Dungeons & Dragons 5e — The world's most popular d20 RPG

"The game that brought tabletop RPGs back to the mainstream."

Free

Diced20 + modifiers

Players3–7

Prep~15 min

Foundry VTTOfficial

Complexity

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What is this system

Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition is the fifth and most popular edition of the world's first tabletop roleplaying game, released in 2014. A d20 system with the elegant advantage/disadvantage mechanic, 12 classes, 13 ancestries, hundreds of spells and monsters. The SRD is free under Creative Commons. The game that brought RPGs back into pop culture through Critical Role, Stranger Things, and Baldur's Gate 3.

Setting

Medieval fantasy with endless variations: Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Eberron, Ravenloft, Spelljammer, Planescape. A world where elves, dwarves, and tieflings share tables with humans, and dragons aren't always enemies.

What it looks like at the table

The goblin chief barks orders, but Lyra the wizard is already whispering the incantation. Fire illuminates the cave — advantage on the roll! Fighter Thorin surges forward while the rogue Cay creeps up behind. The dragon stirs. Initiative decides who faces its fangs first.

Playstyle

Combat Exploration Narrative Tactical Fantasy

Key mechanics

Advantage / Disadvantage

Instead of pages of bonuses and penalties, one elegant principle: roll two d20s and take the higher (advantage) or lower (disadvantage). Simple, intuitive, and endlessly applicable.

Bounded Accuracy

Modifiers grow slowly, DCs stay stable. A goblin is still dangerous at level 15. Balance without the numerical arms race of previous editions.

Classes & Subclasses

12 classes, each with 3–4 subclasses. Fighter, rogue, paladin, warlock — every level brings new abilities, not just +1 to stats. Character identity through mechanical choices.

Short & Long Rest

A short rest (1 hour) recovers hit points and spent abilities. A long rest (8 hours) fully restores. A resource-management system that encourages pacing over 'fight to the death'.

What people say

D&D 5e is an extremely well put together game. It makes use of some very elegant and simple mechanics, and best of all, it is recognisably 'Dungeons and Dragons'.— M. T. Black, RPGnet

This edition of D&D is an arm round your shoulder, a word in your ear, a warm invitation to the world of role-playing. The rules are dealt with in a handful of pages.— Robert Florence, Rock Paper Shotgun

Art & materials