D&D Starting Out

PDF's are everywhere and I think they have quickstart rules or some shit for free online anyway.

PDF's aren't as nice as the book but the info's all still there. Why are none of your dickass friends making you a character? They obviously don't give a shit how interested you get in the game because that's a fucking shitty way to start playing.

I used to walk people through characters, tell them about shit, get them all pumped to play and they'd STILL flake out.

Kids these fucking days man.

Sorry I meant *why are none of your dickass friends making a character WITH YOU or otherwise helping you through it?

That's a bad sign for a first gaming group user.

Yeah it's not the ideal scenario, but only 2 of us have played before and they use the premade characters

mega.nz/#F!z8pBVD4Q!UIJWxhYEWy7Xp91j6tztoQ!jx4xzAYC
Thank me later.

RTFM

Thank you

OK, first question - do you want to be super good at archering at things, do you want to be a tacticool sneaky archer, or do you want to plink away at things and do loadsadamage?

This determines whether you want to fighter, ranger, or rogue respectively

I have pity on you user, my first game went roughly the same way.
First off, here's a nice blank character sheet. Better than the one in the book imo.

Secondly, 5etools is your friend: 5egmegaanon.github.io/5etools/5etools.html
It's got information on Rangers, Wood Elves, and Backgrounds to choose from. It's also got a stat roller.

So here's what you do:
>Generate stats. Put your best numbers in Dex, Wis, and Con. Rangers need those things.
>Add +2 to Dex and +1 to Wis since you're a Wood Elf.
>Use this table: i.imgur.com/2KiVrZk.jpg . Find the right modifiers, and record them next to the scores. Like if you have a 15, record +2.

It's kind of weird since you end up using the modifier more than the score itself, but just go with it.
Also, your proficiency is +2 at first level. Record that number. Basically you add +2 to shit you're trained in.

Now go through the Ranger (Revised) and Wood Elf pages on 5etools, and record fucking EVERYTHING.
>If it's a special rule like Darkvision or Favored Enemy, record it in Features and Traits.
>If it's a proficiency, either shade in the bubble next to the respective skill name, or write it in Other Proficiencies or Languages.
>If it's an item, record it in the weapons, equipment, or armor section.
I'd recommend making sure you're proficient in Perception & Stealth, the rest are up to you.

Now the last choice you need to make is Background. Go to the Backgrounds page on 5etools and pick one you want. Backgrounds give you starting equipment and skill proficiencies but they're mostly for flavor.

From here, you have everything you need.
>Starting HP for Rangers is 10 + Con Mod
>AC is 10 + Dex Mod + Armor Bonus
>Initiative is Dex Mod
>Passive Perception is 10 + Wis Mod
>Hit Dice is 1d10 for a first-level ranger.
>Your bonus to each skill is the respective Mod + Proficiency if the bubble is shaded.
So if your Dex mod is +3 and you're proficient at stealth, your Stealth skill is +5.

Thank you so much. I'll definitely get on this ASAP

Don't be overwhelmed by the 300+ page size, at least 100 of those pages are spells and another 100+ pages dedicated to classes/races/backgrounds you aren't going to be playing.

In reality the stuff a player needs to know is probably 40 pages in total.

That's still quite a bit of pages

It is, just don't try to take it all in one sitting.

For your other skills, I'd recommend Nature and Survival, since those skills benefit from your Favored Enemy and Favored Terrain features.

OP! Before you do anything...

You don't have to make a ranger to be an archer user. Check out Fighter, you can get this archetype at lvl 3 called battle master...google it.

You can be disarming people from far away or release a distracting arrow to confuse your foes. There's a bunch of maneuvers that'll make you feel like Hawkeye.

Staring as a fighter is gonna give you constitution save rolls, trust me when I say it'll save your life. You get +2 to archery at lvl 1 while for ranger you'll have to wait till lvl 2 or 3 I believe.

If you got to be a ranger, multi-class into it after lvl 3.

Also, what says about the different types of archers is true. If you'd rather be a sneaky-archer or soldier-archer, follow the steps outlined in but use the rogue or fighter pages, respectively.

>That's still quite a bit of pages
That's what your character sheet is for! Copying down notes for things like Darkvision seems tedious, but it's a lot nicer to have the notes in front of you than to have to flip through a book at the table. Don't worry about stuff you can't do yet, though. Like if you're level 1 don't bother learning about higher-level class features.

If you want, you can also print off this quick guide and bring it to the table with your character sheet.

(OP) (OP)
Here's a good build guild for ya OP. Check it out, it'll help a lot!

enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?469123-GUIDE-Into-the-Woods-We-Go-The-Ranger-Guide

Also to elaborate on user's post. The link also has details about different multiclass builds for archers.

If you want to be a sneaky sniper, start as a rogue and at lvl 3 pick assassin. After that pick Ranger and the hunter archetype at lvl 3.

If you want an archer that will control the battlefield with a rain of arrows than go with a fighter/ranger build. Start as a fighter and pick archery as a fighting style. At lvl 3 get battle master and then dip into ranger class and pick hunter at lvl 3.

Make sure you pick up the sharpshooter feat regardless of what class you pick. As a human variant you can get an extra feat so look at the feat list and see what you like and if its worth changing race. If not, stick to WOOD elf.

Have fun OP!

>Rolling for stats
Beat that shit out of your DM right fuckibg know, while you are all still new. Use a fixed array.

maybe im late, but

youtube.com/watch?v=iV_ozDCUReA

easiest and best tutorial out there

youtube.com/channel/UCRwnhxFZrL2yY5I60d5Ae_Q/videos

This guy got some neat introduction videos.

Just remember elves are an ancient and noble race.

These are about mechanics, not about how to actually roleplay and enjoy it.