How to Play Dungeons & Dragons Using D&D Beyond – Posts

Welcome, far traveler! D&D Beyond is an official digital toolset for fifth-edition Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), the bestselling tabletop roleplaying game. You can use D&D Beyond to access the basic rules of the game, create characters for free, and more. Our marketplace has digitized versions of the official sourcebooks and adventures for D&D. These add additional character creation options and material you can use to play the game.

To get started, create a free account by clicking below:

What is D&D?

Dungeons & Dragons is a roleplaying game where you and friends collaboratively tell a story of heroism and adventure. It can be played online or in person. In D&D, you’ll play as either a player or as the Dungeon Master:

As a player, you will act as a character who fights monsters and overcomes challenges, such as sneaking through a cultists’ lair undetected or keeping your ship afloat in a storm. You decide who your character is and how they respond to the world around them. Over time, your character will level up, unlocking new abilities.

As a Dungeon Master, you are the world and the non-player characters that surround and interact with the player characters. You guide the player characters through the story and pit them against monsters and other obstacles. You are the quest-giver, the torrential storm, and the dragon whose keep the player characters must destroy!

Playing the game

Rolling dice is central to D&D. You might be familiar with your typical six-sided dice. But D&D also uses four-, eight-, 10-, 12-, and 20-sided dice! 

As a player, you will roll these dice to determine your character’s success in a variety of situations. You will roll dice when you attack monsters, dodge an explosion of fire, and even to see how well you perform in a dance competition! As a Dungeon Master, you will roll dice for similar reasons, except you play the part of the monsters and non-player characters. You will also be responsible for telling your players whether or not their characters succeed based on how well they roll.

D&D Beyond makes playing easier

The D&D Beyond toolset makes it easy to play D&D. Players can use the free character builder that guides you through the character creation process. D&D Beyond stores your character sheet and calculates bonuses your character gets to attack monsters and make ability checks. You can track spells, organize equipment, and even roll dice all from your character sheet. Dungeon Masters will enjoy the encounter builder when planning combat and can see their players’ character sheets all in one place.

Here are some of the features you’ll enjoy with D&D Beyond:

• Character builder
• Integrated dice rolling
• Access to the basic rules of the game
• Free app for making mobile play easier
• Combat tracker to help you keep tabs on the action (requires paid subscription)
• Monster encounter builder to Dungeon Masters plan challenging fights (requires paid subscription)

Is D&D Beyond free?

Signing up is free and grants you access to everything you need to start playing. You can store up to six characters with a free account. As you purchase sourcebooks and adventures from the marketplace, you will unlock material that can add new character building options, as well as monsters and content to run your game.

D&D Beyond has two paid subscription tiers: Hero and Master. Learn about the perks of these options by clicking here.

For players: How to create a character

Creating characters in D&D Beyond is easy! The character builder walks you through the character creation process. Quick Build is a great option when making your first character — you will simply choose a race and class and enter a name for your character:

If you would like full control over the character creation process, choose the Standard option. This is best for players who have played D&D before. You can turn on Help Text to walk you through the process, however. Characters you create can be found on the My Characters page.

Finding a group to play D&D with

Once you have created a character, it’s time to play! Because D&D is a multiplayer experience, you will need to find a group of players and a Dungeon Master to play with. You can ask friends or family members to join you on an adventure. You can create a campaign for your game to keep track of all of the players’ character sheets. (More details on this below.)

The D&D Beyond Discord and the Looking for Players & Groups section of the D&D Beyond forums are also a great place to start. You will find friendly Dungeon Masters who are willing to help new players learn how to play. The Discord and forums also offer places for you to ask rules questions and just chat with other people who love D&D!

For Dungeon Masters: How to create a campaign

A campaign in D&D Beyond is a central hub for players in your game. You can create one with your free account and can include details on the adventure, store campaign notes, and review characters who will be part of your game. If you have a Master-tier subscription, you can enable content sharing, which unlocks for your players any content you have purchased in the marketplace. 

To create a campaign, navigate to the My Campaigns page under Collections. Then, select Create a Campaign.

Inviting players to your campaign

Once your campaign is created, click on the name of your campaign on the My Campaigns page. Near the top-right of your campaign’s page, you will find an automatically generated URL. Share that URL with your players so that they can join your campaign. If your players have already created characters, they can choose a character to add to your campaign. If they haven’t created characters yet, they’ll have the option to create one and have it automatically added to your campaign.

Adding notes to your campaign

On your campaign’s page, you can create both public and private Dungeon Master notes. Public notes are great for sharing campaign details or images with your players. Private notes are good for planning ahead, taking notes of consequential player character actions, and keeping tabs on your game. 

Next steps on D&D Beyond

The basic rules are a great way to get started playing Dungeons & Dragons. But if you’re ready to learn more about the game, there are a few great books you can pick up.

For new players, the Player’s Handbook is the first sourcebook you’ll want to purchase. It includes information on the core races and classes of the game, in addition to spells, equipment, and all the rules you need to level up your play.

New Dungeon Masters will similarly want to snag a copy of the Player’s Handbook, in addition to the Dungeon Master’s Guide and Monster Manual. The Dungeon Master’s Guide contains rules and resources you can use to run your game. This includes information on magic items, building encounters, creating non-player characters, and more. The Monster Manual is a collection of creatures you can throw at your players. Your purchase of these sourcebooks on D&D Beyond unlocks the material for your account.

If you’re a Dungeon Master who is looking for a good starter adventure, I recommend either of the following:

D&D is a great way to spend time with friends and to meet new people. You’ll traverse through endless worlds on your adventures as player characters or as the Dungeon Master. As you begin your journey into D&D, you will find a lively and kind community that is excited to share in the joy that the game offers. Welcome, and happy dice rolling!  

Michael Galvis (@michaelgalvis) is a tabletop content producer for D&D Beyond. He is a longtime Dungeon Master who enjoys horror films and all things fantasy and sci-fi. When he isn’t in the DM’s seat or rolling dice as his anxious halfling sorcerer, he’s playing League of Legends and Magic: The Gathering with his husband. They live together in Los Angeles with their adorable dog, Quentin.