Mother dearest has kicked you out of your room, off your phone, off your games, off the books. Apparently you have to “be social”, “touch grass”, and “go outside”. But you know that’s hogwash. The real world is boring. You want magic, adventure, excitement. You want to delve into stories, tales of great heroes, of great villains, of the epic fights between good and evil. But alas, parental figures are to be obeyed. So what is one to do? Interact with people?
Why yes! But it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom!
Behold! I present to you Dungeons and Dragons! You may have heard of it, it is getting mildly popular with you young’uns on your ‘interwebs’.
But what is this D and D? Dungeons and Dragons is a tabletop roleplaying game where a group of people play-act through adventures in (what is usually) a fantasy world. Players play characters of their own creation, heroes or villains together in a team to journey on quests of magic and wonder. One player, known as the Dungeon Master, or DM, plays as the everything else besides the players’ main characters. The DM makes the stories and world and characters for the players to interact with. With your friends you can spin your own epic tales, express your imaginations, and have plain old fun!
“Well,” you may be asking, “that’s all well and good great and amazing J’Shuall, but doesn’t that game require very expensive books? I hear they sell for like $70 a pop! And there’s like a million of them! That sounds expensive.”
You see, incredibly accurate strawman reader, that is where the Library comes in! For I, J’Shuall of Jackanapery, Librarian Supreme, come baring the gift of knowledge! The Library contains many of these D&D books, available for free! So, dear reader, both players new and old, let me explain our collection!
Editor’s note: Interested in playing D&D, but not sure where to begin? A number of our branches host campaigns for beginners. Check out our event calendar to find your nearest session.
The Basics!
There are a lot of books released for Dungeons and Dragons, so it can be difficult to know where to start, but that is where I come in! The most important book for you to begin is the Player’s Handbook, which details the rules of the game and how to make characters. While it may seem a lot, the book clearly explains things to you, and a lot of the content is various options for you to play. This is the only book you really “need” if you are starting out.
Player’s handbook
“An essential reference for every Dungeons & Dragons roleplayer, this text contains rules for character creation and advancement, backgrounds and skills, exploration and combat, equipment, spells, and much more.” (Catalogue)
Dungeon Mastering!
If you are lucky, you may already have friends who play DnD, and may be able to join an existing game or be roped into a friend’s new one, where you can create your player character (PC) and begin playing.
But sometimes you have to be the one to start things, to create the group.
To be the Dungeon Master.
But how do you do it? What do you need? Easy, two books: The Dungeon Master’s Guide and The Monster Manual.
The Dungeon Master’s Guide is what it says on the tin, a resource for people wanting to be DMs. It has a bunch of helpful information about running games and is a great resource for making content for them. However it’s also important to read the Player’s Handbook so you have a good understanding of the rules.
Dungeon master’s guide “This book contains tools a Dungeon Master needs to provide stories and game play. A resource for new and existing Dungeons Masters to engage in both adventure and world creation, with rules, guidelines, and advice from the game’s experts. Created as part of a massive public playtest involving more than 170,000 fans of the game.” (Catalogue)
The Monster Manual is another kinda self-explanatory book. It’s where all the statblocks for monsters are. With the Player’s Handbook you have the heroes, with the Dungeon Master’s Guide you have the story and world, but the Monster Manual gives you the monsters to be defeated. What’s great about the Monster Manual is that it gives you information and pretty art on each of the monsters, which makes it great fun to flick through. Luckily you don’t have to read the entire thing, often you’ll only need the pages that have the monsters you want. It’s a great tool for sparking the imagination of DMs and it even tells you how to make your own beasties!
Monster manual
“The Monster Manual presents a horde of Dungeons & Dragons creatures, including dragons, giants, mind flayers, and beholders — a monstrous feast for Dungeon Masters ready to challenge their players and populate their adventures. The monsters contained herein are culled from the D&D game’s history, with game statistics and stories. This book details all manner of creatures that characters might encounter over the course of their adventures.” (Catalogue)
Stories!
You’ve manage to drag your friends into a group together, everyone has read the rules and knows how to play. But as you think of what game you want to make as a Dungeon Master your brain freezes. Nothing clicks. You know how to set up a game, but you don’t know what to do. If only you had a story idea…
But wait!
There’s a solution!
Not only are there DnD books explaining how to play the game, but they also have campaigns, stories you, as the DM, can run! But wait, there’s more! These campaign books are available for free at the library! These stories give the DM everything they could want to run a story: people for the players to interact with, plothooks for them to follow, dungeons to explore! There are a wide variety of different campaigns to choose from, so I have gathered a select few for inspiration.
Happy Adventuring!
Curse of Strahd
“Under raging storm clouds, the vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich stands silhouetted against the ancient walls of Castle Ravenloft. Rumbling thunder pounds the castle spires. The wind’s howling increases as he turns his gaze down toward the village of Barovia. Far below, yet not beyond his keen eyesight, a party of adventurers has just entered his domain. Strahd’s face forms the barest hint of a smile as his dark plan unfolds. He knew they were coming, and he knows why they came — all according to his plan. A lightning flash rips through the darkness, but Strahd is gone. Only the howling of the wind fills the midnight air. The master of Castle Ravenloft is having guests for dinner. And you are invited.” (Catalogue)
Hoard of the dragon queen / Baur, Wolfgang
“In an audacious bid for power the Cult of the Dragon, along with its dragon allies and the Red Wizards of Thay, seek to bring Tiamat from her prison in the Nine Hells to Faerun. To this end, they are sweeping from town to town, laying waste to all those who oppose them and gathering a hoard of riches for their dread queen. The threat of annihilation has become so dire that groups as disparate as the Harpers and Zhentarim are banding together in the fight against the cult. Never before has the need for heroes been so desperate.” (Catalogue)
Icewind Dale : rime of the frostmaiden / Perkins, Christopher
“Beneath the unyielding night sky, you stand before a towering glacier and recite an ancient rhyme, causing a crack to form in the great wall of ice. Beyond this yawning fissure, the Caves of Hunger await. And past this icy dungeon is a secret so old and terrifying that few dare speak of it. The mad wizards of the Arcane Brotherhood long to possess that which the god of winter’s wrath has so coldly preserved–as do you! What fantastic secrets and treasures are entombed in the sunless heart of the glacier, and what will their discovery mean for the denizens of Icewind Dale? Can you save Ten-Towns from the Frostmaiden’s everlasting night?” — back cover.” (Catalogue)
Baldur’s Gate : descent into Avernus
“This heroic adventure book takes players from levels 1 to 13 as they journey through Baldur’s Gate and into Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells. The text introduces the infernal war machines to fifth edition D&D–battle-ready vehicles”– Provided by publisher.” (Catalogue)
