Getting Started in 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons

First off, for most new players D&D Fifth Edition (5E) is the gateway drug to this hobby. The system borders along the lines of complexity and crunch (extra math) and a rules light narrative focus. Let's go over the simplest and cheapest way to get started. We'll also go over the second easiest way to get into the hobby.

So what do you actually need?

Not much......

1. Some ruled paper (or scrap paper for notes)
2. Pencils (or pens, anything lying around)
3. The Basic D&D rules from Wizards of the Coast
4. Character Sheets
5. A dice rolling app on your phone (there are tons out there, I've used D20 calculator)
6. Access to the 5E system reference documentation
7. 3-5 willing friends with imaginations that bring food and drinks.
8. An adventure for your group.

So what to do with all this newfound power? You've read the rules, even looked at a character sheet or two, maybe even made one. Don't worry about getting everything right.

Instead, let's make a very plain standard adventure. Yes it is boring and will be a bit linear but let your imagination get crazy with it a bit later. Start simple, start small. We'll just use this example to get started.

Let's make the following;

5 Non player characters
4 Monsters / Encounters
1 Trap
1 Starting location
1 Dungeon with 7 rooms
Some cool treasure

There are a plethora of tools out there to generate all of the above on the fly. One of the best is Donjon's Tools. Let's use that generator to populate some of the items above.

5 Non player characters

1. Comghi: Male Elf Thief, Good. Comghi has thin silver hair and narrow hazel eyes, and a magical mark on his arm. He wears leather armor and wields a short sword and darts. Comghi has black snake named Brane.
2. Here: Female Human Scholar, Good. Here has curly blonde hair and light gray eyes. She wears fine clothing and a silver holy symbol. Here was magically imprisoned for a hundred years.
3. Dane: Male Human Illusionist, Neutral. Dane has a round face, with auburn hair and gray eyes. He wears brass robes and wields a quarterstaff and dagger. Dane is impossibly lucky.
4. Cuny: Male Elf Fighter, Evil. Cuny has a long face, with black hair and light brown eyes. He wears banded mail and wields a military fork. Cuny has an animal companion, a badger named Foiriu.
5. Eadrith: Male Human Fighter, Evil. Eadrith is wretched in appearance, with white hair and gray eyes. He wears splint mail and wields a warhammer and dagger. Eadrith suffers an acute fear of darkness.

4 Monsters / Encounters

1. 3 Bandits. 
2. 1 Half Ogre
3. 6 Rats
4. 2 Ghouls

Trap

1. A shallow pool of acid covers the floor.

Starting location

1. Agbarfell: Population 830, primarily dwarf, some gnome. Most of the buildings are constructed from massive stone blocks. It is governed by a noble aristocrat, the dwarf lady Arngugg.

Dungeon with 7 rooms

Using Donjons 5E generator you can quickly generate a layout and either print or sketch it.

Some cool treasure

Money is great but items are much more memorable for the players. Using the weird magic item generator should give you some great ideas.

Now that you have each piece plop the NPC's in the starting location like an Inn or Tavern (yes I know). Have one of them crash through the door to interrupt the evening and either die or ask for help. Go tot he Dungeon, kill some foes, get some cool loot. Use these tools as a building block for your future adventures. Or just write your own!

The second easiest way to start

1. Some ruled paper (or scrap paper for notes)
2. Pencils (or pens, anything lying around)
3. The D&D Starter Set
3. A dice rolling app on your phone (there are tons out there, I've used D20 calculator)
4. 3-5 willing friends with imaginations that bring food and drinks.
5. Optional physical dice

The adventure that comes with the starter set is actually one of the best for 5E and a great hook for beginning adventurers. There is enough in there for around 4, 4 hour sessions. More than enough for beginners.

Go out and go forth on an adventure!