new player – and also love DMing! I started this site to help you get a sense for D&D and hopefully get hooked, too!
The 7 Best Gifts for Dungeon Masters – Keep Your DM Happy and Avoid the TPK!
There is perhaps no more important player in Dungeons & Dragons than the Dungeon Master. If you don't have a DM, you have no game. But finding a good DM can be hard – and there's a pretty big investment necessary to get all of the things a DM needs to run a good session (much less a good campaign)...
11 Things Every Dungeon Master Needs to Play D&D
Dungeons & Dragons is a collaborative game, but there's one person at the table who is more important than the rest: the Dungeon Master (sometimes called the Game Master). The DM is pivotal because they are the linchpin for every session: they set the stage, create the world, encourage the players, play the foils and non-player characters, and just allow the players to do their thing. Without the DM, there is no game – at least in Dungeons & Dragons anyway...
Investigation vs Perception: Which D&D Check to Make
One of the coolest mechanics in Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) is rolling the dice for just about everything. From determining the order of play – rolling initiative – to determining whether a random encounter happens, both players and Dungeon Masters (DMs) roll lots during each and every session of gameplay...
Starting Equipment vs Starting Gold: Which One to Pick for Your Players
As the Dungeon Master (DM), you have lots of decisions to make – I mean, literally millions – over the course of a Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) campaign. If you're brand new to DMing, you also have to make a lot of decisions before the first dice is rolled. One such important decision relates to how your players set up their characters: should they have starting equipment or starting gold?...
Firbolg Name Generator: How to Create Your Firbolg Character’s Name
Creating a character for Dungeons & Dragons is always fun – it gives you the chance to start fresh, and try something new. Whether you’re designing your first D&D character or setting up one for your next campaign, an important part of your character is their name: it gives other characters and NPCs a sense of your nature and history right off the bat...
XP vs Milestone Progression: How to Advance Your D&D Party
Whether you're brand new to Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) or you've been playing for years, you've probably thought about it: how do characters level up? Leveling up – or progression – is an important part of every game, from TTRPGs to video games...
D&D Scheduling: 8 Tips to Get Everyone to the Table
It's so common that it's a joke: playing Dungeons & Dragons is great fun, but finding a schedule to get everyone at the table regularly kills all the joy. As D&D is a game that requires regular planning and coordination between players and the Dungeon Master (DM), it's important to have a schedule of sessions that's frequent enough that everyone remembers where they are in the game and what they want to do next – or roll attempt to do...
The 7 Best Dice for Artificers in D&D: Interesting Sets for Innovators
While not part of the original list of classes in the Players Handbook, Artificers are one of the most fun classes that were added in later Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks. For several years now, players have loved using the Artificer class to combine magic and technology to unlock new stories in their D&D campaigns...
D&D Point Buy: How Does it Work & Why Do It?
Character creation is one of the most exciting parts of an early campaign; before you even sit down to roll your first initiative, you need to create a character you're excited to play. There are lots of considerations: race, class, and abilities among them. While most people roll to determine their skills and abilities, there's actually another way to do it, called point buy...
How to Choose the Race & Class of Your First D&D Character
Choosing the right race and class is an important decision when creating your first character in Dungeons & Dragons; it's critical to getting started playing D&D. Each race and class has unique traits and abilities that can influence gameplay and enhance the overall experience. You might wonder, then: what is the best race and class for your first D&D character?...
