How to Explain D&D to New Players
A guide to talking to new people about TTRPGs
In this post, we explore how to explain D&D to new players by breaking down different ways to relate to them. If you've ever struggled with how to explain D&D to new players, this post is for you!
By now, almost everyone has heard of Dungeons & Dragons. Whether people were first introduced to it during the Satanic Panic of the 80’s, the books and computer games from the 90’s, or Stranger Things and other recent pop culture sources, D&D is part of our collective consciousness now.
It is ubiquitous and universal. When I say most people know about D&D, what I really mean is they know of its existence, with a vague idea of what it entails based on generalizations and stories. The first hurdle to introducing new players and people to D&D is getting past their false narratives and preconceived assumptions.
The Challenges of Explaining D&D to New Players
D&D is also a massive game system. It is many things to different people, as we have talked about extensively on POTG. That is the second hurdle to introducing new players, the elevator pitch trying to explain it in a few minutes or seconds.
While reducing grand things into their most basic forms is difficult and, by nature, reductive, I will try my best to take the time to reduce it down to a thick, rich glaze, maintaining the complex flavors in the process.
It goes without saying (even though I am saying it) that this is my take on D&D, and your experience and ideas may differ. If you disagree, share your thoughts in the comments below and smash that like and subscribe…
What is D&D?
So what is D&D? D&D is a tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG), but at its core is just a system that gives structure and form to the imagination. As children, we all liked playing pretend, and we never really stopped. We just changed the form.
Video games, fantasy football, heated debates on whether Batman could beat Iron Man; all of that is just adult pretend. D&D is pretend with rules. The players decide what they want to do in any given situation, and the DM decides how likely it is to work. Done, next article.
What’s that, Chris? I haven’t hit my word goal yet?Ok, then let’s break that down a bit further. The DM is the director of the collective story, and they develop a scene in the overarching story that the players must work through, be it a group of monsters, a dangerous trap or puzzle, or a heated dialogue with someone of importance.
The players decide what they will attempt to do based on the situation and the skills and abilities of the characters they control. The DM uses the rules of the game and/or personal judgment to determine how likely each event is to occur. Only then are the dice rolled, which turns each action into a success or a failure. The actions are resolved against the situation by the DM, and it all cycles back to the players for new attempts until the scene is completed.
Within this basic cycle is the beauty of the D&D system - freedom. The only limit to what you can do is your imagination (or an unimaginative DM). The most common question I am asked as DM by first-time players is, “Ok, now what can I do?”
The freedom of D&D can be overwhelming to the point of being sometimes limiting. I embrace the freedom as a DM, but others avoid this option paralysis by having more set options. There is no wrong way, and it is up to the group to determine what play style best suits everyone. I have outlined a few playstyles below and how/who to introduce D&D using this playstyle.
D&D the Strategy Game (for the Game-player)
Some people love to treat D&D like any other game in that discrete actions are available each round to the players, like moves or turns in a video game. The character build is vital in these games since that determines the available actions, and most online guides you see for making the “best” D&D character fall in this group. You are trying to optimize each round using the tools available.
When describing D&D to a new player who is likely to enjoy this style (an analytical person or a traditional “gamer”), focus on the gaming aspects, such as character optimization and specialization. Talk about some of the cool character builds, like the blade-lock or assassin rogue, and the extraordinary actions that they can take. You might even show them a character sheet of a fun character that you made.
D&D - The Ultimate Sandbox Game (for Freeform players)
While the ability to do “anything” may scare players who are more comfortable within a strict ruleset, some players will embrace the freedom and run with it. For these people, specific character build is not as important, and online guides don’t help the player since they want to be creative and unique. They want to escape the 8-bit point-and-click environment and live in a 24-bit color world.
The Freeform player can be a creative-type person, an artist, or someone who loves individualism (weirdos and contrarians both).
Focusing on the creativity aspect of D&D is the best way to get someone like this involved and interested. Describe a unique way you have overcome some obstacle in D&D (using the infestation spell to weaken a wooden support beam with termites); the wackier, the better.
Since character sheets are less critical, you could even run through a quick encounter with them (be descriptive and use theater of the mind).
D&D the Collaborative Storytelling System (for the Roleplayer)
The roleplayer loves to get into their character, accents included. This is the playstyle that I love and that we at POTG focus on.
The character build is also very important, not for the specific actions and abilities but for the character’s background and history. It also focuses on the relationship between the players. This style works best when the group has a long history of friendship.
The roleplayer embraces the character's mindset and focuses on what their character would do, not what would be optimal or best. They want to make a compelling story with their friends, so focus on that aspect.
Come up with interesting party dynamics that you could try. Talk about your favorite character and some of the character arcs that you have done.
D&D the Original Adventure Game (for the Fantasy Fan)
Fantasy stories are everywhere. Star Wars, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, The Witcher, the Wheel of Time series; I could go on and on. D&D is the original true fantasy game that lets you play a game in one of these worlds.
This is the perfect game style for professionally written campaigns or re-skins in a popular world. The characters and the story are just as important for the Fantasy Fan as for the Roleplayer, but creating the story is not as important as experiencing the story, so let them get immersed in the fantasy by relying on experts.
Friends that read or watch fantasy series are already set up to latch on to a well-written campaign. Read off the story hooks that are in the front of campaigns, or get them to try to recreate a beloved fantasy character using the D&D character toolset. Talk about the immersive world that already exists for D&D (Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, etc). Let them borrow a book by R.A. Salvatore or another great D&D writer.
Know Your Audience & Cater to Their Interests
Ultimately, you know your friends better than I do, so get them interested by offering to play the game that best fits their play style. Once they are comfortable with D&D gameplay itself, it will be an easy transition to another gameplay style if you want to change it up.
There are great resources for new players (such as the exceptional Plus One to Gaming blog and podcast) that could help them once they are hooked on the idea of D&D. Maybe I am biased, but I think once they play a few sessions with a great group of friends, they will be players for life.
