As Mike Mearls explained in Legends & Lore: The Basic Rules for Dungeons & Dragons is a PDF (over 100 pages, in fact) that covers the core of the game. It runs from levels 1 to 20 and covers the cleric, fighter, rogue, and wizard, presenting what we view as the essential subclass for each. It also provides the dwarf, elf, halfling, and human as race options; in addition, the rules contain 120 spells, 5 backgrounds, and character sheets.
But the best part? The Basic Rules is a free PDF. Anyone can download it from our website. We want to put D&D in as many hands as possible, and a free, digital file is the best way to do that.
Here now is the Basic Rules for Dungeons & Dragons:
Using These Rules
The Basic Rules document is divided into three parts.
Part 1 is about creating a character, providing the rules and guidance you need to make the character you’ll play in the game. It includes information on the various races, classes, backgrounds, equipment, and other customization options that you can choose from. Many of the rules in part 1 rely on material in parts 2 and 3.
Part 2 details the rules of how to play the game, beyond the basics described in this introduction. That part covers the kinds of die rolls you make to determine success or failure at the tasks your character attempts, and describes the three broad categories of activity in the game: exploration, interaction, and combat.
Part 3 is all about magic. It covers the nature of magic in the worlds of D&D, the rules for spellcasting, and a selection of typical spells available to magic-using characters (and monsters) in the game.
just as in the way the playtest documents evolved over the months, so will the "Basic Rules." It is tagged as version 0.1, but it will change as new material is added with the release of each book this year. More of the game will be put online for free.
While digital books and online sharing helped create the new D&D, in the future, the digital world will help people play this game of books and dice. Wizards announced it is working with Trapdoor Technologies on a computer application codenamed "Morningstar."
The program will have features to help Dungeon Masters create adventures before gaming sessions start, features to help run a game while everyone is playing, and then features to help keep track of an overall campaign as the players travel across a world and defeat their enemies. "By putting some of the mechanics in the hands of an application the people can focus on the player interactions and storytelling happening at the table and not worry about how much damage your great axe deals," says Stewart.
Picture this: a player sits down at their computer and creates their role-playing persona--a quick rogue, a pious cleric, or maybe a brutal barbarian. That player could then print out the character to bring it to the gametable that night. Or sync "Cecil the Bold" with the mobile version of Morningstar on a tablet. And then bring that portable screen to the game, which connects with the game that the dungeon master at the table is running on a laptop. Players can act out their hero's reactions at the table, they can discuss strategies to stop a tribe of trolls face to face, but they can look at maps and other materials online.
And this too will be leveled up over time. As more rulebooks and adventures are released, material will be incorporated into Morningstar so it remains up to date and compatible with all of Wizards' products.
I hope they do a better job than they did with 4th edition. Paying for a D&D Insider account and never getting the tools we were promised left a bad taste in my mouth. All they needed was one full time developer working on it while they raked in all the subscription dollars and they couldn't even manage that. I've moved to Pathfinder and will probably stick with that for a couple of years.
