Getting started
Your first two weeks with 5e
A two-week onboarding path for new players and first-time DMs.
Day one
One public primer and one short scenario beat a shelf of supplements on week one.
Pick a scope
Prefer primary rules docs and named designer posts over anonymous 'best of' lists.
Teach the table
Label spoilers. Separate rules fights from fiction talk. Escalate to mods—skip the pile-on.
After session one
Guides, Glossary, and Resources go deeper when you need them. Write three bullets: what sang, what stalled, what to prep next. Compare notes with ideas in Dungeon Masters Guild.
Readable handouts and clear remote audio beat pretty PDFs nobody can use.
Tables forget basics: initiative clarity, spotlight balance, downtime hooks. Write the house call once.
Optional homework after session one: skim one publisher rules clarification or SRD section that confused the table, then decide whether it becomes a house ruling. Document the call so week two does not reopen the debate from zero.
Related desks in this neighborhood
If you also dig older editions or adjacent fantasy stacks, peek at our sibling desks for AD&D-flavored prep, old-school frameworks, and open SRD reading lists.