If you’re a new player of Dungeons & Dragons, welcome! What you are looking at is a collection of my articles that – with any luck – help new players understand how to play the game.

The articles are focused on explaining Dungeons & Dragons in its current edition – 5th edition or 5E – but often reference earlier versions of the game to give a historical context for the rules.

D&D is a game I’ve been playing for over thirty years now and has given me countless hours of entertainment. I hope it entertains you and your friends in a similar manner!

Articles about how the game works:

• Visualising Combat – playing D&D with or without miniatures
• Combat in Dungeons & Dragons – a look at the structure of combat
• Hit Points and Healing – an introduction to how they work
• Marching Order – how should a party arrange itself when exploring?
• Skills and Proficiencies – an introduction to how they work
• Spell Casting in Dungeons & Dragons
• Stealth, Hiding and Surprise
• How Armour Class Works
• Spellcasting in Combat – Clarifications and Restrictions
• Attacks, the Attack Action and Extra Attacks
• The Ranger’s Companion
• Choosing the right ranged weapon – rules and advice
• Running from Battle
• The Concentration Mechanic

DM Advice

• When to say “No.”
• What to play after finishing the Starter Set
• Designing a Basic Dungeon
• Entering the Wilderness: Hex-Based Exploration
• Entering the Wilderness: Trail-Based Exploration
• Entering the Wilderness: Maps without Hex-grids
• Writing Adventure Notes
• Running Theatre of the Mind Combats
  • Using Terrain in Theatre of the Mind Combats

An Introduction to the Forgotten Realms

• Recent History
• The Sword Coast
• The Time of Troubles
• Gods of Good
• Gods of Neutrality
• Gods of Evil
• Gods of Hillsfar and Elventree

The Starter Set Adventure: The Lost Mine of Phandelver

These are reports on what happened when I ran the Starter Set adventure with my groups; you may find them enlightening as to how the game might play.

• Afraid of Goblins? (Session 1)
• Back to the Goblin Cave (Session 2)
• Trouble with Ruffians (Session 3)
• Quests and Queries (Session 4)
• Cragmaw Castle (Session 5)