Your first game
A shared story, a character of your own, and a conversation about what happens next.
You do not need to know another game
A tabletop roleplaying game is a story you create together. Each player describes what their character says and does. One person, the Dungeon Master (DM, also called the GM), describes the world and plays the people and creatures you encounter. Together you decide what happens. Dice help answer uncertain questions; they do not replace your ideas.
Gather your table
Bring a character sheet, a way to roll dice, and people to play with, in person or online. Decide the setting, the kind of adventure you want, and anything you do not want in the story. Ask the DM which starting level or budget to use and whether items have a separate allowance. Agree who will explain the rules as you learn.
The DM describes a situation; you describe an intent
An intent is the result you want, spoken normally. You can ask questions about what your character sees before committing. You do not need to name a rule or press an ability button to begin.
Work out what is possible and what is at stake
Show the relevant rules your character owns. Ordinary actions can often be attempted without a special primitive. For an unusual ability, your primitives establish its access. The DM considers reach, strength, complexity and the situation, then explains the attempt’s difficulty, cost and likely consequences. You can accept, reduce the scope or try a different plan.
Roll only when the outcome needs resolving
The DM tells you whether to roll, which number from your sheet to use, and what success or failure means. Add that bonus to the die result. A DC is the number you need to meet or beat. Something straightforward and uncontested may simply happen.
- d20 means one twenty-sided die. 1d4 means one four-sided die; 4d10 means four ten-sided dice, added together.
Describe the result and update the sheet
Apply the agreed outcome, cost and consequences. Change current Vitality if needed, record an ongoing effect, and describe the new situation. Another player responds from there. In combat, the whole party plans and resolves a shared round; the Combat rhythm chapter walks through one.
A few words you will meet
Explore the details when you need them
Party and scene
The party is the group of player characters. A scene is the current situation: a conversation, journey, rescue, fight, or another moment with something at stake.
Build Units (BU)
Your budget for acquiring reusable primitives. Buying a primitive and paying the cost of using an action are separate decisions.
Vitality, Strain and Cost
Vitality represents health and exertion. Strain describes how hard an attempt pushes the character and the world. Cost is the consequence agreed for doing it: effort, resources, a complication, or another result.
Attribute, practice, proficiency and DC
An attribute describes an approach. A practice describes a field of competence. Proficiency is training that adds your Proficiency Bonus (PB). DC is the threshold an opposing roll must meet or beat.
Where to go next
Read Your first character to build a starting sheet, then Primitives, capabilities & effects to understand its pieces. At the table, use the search and topic list as a reference. The optional detail panels explain vocabulary and calculations without making you read all of them before playing.