Useful dice-based generation tables teach you how to create everything from backstories to events, and The DM’s Guide is packed full of tips on how to basically be the best Dungeon Master ever.īuy The Dungeon Master's Guide at Amazon.ģ. Not to mention guidelines on which type of fantasy to angle toward, and how to construct adventures ranging from dungeons to full-blown epic campaigns. This includes loads of stuff on world-building, plus you can explore deities, the different parts of the multiverse. You can safely avoid this if you’re planning on just playing, but if the urge to command the table creeps in (as it often does), this is the book you absolutely need.Įssentially, it contains everything you’ll need to “weave legendary stories”. The Dungeon Master’s Guide Also known as the DM's Guide, this book lays out the details on how to run your own game. Treasure this one, you’ll be using it a lot.Ģ. A satisfyingly weighty tome, it’s also beautifully illustrated. There’s so much lore to devour, not to mention spell lists, weapons and rules for downtime and combat alike. The biggest chunk is devoted to character creation, with plentiful pages on the different classes, races and ways to imbue personality and backstory into your characters. It outlines absolutely everything you need to play Dungeons & Dragons. Although you can get the basic rules online, this book takes that to the next level. This is the player’s bible, and whether you’re DMing or playing, you won’t be going anywhere without this bad boy. The Player’s Handbook The Player's Handbook is as essential as anything could be in D&D. If you're looking for a campaign setting (namely, an adventure) be sure to take a gander at our best Dungeons & Dragons 5E campaigns.ġ. We’ve numbered them in terms of importance, with the core books listed at the start. This guide will take you from start to finish, with the most crucial books near the beginning, and more supplementary materials coming toward the end.

So why limit yourself to just a couple of basic books? We've laid out all the best sourcebooks for D&D 5E here, and what you can expect to get from each of them.Įvery D&D guide sourcebook you'll ever need And while it's enormously fun in any form, it's at its best for those who know how to draw the most fun from it, the best monsters, rules, encounters and characters.

Dungeons and Dragons 5E is a vast system with nuances, variations, and rabbit holes like wouldn't believe.

All playable races in d&d 5e