D&D 5E New to DnD

[doctorbadwolf]

If you decide to go digital, I’d skip the basic rules PDF, and get on dndbeyond.com instead. It’s got everything that is both official and free from wotc on it, as well as a bar after builder with 6 character slots, for free. Then, if you decide you like using it to run games and look up rules and build characters, you can get the books at about Amazon price. I and others here can answer any questions you have about the service, or you can go to the website and check out the forums.

It’s also got a lot of interesting articles and interviews about dnd, including interviews with the creative team behind dnd 5e.

I love using it during the game, because I hate clutter and would rather type “scorching ray” into the search than flip through a book for it, and when I’m DM, my enemies have their spells hyperlinked with friendly tooltips.

Either way, I’d start with the Starter Kit/Set whatever rather than buying the three core books right away.

 

[Yunru]

How much work do you want to put in?

The cheapest (legal) option, would be to buy just the DMG and use that, along with the Basic Rules as a guideline, to make the rest yourself.

 

[thorgrit]

Echoing all the previous advice to say yes, the Starter Set first, and play with it until you're sure you're ready to invest more. You could find it's not quite your cup of tea, or don't have enough friends willing to sustain interest.

First, it's got a set of dice. Once you're in the hobby long enough, you don't need yet another set when you've got dozens already, but when you don't have any, one set is excellent. You can pass 'em around to players as they need them. (Beginner tip: unless you know they need it, hide the d12 to prevent people from accidentally grabbing it when they mean to roll the d20)

Second, it's got pregenerated characters. A lot of the fun of D&D is making your own characters, but I always always recommend starting with some simple ones to provide clear examples of how things are supposed to work. Even if the players would prefer to make their own characters from scratch, they can always do so later.

Third, it's got a quick reference of the basic rules. This can be super helpful even if you get the full books, as something spread open on the table and visible while the full book is open to another section, or letting a player look up a rule while you're busy using the full book.

Last, it's got a pretty good intro adventure. Even experienced DMs with decades of experience and no need of an extra copy of rules, dice, or pregen characters have been willing to pick it up to run the adventure for their similarly experienced players.

Specifically within my advice to stop there, don't buy anything else, until you're sure you and your players like the game and want to see it expanded. After that, a Player's Handbook is next. Depending on what you want to do and your budget, most adventure modules with either include their own monster stats or reference those listed in the Basic Rules, so picking up a premade adventure is one option to sink money into. Alternatively, if you want to make your own game world and story, a Dungeon Master's Guide provides excellent advice. A Monster Manual would be of least importance I believe for absolute basic stuff - though if you find stocking your world with the limited selection from the Basic Rules repetitive/boring, you may want to prioritize it higher.

Summary of recommended purchasing priority:
1. Starter Set
stop
2. Player's Handbook
3. (Optional) A prewritten adventure that appeals to you and your group
4. Dungeon Master's Guide
5. Monster Manual