I'm not new, but can Someone sum up D&D?

I've been playing D&D for a while now but we havent actually been "playing." It's been the GM is making the story up and we roll whatever test he tells us to roll. Now i'm kinda looking for a group on here but I'm afraid that my D&D experience won't exactly suffice for all those who actually play legit. So I was wondering if someone could sum up how to play D&D and everything that i would need to know in order to actually play it here. Thanks a ton guys!

That's a very vague question my friend. :) There are multiple editions of D&D, and what you "need" varies. Anyway, there are plenty of help available on the web, I think (The links that follow were taken from Google after a 5-10 minutes search). This website is very broad but tells you what D&D is: <a href="http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/leisure/brain-games/beginners-guide-dungeons-and-dragons.htm" rel="nofollow">http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/leisure/brain-games/beginners-guide-dungeons-and-dragons.htm</a> There is quite complete tutorial on how to play D&D 3.5 edition here: <a href="http://roleplayerguild.com/showthread.php?92005-3-5-D-amp-D-Tutorial" rel="nofollow">http://roleplayerguild.com/showthread.php?92005-3-5-D-amp-D-Tutorial</a> Here's a link that explains character creation in D&D 4th edition: <a href="http://dungeoneeringnewbie.wordpress.com/2012/12/30/filling-out-dd-4e-character-sheets-a-step-by-step-approach/" rel="nofollow">http://dungeoneeringnewbie.wordpress.com/2012/12/30/filling-out-dd-4e-character-sheets-a-step-by-step-approach/</a> I'm not really a D&D person, though I know the basic in 2d and 3.5 edition. Hopefully more knowledgeable people will answer you! But in order to have people help you, you should probably be more specific about what kind of help you need. Good luck!

Brennen, you might be better off finding a group to play with first and then focusing on what you need to know after you're in a group. There's at least eight different versions of "D&D" being played on the site, each with it's own rules. On top of that, each individual GM is going to modify the game depending on his or her tastes and might have specific requirements or house rules on top of the agreed upon ruleset. I'd say that a group and a positive attitude is all you really need to get started.

Technically all you need to know is "roll 1d20, GM tells you if you succeed or fail, sometimes roll some other smaller dice and total their value." Most GM's aren't going to be very happy (and you'll probably be confused) if that's all you know. But that's basically it. The rules are a bunch of conditions that set the X value in 1d20+X and the Y value in the DC (what your target value is). Damage is typically rolled with a number of smaller dice, and there's a couple other values to keep track of (hit points, initiative, etc.) but for the most part it's 1d20+X vs Y. The biggest difference between the "legit" version and what you've been doing is that the GM and the players did the math based on the rules to come up with the success or failure numbers. The core gameplay doesn't change a whole lot, although (especially in 4th ED) it can get a lot more tactical once you know what to look for. The rules can vary significantly between editions of D&D so I'd try to find out your target edition first. Then read through some of the core player books...it's not that complicated and typically has the general rules right up at the beginning. Good luck!

Brennen C. said: I've been playing D&D for a while now but we havent actually been "playing." It's been the GM is making the story up and we roll whatever test he tells us to roll. Now i'm kinda looking for a group on here but I'm afraid that my D&D experience won't exactly suffice for all those who actually play legit. So I was wondering if someone could sum up how to play D&D and everything that i would need to know in order to actually play it here. Thanks a ton guys! Other people have pointed out the mechanics of D&D but what you are looking for sounds more like what should D&D mean to you. Some people believe D&D is just about rolling dice and such while others believe it is about creating a story based on your character's choices. Both are valid reason and they are generally balanced. From what you are indicating your GM leans more towards the dice side than the story side. You need to decide what you are actually wanting from the game first and seek out people who will support your style of play. Dave D is correct in the fact you need to find a group that you enjoy spending time with first. The mechanics are secondary in my opinion as you will learn that through game play. Read some of Headhunter Jones posts as they are educational.

"So I was wondering if someone could sum up how to play D&D and everything that i would need to know in order to actually play it here." This is sort of like asking "What is it like to be Married?" There are a lot of flavors of D&D, and what people think it should do, how it should be played. Essentially you need to define are you looking for a story, the mechanical wargame / power cards / feats / character optimization aspect of it, or a combination of any or all of that. Plus which edition? Which Version of Which edition? And that's just for starters. I run a hard core 2nd Edition AD&D "Black Book Edition" campagn using Birthright for 2e by TSR with critical hits and fumbles with significant chance of Character death, with no raise, resurrection, or any of that where healing potions cost huge insane amounts. Clerics do not heal full value, like BLING= healed, but more like you get a few points back and it heals over a period of days, faster, with the aid of the gods. Some players say "No, I refuse to play in a game where my character might die. I have invested too much time, over a year or more in my long lost beloved campaigns. You suck as a DM, good luck (sarcastic) finding players." Others say "I love a challenge! I love building a kingdom! Sign me up!" Others say "Hey greybeard! SCREW Old Skool! you guys need to move on, and get with the program! I don't want to play a game that DIED in 2000 with 3rd edition! I want a game where all characters have equal powers, and Each fighter is different!, Different Feats!" So there's a whole bunch of flavors out there. There are books out there that mostly deal with the game mechanics aspect, like D&D for Dummies by Bill Slavicsek. Some others. for 3rd, and 4th edition at least. Older books like Master of the Game, and Roleplaying mastery, by Gygax himself. I suggest comb through looking for players listings or look at individual campaigns and see if what someone has posted strikes you. Apply, and play. play a variety.

Thanks for the plug, Metroknight. Like all RPGs, D&D is essentially a game of improvisational storytelling within a framework of mechanics for conflict resolution. Stories are created collaboratively by playing the game, not by the DM ahead of time. DMs are typically tasked with preparing locations, situations (metaplots), and/or plots with which the players engage by way of their story constructs, the player characters. Each edition of the game is distinct and approaches this differently, both in the rules and mechanics that are used and the emphasis on particular tropes and assumptions. In any case, once the player characters are inserted into these locations, situations, and/or plots, the DM presents challenges, the players make choices, and dice and mechanics are used to determine outcomes. This is how you play to find out what happens. The start of the original post reads something like an objection. The hobby does attract a great number of frustrated novelists trying to herd unruly player characters down a predetermined storyline. So while what I posted above is a summation of D&D as it's meant to be played by design, there are a lot of groups who don't play it that way at all. There is nothing wrong with that provided the group is bought in to a particular approach.