D&D 4e Explained Simply

Dont worry, you are not a dummy if you need help understanding the 4e players handbook. D&D 4th edition is a great game. It is infinitely easier to understand then AD&D from when I was kid. Still, it's far from perfect and many claim 3rd edition and 3.5 are superior. Some swear by Pathfinder which is basically 3.5 by another company. 4e is what I got into and the books are readily available almost everywhere, even B&N. The problem with 4e, and many RPG games, is that the books are not entirely easy to understand, especially for someone new to the game. The books seem written by those who are masters of the game and as a result the information is scattered and not easily explained simply for beginners. I think the rules complexity and the chaotic instructions of 4e often serves as a block for new gamers. As a result I believe Wizards of the Coast is trying to correct this with D&D Next which is being play tested now and will be out, eventually, to try and draw in new players with simple rules and then layer more complex rules for the truly hard core.

Finding simple explanations for 4e was not hard though. Here are a few links that will help you with wrapping your head around it all.


D&D 4th Edition For Dummies Cheat Sheet


How to Create a 4Th Edition Dungeons and Dragons Character


If you still need help and find character creation a daunting task you can go to Wizards.com and for a fee, use their character creation software. Now I understand paying more to simplify the task of character creation may seem insane, and I kind of suspect its so complicated that WOTC either needed to make this software or made it complicated to get more money. Either way, the software helps. It's not terribly expensive and the full year option is the best value. Aside from the Character Builder software tool you gain access to 2 great magazines–Dragon and Dungeon–both chock full of articles, adventures, monsters, and more. You can also download all the older issues dating back quite a while. Also, (I know it sounds like I'm selling this but I already pay for the service and I love it) there is the D&D Compendium, and D&D Adventure tools. Both are searchable and aid greatly with characters, rules, monster creation and more. You can give it a try for a month, 3 months, or a full year. If you are not already a paying member this link will not do much for you but there are still some free resources on the WOTC site so I suggest you look around. It's basically home base for any D&D gamer.

Wizards.com D&D Character Builder

Finally here is a link to downloadable character sheets from Wizards. These can be downloaded for free and printed out. Enjoy.

Wizards D&D Character Sheets