New Player Guide

This page summarizes some basic information and is strongly recommended for new players. Note that it does not replace talking with your DM, it is only meant to provide background and answer some common basic questions.

## How to make a new character

To ensure that it is a smooth and fun experience for all, please do the following **before** coming to your first D&D session

1. Watch this video to get a feel of what D&D is about, then download the Player's Handbook (see email).
2. Decide your class, race and name, including subrace and the first level specialization of your class (if there is any, e.g. fighting style). See Chapters 2-3 for details.
3. Come up with a name and backstory for your character. It is best to come up with an original one, but you can refer to Chapter 4 for examples/inspiration. Try to answer questions like: what was your character doing previously? Why did he/she start adventuring? Note that there is a short section about backgrounds for each class in Chapter 3 where some good questions are listed. In general you want to come up with 1-3 paragraphs worth of background. Once you have that we will try to fit that into the D&D framework of feature/ideals/bonds during the first session.
4. Find a portrait/picture for your character and send it to the DM (we don't have figurines so we will be using tokens for both your characters and monsters which can have a printed picture on them). An easy way of doing it is starting an image search like: *fantasy art dwarf cleric* or *fantasy art orc fighter*
5. Please bring a laptop (or equivalent) which you can use to look up stuff from the Players' Handbook and to roll many dice (e.g with die roller site like this).
6. Bring pencil and eraser. The DM will bring you a character sheet and dice.

If you are excited about playing D&D there are a few more things you can do to prepare:

1. Read Chapters 7-9 as they detail how the game is actually played (it takes about half an hour to read it and knowing this will make things go much faster when we play).
2. Read articles from this wiki that sound interesting, starting with the rest of this one. (Note that no one expects anyone to read the entire wiki before playing)

## Basic characteristics of our D&D world

In general this world follows the D&D 5 specifications as:

1. Gods are real and (sometimes) intervene in the life of mortals. (In D&D gods are like the gods of ancient Greek mythology: petty, flawed and almost human). Most people worship several gods, but might show special attention to one (just like in ancient Greece or Rome)
2. The world is ancient, built on the ruins of many old civilizations. Most of these ruins have been long abandoned and overtaken by Nature.
3. The world is untamed, most of the land is wild even if a kingdom claims to own it. Civilization is only present along major routes and around settlements, wild beasts and monsters roam the wilderness and barbaric tribes live in remote areas caring little for the kings and queens who claim to rule over them.
4. Magic is rare. Magic is everywhere but most people can't use it and can't afford it either (but definitely expect the rich and powerful people to make use it). Thereby adventurers are (somewhat) special to begin with.
5. The world is shaped by conflict, there is always something happening: a kingdom conquering another, a demon trying to establish a cult, a necromancer looking for immortality etc. See the short history of our world here.

### Common misconceptions

The worlds of D&D are quite unlike real life. Many make the mistake to assume that it is just like late medieval Europe (that is the base technological level, except for magic). Some common mistakes are:

1. "*I have invisibility, I can sneak into the castle and kill the king without anyone noticing*." You are not the only one who "has magic", magic is available to everyone who can afford it (kings most certainly can). There are likely several spellcasters who are tasked with protecting the king, likely by putting up magical defenses (e.g. antimagic fields).
2. "*Why are there female knights? I thought this was like the Middle Ages*." The worlds of D&D might have medieval technology, but their social development is much closer to our own (otherwise it would be super awkward to play it, people were awful in real history). There are still horrible people though, everyday discrimination and racism does exist (just as it exists now), and some regions/kingdoms might have special rules (e.g. men have little rights among drows, Dwarrowdale expelled all non-humans). Note that most societies are still feudal so noble privileges and class differences are set by law and most people don't question them (there are counterexamples, see Reaton Republic)
3. "*I will just show this random paper to the guards and claim it says I am the king's envoy*." Literacy in D&D worlds (including ours) is much higher than it was in medieval times (but lower than at present day in real life). You can assume that most peasants and unskilled workers can't read or write, but skilled workers (e.g. smith, carpenter), merchants and city dwellers often do. A random guard might be illiterate but he will surely summon his sergeant/captain who can read.
4. "*I am a cleric/paladin/etc of god X. I will attack/try to convert/burn at the stake all heretics who follow any other god*." In D&D gods are real and there are many of them. Even the most fanatical believer would not deny that other gods exist. Also, the different gods have different "domains" (just like in ancient Greece, Poseidon had the seas, Demeter was the god of harvest), so people pray to gods whose favor they currently want (although people usually have a preferred deity, just like in ancient Greece/Rome)