A bag of holding full of usefull links for Dungeons and Dragons 5e
It seems it's been a while since Dungeons and Dragons 5e came out, which means it's a good time to round up some links you may or may not be aware of.
So then, what's the difference between Basic and the PHB? The PHB has more--more race options, more class options, more spells, and finally PHB is the only place for the optional feat system, and rules on multiclassing.
It represents a great way to let anyone try D&D for no money down, as you can use the Basic rules to create a dwarf fighter, or human rogue, or even an elven wizard, complete with iconic spells like magic missile and fireball.
Also on the basic rules page is another free PDF, the Basic DMG. This is a brief subset of what may eventually appear in the still-to-be-released DMG book. It also includes a bunch of monsters, a few magic items, and rules on building encounters. Again, enough for you to get started running your own adventures.
Even if you're a DM not running the adventure, you might still want to pick this up as there are some magic items detailed, along with some monsters and spells, that can be useful for anyone creating their own adventures.
The upcoming DMG is supposed to have monster breakdowns by CR, as well as environment, in case you need a low level aquatic monster to plague your players!
If you have any questions about encounter building, check out this video, it should answer all your questions:
Basic Rules
Your first and most important link is here:- http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules?x=dnd/basicrules
So then, what's the difference between Basic and the PHB? The PHB has more--more race options, more class options, more spells, and finally PHB is the only place for the optional feat system, and rules on multiclassing.
It represents a great way to let anyone try D&D for no money down, as you can use the Basic rules to create a dwarf fighter, or human rogue, or even an elven wizard, complete with iconic spells like magic missile and fireball.
Also on the basic rules page is another free PDF, the Basic DMG. This is a brief subset of what may eventually appear in the still-to-be-released DMG book. It also includes a bunch of monsters, a few magic items, and rules on building encounters. Again, enough for you to get started running your own adventures.
Horde of the Dragon Queen Supplement
Another useful link is this one:- https://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/hoard-dragon-queen
Even if you're a DM not running the adventure, you might still want to pick this up as there are some magic items detailed, along with some monsters and spells, that can be useful for anyone creating their own adventures.
Adventures League
- https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/events/adventurers-league-resources
Monster Manual
- http://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/monster-manual
The upcoming DMG is supposed to have monster breakdowns by CR, as well as environment, in case you need a low level aquatic monster to plague your players!
Encounter Building Video (may not be SFW)
This next link arose when AngryDM was trying to figure out how exactly the Encounter Buiding rules as presented in the Basic DMG (and presumable the forthcoming DMG) actually work. While they may seem familiar to folks comfortable with previous editions, they are not, and if you're not careful, you can end up building encounters that are way out of balance, usually against your players.If you have any questions about encounter building, check out this video, it should answer all your questions:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RReMb3s4Zao %E2%80%A6
5e Encounter Calculator
If you still need some help with encounter building, or just don't have the time to do all the math by hand (and why would you), here's an excel spreadsheet that will do the number crunching for you:- http://runagame.blogspot.com/2014/08/bonus-post.html
Rules Clarification
Here a like to what looks like a living document attempting to gather and track all the rules questions and answers that have been asked and answered since the release of 5e. Not only is it worth the read, but I've bookmarked it so I can come back again and again. You might want to do the same.- http://community.wizards.com/sites/mtgcommunity/files/%E2%87%B2%20Rules%20Clarification%20%28Sage%20Advise%29%20v1%20%5Bseptember%202014%5D_0.pdf
Actual bag of holding
And if all that's not enough, here's an actual bag of holding for all your new 5e materials- http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/aaa5/