So you decide that you want to get into playing D&D and came here to find out everything you could need to start a character.
*Note this post is about what you physically need as a PC, or player character. Building a character will be in a separate post (Coming soon!)
Dice
D&D use a basic set of game dice for a campaign. Most game shops will sell these dice as a set. When talking about dice, most are notated as d(#), meaning the number of sides the die has. For example a d6 is the standard six sided die.
d4– Pyramid shaped die, numbered 1-4, the number on top is the value of the roll.
d6– Cube shaped die, standard, numbered 1-6
d8– Diamond shaped, numbered 1-8
d10– numbered 1-10
d20– numbered 1-20, MOST USED!
Percentile– variation of a d10, numbered 00-90 in 10’s
Player’s Handbook
Vital to playing a campaign, the Player’s Handbook (PHB) has detailed lists, statistics, ideas and just about all the information needed to playing a character. There are PDF versions online that can be used, but just make sure you bring it with you every time!
Character sheet
A character sheet is the place where you put down anything and everything about the character you want to create. There are hundreds of character sheets online and the official one in the back of the PHB. My favorite one comes from Mr. Ronny at Dungeon Master Assistance which can be found here. You can type in your info instead of handwriting it, and Ronny goes line by line to explain everything here.
Alternatively, there are some great character sheet apps for your smartphone that come in handy. I’ve been using Fight Club 5 and it is phenomenal.
The character sheets linked above are for the 5th edition of Dungeons and Dragons
Writing Utensils
Pencils. All the pencils. Just like you do in real life your character grows, and things change so pencils are crucial. Also invest in a good eraser too.
Otter's Guide to D&D 