Dungeons & Dragons
For Teens
We have one or two D&D sessions each month for the teens ages 12 to 18. If you are new to the Madison Library District Teen Dungeons and Dragons Group, we extend a warm welcome and look forward to you joining us. Both beginners and experienced players are welcome to play. All players will need:
- A Character
- Dice
For Players WHO HAVE NEVER PLAYED Dungeons and Dragons:
We are more than happy to welcome people who have never played Dungeons and Dragons before; however, Dungeons and Dragons has a steep learning curve and our limited time for these events makes it difficult to teach new players how to play. We are happy to help you learn to play to the best of our abilities, but in addition to joining us you may want to use some external resources yourself.
Wizards of the Coast, the company that produces Dungeons and Dragons, has a great free guide for getting started playing the game. The reference is long, but to get a general sense of the rules and how to play, you only need to read chapters 7, 8, and 9 (pages 60 through 80). If you have any questions about what you read, feel free to get in touch with us and we will do our best to answer your questions.
Info For All Players
DICE:
Dungeons and Dragons uses special dice, as shown in the picture here. Each player will need access to a set of these dice. The library will NOT be able to provide players with dice. Players without dice can use any random number generator or dice app as an easy substitution, the easiest way being to Google “Random Number Generator,” which will bring up a simple Google app which players can then set to the values of the dice (for example, 1 to 20 for most rolls). Following are some other alternatives we recommend for dice. All of them are free.
- iOS app store or Android google play store: Dice 3D 7pixles
- Desktop Computer: http://a.teall.info/dice/
CHARACTERS:
Each player needs access to a character. All characters start at first level and can only be created using resources from the core Players Handbook (no supplementary sources). Players will also need to approve their characters with the librarian in charge as part of the RSVP process.
If you do not have a character you may build your own, or, if you do not know how to build your own or simply do not want to, you are welcome to use one of our pre-made characters.
Spell Scrolls – A Variation:
We will be departing from the normal rules pertaining to spell scrolls.
Spell scrolls are magical artifacts imbued with the essence of a spell. Any character, regardless of class, may use a spell scroll, one time, to cast the spell it contains. Once the spell is cast, the scroll is rendered useless and can only be discarded.
When using a spell scroll a character must have both hands free to open and read the scroll aloud. Characters must also be able to speak in order to do this.
A character using a spell scroll for a spell that would normally be available to their class may do so without any difficulty; however, if a character does not have that spell on their class spell list, they must make an INT (arcana) check, DC 10 + the spell’s level. Failure to cast the spell from the spell scroll renders the scroll powerless until the next sunrise at which the character may try again. Once a spell has been correctly cast, the scroll becomes permanently powerless.
With this system we are also imposing certain restrictions on the characters. The maximum level a character may achieve is level 7. Players are also reminded that all characters must be built using only materials available in the Player’s Handbook, meaning that when a character advances in level they cannot use any alternate paths, spells, abilities, or feats for their character beyond those available in the 5th edition Players Handbook.