“The Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying game is about storytelling in worlds of sword and sorcery… D&D is driven by imagination. It’s about picturing the towering castle beneath the stormy night sky” – D&D Players Handbook Introduction
Anyone getting into D&D and does even a bit of research eventually comes across the three Core Rule Books: The Players Handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide and The Monster Manual. Each of these books provide a window into the amazing world of dragons and magic.
Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook (Dungeons & Dragons Core Rulebooks)
The Players Handbook is the first thing I had bought for D&D and and provides the framework for creating your very own adventurer and playing the game!
1) Step by Step, The handbook offers a great step by step walk-through of creating your first character from the initial maths involved to the role play advice to get a beginner started.
2) Races, From the short and feisty Gnomes to the slender elves the handbook provides a great breakdown of the main races including their features, the main sub races and some ideas for names and role play. The handbook provides a good basis for choosing your very first character however, it’s worth looking online as there’s tonnes of other races the AaraKocra and Aasimar are two worth looking at!
3) Classes, Similarly to the races the D&D Handbook offers a wide variety of the more common classes associated with fantasy from Sorcerers to Rouges. Variations of classes also provides more choice and options for role play and character specialisation. Don’t know the difference between a sorcerer a wizard and a warlock? Look no further than the handbook!
4) Role Play, As awesome as swords and magic are role play is an often hilarious element of D&D where you meet some odd characters from royalty to drunken tavern goers and everything in between. The handbook offers backgrounds to add some flavour to your character to help in role play and offers some advice on the gods and lore to help shape the way you embody and act out your hero.
5) Spells, the ultimate draw of every fantasy game D&D offers far more than just fire and lightning and the Player’s Handbook offers an extensive (but by no means exhaustive) list of spells to throw at your enemies and allies! As an example Demiplane creates a small plane of existence and a doorway for you to enter through and is certainly more exciting than skyrim’s limited list of spells!
The Players Handbook is the ideal basis for any player creating their hero from the experienced to the beginner. The book provides a clear and easy guide to character creation a good basis from which further reading and googling can provide greater depth. Within its pages is a portal to races, feats, classes and the gods themselves. Even without the other books the handbook can be all you need to begin your adventure…
ClanGeek 