Getting into Dungeons & Dragons by Allen Jin

Off the back of hit shows like Stranger Things and Critical Role, the name Dungeons & Dragons has entered the vocabulary of pretty much everyone who has any knowledge of games or pop culture, and is only growing more popular as Hasbro continues to grow the D&D brand with new content and other media such as the upcoming feature film Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves. But what on Earth is Dungeons & Dragons?

Dungeons & Dragons originated in the 1970s, and was derived from miniature wargames. It differentiated itself from traditional wargaming by allowing players to control single characters, rather than entire armies. The latest edition of D&D, 5th Edition, is the most streamlined version of D&D yet, and is widely regarded as the most accessible and popular tabletop roleplaying game in the world.

What I like to tell people is that D&D is playing pretend for grown ups. Yes, just like when we were in primary school, assuming the identities of superheroes, characters in our favourite tv shows, or simply just playing “house”. D&D is a roleplaying game, where players imagine they are fantastic characters going on adventures together, fighting monsters, exploring strange worlds, gathering treasure, with virtually no limit to what your characters can say or do.

Memories from D&D games FEEL like real memories, and will both strengthen and create friendship groups. It’s social, creative, and great for team-building, exercising problem-solving skills, and learning how to manage schedules! Isn’t that leagues better than wasting away in front of a screen getting frustrated at your worsening win/loss ratio in your online videogame of choice?

D&D, unlike most tabletop games, doesn’t have a win condition, players aren’t trying to reach a single end goal. Instead, think of it like collaborative storytelling, where the “win” comes from all the players and the Dungeon Master working together to create a memorable and satisfying story from their in-game experiences.

The Dungeon Master is the one player that “runs the game”, they set the scene, control everything and everyone the player characters face, friends or foes. They provide the sandbox in which the players can do whatever they want within.

I hear you ask: so if you can do anything you want, what am I paying for? Don’t worry, D&D has plenty of rules and mechanics that facilitate and aid your imagination. Player characters usually start at a low level with limited abilities and strength, which increase as they progress throughout the game. They also follow most of their actions and decisions with dice rolls, to determine the probability and level of success they achieve, whether it’s attacking a goblin, sneaking past a guard, or haggling the price of a merchant’s wares.

Wizards of the Coast also publishes many “official adventures”, with pre-written modular campaigns that the Dungeon Master can simply run right off the page, like a grown up version of a choose-your-own adventure book.

Dungeons & Dragons is of course a fantasy game, based heavily on several sources of fantasy fiction including but not limited to the works of Tolkien (Lord of the Rings), Robert E. Howard (Conan the Barbarian) and others. Elements such as elves, orcs, demons and wizards often are pulled right off the pages of those influences. If you’re a fan of Game of Thrones, The Witcher, or The Elder Scrolls, then you’ll know exactly what kind of settings you’re in for.

“So where do I start? What do I need?”. The beauty of D&D is that you can run it with as little as a pen and paper and some dice, just as I did back in high school when I couldn’t afford the books. But nowadays, the introductory price of D&D isn’t too bad at all.

There are a number of Starter Sets that include the basic rules needed to play a number of pre-generated characters, as well as a pre-written adventure. They’ll also usually include dice which are the most important tool in the game other than your imagination.

The Dragons of Stormwreck Isle Starter Set includes 5 pre-generated characters and includes an adventure which will take those characters from levels 1 to 3.

The D&D Essentials Kit contains an adventure called the Dragon of Icespire Peak, rules to generate characters from levels 1-6, and six blank character sheets. This is ideal if your players want to make their own characters right off the bat. It also contains additional accessories to take the hassle of note taking away from your players, including magic item cards, quest cards, and even handy initiative tracker cards for encounters.

If you’re ready to immerse yourself in D&D 5th edition in its entirety, then the Player’s Handbook is a must-have. This includes all the rules of the game, character options from levels 1-20, including 9 player races, 12 character classes, 362 spells, as well as armour, weapon options and gear!

Take the initiative and roll for initiative! Start your D&D journey at Hobbyco.

About Allen

I started at Hobbyco in late 2021 as a retail assistant, and currently I’m mainly operating at the Hobbyco headquarters, creating and managing content for our social media! My speciality is tabletop games, mainly Dungeons & Dragons (though I’m branching out with games like Cyberpunk Red). Although since starting at Hobbyco, I’ve been bitten by the Gunpla bug and have enjoyed snapping up many a Gundam kit.

Though I’ve never watched a single episode of any of the Gundam anime series, I adore the hobby for its satisfying building experience, and being able to simply collect and build what I think looks cool.

My favourite “Gundam” is the RB-79 Ball, never underestimate the Ball! Such a fun and charming design, plus the MG Ver Ka. is a thing of beauty. 

I started playing D&D in high school, when I was around 14 years old, and have been playing with a number of different groups over a multitude of campaigns ever since. Although when we don’t have the time for D&D, I love having board games nights as well. My favourite board game is Codenames, though I also enjoy Mysterium, Wingspan, and classics like Rummikub.

My favourite game that I’ve gotten from Hobbyco is Skull, a super simple and quick bluffing game that I’ve introduced to many people who have all fallen in love with it.

If you ever want to chat D&D or have any questions, shoot me an email at allen@hobbyco.com.au