Secret Lesson 0

Introduction to the Course, 5E Role-Playing Games, and the SRD 5.2.1

Welcome, adventurer.

This course is designed to take you from your very first steps in a 5E role-playing game all the way to a complete understanding of the rules contained in the System Reference Document 5.2.1, or SRD 5.2.1.

You do not need to know the rules before starting.

You do not need to understand character sheets, spells, classes, Armor Class, Hit Points, saving throws, monsters, or any of the other terms you will encounter later.

We are going to build that knowledge gradually.

By the end of the course, the objective is for you to understand not only what the rules say, but also how those rules work when people actually sit down and play a 5E role-playing game.

WHAT IS A 5E ROLE-PLAYING GAME?

A 5E role-playing game is a game in which players control characters who take part in an imaginary adventure.

One participant takes a special role: the Game Master, usually shortened to GM.

The other participants normally control the adventurers who are experiencing the story.

The GM presents the world around those characters.

The players decide what their characters attempt to do.

The rules help determine what happens next whenever the result is uncertain.

That simple interaction is the foundation on which the entire game is built.

You might enter an ancient ruin.

You might negotiate with a suspicious guard.

You might search a room for a hidden passage.

You might attempt to cross a dangerous chasm.

You might fight a monster.

You might cast a spell.

You might discover a strange magical object.

Whatever happens, the game repeatedly moves between description, decision, and consequence.

THE BASIC RHYTHM OF PLAY

The SRD describes a simple three-part rhythm that lies behind virtually every game session.

1. The Game Master Describes the Scene

First, the GM explains what the characters perceive and what is happening around them.

The GM might describe a ruined chamber, a crowded marketplace, a mysterious forest, an approaching creature, or anything else the adventurers encounter.

This gives the players the information they need to make decisions.

2. The Players Describe What Their Characters Do

The players then decide how their characters respond.

There is no single list containing everything a character is allowed to attempt.

A player can describe an action based on the situation.

For example:

“I examine the strange symbol on the wall.”

“I try to open the locked door.”

“I speak to the guard.”

“I hide behind the ruined column.”

“I attack the creature.”

The player describes the intention.

The rules and the GM determine how that intention is resolved.

3. The Game Master Describes the Result

Some actions are simple enough that no roll is necessary.

If an adventurer opens an ordinary unlocked door, the GM might simply describe what lies beyond it.

Other actions involve uncertainty.

A lock might be difficult to open.

A hidden trap might be nearby.

A creature might resist an adventurer's attempt to influence it.

An attack might hit or miss.

When the outcome matters and isn't certain, the rules can call for dice to determine what happens.

Once the result has been established, the GM describes the new situation.

That creates another decision for the players.

And the cycle begins again.

Describe → Decide → Resolve → Continue.

That is the heartbeat of the game.

THE THREE PILLARS OF PLAY

The SRD organizes play around three major areas:

SOCIAL INTERACTION

Social interaction occurs when characters communicate with other creatures.

A conversation can be just as important as a battle.

Characters might persuade someone to help them, deceive an enemy, intimidate an opponent, gather information, negotiate, or simply speak in character.

Later in the course, you will learn how roleplaying, attitudes, ability checks, and the Influence action help resolve these situations.

EXPLORATION

Exploration is what happens when adventurers interact with the places around them.

They might travel across wilderness, investigate ruins, search for hidden objects, use equipment, avoid hazards, navigate darkness, climb, swim, hide, or discover something unexpected.

Exploration is about discovering the world and deciding how to interact with it.

COMBAT

Combat begins when conflict becomes structured enough that characters and their opponents need to act in an organized sequence.

The game then uses rounds, turns, movement, attacks, actions, reactions, damage, Hit Points, and many other rules that we will study in detail later.

Combat may appear complicated when you first see all those rules together.

It becomes much easier once each part is learned separately.

That is exactly what this course will do.

WHO IS THE GAME MASTER?

The Game Master controls and describes much of the game world.

The GM presents situations, environments, and creatures that the player characters encounter.

Outside combat, the GM decides how activities are resolved and makes sure the different characters have opportunities to act.

When an action has an uncertain result, the GM may call for a roll and use the rules to determine the outcome.

The GM also controls the creatures and characters that are not controlled by the players.

Later in this course, we will learn rules that are particularly important for the GM, including:

  • travel

  • hazards

  • traps

  • poisons

  • environmental effects

  • fear and mental stress

  • combat encounters

  • Challenge Rating

  • magic items

  • monster stat blocks

  • running monsters

So although many early lessons apply directly to players, the complete course also gives you the tools required to understand the game from the GM's side.

WHO ARE THE PLAYERS?

Each player normally controls an adventurer represented by a character sheet.

That sheet records the game information needed to use the character.

As the course progresses, you will learn how characters are built from several major elements, including:

Class

Your class represents a major part of your adventurer's capabilities and progression.

The SRD includes classes such as Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard.

Background

Your background represents important parts of your character's life before becoming an adventurer.

Species

Your species provides a set of game traits associated with your character's form of sapient life.

Ability Scores

Every character has six abilities:

  • Strength

  • Dexterity

  • Constitution

  • Intelligence

  • Wisdom

  • Charisma

These abilities will become one of the most important foundations of the entire rules system.

We will begin studying them properly in Lesson 3.

WHERE DO THE DICE COME IN?

Dice help resolve uncertainty.

You will encounter several types of dice throughout the rules, but one die is especially important: the d20, the twenty-sided die.

Many important situations use what the SRD calls a D20 Test.

There are three main kinds:

  • Ability Checks

  • Saving Throws

  • Attack Rolls

Do not worry about learning how they work yet.

We will study D20 Tests step by step beginning in Lesson 4.

For now, remember only this:

you describe what your character attempts, and when the outcome is uncertain, the rules can use dice to help determine what happens.

WHAT IS THE SRD 5.2.1?

The System Reference Document 5.2.1 is the rules document that forms the foundation of this course.

Rather than treating the SRD as hundreds of pages that must be memorized at once, this course reorganizes its material into a progressive learning path.

Across the 106 lessons, we will work through the major areas contained in the SRD.

You will learn:

GAME FUNDAMENTALS

How the core rules work, including abilities, D20 Tests, proficiency, actions, social interaction, exploration, vision, travel, and other essential systems.

COMBAT

Rounds, turns, initiative, movement, attacks, damage, healing, resistance, vulnerability, immunity, and what happens when a character reaches 0 Hit Points.

CHARACTER CREATION

How to build a character and understand the information recorded on a character sheet.

CLASSES

The twelve classes provided in the SRD and the subclasses included with them.

CHARACTER ORIGINS

Backgrounds, species, languages, and the other elements that help establish who your adventurer is.

FEATS

Special game features that can expand and customize a character's capabilities.

EQUIPMENT

Weapons, armor, tools, adventuring gear, mounts, vehicles, money, lifestyle expenses, crafting, and other equipment rules.

SPELLCASTING

How magic works mechanically, including spell preparation, spell slots, components, Concentration, ranges, targets, saving throws, spell attacks, and the complete collection of SRD spells.

RULES GLOSSARY

The detailed definitions that explain the game's technical terminology.

GAMEPLAY TOOLBOX

Additional rules and tools for travel, backgrounds, magical contagions, environmental effects, fear, mental stress, poison, traps, and combat encounters.

MAGIC ITEMS

How magical objects work, how they are activated and crafted, and the complete collection of magic items contained in the SRD.

MONSTERS AND ANIMALS

How monster stat blocks work and how to use the creatures provided in the SRD.

The final part of the course will take us through the complete monster and animal collection.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO MEMORIZE EVERYTHING

A rules system of this size contains a great deal of information.

The goal of this course is not to throw every rule at you immediately.

Instead, we will build the system in layers.

First you will understand the basic language of the game.

Then you will understand its central mechanics.

Then combat.

Then character creation.

Then classes and character options.

Then equipment.

Then magic.

Then the deeper reference rules.

Finally, you will learn how the game's monsters and other creatures work.

Each new lesson will build on concepts introduced earlier.

A SIMPLE EXAMPLE OF PLAY

Imagine the GM says:

“You enter an old underground chamber. At the opposite end stands a heavy stone door. Strange markings cover its surface.”

The players now decide what to do.

One might say:

“I examine the markings.”

Another might say:

“I watch the corridor behind us in case something follows.”

Another could approach the door and try to open it.

The GM determines what happens.

Perhaps examining the markings is straightforward and reveals something immediately.

Perhaps understanding them is uncertain and requires a roll.

Perhaps opening the door reveals another chamber.

Perhaps it triggers a danger.

Perhaps something approaches from behind.

The result changes the situation.

The GM describes that new situation.

The players make another decision.

And the adventure continues.

This tiny example contains the fundamental structure behind an entire 5E game.

The rules we will learn during this course exist to help everyone determine what happens when those decisions interact with an uncertain world.

LESSON 0 — KEY TAKEAWAYS

Before moving forward, remember these ideas:

A 5E role-playing game is driven by decisions.

The GM describes the situation, the players describe what their characters attempt, and the outcome creates the next situation.

Play has three major pillars.

Social Interaction, Exploration, and Combat.

The GM presents and resolves the world.

The players make decisions through their characters.

Dice resolve uncertainty when the rules call for them.

The d20 will become especially important.

Your character is represented by game statistics.

Those statistics will gradually make sense as we progress through the course.

The SRD 5.2.1 is our rules foundation.

Every lesson in this course will build upon its systems until you understand the complete rules framework covered by the document.

NEXT LESSON

LESSON 1 — THE SRD 5.2.1 LICENSE, CC BY 4.0, ATTRIBUTION, AND “5E COMPATIBLE” CONTENT

Before we begin modifying, publishing, or building material using the SRD, we need to understand the rules governing how that material may be used.

That is the subject of Lesson 1.

SRD 5.2.1 ATTRIBUTION

This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 (“SRD 5.2.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.