(VERY) BASIC (5E) DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: All You Need To Know To Get Playing, Plus A Few Tricks

A few Christmas holidays ago I gave my best friend's oldest kid Basic Fantasy (and dice) as an intro to Dungeons & Dragons. While I wish I had given a copy of Old School Essentials, I didn't want to overdo it because I didn't know if the kids would take to it or not.

Well, it was pretty much a smashing success. All 4 kids ages 12 to 6 were very into it after I ran a game. And so their dad went out and bought the 5e Dungeons & Dragons Essentials Kit. Which by most reports is better than the Starter Set. However, my friend still just could not get running Dungeons and Dragons like he saw me do in our initial game. He understood the rules, sorta, but still didn't quite get how to put it all together. 

So I decided to create a ~10 slide deck in PowerPoint outlining how to play 5e D&D with some old-school tricks and advice thrown in to help cover what I think are gaps in the Essentials rules. I also tried to keep the deck to a minimum so my friend would actually read it and could use it as a reference. But also so his kids could use it as a reference too.

I think two of the most important slides are at the end. In the first, I also linked and summarized Ben Milton's observations from watching a game DM'ed by a kid for her classmates-- important. The second is word dense, but I try to distill some of my tricks for running games on the fly into 6 pieces of advice. 

Neither is supposed to be comprehensive but merely to allow for an adult roped into being a DM to understand some quick tricks that can be applied and remind them that kids don't want things dumbed down. I think in part that's why they like "mature" video games- they are dangerous, violent, but importantly don't assume they are 8 years old. This is what Ben emphasizes.

In the Notes from Play slide, I also link two "starter" dungeons: Tomb of the Serpent Kings and Prison of the Hated Pretender. Both use an old-school philosophy in their design but have 5e conversions. So easy for a new DM to run in 5e. But also both have good DM advice built-in. So, as a new DM reads these adventures they are also getting additional advice and the context where it should be applied-- 2-for-1.

In the end, I still think Old-School Essentials or any BX D&D ruleset is a better fit for kids than 5e. They really enjoy play, but the amount of stuff 5e requires is just not something the kids remember once play starts. They are more excited by engaging NPCs, rolling dice, and doing clever and not-so-clever things. They find always attacking with 1d6 hand-axe.

LINK TO PDF: TheVeryBasicsof5eDnD

TREASURE: GP = XP; but value come in a lot of forms

Cyril Van Der Haegen is the artist
of one of the best 5e images

GENERAL NOTES

This is some of my musing about how I like to do XP in my BX games. Two other great ways: This article by Ben L. of Through Ultan's Door fame. And the below tweet.

Who the "crown, local lord, and guild" might be will change according to the lands the PCs are in. What follows is human-centric, but one can (and should) imagine a Fey lord will want something completely different as would a Death Knight or Ghoul Guilds.

Players might raise objections to a lot of the below and want a better arrangement. That's absolutely fine and expected. Remember (1) In accordance with GP = XP, they will receive XP for "gross" treasure recovered (pre-tax); (2) only the value they receive in GP is taxed; (3) If they want a better deal they should argue using the in-game fiction.

WHAT IS VALUABLE?

Flora & Fauna
Biles from animals
Nectars from plants
Salts from minerals

Material
Art/Iconography
Books
Rare Raw Goods

Gems & Jewelry
Gems- raw, imperfect, perfect, cut; type associated with a metaphysical/mythic property
Jewelry- magical individual pieces or sets that project power/honor an event
Candleholders, cups, silverware, china- denotes status

WHO WANTS IT?

Professional organizations will want raw materials to manufacture various goods. Biles, Nectars, Salts, Cloth, Gems, and Rare Raw Goods.

Religious organizations will want artifacts lost to the church, the locations, and or bodies of important figures. They will also want to capture the same items of religions antithetical to their beliefs for destruction. Art, Books, Cloth, Statues, Icons, Emblems, and Weapons.

Nobelity will value display above all and want to track the latest trends. Art, Jewelry, "Perfect" Gems, Luxury Objects, and Weapons.

Illicit or Secret Organizations will want items of power that align with their agenda: Books, Weapons, Artifacts, and Magic Items.

WHO CONTROLS WEALTH EXCHANGE?

Crown- will take 30% at the door

Local Lord- will take 20% at the door

Guilds- will take 25% of any sale within the confines; 10% from members (membership esoteric)

HOW TO SUBVERT CONTROL OF  EXCHANGE?

Develop standings and status among those who want items and control wealth exchange 

Thieves guild- will smuggle and help you avoid all the above for 25%

Fences will sell goods quickly, quietly, and/or maximum value (pick two). Not quickly means PCs will have to wait (one complete adventure maybe); not quietly means PCs will draw attention from Illicit or Secret Organizations; not max value means PCs will get less gold.

WHAT CAN BE DONE WITH IT?

Fighters: Building a castle and raising troops takes gold, but before that it requires status, and for that, you must look the part and been seen as nobility.

Thief: The guild will require payment, but status in the guild will require increasingly more daring heists and increasingly rare items.

Clerics: Tithes and shrines must be built. Also, holy symbols made from various material symbolically connect to the gods will increase spell casting and the chance of miracles.

Wizards: Spell components can increase casting power, duration, and prevent spell slot loss. The component must have a symbolic, mythological, or alchemical connection to the spell being use. Each component takes up 1 slot of encumbrance as it has to be preserved and easy to reach.

Elves: Similar to Fighters and Wizards, but value magic items above all else.

Dwarves: Much the same as Fighters, but value relics and symbols like Clerics. Gems prized, pearls hated.

Halflings: Like Guilds, value rare and raw goods. Value books, fine cloth, luxury goods, but gifts given above else as a symbol of experience and community.

WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES?

The wizard, Mayfly, is trying to work out how to bypass a lake horror that guards the bridge to Black Keep. Mayfly decides to create two potions of Flesh to Stone but add bile from a cockatrice and salt from the ground marble of a medusa-made statue. 

EFFECT: Since Flesh to Stone gives a save throw, the DM rules the inclusion of the bile and salt causes that save to be made at a -4. 

The thief, Fetch, wishes to receive divine protection against misfortune on her next sojourn to the Black Keep. Fetch prays at the temple of the Crow, god of the Wheel of Fortune & thieves & Kenku, and offers a jade ring and a ruby ring (both stolen). Jade is associate with the lost Serpent empire and ruby is associated with the heart.

EFFECT: The DM gives a positive sign to the thief (murder of crows swirls around them) and (secretly) gives them +4 to their next save (heart) vs. Poison (Serpent empire) roll from any source.

The fighter, Redd, has decided to entreat the local lord for the land around the Black Keep. After all no one is using it, what with all the death. They decide that because the lord is known for his strict adherence to protocol and formality, they will spend gold to: commission a new shield, clothing, and buy a quality horse & tack. Redd also brings a gift for the lord's high consort & seer: a book of astrology from the Black Keep.

EFFECT: Reaction roll is low: Because the fighter carries themselves in a manner befitting of a knight, the lord denies the land but agrees to confer a title on the fighter. However, they are approached later by the high consort, because of the gift, who has some information about the Black Keep.

The cleric, Fish, is concerned about the demons hold the throne room of The Black Keep. Fish decides to sanctify two bells in order to ring them when demons are speaking-- potentially breaking spells of corruption, lies, and charm. One pure silver bell is made from the silver rosary worn by the head Abbess (but Fish has to go on a quest in repayment) and the other two-handed great bell is made from the wood of a pulpit Fish saved from destruction.

EFFECT: Both bells are made of materials that reinforced the theme of Fish's diety. The DM rules the small one maybe be rung to remove a spell cast by a low-level demon. The larger, because its made from a pulpit, must be rung continuously but also the player of Fish must make sermons every round (CON check) to counteract a spell.

DARK FORCES GATHER AMONG VAIN RICHES IN RUINED ARCHAIA!

[Below are the first few session reports from my on-going store game using Forbidden Cavern of Archaia and 5e D&D run in an old school style. The part in italics is on the flyer I posted].

DARK FORCES GATHER AMONG VAIN RICHES IN RUINED ARCHAIA!

THIS 5E GAME OF D&D will use just the free Basic Rules found online at: http://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
Making it perfect for those new to the hobby and curious. New players are very welcome! Not even dice are needed.

FIFTH EDITION RUN IN AN OLD SCHOOL STYLE: We will use a few of the alternative 5e rules for slower healing and stress. EXP is mainly gained by loot which removes the focus on combat. Dead characters are replaced by a 3d6-down-the-line generation. And this megadungeon exploration is in the vein of METROID/DARKEST DUNGEON, but there are plenty of NPCs and factions to manipulate for your own selfish ends!

#2 PREVIOUSLY: TOMB RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARCHAIA. Two devout clerics of St. Ygg dared to plunge into the Forbidden Lands with their recently liberated thi--, "relic hunter", in tow. Their goal is to bring dangerous relics of the past and information about the gathering chaotic hoards back to the warm, lawful embrace of Ygg. Currently, they are hunkered down in an elven crypt with four magical but fragile amphora-- worth plenty if they can get them back safely.

#3 PREVIOUSLY: OH GREAT, ELVES. With the arrival of the elven "delegation", Katyanna, Buddy, Radon, and their halfing burglar Brakka, Ukko and Gunter see their grave digg--- relic retrieval in peril. But diplomatic name-calling and judicious use of thieves cant brokered a deal where the adventuring party would help with the urns and then only draw from the recently recovered (and very slippery) Deck of Many Things once they were safely around other innocent Ygg-fearing souls. A treacherous climb awaited, but Ukko was to suffer the first non-Deck misfortune, by almost falling to his death! Where it not for the entirely inadequate medical attention performed by almost everyone and Gunther's devotion to Ygg, Ukko would have been dead. But instead, he lived to deal with the jerks of St. Ygg. Now much richer, the party drinks really, really well and decides their next course of action!

#4 PREVIOUSLY: JUST A BUNCH OF ROCKS. Loaded up with supplies, the party leaves early in the morning to explore more of the dread sunken city. Playing it safe, the party plunges into one of the upper caverns to avoid the humanoid patrols on the canyon floor. They tangled with well-disguised denizens in the forms of a large draco-form and stalactite-like crustaceans. Then, once across one of the broken city's many subterranean gulfs, the party pauses in a puzzling vine-covered foyer and muffled cries for help!

#5 PREVIOUSLY: STONE COLD DEATH! Disaster strikes! After meeting up with a pair of inquisitive dwarves, a sufferer of demonic thrall, and another sly thief, the party battled their way past ravenous mimetic plant life to a maze of doors. While mostly empty, the designs on the wall revealed this tomb to be the resting place of a powerful Archaian summoner and necromancer. Soon enough the party found themselves in said tomb tempted by a large brilliant ruby and a crypt of magic items. But it was all a trap...

Stone guardians mobilized and although moved like drunken men from years of dormancy, they laid low all but two of the party. Those two escaped from death leaving behind the mournful songs of their crushed friends- may Ygg take them quickly.

#6 PREVIOUSLY: ABRAKADABRA! THE PARTY GOT A MYSTERIOUS STAFF BUT STILL LEFT CADAVERS! Undaunted by death and haunted by the mysterious crypt, the sole survivor of the previous trek gathered a new band of adventurers to raid the crypt of the Archaian sorcerer.

The trip was fill fated from the beginning as the party was attacked at Dragon's Tooth Henge by undeath rising out of the growing mounds of mold, filth, and garbage at the henge. Each bore the crude mark of a hand with a fanged mouth in the palm. Although surrounded, the adventurers overcame and finally laid to rest these horrid bones.

Once back at the crypt of the sorcerer, a plan was hatched to steal the staff, ring, and the too-enticing-to-be-left ruby. The results were the same, but this time the two surviving members have a mysterious ebony staff and gold ring. Now if they can just get it back to Eastdale...

CARCOSA ALTERNATIVE CHARACTER CREATION

Nice post from Throne of Salt that I think could also be used to generate characters for Carcosa.

I really like the CONCEPT table where once per session, a player can either add 1d6 points to a roll or re-roll a skill check provided they are acting according to their character concept.

This sounds like a nice house rule to mix with 5e's backgrounds, ideals, bonds, and flaws in some manner.

Concept	Aspect
1) Adventurer	Go out there and find some excitement.
2) Creator	Working, building, making.
3) Mentor	Teacher and keeper of knowledge.
4) Martyr	Self-sacrifice for others' sake.
5) Ruler	Control and command
6) Seeker	Looking for answers.
7) Healer	Fights against the world's decay.
8) Traditionalist	Upholds the old ways.
9) Mediator	The point between two parties.
10) Hermit	Isolation, solitude, wisdom.
11) Heretic	Upends faith, casts doubt.
12) Conqueror	Glorious victory at all costs.
13) Abomination	Something's broken inside.
14) Destroyer	Let nothing remain standing.
15) Chosen	Hailed as the doer of a great task.
16) Defiler	Blame and undermine all others.
17) Protector	Protect and preserve what is precious.
18) Visionary	Big-picture ideas of a better tomorrow.
19) Zealot	Of absolute faith and conviction.
20) Disciple	Follower of teachers old and new.
21) Righteous	Unshakable confidence in their path.
22) Traveler	The open road still softly calls.