CYBERDAGGER'S PROFILE

Dungeons & Dragons' Core Mechanic



See this motherfucker here? This is a twenty-sided die, d20 to its friends. You better start getting acquainted.

Every action in D&D is determined by the roll of a d20, with relevant modifiers added. That value is compared to a specific value to see if you succeed or fail. If it's equal or higher, you succeed. If it's lower, you fail.

The most common action in D&D, the attack? You want to attack someone, you roll a d20 and add your attack bonus to the roll. If you get equal or higher than your target's armor class, you hit with your attack, and roll for damage. If you get lower, you missed. There are two special cases when it comes to attacks, though. If you roll a 1, your attack always misses. Likewise, if you roll a 20, not only do you hit, regardless of your target's armor class, but your attack is also a critical hit.

With other actions, it's similar. If you want to jump over a chasm, you roll a d20, add your Athletics skill modifier to it, and then compare the result to a difficulty class set by the dungeon master. If someone throws a magical fireball at you, you roll a Dexterity saving throw to see if you can evade it. If you want to trick an NPC, you roll a d20 and add your Deception skill modifier, then the NPC does the same with Insight, and then you compare the results.

Also, there's advantage and disadvantage. There are situational modifiers you may acquire. When you have advantage when performing an action, you roll twice and keep the highest roll. Likewise, with disadvantage, you roll twice and keep the lowest.

There are dice other than the d20, but they're only used when rolling for damage. A dagger shouldn't deal the same damage as a large two-handed axe, after all.

Since we're doing this on an online forum, no actual dice will be involved. I'll be using an RNG on my end to determine the success of your actions.

The Six Attributes

Each character in D&D has six attributes, or stats if you wish to call them that. Their score determines the character's competence at certain kinds of actions. These attributes are:

Strength

Strength is a measure of the power of your muscles, your ability to exert raw physical force. It determines your ability to push or lift objects, break things, or other applications of brute force. Strength is important when attacking with most melee or thrown weapons. Strength is important for Fighters that focus on heavy weapons, Paladins, Barbarians, melee-focused Rangers, and combat-focused Clerics.

Dexterity

Dexterity is a measure of your agility, reflexes, and balance. Actions such as balancing on a tightrope, or picking a lock are influenced by your Dexterity score. Dexterity also helps with your attacks with finesse or ranged weapons. Dexterity also helps you dodge attacks, if you're not wearing heavy armor. Dexterity is important for Rogues, most Rangers, Bards, Fighters focused on light or ranged weapons, and Monks.

Constitution

Constitution relates to your stamina, pain tolerance, and general health. Things like long marches and holding your breath involve Constitution. Constitution is important for all classes, as it is used to calculate your HP total, but Barbarians make especially good use of it, as it also adds to their armor class.

Intelligence
Intelligence measures your capability for logical reasoning, your recall, and your deductive skills. Intelligence is important for Wizards, and those Fighters and Rogues that choose to dabble in magic.

Wisdom

Wisdom is about how in tune you are with the world. It has to do with your perceptiveness and intuition. Wisdom is important for Clerics, Druids, Rangers, and Monks.

Charisma

Charisma measures your capability to navigate social situations, your eloquence, and your raw presence. Charisma is important for Bards, Sorcerers, Paladins, and Warlocks.

Races and You

As with most fantasy games, there are several races in the world. The races available to you are human (of course), dwarf (mountain or hill), elf (high, wood, or dark (also known as drow)), halfling (lightfoot or stout), dragonborn, gnome (forest or rock), half-elf, half-orc, and tiefling.

Your character's race is not a purely aesthetic choice, and it determines some of its abilities, as well as some bonuses to the attributes.

On To Classes

Oh, yes, classes. Probably the most defining part of a character. You probably want to know about those. Here they are:

Fighter

Possibly the most straightforward class in D&D, though not necessarily lacking depth. The Fighter is the man-at-arms, the master of martial combat. He combines raw strength, agility, and tactical awareness to become a lord of the battlefield. Capable of using any weapon to its maximum potential, and an effective warrior in any kind of armor.

Barbarian

If you're imagining a shirtless man with a huge axe slaughtering countless numbers of his enemies while ignoring their blows, the Barbarian is the class for you. A primal and animalistic warrior, the Barbarian relies almost entirely on instinct when fighting, in contrast with the Fighter's structured form. The Barbarian is also capable of tapping into a primal rage, improving his physical capabilities even beyond those normally achievable by a man.

Rogue

Cunning and agile, the Rogue uses stealth and trickery to achieve his goals, whatever they may be. Capable of sneak attacking foes occupied with someone else or otherwise unaware of his presence for massive damage.

Monk

A master of martial arts, able to take the body to peaks of perfection. Is able to match the power of the most devastating weapons with only his body.

Cleric

The chosen champion of the gods, the Cleric wields divine power of his patron deity against the enemies of the faith.

Paladin

A holy warrior bound to an oath, and an exterminator of the foulest of evils. Even though many paladins are linked to a deity, the convictions of some of them are sometimes enough to awaken a divine spark in them.

Druid

A follower of ancient traditions, who channels the power of nature, calling on the power of the elements, life, and even being able to take the form of nature's fiercest beasts.

Ranger

An expert tracker and survivalist, the Ranger uses a combination of martial prowess and nature magic to eliminate any threats to the territory he protects.

Wizard

A scholarly wielder of magic who, through careful study and application of the principles of magic, can bend reality to his will.

Sorcerer

Unlike the Wizard, who studies magic from texts and teachers, the Sorcerer was born with the ability to wield magic. His power is innate, and wild, and their magic is more chaotic. Some Sorcerers go as far as claiming to be descendants of dragons.

Bard

Not just any performer, the Bard managed to discover the magic in music. He commands a subtle, yet powerful kind of magic, and has an inspiring presence that propels his allies to new heights.

Warlock

The Warlock's power is not his own. Though he wields magical power, it does not come from an innate capability or study, but it is granted to him by an entity he made a pact with. Entities that offer these pacts with mortals include powerful fey creatures, fiends, or perhaps far stranger beings, beyond reality as we know it.

In The Background

New to 5th edition, backgrounds are the part about what your character did before they turned to adventuring. With the background comes a set of extra proficiencies, sometimes languages, a few extra items to start out with, and a non-combat feature, all related to that past.

Backgrounds included in the Player's Handbook are the acolyte, charlatan, criminal, entertainer, folk hero, guild artisan, hermit, noble, outlander, sage, sailor, soldier, and urchin, but if none of those match the characters you have in mind, I'm okay with helping you create a custom background.