Numbers that matter
What does DEX stand for
Dexterity
What is a Race in D&D
Your species
Give example for double points
What does DM stand for
Dungeon master
What is Armor Class (AC)
Armor Class is a number that determines how difficult a character is to hit with an attack. To hit a character, the attack roll + modifiers must equal or exceed the target’s AC. Class features, spells, and wearing different armor can affect your player character's AC.
What is a Spell level
Spells have different levels of power in D&D, determined by a spell level. This ranges from spell levels 0 to 9.
What are Hit points (hp)
A numerical value that represents how much damage a character can take before falling unconscious. Your hit point maximum increases as you gain levels.
or
health points
What is a Class in D&D
This is your chosen character role when you play a game. Your class provides you with various combat and non-combat features that determine how you can influence the world you are playing in.
What is a party
The adventuring group of player characters is known as a party. A group of players can also be referred to as a party
What are Saving throws
Determined by ability scores, these affect how well a character can avoid detrimental effects related to a given ability score. For example, if you need to avoid a fiery explosion, you might be asked to make a Dexterity saving throw.
“Roll for initiative“ what does that mean
Means a battle is about to start
What is Constitution
How healthy your character is
Describe a Character sheet
Your character sheet contains numerous stats about your player character and how to apply those stats to the dice you are rolling. Many of these stats are determined by the rules presented in the Player’s Handbook. However, if manually calculating all of these numbers sounds tedious, D&D Beyond’s character builder and sheets will handle all of the tedious math for you.
What is a PC
What you are in the game a player character
What are Skills in D&D
These represent actions you might take in the game. When you want to climb a tree or recall historical information, you might need to roll a die to determine how well your player character is able to accomplish the task. The game has a variety of skills, from Strength (Athletics) and Dexterity (Acrobatics) to Charisma (Persuasion) and Wisdom (Animal Handling).
What is Advantage and disadvantage
If you have advantage on a roll, it means you roll two d20 and take the higher number. Disadvantage is the opposite: you roll two d20s and take the lower number.
What is an Ability modifier
Using the numbers from your ability score, you can come up with an ability modifier. This number determines how a given ability score affect various dice rolls, hit points, and Armor Class. See modifiers in this table from the basic rules.
What is a Level
Player character levels increase as they progress through a campaign, and can range from 1 to 20. The higher the level, the stronger your character. For an example of how a player character's power increases with level, check out the fighter's leveling table found in the free Basic Rules.
What is Roleplaying
The main way of engaging in D&D. Each player will take the role of a character that they have created, and the Dungeon Master will take the role of the non-player characters that they interact with.
What is Proficiency
A character can be better in some skills than others. This is known as proficiency. If a character is proficient in a skill, a proficiency bonus is added whenever you make an ability check using that skill. Proficiency bonuses start at +2 and increases by 1 at 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th level.
What is a Cantrip
Level 0 spells. These are spells that are second nature to a spellcaster, and can be cast any number of times. These are the most basic level spells.
What are Ability scores
These represent a character's abilities, such as how strong or smart they are
What is Milestone leveling
Instead of calculating XP, player characters level up when they hit specific plot points or other checkpoints determined by the Dungeon Master.
What is a one shot
A short adventure that typically takes either one game session or a small handful of sessions. They can be great if you want to play D&D without committing to a campaign.
What is Passive Perception
Characters can also passively perform certain skills, the most common being Wisdom (Perception). This essentially measures how aware a player character is of their surroundings at any given time.
What is a Spell slot
Spells that are not cantrips require spellcasters to tap a limited resource known as spell slots. A 1st-level spell requires a spellcaster to expend a 1st-level or higher spell slot. A 3rd-level spell requires them to expend a 3rd-level or higher spell slot. If the player character doesn't have a spell slot to cast a particular spell, then they can't cast it. Spell slots are recovered after a short or long rest depending on your class.