About us
Please read everything below. You must also join the group Discord and read through the #đwelcome-and-rules channel before RSVPing to any events. (Discord Link: https://discord.gg/x5mPb452xr)
Welcome to Dungeons & Dragons 5E for Beginners +, a group dedicated to learning how to play D&D together! I started this group in the summer of 2022 because I wanted to learn how to be a Dungeon Master, and I hope that anyone interested in learning the game will join me. Players of all experience levels are welcome, as long as you are respectful of the fact that many players (and DMs) here are just starting out on their D&D adventure.
This is a predominantly in-person group taking place in various locations in and around Brooklyn, NY.
We run primarily OPEN TABLE sessions, which means that tables are run with players RSVPing to each session on a first-come, first-serve basis. Players do not need to have experience playing D&D, to have attended previous sessions with us, or to commit to future games. The only requirement is that they bring a completed character within the specified tier level. This allows for flexible scheduling and low commitment and is a great way to introduce new players to the game. Here is a link to more about this table style: https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/38643/roleplaying-games/open-table-manifesto.
That being said, I encourage players and DMs to find folks they enjoy playing with at the open tables and start dedicated campaigns together! Both the Discord and Meetup are available for organizing purposes.
Weâve also got other sundry eventsâD&D-related or otherwiseâin the mix, so check Discord and Meetup for information regarding those
In the words of Mat Cauthon, âDovieâandi se toyva sagain!â (Itâs time to toss the dice!) đČ
We are always looking for more DMs!
Links:
Link to online version of the Playerâs Handbook, which includes character sheets on the last few pages: https://online.anyflip.com/dkneq/yerq/mobile/index.html#p=1
(Thereâs also this PDF version of the same Playerâs Handbook, minus the character sheets but possibly in an easier format: https://orkerhulen.dk/onewebmedia/DnD%205e%20Players%20Handbook%20%28BnW%20OCR%29.pdf)
Link to character sheets only (printable or fillable PDF): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c_rj7gaTK00gZ4HNBPz9PG4lCbkz0Vt0/view?usp=drivesdk
DnD Beyond: https://www.dndbeyond.com
Upcoming events
3
Free Learn2Play D&D Event (Saturday, April 11)
Seward Park Library, 192 East Broadway, New York, NY, USHow do I create a character? What are the rules of combat, and how does exploration and role-play work? What do I need to bring when I show up to a table? What is the role of the DM vs. the role of the player? How do Ability Scores work? What ARE Ability Scores? For that matter, what is D&D??
If you've been asking yourself any of these questions, then sign up for our Intro to D&D Newbie Workshop, where our team of experienced GMs (game masters) will walk you through the rules of the 5.5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons. We first run your table through a short game with pregenerated characters to get the hang of things, and then pivot to character creation so you get fully equipped to play D&D!
The workshop location alternates each month between the Seward Park branch of the New York Public Library and various branches of the Brooklyn Public Library. Our workshops are almost always scheduled on the second Saturday of the month, so if you can't make it this time you can always come to the next one!
We also suggest bringing a device that can connect to WiFi so that you can make a free character using the website D&D Beyond: https://www.dndbeyond.com/
D&D Beyond auto-populates a lot of character information and is quicker to use than pen-and-paper, especially for beginner adventurers.
What to bring:
- a set of polyhedral D&D dice (we will have extras if needed)
- a pencil and eraser
- a character sheet (printed) or a way to access dndbeyond.com (laptop, phone + charger, etc.)
THIS IS EVENT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
We also run a Discord server to organize in-person D&D games in New York City - this is where you can go to find games to join once you've learned how to play:
11 attendees
Appendix N Bookclub - Fritz Leiber's "Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser" Stories
The Hugh, 157 E 53rd St., New York City, NY, USđ Appendix N Book Club: Reading the Fiction That Inspired Dungeons & Dragons
What Is Appendix N?
At the back of the 1st Edition AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide (1979), in Appendix N, Gary Gygax included a list of 28 authors, 22 specific titles, and 12 book series that directly inspired the roleplaying game we still know and love today: Dungeons & Dragons. This book club is your invitation to explore those foundational works!What We Do in Book Club
Each month, we meet up in-person and:- Discuss a novel or a few short stories from Appendix N, and gain an appreciation for their stories, themes, and worldbuilding
- Share our opinions on the writing styles and influence of what we read in the fantasy genre and beyond
- Discuss how Appendix N has influenced the culture of D&D
- Consider how we might bring ideas from Appendix N into the games we play
Discussion also continues asynchronously in our Discord server for those who prefer online conversation or can't make it to the meeting.
đ Next Meeting: Selections from the "Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser" Stories by Fritz Leiber -- Saturday, April 18, 2026 · 1:00â3:00 PM đ Location: The Hugh, Manhattan (see location details)
For our next meeting, we'll be reading a selection of short stories from Fritz Leiber's "Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser" series, classics of the Sword & Sorcery genre:1. "Two Sought Adventure" (later retitled "The Jewels in the Forest", first published in 1939)
2. "Lean Times in Lankhmar" (1959)
3. "The Bazaar of the Bizarre" (1963)
4. "Ill Met in Lankhmar" (1970)These are standalone pulp stories with no overarching narrative, and can be read in any order. The one exception worth noting is "Ill Met in Lankhmar," which tells the story of how Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser first met, so you could start there.
Getting a Copy
PDFs of all four stories are provided on our Discord post for this event (see the most recent pinned posts in the Appendix N thread in the book club channel)PDFs can also be found online pretty easily, but if you want to read a physical copy, the stories were compiled in a popular six-volume collection by Ace Books between 1968 and 1970:
"Lean Times in Lankhmar" was republished in Swords in the Mist (1968); "The Jewels in the Forest" and "The Bazaar of the Bizarre" in Swords Against Death (1970); and "Ill Met in Lankhmar" in Swords and Deviltry (1970). More recent compilations of Leiber's fiction that contain these stories include Ill Met in Lankhmar (White Wolf Publishing, 1995) and Lean Times in Lankhmar (White Wolf Publishing, 1996), as well as The First Book of Lankhmar (Gollancz/Millennium Fantasy Masterworks, 2001).
About Fritz Leiber
Leiber began publishing his stories in pulp magazines of the 1940s, and kept writing until his death in 1992. He was a versatile author, working across horror, science fiction, and fantasy, and coined the phrase "sword and sorcery" to describe the subgenre. His stories are usually short, self-contained adventures, self-aware and humorous, featuring a rich vocabulary, clever dialogue, and memorable characters.About Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
Protagonists of many of Leiber's short stories, "the Twain" consists of Fafhrd, a barbarian from the frozen north, and the Gray Mouser, a streetwise city dweller, and are set in the world of Nehwon, and particularly in "the massive-walled and mazy-alleyed metropolis of Lankhmar, thick with thieves and shaven priests, lean-framed magicians and fat-bellied merchantsâLankhmar the Imperishable, the City of the Black Toga.âD&D Connections
The Fafhrd and Gray Mouser series is directly cited in Appendix N, and many of D&Dâs enduring conventions trace back to the escapades of Leiber's two rogues: the adventure hook found in a tavern, the fantasy Thieves' Guild, and the Gray Mouser himself as a key template for the Thief class (later the Rogue). Lankhmar and Newhon have a long history in roleplaying games as well, which we can discuss in more detail at the meeting.6 attendees
Past events
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