Wondering how you can jump into a D&D Adventurers League game and begin your travels across the Realms? Here’s a handy guide to getting started in five easy steps!
This guide has been updated to reflect the latest changes for tabletop gaming.
1. Download & Read the Adventurers League Player’s Guide (and Basic Rules)
Think of these documents as something like a Tutorial.
If you’re completely new to D&D 5E, understanding what the rules are can smoothen your journey from zero to hero and rapidly propel you to success.
If you’re coming from a Homebrew background, reading these materials can help you understand the differences between Adventurers League games and the D&D you’re familiar with and some of the expectations that come with organized play.
You can download the latest Adventurers League Player Guides either from the #AL-Primer channel on our Discord server here, from our direct link here, and the D&D Basic Rules here.
2. Create a Character
Once you’ve read through the AL Player’s Guide, it’s time to build your first Adventurers League character.
It’s time to bust out those D&D books!
Most stories in Adventurers League take place in the world of the Forgotten Realms, a traditional high fantasy setting, and you can build this character using options from the Player’s Handbook, as well as other D&D books allowed – whether it’s Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide, Volo’s Guide to Monsters or Xanathar’s Guide to Everything. The campaign documentation for the setting you’re playing in has the full details.
Your character begins play at Level 1, accrues experience, and levels up as you play more D&D Adventurers League games. You can fill in your character details on a blank Character Sheet downloadable from the official D&D website, or through online resources like D&D Beyond.
D&D Beyond consolidates all official D&D resources in one place.
With the D&D Beyond Character Builder, you can create Adventurers League legal characters using the Basic Rules and more.
If you’d like to pass on the math and jump right for a game, we have a stable of iconic pregenerated characters you can choose from too.
Simply check out our D&D Iconic Pregens and pick one that you like!
3. Register for a Game
Public games for Adventurers League are advertised on our Discord, and sign-ups for games are through our Warhorn
(see also: Warhorn Registration Quickstart Guide).
Games are divided into tiers that determine their relative difficulty. For new players in Adventurers League, you’ll want to look out for adventures in Tier 1 (for characters from Level 1 to 4) or one of our monthly Introduction to D&D sessions.
Once you’ve registered for a game, be sure to contact your Dungeon Master through Discord to let them know. Members of our community are friendly and welcoming, and are always happy to help out if you’re new to D&D!
You can support the community by buying our Discord server a Boost, or supporting the Dungeon Master that ran a game for you with a tip or purchase on DMsGuild. We charge a nominal fee for convention games and special in-person events, which goes towards offsetting logistics and manpower costs.
Be sure to ask them how you can help them make the experience better for everybody!
You MUST be registered on Warhorn to register for games.
4. Play some D&D
Jump in, roll some dice and have fun when the big day arrives!
Most games through Discord or online rely on theater-of-the-mind and your imagination, and you can roll dice in the chat channel using Avrae, the official D&D Beyond dice bot. Sometimes, Dungeon Masters might use other platforms or virtual tabletops such as Fantasy Grounds, Roll20 to share visual aids like maps and grids.
Be sure to let your Dungeon Master know if you need help at any point during the game, or if there’s something you’re unfamiliar with.
Visual representations can make the experience pop in your minds.
Physical games normally take place at selected venues such as convention centers, function rooms, and the like.
We host quarterly D&D fan events for in-person play, so be sure to look out for our announcements for when they happen!
5. Log your Adventure
When the adventure ends, it’s time to reap your rewards. Your Dungeon Master will tell you what information you’ll need to put down on your log sheet as a record of your participation in the game.
You may choose to keep a physical record on the log sheet provided in the AL Player & DM Pack, or use a website like Adventurer’s League Log to do so. You can also keep a record using your favorite note taking apps, or even Google Sheets.
Keeping records online helps keep it accessible for yourself and your Dungeon Master!
Your logs help track your character’s progress, advancement, and rewards from playing various adventures, and are required if you wish to play your character at higher levels.
Sometimes, a Dungeon Master may also ask to see your logs so they can better tailor the experience for you.
This guide should hopefully make getting into your first Adventurers League game easier.
If you think this article has been helpful, be sure to let us know. We would also love to hear your feedback after you’ve played your first game with us!
D&D Adventurers League Singapore 