Learning the Basics of D&D 5e
Learn the basics of character creation, using DnDbeyond, play a short adventure, then level up your character, and get lingering questions answered.
$5.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Tuesday - 12:00 AM UTC
Session Duration / 2 hours
Campaign Length / 4–6 Sessions
1 / 6 Seats Filled
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Meet your party members
1/6
About the adventure
This is for new players who want to learn how to play D&D 5e using virtual tools like DnDBeyond, zoom, and discord in a relaxed and supportive environment. This will take place over 3 different sessions. The first of the 3 sessions is what is commonly called a Session Zero, with character guided character creation using DnDBeyond and going over safety tools and answering initial questions. Then next session will involve playing a short adventure where your party of adventures has been hired to solve the mysteries plaguing a small town. The final session will involve leveling up your characters and answering any lingering questions.
Game style
Rules as Written (RaW)
Rule of Cool (RoC)
Meet the Game Master
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Inclusive, Knows the Rules, Teacher
About me
I have been running games since about 2017 after being introduced to TTRPGs in college. Since then I have run therapeutic games for special needs children, become a certified therapeutic game master, completed my doctoral dissertation on TTRPG as a tool for empathic development, and managed to start a group and keep it together together threw 4 years of grad school. I have run groups in premade and homebrew games using primarily D&D 5e with some one shots in Pathfinder, Blades in the Dark, and Kids on Bikes. I use DnDbeyond, Foundry VTT, Talespire, Zoom, Discord, and premade and homemade maps. I have books for Daggerheart and many other systems that I may be able to run in the future. I like to have session 0 where we discuss and vote on any homebrew rules and review safety and consent preferences. I strive to balance roleplay, exploration, and combat and support player agency.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
We will work on this during the first session. If you want to be extra prepared, make a free account with www.dndbeyond.com and explore the character creation section a bit.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Make a Discord account so that you can access the chat server and access the safety forms posted there. Making a www.dndbeyond.com account before hand is recommended as it will save some time.
What Dr. Michael "Alex" Retallick brings to the table
I strive for an informal and collaborative atmosphere in my sessions. I balance rule of cool with the rules that the group has agreed on. Most of the time I use theater of the mind unless its a planned boss fight.
Homebrew rules
We will discuss popular homebrew rules in the session zero and vote as a group on any changes then.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Dr. Michael "Alex" Retallick creates a safe table
Monte Cook RPG Consent Checklist will be posted on the discord server and will be gone over in the session zero. During the session if anything makes anyone uncomfortable they can message me or speak up and we will shift away from the distressing material.
Content warnings
Safety tools used