Welcome Weary Traveler!
You look unfamiliar! You must be new around these parts. Well then come in! Come in! Sit down and grab yourself a tankard of our finest ale, first round's on the house for someone as handsome as yourself!
Seeing as you're new around here, let me tell you a bit about how things work around here. This web page was soley created for beginners like yourself to learn this amazing and complex game of D&D as I try to explain in an easy to understand way, using as many layman terms as possible and while I can't possibly cover everything, I'll sure as hell try to fit most of what you might need for your epic adventure.
My hopes for this is to let you know how much as possible how the game works generally and also spark an interest for the game in you, that you'll be willing to find out more for yourself. Juicy details can be found in the well-written "Player's Handbook" available from the official website and also the "Appendix" tab, where I'll be sharing useful links that shed more light where you can peruse at your leisure.
What is "Dungeons & Dragons"?
"Dungeons & Dragons" or D&D for short, is a role-playing game (RPG) where players assume the role of an imaginary fantasy character that they create themselves, their alter ego of sorts and go on epic quests and adventures together with three to four other players under the supervision and guidance of a "Dungeon Master" (DM) who would narrate the adventure by using a story or a campaign book as a guide as well as serve as a referee for much of the actions the players may want to attempt.
A typical game of D&D would usually go like this, the DM would put the players in different situations according to what the story might entail. This include things like having the players interact with the different objects and environments in the world, go through traps, fight and encouter different enemies and monsters or talk to the various non-playable characters (NPC) in the world.
It'll be then up to the players to decide how they want to approach each situation and using different actions to do so, seeing whether or not an action will be successful however will be up to the dice rolls, especially the famous 20-sided die.
How this all work will be explained in detail next, in the "Ability Scores & Modifiers" section.