Welcome to the World of Dungeons & Dragons

The Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game is about storytelling in worlds of swords and sorcery. Like games of make-believe, D&D is driven by imagination. It’s about picturing a crumbling castle in a darkening forest and imagining how a fantasy adventurer might react to the challenges that scene presents.

This book will be your guide to character creation and advance­ment, your reference for spells and equipment, and a constant com­panion at your table for looking up just how many beams of eldritch blast you can shoot this time.

Explore ancient ruins and deadly dungeons. Battle monsters while searching for legendary treasures. Gain experience and power as you trek across uncharted lands with your companions.

The world needs heroes. Will you answer the call?

Arm Yourself for Adventure

Learn How to Play

Dungeons & Dragons immerses you in a world of stories. The rules give structure to those stories, determining the consequences of an adventurers’ actions. Will your fireball finish off that vicious troll? Will you see the trap door before falling to your doom? Roll the dice and see.

The Player's Handbook is the essential D&D rulebook for both players and Dungeon Masters. Whether you're pulling off a thrilling heist or trying to charm a surly troll, this book will teach you everything you need to know for a lifetime of playing and running D&D games.

Bring Your Character to Life

Create a Character

The Player's Handbook will guide you through the process of creating a character. Choose from the most iconic D&D races and classes. Give your adventurer a personality and background. Equip them with armor, weapons, and all the adventuring gear they'll need to succeed. And dive into a game of magic and monsters, brave warriors and spectacular adventures.

As your character's experience and power grows, this book will also be your guide for leveling up, with handy reference charts and a variety of customization options.

Enter a World of Magic

Fill in Your Spellbook

Learn to resurrect your allies with the touch of your hand or punish enemies with blazing orbs of fire. The Player's Handbook will teach you the rules for spellcasting, the nature of magic in the D&D multiverse, and serve as your personal spellbook—who needs to go to wizard school?

Choose your spells from a huge A–Z directory, with full descriptions of over 350 of D&D's most beloved spells.

Playing Dungeons & Dragons

Become an Adventurer

Adventurers come in all shapes and sizes. Find one that’s fun for you.

An elvish cleric, driven from society for trespassing on tradition. A dwarven paladin, atoning for an ignominious past. The Player’s Handbook provides the skeleton for your characters. Flesh them out however you choose.

Join the Party

D&D brings people together and forges new friendships. Silly moments spawn inside jokes; moving battles leave treasured memories—whether in the heat of battle, embroiled in social intrigue, or solving clever puzzles, your party has your back.

Choose Your Own Path

The woods are growing dark. Behind a mass of ivy, you see the stones of a crumbling castle. What do you do?

In D&D, your options are limitless. Because the Dungeon Master, as narrator of your tale, can improvise in reaction to any choice you make, what happens next is entirely flexible. Do you dare go on?