Dungeons & Dragons is the original roleplaying game, the game that created a new category of entertainment. Set in a medieval fantasy world of magic and monsters, the game allows you to experience stories and adventures full of endless possibilities and amazing surprises.

Playing the D&D Roleplaying Game

To play the D&D Roleplaying Game, you need a Dungeon Master (DM) to present challenges, adjudicate the rules, and narrate the adventure.

You also need players to run heroic characters, an adventure (one you may have created on your own, or a premade adventure such as Keep on the Shadowfell), and dice.

A character is a player’s interface with the world of D&D. Like the hero of a novel or the star of a movie, the player characters (PCs) are at the center of the action. But there’s no script to follow—the course of every adventure is determined through the actions the players take. And each character grows and improves as the game goes on.

RPG Quick-Start Rules

At its heart, the D&D game uses a core game mechanic. Once you master this, you know how to play the game. It all revolves around task resolution. How do you know if a sword swing hits the owlbear? If an outrageous bluff tricks the guards? If a fireblast spell hits the charging kobolds? It all depends on these basic rules:

Decide what your character wants to do and tell the Dungeon Master.
Roll a d20 (the higher the roll, the better).
Add any relevant modifiers (as shown on your character sheet).
Compare the total result to a target number determined by the Dungeon Master.

If the result is equal to or higher than the target number, the task succeeds. If the result is lower than the target number, the task fails. There’s a little more to it than that, but the core mechanic governs all D&D game play. Everything else is an extension or refinement of the core mechanic.

These quick-start rules provide an overview of the game, including sample characters.

(1.3 mb PDF)

RPG Sample Adventures

Keep on the Shadowfell

This is the first published adventure using the 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons rules. In your role as Dungeon Master (DM) you get to send your friends on an adventure in which they'll explore dungeons, banter with villains, and defeat vicious monsters with sword, spell, and prayer. Together, the player characters (PCs) can work to thwart the insidious plot of an unholy cult, winning great treasure and a heroic reputation.

(4.2 Mbs PDF)

Khyber's Harvest

This D&D adventure, created for Free RPG Day 2009, is set in the Eberron campaign setting, but it can be adapted for any D&D campaign. Khyber's Harvest is an adventure for 2nd-level characters who travel to a peaceful village only to discover that it's threatened by an evil which has crawled up ... from below.

(3.6 Mbs ZIP)

For Younger Players

The Dungeon! Board Game

Dungeon! is a fast-paced game where you and your friends can decide which way to go in the hunt for bigger and better treasure. Featuring simple, straightforward rules that are easy to learn: Your goal in the Dungeon! game is simple. Choose a Hero (Rogue, Cleric, Fighter, or Wizard). Run through the dungeon, fighting Monsters and collecting as many Treasures as you can. Be the first to get out alive with enough Treasure!

Heroes of Hesiod

Are you a parent who wants to share the fun of Dungeons & Dragons with your kids, but you’re worried that the rules are too complicated or a standard adventure would tax their attention spans? Are you a teacher or librarian who would like to introduce your students to the game, but you’re reluctant to take on the regular time commitment of a full-blown campaign?

Monster Slayers: The Heroes of Hesiod requires no previous knowledge of Dungeons & Dragons, and all you need to play is included in this adventure, aside from a few dice and pencils (and some friends to play it with). Play time can be as little as fifteen minutes or as long as an hour, depending on how many monsters you run.

(845 Kbs PDF)

Playing D&D Board Games

In addition to the RPG, the following rulebooks are available to learn to play many of our D&D board games.

Lords of Waterdeep

(10 Mbs PDF)

The Legend of Drizzt (D&D Adventure System)

(17.2 Mbs PDF)

D&D Next

The D&D Next Playtest

Work on the next iteration of Dungeons & Dragons is underway, and you can be a part of it!

Interested in playtesting D&D Next? It's easy to sign up and download the latest playtest materials. Periodically, we will also send you surveys via email to get your feedback.

Questions about the D&D Next Playtest? Read the FAQ.
You can also read the original announcement.
Plus, share your opinions, talk with other gamers and stay in touch with D&D game designers by joining the official group page at: http://community.wizards.com/dndnext.