Cze and Peku are well-known in the TTRPG community for their vibrant and highly detailed battle maps. They specialize in fantasy, sci-fi, and modern settings, offering maps for everything from dungeons to sprawling cities. Their Patreon provides a variety of map styles, along with grid and gridless options, making them perfect for both virtual tabletops and print. With frequent updates, they’re a go-to for immersive game experiences.

Cze and Peku

Tom Cartos is a renowned creator of highly detailed, multi-level battlemaps for tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) like Dungeons & Dragons. His work enhances gameplay by providing immersive environments that captivate players. Tom offers a diverse range of maps, including fantasy and modern settings, available through his website and Patreon. Patreon supporters gain access to weekly map sets, asset packs, and monthly adventures, with higher tiers offering additional benefits such as DungeonDraft integration and limited commercial licensing.

Tom Cartos

Venatus Maps specializes in creating clean, modular battle maps for virtual tabletops. Their work covers a wide range of environments, from haunted forests to ancient ruins, with meticulous attention to detail. Venatus Maps also offers map packs designed for specific adventures, making it easier to plug them into existing campaigns.

Venatus Maps

Heroic Maps delivers high-quality, printable battlemaps that cater to both fantasy and sci-fi settings. Known for their versatility, Heroic Maps provide a mix of atmospheric dungeons, vivid landscapes, and detailed interiors. Their offerings include modular designs that can be pieced together for expansive settings, perfect for GMs looking for flexibility in map design.

Heroic Maps

Tyler Jacobson is a renowned fantasy artist whose work has graced the covers of several D&D 5th Edition books, including the 2024 Player's Handbook. His dynamic and detailed illustrations capture the essence of D&D's expansive universe.

Tyler Jacobson

Wylie Beckert is known for her intricate and atmospheric artwork. She contributed the alternate cover art for the 2024 Player's Handbook, showcasing her unique style that adds depth and intrigue to the D&D world.

Wylie Beckert

Ekaterina Burmak is a Ukrainian artist celebrated for her vibrant and detailed illustrations. She provided the cover art for "Light of Xaryxis," a component of the "Spelljammer: Adventures in Space" boxed set, bringing the cosmic adventures of D&D to vivid life.

Ekaterina Burmak

Justin Gerard is a fantasy illustrator whose work has been featured in various D&D publications. He created the cover art for "Boo's Astral Menagerie," another part of the "Spelljammer: Adventures in Space" set, capturing the essence of D&D's diverse creatures.

Justin Gerard

TPK stands for “Total Party Kill,” a situation in which the entire party, or every player character, dies during a game session. While it’s frequently seen as the end of a campaign, it doesn’t have to be! Game Masters have been known to allow new adventurers to take up the cause of the fallen, or even give dead heroes a chance to cheat death.

Proficiency refers to a few related things in Dungeons & Dragons. First, it can refer to things your character is trained to use; your character might have “proficiency” with certain weapons, types of armor, tools, and languages, meaning they can skillfully apply those things for their respective uses. It also refers to the skills your character specializes in. A wizard might have proficiency in Arcana, for example, to represent years of study; a fighter in Intimidation if they’re big and scary; and a rogue in Stealth if they’re skilled at sneaking around. Finally, it refers to your “proficiency bonus,” which is a flat number you add to your d20 rolls when you’re making a check you’re proficient in. For example, that sneaky rogue adds their proficiency bonus when they roll to hide from guards because they’re proficient in Stealth; to roll to pick a lock because they’re proficient with thieves’ tools; and to stab their target in the back because they’re proficient with daggers. A character’s proficiency bonus increases as they level up.

“Homebrew” is a term from the hobby culture of D&D and tabletop RPGs that means “not officially published.” Anything that a Game Master and their players make up, or even anything official that they modify, is considered “homebrew.” It’s believed to be the most common way to play RPGs, as virtually every table creates custom content and house rules to suit their needs.

“Min-maxing” is a term that refers to mechanically optimizing a tabletop RPG character to specialize in doing one specific thing, to the detriment of their other skills and abilities. It comes from systems where you could maximize a value in one attribute by minimizing the rest. Hyper-specializing in this way is often frowned upon when one character outshines the rest, but players can absolutely min-max productively and cooperatively with others. In fact, some players play RPGs for the purpose of crafting powerful builds that accomplish some goal to great effect. After all, a team of specialists whose strengths and weaknesses all complement each other’s can be extremely fun to play!

A critical hit occurs when a player rolls a “natural 20,” or a 20 on the die, on an attack roll in Dungeons & Dragons. Representing an especially accurate or devastating blow, a character scoring a critical hit doubles the dice they roll for damage. If a rogue would roll 1d6 weapon damage plus 3d6 sneak attack damage, for example, they’ll roll 2d6 for the weapon and 6d6 sneak attack damage on a critical hit.

The Alignment system, though it’s changed over the years, is as old as Dungeons & Dragons itself! It’s a system for categorizing a character or monster’s attitude toward both morality and law. On the morality axis, a creature can be good, neutral, or evil, depending on whether it views helping or hurting others as virtuous. On the law axis, a creature can be lawful, neutral, or chaotic, depending whether it believes civilization to be virtuous or not. The combination of these axes gives nine possible alignments, which you may be familiar with from the proliferation of “alignment charts” on the internet as a popular way to discuss characters from across or within pieces of media. Some players believe alignment is something a character should choose and adhere to, while others use it to describe a character’s position based on their actions. Many players don’t use it at all, as some find it a restrictive or inflexible way to define a character’s philosophy.

A one-shot is a self-contained, single-session game of Dungeons & Dragons (or any roleplaying game). While D&D is commonly considered a “campaign game,” that is, a longer running series of sessions that may last weeks, months, or years, it’s very popular to play just a single session focusing on a specific scenario or element of the world. Some players use one-shots to do wacky or experimental things with characters and settings, as they tend to be lower-commitment and lower-stakes, offering the opportunity to let your creativity run wild.

Classes in Dungeons & Dragons go up to 20th level.

What is the maximum level you can have in a class in D&D 5e?

The original Dungeons & Dragons was first released in 1974, and it’s come a long way since then! The most recent edition, 5E, came out in 2014 and was updated in 2024.

Playing Dungeons & Dragons online has never been easier! All you need is a platform for voice and/or video chat and you can play just as if you were sitting around a table. Some players like to add a virtual tabletop like Roll20 or Foundry to the experience to have a visual aid for maps, tokens, and handouts. They may even have digital dice rollers, character sheets, and music! Of course, one player will need to take on the role of the Dungeon Master. If you don’t already have a group to play with, you can often find one in “Looking For Group” or LFG forums, fan communities for the game, or services like StartPlaying.Games dedicated to helping players find the right group for them.

Dungeons & Dragons can be played with as few as two players: one Dungeon Master, and one player character. Typically, a D&D party consists of one Dungeon Master and 3–5 players, though groups can and do get much bigger than that! The system starts to strain around 7 players, and a big group certainly isn’t recommended for beginners, but some tables swear by it anyway!

How many people do you need to play D&D? / How many people can play D&D?

Dungeons & Dragons was first created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. Gygax created the game after he attended one of Arneson’s sessions of a game called Blackmoor, based on Gygax’s rules for a wargame called Chainmail. It’s had several iterations and editions since then, but since 1997, the designer and publisher of D&D has been Wizards of the Coast.

The traditional Dungeons & Dragons dice set contains seven dice: a 20-sided die, or d20, as well as a d12, d10, d8, d6, d4, and a second d10 sometimes called a d100, which goes from 00 to 90 and is used for rolling “percentiles” from 1–100 when combined with a normal d10. A single set of dice is usually sufficient, but many D&D players quickly find themselves collecting as many as they can get their hands on!

There are three core Dungeons & Dragons books, namely the Player’s Handbook, the Dungeon Master’s Guide, and the Monster Manual. A typical player usually only needs the first, but a prospective Dungeon Master will usually want all three. In addition, Wizards of the Coast has released dozens of supplemental books containing additional optional rules, player options, and adventures, and third-party publishers have produced hundreds more.

To play Dungeons & Dragons, you’ll need a character sheet, dice, and a group of friends! All of these can be physically or virtually present, and at least one of you should understand the basic rules. Usually, that’s the Dungeon Master, the player who prepares the scenario, presents it to the players, and facilitates the game. This player can help the rest learn as they play, creating characters and letting the fantastical adventure unfold!

A single typical session of Dungeons & Dragons lasts around 3–4 hours, though different tables may play for shorter or longer amounts of time. That said, many games last far more than a single session, meeting regularly (or irregularly) for weeks, months, years, or even decades. A single-session game or “one-shot” isn’t uncommon by any means, however, and a dedicated group of players could absolutely complete a small D&D campaign in 6–12 sessions.

The core mechanic of Dungeons and Dragons is rolling a 20-sided die, adding bonuses and modifiers from your character’s abilities, and trying to beat a target number. Players build their characters by choosing a fantastical species, class, abilities, skills, equipment, and magic spells, then embark on adventures to advance their wealth and power. D&D also has a robust tactical combat system for fighting monsters and other adversaries, plus rules for delving dungeons and exploring the wilderness.  

How to play D&D 5e

While D&D 5e is still the grandaddy of all RPG's, the quality of the content published by Wizards of the Coast has been sub-par the last few years. There are some great home-brewed games and worlds out there, which in my opinion is what keeps the game vibrant and relevant. Hopefully WotC gets back to its roots of providing good, quality material for its core fans. As it stands currently, it requires heavily home-brewed rules to even make the game approach the balance needed to allow for the challenging/rewarding experience that players want. I.e. it takes a LOT of work to make things work in the game. I tend to stick to updating old modules to current rules, which has made for some fun adventures. While I still have some love for the system, mostly due to its trailblazing for RPGs in general, it has lost its way, in my opinion.

J.P.

Absolutely classic system that sets a good framework for creativity from the players and the dungeon master!

J.R. Liggans

What can I say about D&D 5e? It took everything good from previous editions and combined them into the best edition of the RPG. The new 2024 rules made the necessary changes to transform into an even better edition. It's the easiest RPG to jump into as a new player and the easiest for a DM to go even rules-free if they want to. Some of my best memories go hand in hand with the greatest RPG the world has ever met. I totally recommend it for new and veteran RPG players and wannabe DMs.

Dimos

D&D 5e has so much content and it does not really play well together. It also seems to be about uber powerful builds and grinding combat versus fast and deadly action with deeper role play. It had a lot of marketing boost behind it, but it is not the best game out there unless you want a very specific type of game. Also WotC are don't deserve any more had earned nerd money. Support small press and indy game creators over corporate BBEGs

Skuliver

I love DnD! It gives GMs room to create the style of game that suits them, whether you want a combat heavy game, a tactical game, a roleplaying game or even a mix of everything! I've been playing it for a very long time now and don't see that changing anytime soon. The rules are detailed enough to have a solid base to create your game with while still giving plenty of room to create your own mechanics or improvise.

Craig

Ten years in, still a classic. RPGs generally cover the space between three pillars: Combat, Social Interaction, and Exploration and the granddaddy of them all makes it look easy. 5e (both 2014 and 2024 editions) makes it easy to get going quickly to strap on a sword, practice your dad jokes and pickup lines, and choke down a ration or two. Whether you're playing through updated classic modules or seek out new spaces where no hero has gone before, DnD will get you there. High fantasy with a low barrier to entry makes it hard to say no.

Andrew M. "Fish" Popowich

Five Stars for D&D 5e. Regardless of what edition folks have played before, or if they've never played at all, everyone is able to sit down at the table and jump into an adventure right away with 5th edition, myself included. You can navigate the game on a basic level or customize your heart out as you become more invested in character building. Whatever your experience level, D&D is still a solid option when looking for enjoyment at the gaming table.

David | The avidDM

Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) is the TTRPGs (Table Top Role Playing Game) that truly started it all 50 years ago (released in 1974). This system has been through many changes over the years but I find 5E (5th edition) to be my favorite. 

DnD 5E is simple enough to learn as you play while also having enough content to keep you learning for a long time. Also the rules are designed in a way that gives me as a DM lots of opportunities to change and modify the way we play without breaking the game.

All in all DnD 5E is a wonderful place to start your TTRPG journey.

DM Blue

Dungeons & Dragons claims to be "The world's best roleplaying game", but I would personally amend that claim to "The world's best-known roleplaying game".  It is usually the one people know if they have heard of the hobby at all.  It does its genre very well.  I have been playing and running D&D for over two decades, and wouldn't have continued coming back to it if it didn't do that so well.

Of the Dungeons & Dragons editions I have played (including extensive play in 3.5 and 5th Edition as well as a *very* brief dip into 2nd Edition), 5e does the job in the most accessible way I have come across.  I always feel that the mark of a good game system is one that a person brand-new to roleplaying games can pick up and learn with relative ease, but that a veteran player can still sit down and enjoy.  Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition achieves this in my view.  While it doesn't do everything well, a good Dungeon Master can make things work in most cases.

The industry standard, this game is the most popular, but not the best I've played. An excellent introduction to the hobby, I personally feel sad about the fact that many player's TTRPG hobby begins and ends with this game, when so many other systems have so much more to say. Too many people bend over backwards trying to make this system do some things poorly that other systems do smoothly- homebrew is not always the answer.

Ross

I love it due to nostalgia and market saturation.

DM DethStruck

Dungeons & Dragons is a timeless classic that continues to captivate imaginations. Its rich world-building, diverse character options, and engaging storytelling make it a fantastic way to spend time with friends. Whether you're a seasoned adventurer or a curious newcomer, D&D offers endless possibilities for creativity and fun.

Adam Hennebeck

Dungeons & Dragons has stood the test of time as the most popular RPG in a Fantasy setting there are many many RPG's out there but D&D has a wealth of adventures to explore that match them all. The lastest addition is just another version and all the previous versions have their own fantastic merits. Play one play them all.

Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition (D&D 5e) is a standout tabletop RPG system, offering a near-perfect blend of simplicity, flexibility, and accessibility. Whether you’re a newcomer curious about the hobby or a seasoned player seeking streamlined gameplay, 5e delivers on its promise of creating engaging and memorable adventures.

The advantage/disadvantage system is revolutionary. By replacing stacks of situational modifiers with a straightforward "roll two dice and take the better or worse result," the game is kept fast-paced and easy to manage. This keeps players engaged in the narrative without bogging them down in math or rule-checking.

D&D 5e emphasizes storytelling and narrative creativity. Its rules are robust enough to provide structure but open-ended enough to encourage improvisation and roleplay. This balance allows DMs and players to craft unique scenarios without the weight of excessive "crunch" dragging down the experience.

With clear rules and intuitive mechanics, D&D 5e offers a "pick-up-and-play" level of simplicity. The Player’s Handbook provides everything needed to dive in, making it perfect for groups of mixed experience levels or those just starting their tabletop journey.

While the streamlined nature of 5e is one of its greatest strengths, it can sometimes falter when deeper complexity is required. The system occasionally struggles to fully engage with the intricate actions-and-consequences loops that make tabletop RPGs so unique. For those craving mechanical depth, this simplicity may leave them wanting more.

There are areas where the rules lean too heavily on flexibility, leaving DMs to "fill in the blanks" or make adjustments outside of the official rules. This can lead to challenges in ensuring consistency and balancing encounters, particularly for newer DMs.

Despite its few shortcomings, D&D 5e remains the best entry point into the world of tabletop roleplaying games. It’s a system designed to inspire creativity, spark imagination, and foster collaboration, and it succeeds brilliantly in these goals.

For groups seeking accessible, narrative-driven adventures with plenty of room to grow and adapt, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition is an absolute must-play. It may not satisfy every craving for complexity, but it provides a solid and endlessly enjoyable foundation for epic storytelling.

Wayne Ingram

D&D 5e is by far the most recognizable TTRPG in the space. It’s designed to be fun and relatively easy to pick up, making it a great starting point. While there are plenty of systems with a more specific focus, D&D 5e gives you a solid 101 in most aspects of tabletop roleplaying. The base game offers a ton of options for both new and experienced players, as well as for GMs. On top of that, the community has poured so much love into this game—there’s an overwhelming amount of content from third-party publishers you can add. If you need something for your game, chances are it already exists.

As a GM, especially if you’re running a narrative-focused game, there’s no shortage of third-party rules and options that have been tested and refined to work seamlessly with the base system. So dive in, learn the rules (or tweak them to fit your style), and explore the ever-growing community that’s building something amazing together. When you’re ready, take what works for you, change what doesn’t, and craft a game that’s just right for your table.

GM DANIEL

This is the easiest system to play for new players. IT has the most support and the most players and is less crunchy than other systems and is seen as kinda the default now days. 

The only down side is that Wizards of the Coast (WotC) and their parent company Hasbro are losing money so they are trying everything to squeeze more out of this system so right now there are 2 rulesets for it and many opinions on various changes. Also WotC is prone to try weird things that may effect the system in the future so it looses a star based on WotC's crazy behavior.

I like it because of the range of resources for both DMs and players. Most of my games will probably be this system.

Chaos Goblin DM

Dungeons and Dragons is synonymous with role-playing games, and for good reason! It has a little bit of everything someone would want. It's easily learned, accessible for many player types, and has lots of written material to draw from as a GM and to play with as a player. 

As a Game Master, I've been utilizing the new 2024 Rules and my players and I have been having a blast with them and will continue to! D&D will always be a RPG giant but it's not perfect, every game system has things they excel at and fall short in. But for the average RPG player, they'll enjoy D&D 5e 2024.

GM Ryan A

DnD is a great system for tactical combat and light role playing.  There are better options for intrigue, and immersive RPing, in other systems.  Great for starters but easy to move on from if it isn't what you are looking for in your RPing experience.

DuChampion (JJ)

Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition (D&D 5e) is a standout tabletop RPG that balances simplicity with depth, making it accessible for newcomers and engaging for veterans. Its streamlined mechanics, flexible character creation, and focus on storytelling create a rich role-playing experience. The advantage/disadvantage system and "rulings over rules" design make gameplay dynamic and adaptable.

However, power creep from expansions and simplified mechanics may frustrate those seeking tactical depth. Exploration mechanics feel underdeveloped, and the system’s flexibility can challenge new Dungeon Masters.

Josh Shannon

D&D is the game I started playing early in my adolescence, and it is the game I keep coming back to.

The game captures the dynamic nature of conflict pretty well. Heroes in the latest edition feel like heroes, even with fewer magic items, because they have abilities that set them apart. Combat is well codified and while it can be tough to grasp at first, players often understand it after a few months of regular play.

There is somewhat less support for activities outside of combat in 5e, but that is where great players and DMs shine. The rules-lite nature of social and explorative gaming ensures players can be creative in interacting with the game world.

While D&D isn’t a perfect game at any iteration, and it might not be the first game I’d recommend to a new player or game master, it is a splendid game and a wonderful pathway to imagination and friendship.

Connor S - The Healer DM

I've been playing and running D&D5e since just after it was initially released when I was in high school. With a decade of experience using the system, some of the major benefits are as follows:
1) The Game System is one of the most flexible and simplified rule sets Dungeons and Dragons has ever put out. You can, with no experience, get into a game and have fun playing in under an hour with an experienced Dungeon Master(Aka: DM/GM).
2) It is a General and Adaptable Heroic Fantasy System. You can go from a local mercenary or simple cleric serving their god to a savior of the entire world or multiple worlds, depending on the campaign you are playing in.
3) It has an extraordinary amount of online custom content, and each Dungeon Master often keeps their own codex of custom content for players to use as well. I can nearly guarantee that if you have a character concept or idea you want to play, someone out there has created something you can use as is or with some alterations. I am an avid creator of custom content and have often created custom-tailored subclasses, classes, items, etc., for my players to live out their fantasies as best I can.
This does not fully capture the benefits of DnD5e, but both the 2014 version and newer 2024 version are both excellent game systems to play.

That said, D&D5e also has some issues, mainly on the DM/GM side for those running it.
It's an easy game to pick up. However, the 2014 version's monster stat blocks require a good lookover and a bit of number crunching to ensure you don't accidentally turn a random encounter with some big snakes into a Total Party Kill (TPK). As of writing this, the 2024 version's stat blocks seem to fix this issue partially, but I can't state how they perform since the Monster Manual has yet to come out and won't arrive until February 2025.
Additionally, at higher levels, preparing for everything you may need to prepare can become arduous if you try to do so alone behind your DM Screen. Players can teleport across the contention once a day, travel the planes of existence, and fell armies and cities on a whim if desired. The best solution for this is to talk to your players about what they intend to do beforehand so you can prepare and collaborate with them to make the scenes work well for all parties involved.

All that being said, it is the largest game on the market currently and has been around for a long time for good reason. It's a solid game overall and an amazing hobby to pick up!
You can forge friendships that last lifetimes, tell stories that you'll remember for decades, and gives you a perfect excuse to hang out with people and socialize at a consistent time every week/other week/month!

Dragon Of Dice

DnD 5e forms what I consider the baseline for a tabletop roleplaying game. It runs well and can be fun for a low-tier game with friends. It fails at doing anything interesting or new beyond perhaps the advantage system. However, that same system quickly falls apart in complex situations. Since it has the most attention online, the game mechanics are very frequently abused and broken to the point where almost every other game I have to reevaluate a rule. The game does almost nothing mechanically to promote roleplaying and the mechanics are not well balanced. Some options are blatantly overpowered and rules updates take years to be officially made.

Brandon Paul

D&D is the second-best D&D game available today.  It has been THE roleplaying game since before many players today were born.  Reinvented every decade or so, its current (5th) edition is the best known and most popular RPG for good reasons.  It's adaptable enough to tell stories in a wide range of styles, though pretty much in one medieval-fantasy genre.  D&D does a good job of being accessible to new players and balancing rules "crunch" with roleplaying "fluff".  Competing systems have mostly differentiated themselves by being either crunchier (Pathfinder) or fluffier (Cypher, Blades in the Dark).  The game that's taken its place as my preferred ruleset, though, has done neither.  Tales of the Valiant is a "branch" of D&D5e built by Kobold Press, and it's close enough that you can actually play characters built in either game side by side in the same adventure - but ToV has innovated in key areas, fixing things that were broken, most importantly in monster design.  Too many D&D monsters are just bags of hit points; every ToV monster does something special to show us what kind of creature it is.  Character creation has more interesting options to diversify your hero, with the interaction of Lineage, Heritage, Background, Talents and Class.  Tools and skills see more use in ToV.  The games I run today are mostly ToV or ToV/ D&D hybrids, taking good ideas and features from both.

Keith

D&D 5E was my introduction to TTRPGs and still a favorite of mine to both run and play in. As a GM, I mostly enjoy the collaborative storytelling through roleplay, low combat, and exploration of the fantastical worlds. As a player, I quite enjoy the heroics of battling evil but still look for a balance between combat and social interaction.

Kat Kruger

I fell in love with DnD while reading monster manuals and species guides as a child without understanding the game it let my imagination have full control. As an adult it was one of the first things I gravitated to after leaving home. It became a family unit, the bond in character gave me comfort not all battles were meant to be alone. I enjoy the limitless creativity, the ever changing games and expanse of the multiverse draws me in so I’ll never leave. Also it’s fun to smash things but the ability to do the impossible is what I love the most.

RPG Mama

The beauty of D&D 5e lies in its flexibility. The system adapts effortlessly to different play styles. The emphasis on storytelling and roleplaying allows DM's and players to effortlessly engage deeply with their characters and the world around them, providing so much customizability that nearly any situation has some reference to the rules in them!

Nick

5th edition D&D is a wonderfully broad game system. With bounded accuracy, the moment-to-moment mathematics is fast and easy, and null results and misses become less frequent as you level up.

Whether you're first level or twentieth, you can feel encouraged to take part in a skill check, even if it isn't something your character is meant to be good at, which is quite rare in many game systems!

No game system has this level of support, be it through third party content, tutorials and guides, art, and software. Creating and playing in games of 5e right now is a delight, and you're surrounded by thousands of others to buoy you along, offer advice, or join you for incredible adventures.

Nick (HisCursedness)

I've been playing and DMing (mostly DMing) D&D for 33 years across all of its editions. In my opinion, 5e and 5e 2024 is the best edition hands down for a few reasons: 
🔹 Probably the number 1 reason is that it's the easiest tabletop RPG to find players and DMs to play with
🔹 Very rich 50 years of history and lore and the inspiration behind many fantasy RPGs and video games today
🔹 Easy-to-mid difficulty to learn ruleset
🔹 Wide and deep variety in characters that can be made and played
🔹 Most of the most popular VTTs are built for it
🔹 The best and most classic monsters
🔹 HUGE support (DMs Guild and plenty of 3rd party products)
🔹 Passionate game designers

Negatives:
🔹 Not a very balanced system from the DM perspective. Characters are very powerful. However, it's still great to run as a DM if player fun is your first priority. If you're looking for a very close and well-balanced game from a DM-perspective, check out the excellent Pathfinder 2nd edition and Starfinder 2e system.
🔹 WotC (the company that owns D&D) has made some questionable decisions over their history with D&D.
🔹 The officially published campaigns & adventures sometimes leave a lot to be desired, putting more of an onus on the DM to make the adventure fulfilling.

togashi_joe

DND 5e is one of the most recognizable and popular TTRPGs in history and for a very good reason. This game system does an amazing job at giving players the tools they need to fully flesh out their characters and provides the DM with enough resources to run a highly immersive world. 

All in all, a great system that does an (almost) perfect job making combat exciting, allowing players to express themselves in meaningful ways in the game through roleplay, and provides plenty of tricks for DMs to keep their table engaged in the game.

Will

I first tried D&D 5e in March 2023, and it was my introduction to tabletop role-playing games. My initial experience was fantastic—it opened the door to an entirely new world of storytelling, creativity, and collaboration. For that, I’ll always be grateful to D&D 5e. It’s a system that has introduced countless people to the joy of TTRPGs, and its role in popularizing the hobby through media like Critical Role and Dimension 20 cannot be overstated.

However, as I gained more experience in the TTRPG space and explored other systems, my preferences as a player and GM evolved. Over time, D&D 5e started to lose its appeal for me. I found the system overly focused on combat, with character progression often revolving around improving damage output or combat efficiency. For players like me, who value storytelling, problem-solving, and character development beyond mechanics, this became limiting. Additionally, the game’s mechanics and numerous rules felt overly complex, bogging down the flow of gameplay.

That said, I recognize that 5e’s structure and focus are exactly what many players love about it. The system excels in high-action, heroic narratives and is perfect for those who enjoy strategic combat and traditional fantasy adventures. Its widespread popularity makes it a fantastic entry point into TTRPGs, and I’ll always appreciate its role in my journey as a player.

While D&D 5e is no longer a system I choose to play or run, I respect it for what it is. It’s an important part of TTRPG history and has created countless memorable adventures for many players. Personally, I’d rate it a 3 out of 5—solid, but not a fit for my preferred style of play.

Maia 

I started playing Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition back in the early 90s, when rulebooks were dense and THAC0 ruled the table. Over the years, I’ve watched D&D evolve, and 5th Edition (5e) feels like the version that truly captures the essence of the game. As a professional Dungeon Master, I’ve run multiple 5e campaigns, including Lost Mine of Phandelver and Curse of Strahd, and I’m consistently impressed by how well it blends accessibility with depth. The rules are streamlined, making it easier for new players to jump in while still offering enough tactical depth to keep veterans engaged.

What really sets 5e apart is its focus on storytelling. Mechanics like advantage/disadvantage are elegant yet impactful, and character creation encourages creativity without overwhelming players. Phandelver remains one of the best introductions to the game, providing exploration, combat, and roleplay in a way that feels natural and fun. For more experienced groups, Curse of Strahd delivers an unforgettable gothic horror adventure filled with tension and memorable NPCs.

As someone who runs games professionally, I appreciate how flexible 5e is. Whether it’s a gritty, low-level survival game or a high-stakes epic, the system handles it all beautifully. While there are moments when I miss the quirks and crunch of older editions, 5e makes up for it by bringing D&D into a golden age. It’s never been easier to gather players, roll dice, and tell amazing stories together. Dungeons & Dragons 5e proves that the magic of the game and its ability to inspire imagination and create unforgettable moments is alive and well.

GM Chris

When it comes to Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition it's very hard for me to find any real benefit to the game beyond it's marketing. It's not particularly horrible or good at any aspect of its design, and often makes it seem like it has design it doesn't actually have. There is nothing other than it's name brand that I find can't be outperformed by some other game depending on what you're looking for.

Short version is: too much crunch for not enough actual system interaction, no social mechanics, overpriced books with pdf's only available through subscription, a poorly designed gm guide that has the list of magical items without helping you gm, and frankly just not the best at anything even when ranked among other editions.

Oscar C.

Dungeons & Dragons is some of the most fun I have ever had. I firmly believe that D&D is a game that anyone and everyone would enjoy at the proper table.

Chaotic Groovy

Dungeons and Dragons is that perfect mix of casual narrative roleplay and hard mechanical crunch that allows all sorts of people to interact with each other at the table. The sort of make your cake and eat it sort of game, you can be pretty much anything. With the 3rd party support backed by the updates granted by the creators on a regular basis, there is a plethora of content out there to play what you want and in whatever world you want.

Onyx (Megan)

This is the granddaddy of all TTRPGs, referenced in pop culture through the decades, and the inspiration for many video games, like the Baldur's Gate Trilogy and the first Final Fantasy! Drawing its own inspiration from J.R.R. Tolkien's works and further developed by other writers, this is often the first thing people think of when rolling dice and having an imaginary journey into a fantasy world. Thanks to recent editions, it's now very easy to get into, and it's a great introduction to TTRPGs as a gaming genre! The best thing about it is that the game is different for each table, with different themes and play styles you can try for your tastes and new experiences! This keeps it from getting stale and allows players to find a dungeon master (game master) who's a good fit to help you go on an adventure, roll some dice with new friends, and have fun!

Curtis 

Do you want to go on adventures?  Do you want to experience unfathomable realities, challenge dragons, and be heroic?  

D&D 5e is a masterpiece of combining the positive traits of older editions and feel immersive while also having a digestible rule set. It is both a great stepping stone  and for many, is the beating heart of the roleplaying community.  

If you haven't already, grab your sword and your pointy hat, and give it a try!

Dragon Master Roy

I've played every edition of D&D for decades and can easily say this edition encapsulates the best of the best of all the editions over the last 40 years.

After running 650+ games of 5e here on StartPlaying, I can confirm it is an easy system to get into and it preserves the best of D&D over the years. There are plenty of fantasy TTRPGs now, but the big difference between D&D and the others is the sheer volume of lore for the DMs to work with. No other game has a sandbox of this size that a great DM can world build endlessly with.

Also, D&D5e is great and extremely flexible for rules-light or rules-heavy; no Roleplay or serious Roleplay; in-depth tactical exploration or Theater-of-the-Mind abstractions... the variations of play are truly infinite.

Don't let anyone else fool you; this is the legendary TTRPG for a reason. Grab a seat at one of my games, or just send me a message and I would be more than happy to show you around!

streetshaman

Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition is the most popular tabletop RPG in the world, and for good reason. With accessible rules, streamlined mechanics, and a focus on narrative storytelling, DnD5e strikes an excellent balance between simplicity and depth. It’s the perfect system for newcomers to tabletop roleplaying games while still offering enough options to keep experienced players engaged.

What DnD5e Does Well
Accessible and Beginner-Friendly:
DnD5e is the most approachable edition of D&D to date. The core rules are straightforward, and character creation is intuitive. New players can jump in quickly with the Player’s Handbook, and simplified mechanics—such as advantage/disadvantage—reduce complexity without sacrificing tactical play.

Narrative Focus:
5e puts a greater emphasis on storytelling and roleplaying compared to its predecessors. The system allows GMs and players to focus more on their characters, the world, and the story, without getting bogged down by excessive rules or calculations. This makes it an ideal choice for groups who prioritize narrative over crunchy mechanics.

Streamlined Mechanics:

The proficiency bonus simplifies math by scaling steadily with level progression.
The advantage/disadvantage mechanic replaces complex modifiers with a roll-twice system, making resolution faster and easier.
Classes and abilities are designed to be simple yet impactful, reducing the barrier to entry for new players.
These streamlined rules make gameplay smooth and efficient while retaining strategic depth.

Flexibility and Homebrewing:
DnD5e is incredibly modular, which makes it easy to customize. GMs can easily tweak rules, create homebrew content, or incorporate third-party material. The system’s flexibility has fueled countless new settings, adventures, and homebrew creations that are widely shared in the community.

Wide Appeal and Support:
DnD5e’s popularity means there’s no shortage of resources, tools, and content. From officially published campaigns to community-made supplements, the amount of material available is staggering. Online tools like D&D Beyond further enhance the experience, streamlining character management and game preparation.

Variety of Playstyles:
DnD5e accommodates different playstyles—whether you want combat-heavy dungeon crawls, roleplaying-focused intrigue, or exploration-based campaigns. The “three pillars” (combat, roleplay, and exploration) ensure that every group can find the balance they enjoy.

Challenges of DnD5e
Limited Character Customization:
Compared to crunchier systems like Pathfinder 2e, DnD5e offers fewer meaningful choices during character creation and advancement. Characters are largely defined by their class, and the customization options—feats, subclasses, and spells—can feel limited for players who enjoy deep optimization.

Balance Issues:
While the simplicity of DnD5e is a strength, it can lead to balance problems. Some classes (e.g., spellcasters) can overshadow others at higher levels, and certain subclasses or feats are notably stronger than others. Players seeking a more finely tuned system might find these disparities frustrating.

Simplified Combat:
While combat in DnD5e is streamlined, it’s also less tactical compared to systems like Pathfinder 2e. The reliance on the “action, bonus action, reaction” structure keeps things simple but can feel restrictive for players who enjoy intricate tactical choices.

High Magic Expectations:
DnD5e assumes a high-magic setting, with a strong focus on spells, magical items, and abilities. While this appeals to many players, it can be less satisfying for groups who want a grittier, low-magic experience. GMs may need to do additional work to adapt the system for such settings.

Limited Tools for GMs:
While DnD5e is accessible for players, GMs may find the tools and guidance somewhat lacking. Encounter building, for example, can be cumbersome and imprecise, especially at higher levels. GMs may need to rely on third-party tools to streamline their prep work.

Final Thoughts
Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition has earned its place as the leading tabletop RPG by prioritizing accessibility, flexibility, and storytelling. It’s the perfect system for groups who want to dive into epic adventures, forge memorable characters, and focus on the narrative heart of roleplaying games. Its streamlined mechanics make it easy to learn, run, and customize, ensuring that even new players can join in the fun with little effort.

That said, players who crave deep character customization, tactical combat, or a perfectly balanced experience might find DnD5e lacking in certain areas. Still, for the vast majority of players, it offers a nearly perfect balance of simplicity and depth.

If you’re looking for an accessible game that invites creativity and exploration while still providing engaging combat and progression, DnD5e is an excellent choice.

Darren

D&D 5E is incredibly customizable and I've found it easy to get into, both as a player and a game master.  Different groups have had different ways of running 5E, so it's always a fresh experience.  I have seen it run in person, by voice sessions, by text sessions, and play-by-post throughout the week; in all of these it has been extremely fun and customizable.  I would definitely recommend it as there is a version for everyone!

Dreams & Eni

Love playing D&D. I have been playing D&D since 1978. The newest 2024 update to Dungeons & Dragons 5e is great for all players new and old.

Tom M.

D&D is a beloved classic TTRPG that has evolved over the years and has stood the test of time. For high fanatsasy combat driven games, its great!

StartPlaying

Dungeons & Dragons 5e is the most popular tabletop role-playing game on the market. With its simplified rules, diverse settings, and player-driven customizability, it’s easy to see why! Perhaps you’ve dreamed of slinging arrows like Legolas, crushing enemies like Conan, or attacking angry chickens like Link—you can make that a reality in D&D 5e! There are three main aspects to a game of D&D: combat, exploration, and roleplay. Different games will feature different balances of these depending on how the people like to play but it’s up to you and your Dungeon Master (DM) to craft a world that you love! Whether it’s the Forgotten Realms, Critical Role’s Wildemount/Exandria, your own steampunk-themed world where wizards ride dinosaurs, or anything in between—your imagination truly is the limit!