#rulebooks

What you need hasn't changed much since the game's first publication in 1974.

Rulebooks: As the DM you need the DM's Guide plus the Player's Handbook and the Monster Manual. Your players need access to the Player's Handbook too but they can share as needed. Let players know beforehand what books (other than the Player's Handbook) they can reference during a playing session. For example it's not appropriate for players to look up a monster in the Monster Manual (or the equivalent digital tool) while fighting that monster. If you're running a published adventure players should avoid reading that adventure so they don't spoil any surprises.

A Dungeon Master: One player has the special role of DM. Some people love being the DM all the time while others can end up trapped as the Forever DM for their gaming group.

Players: Players who aren't the DM take on the roles of the heroes also known as the characters or the adventures. DND Plays best with 4 to 6 players in addition to the DM but it's possible to run a game with fewer or more adventurers. Where do you find players? Here are some suggestions:

Game or Hobby Stores (the Store Locator on the Wizard of the Coast website can help you find stores near you that host DND events)

Friends family community members and work colleagues who enjoy gaming or fantasy (like me :D)

Gaming clubs at schools

Social media and online messaging sites

Gaming conventions

A Place to Play: The bare minimum of space you need to play DND is room for everyone in your group to gather and participate (:D). When choosing the space you'll be playing in enlist your players help. Think about any accessibility needs you or they might have. Some players might have difficulty with low light background music strong odors cramped spaces or specific allergens. Accommodate what you can communicate what you can't as early as possible. If possible play in an area with minimal visual or auditory distractions. Favor surroundings that reinforce your desired atmosphere and have little non player traffic. If space is shared reserve the space in advance. You can also play DND anywhere you might come together in an online space from a group video call to a sophisticated virtual tabletop.

Dice: You need a full set of polyhedral dice: d4 d6 d8 d10 d12 and d20. It's helpful to have at least 2 of each kind. Ideally each player should also have their own set of polyhedral dice. Lots of digital dice rollers exist. Simple browser based dice rollers are easily found on the internet. Specialized dice apps can be found in app stores. and virtual tabletops typically have dice rolling functionality built in.

Note Taking Materials: Everyone needs some way to take notes about what happens in the adventure and at least one of them should record any clues and treasure the characters collect.

Players need some way to record important information about their characters. Plain paper works fine but players might find official or fan made character sheets more helpful in organizing the information. A variety of digital character sheets are also available if you're playing online or using digital devices at the table.

Useful Additions:

Various Resources can enrich your game and make it more fun. Many of these resources might have digital versions making computers tablets and smartphones essential elements in some DND games and for some players.

DM Screen: a DM screen shields your books notes and die rolls from your players. Most DM screens have art on the outward facing panels and handy rules information on the inside facing panels. Others might be made of fancy wood or sculpted to help set the mood for your game. You don't need a physical screen to hide thing if you're playing online but it can be helpful to have ready access to important information like condition definitions common actions and other key rules. Some DMs set up a physical DM screen near their computer screen. A virtual tabletop might have reference information like this built in.

Adventures and Sourcebooks: Beyond the 3 core rulebooks a plethora of additional content is available from Wizards of the Coast and other publishers. Adventures provide hooks plots maps and encounters you can use in your game. Sourcebooks include things like new character options new monsters and inspiration for building your own adventures and campaigns. You can play DND without any of these additional products but many DMs (and players) find them to be exciting additions to the game.

Battle Grid and Miniatures: Some DMs use a battle grid and miniatures to run combat encounters which helps players visualize scenes when playing in person. A vinyl wet erase mat with a printed grid a gridded whiteboard a cutting mat a large sheet of gridded paper or a printed poster map any of these can serve as a battle grid. The grid should be marked in 1-inch squares. You also need plastic or metal miniatures to represent characters and monsters in the game but you can use coins extra dice paper counters or even pieces of candy if miniatures are unavailable. Many software tools designed to facilitate online DND play provide a batlle grid. Even without such tools though many online DND games use screen sharing in combination with drawing programs shared whiteboards or similar tools as simple battle grids. Some DMSs are comfortable with software that allows them to control lighting and show the players exactly what they can see others find that complex software gets in the way of the game. Use whatever works for you and your group.

Given what I wrote this morning, it probably wasn't the day to learn board games but you know when you wake up at 4 AM every day like clockwork, you have a lot of time on your hands.

It's time for a big ol' twitter post.

The Game Crafter makes custom printed booklets and this is the product to use if you want a high quality & colorful rulebook to your board game. All of our booklets are saddle stitched, which means the paper is folded in half and the staples are applied to the folded edge. The booklets are printed full bleed and in full color. They come in 6 different sizes which range from our Small Booklet (2.5" wide x 3.5" tall) to our Jumbo Booklet (8" wide x 10" tall). 

See all of our custom printed booklets at: https://www.thegamecrafter.com/publish/products#booklets

Shirt or no shirt? FIFA rulebooks suppressing on-field activism

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Updated: June 1, 2020 4:49:11 pm

Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho celebrates scoring their second goal with a ‘Justice for George Floyd’ shirt, as play resumes behind closed doors (Source: Reuters) To most watching Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho remove his jersey to reveal a handwritten “Justice for George…

I’m spending the day going through heaps of free and sample RPGs I’ve downloaded over time, sorting out new ideas, concepts, etc.  As I do, I’ve also made a few notes on how to make a PDF enjoyable to read...  And legible.

Do:

-Illustrate.  I’m a particularly visual person, but most people will have their eyes glaze over when presented with the glorified instruction booklets we call “manuals.”  Wrap some of that around character art, foot the page with a landscape, or heck, just stick in a table to break up the flow.  Speaking of witch...

-Use tables.  If you have to make a list of things - gear, spells, abilities - don’t list them as bullet points.  And definitely don’t list them in a paragraph.  These things will be referred to often, and need to be organized in a fashion that lets them be found and compared easily.

-Double-Column.  There’s a reason why most published books in this genre use two columns of text per page.  When referring to rules, you need to be able to pick out or remember where to find specific details quickly.  A narrow column makes this much easier - and it also makes it easier to fit in other elements.

-Show Examples.  Even the most clearly laid-out rules can be confusing - but putting them in practice tends to make things both fit together and stick in the mind.  Having little “aside” boxes that walk through an example of combat, or spellcasting, or experience gain, can help a lot.  Make sure it’s distinguished from the main rules however, so that it can be passed over by those that get the concept in the first place!

Don’t:

-Over-Illustrate.  Not an opposite of the first “do,” this is a major qualification for it.  While it’s important to break up the flow of text, it’s also important to get it all to us in a timely manner - don’t use excessively large illustrations, don’t have fancy borders on every page, don’t make your chapter titles so large you have to wrap text around them, etc.  Illustration is to compliment, not compete with the rules.  Also:

-Post Irrelevant Art.  Have a character hacking a console on a page talking about skills.  A table full of gear next to the table about it.  Do not have a joke about how gnomes are short on a page about vehicles.  You may have to throw out your favorite art or plan ahead to get something fitting, but it does help ground the reader.

-Use Unfamiliar Terms.  Chances are, your game has skills.  And health.  And various other things that appear in some fashion in other games.  Do not call them “virtues” and “essence” and other such nonsense.  (Doubly do not use made-up words.)  It doesn’t “draw people into the world” or “set the game apart” if people can’t remember what things are.