Skip to Main Content

LIS 511 (2018 Fall): Dungeons & Dragons: Home

A guide for DMs, players, academics, and general D&D enthusiasts.
Banner image courtesy of dnd.wizards.com. Banner features 15 D&D characters of assorted races and classes standing in a line. Characters are mostly standing facing the viewer, though some are in combat positions. They are against a grey background.

Contents

How to Play

  • General D&D Resources
  • Gameplay
  • Character Development

DM Resources

  • Monsters, Encounters, and NPCs
  • Items
  • Worldbuilding
  • DM Tips and Advice

Where to Play

  • Online
  • In Person

Helpful D&D Vocabulary

D&D uses a lot of vocabulary that can be overwhelming for a new player. Here's a list of common D&D terms that you're likely to encounter in this guide: 

  • 5e. This stands for 5th Edition. Each edition of D&D has a different set of rules from the others. 5e is the most recently published edition.
  • Character Class. A character's class in D&D is sort of like their job. It determines what skills and abilities they have. Standard 5e classes include barbarian, bard, cleric, druid, fighter, monk, paladin, ranger, rogue, sorcerer, warlock, and wizard. 
  • Character Race. A character's race, similar to their class, determines certain abilities and skills that a character can have. Standard 5e races include dwarf, elf, halfling, half-elf, half-orc, human, and gnome. 
  • DM. This stands for Dungeon Master. The DM is responsible for leading the D&D campaign.
  • Homebrew. Homebrew content refers to unofficial player- or DM-created content.
  • NPC. Stands for non-player character. NPCs are usually created and played by the DM. 
  • Wizards of the Coast (WotC). The games publisher that owns and manages Dungeons and Dragons. 

Welcome, adventurers!

Welcome to the D&D LibGuide!

This is designed to be used by current and prospective D&D players and DMs, as well as those interested in studying the game and the communities that have sprung up around it. You can navigate using the tabs above or the navigation panel on the left. 

  • If you’re new to D&D and looking for a place to get started, or you’re a current player looking to up your game, try How to Play. 
  • If you’re a DM looking for worldbuilding tips, encounter trackers, NPC generators, or random item lists, check out DM Resources. 
  • If you’re not entirely sold on D&D yet and you want to get a feel for how the game is played before you commit, check out Actual Play Series. 
  • If you’re a player looking to join a campaign, or a DM looking for players to join your campaign, visit Where to Play. 
  • Lastly, if you’re looking for academic resources about D&D, such as the history of D&D or studies on the psychological impact of RPGs on teenagers, try Research.

Actual Play Series

The Adventure Zone logo.

The Adventure Zone

The Adventure Zone is a bi-weekly adventure/comedy podcast produced by Maximum Fun and hosted by brothers Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy and their father, Clint McElroy. Episodes typically run between 50-60 minutes, with the longest episode (the final episode of the Balance campaign) clocking in at 2h45min.  The podcast released a trailer for the show in early 2018, and was later adapted into a graphic novel (becoming the first graphic novel to top the New York Times‘ best selling trade fiction list). Episodes are available on MaximumFun.org and all major podcast platforms.

The bomBARDed logo.

bomBARDed

bomBARDed is a bi-weekly D&D podcast featuring an entirely bardic adventuring crew. It is hosted by a group of bandmates, who have to write and sing songs on the spot in order to use their bardic inspiration. Aspects of the song that they write are determined at random by dice rolls. New episodes come out every other Tuesday on their website and all major podcast platforms.

Critical Role logo.

Critical Role

Critical Role is a weekly D&D web series produced by Geek and Sundry. The series (which, as of 2018, is also available as a podcast) features a cast of professional voice actors playing Dungeons and Dragons together, DMed by Matt Mercer. Episodes typically run between 3-5 hours. The series broadcasts live at 19:00PT every Thursday on the Geek and Sundry Twitch channel, YouTube channel, and Project Alpha. The recorded videos are posted the week after they air on Geek and Sundry’s website, YouTube channel, and VRV (with subscription). The podcast is available on their website and all major podcast platforms.

Dice, Camera, Action logo.

Dice, Camera, Action!

Dice, Camera, Action! is an official D&D livestream and podcast that plays through D&D’s latest storylines. It streams every Tuesday at 4PM PT on the D&D Twitch channel, and is also available as a podcast on all major podcast platforms. Old episodes are available for viewing on their YouTube channel.

Librarian

Quick Links

Image of a tumblr post titled
A colorful d20.