NCompass Live: A Bunch of D&D Stuff: Info for Beginners

NCompass Live - October 8, 2025
http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ncompasslive/

Want to know more about Dungeons & Dragons and TTRPGs in general? Want to know of ways to integrate it into your library - and other ways of playing the game? Tune in and settle down for a sesh with Liz the Librarian to learn more!

Presenter: Liz Hittle, Librarian & Dungeon Master.

1. D&D Terms &
Acronyms
Session – a block of time, usually a few hours, where a group of players and
their DM gather to play their D&D campaign.
Campaign – a D&D campaign is a series of connected adventures, or
sessions, that tell a larger story, usually involving the same group of characters
and a shared setting throughout. For example, one of my campaigns is called
‘There & Back Again,’ referencing how they left home and will eventually come
back, but each session has its own specific title with its own plot point happening
during it, and each session is a part of the larger campaign as a whole. No, you do
not have to title the sessions if you don’t want to, and you can have your players
name your campaign if you’d like; this is just what I do.
DM = Dungeon Master – the person who organizes and oversees the
playing of the game D&D, particularly by narrating the details of the story that are
not controlled by the players. You can think of the DM as the narrator of the game
who also has the power to shape the world and story as they see fit. Another term
for it is GM, or Game Master.
PC = Player Character – the people your players create and play as. Also
known as “adventurers.” A group of them is called a party.
NPC = Non-Player Character – the background people the DM creates in
their setting for the players to interact with. They can serve as friends or foes for
your players, they can give quests and plot details, or they can be there just for
decoration. Note: your players WILL ask what so-and-so's name is, and it WILL
make you freeze up trying to think of one on the fly, so be sure to keep a list of
relevant names handy nearby to use when they ask!

2. BBEG = Big Bad Evil Guy/Gal - the arch nemesis of the player group, or the
villain they’re fighting against; defeating the BBEG usually happens at the end of a
campaign, with each session building up to the final showdown
HP = Hit Points – a numeric representation of how much life a character has
TPK = Total Party Kill – this isn’t like oh, you’re a total party kill, bummer
bro; it literally means that the DM somehow threw an encounter at the party that
killed ALL of them, and they now have to make new characters. This can usually
be avoided by fudging your rolls, throwing in a deus ex machina to save your
players, adjusting the bad guy’s stats mid-fight as you realize ‘ohhhh noooo this
thing is WAY too strong for these guys!’, etc etc.
Deus Ex Machina – an unexpected power, event, or NPC that swoops in and
saves the party from a hopeless situation, like a TPK that you can’t DM your way
out of
Fudging Your Rolls – rolling for something and saying that the dice rolled
something else than what they show. This can only be done if you do your rolls
behind a DM screen and your players don’t see. You don’t ever want them to
know when you’re fudging your rolls, or you may lose their trust. Don’t be afraid
to tell them later on way down the line when you’re reminiscing, though!
Canon – the established body of events, characters, and lore within a
specific fictional universe, as defined by its original creators. It can be fun to have
non-canon sessions, where the combat or whatever you do has nothing to do
with the plot, and your players don’t have to worry about stakes.
Proficiency – a character's training or knowledge in a specific area. Being
proficient with a skill or item means that you can add a bonus to all rolls having to
do with those things – using items you are not proficient with carries heavy
penalties in gameplay.
Tank – a character with high health and defense that draws enemy attacks
to themselves, taking most of the damage during battle to protect their
teammates

3. Support – a character that heals and boosts their allies
XP = Experience Points
OP = Over-Powered
IC = In-Character
OOC = Out-of-Character
IRL = In Real Life
D&D Ability Scores
Strength (STR) is how strong you are. This score determines how much weight
you can carry and throw, how you are at performing brute force tasks, and how
powerful your blows are. Most weapons add your Strength modifier to your
attack rolls.
More examples: smashing down a door or holding one shut, moving a boulder,
lifting
Dexterity (DEX) is how agile you are. This score determines how quickly you can
dodge attacks, how well you perform acrobatic activities, and how fast your
reflexes are. The rest of the weapons list add your Dexterity modifier to your
attack rolls.
More examples: sneaking past a guard, walking along a narrow ledge, wiggling
free

4. Constitution (CON) is how durable you are. This score determines how you
withstand damage, helps you maintain concentration on spells, and influences
your amount of hit points. More examples: keeping up a sprint, winning a
drinking contest, enduring
Intelligence (INT) is how smart you are. This score determines your ability to
learn new things, investigate clues, and understand complex information.
More examples: recalling lore, decoding messages, recognizing the significance
of a clue
Wisdom (WIS) is how intuitive you are. This score determines your willpower,
whether you notice hidden details or not, and helps you make sound judgments. I
always say that Intelligence is knowing information and Wisdom is knowing how
to use it.
More examples: spotting a hidden creature, sensing whether someone is lying
Charisma (CHA) is how charming you are. This score determines how well you
can charm, persuade, deceive, and intimidate others. How good your ‘rizz’ is, if
you will.
More examples: cowing or whipping up a crowd, persuading a creature to do
something

5. D&D Skills (Ability Scores
Explained)
Acrobatics (DEX): balancing, jumping, climbing quickly, falling without hurting
yourself
Animal Handling (WIS): calming and taming wild animals, riding a horse, training
a pet
Arcana (INT): magical skill, magical lore, shaping magic in different ways
Athletics (STR): climbing, swimming, running, physical exertion
Deception (CHA): telling a convincing lie, making someone believe in your act
History (INT): remembering past events and things you’ve read or learned about
before
Insight (WIS): understanding motives, telling whether someone is lying or not
Intimidation (CHA): threatening others, looking scary, using fear to make others
comply
Investigation (INT): deducing clues, searching a room, looking into a lead
Medicine (WIS): healing, dressing wounds, assisting downed allies
Nature (INT): information about flora and fauna
Perception (WIS): seeing hidden things like buttons, hastily buried treasure, or
traps; noticing changes in expression; reading between the lines; catching
secretive motions
Performance (CHA): entertaining, putting on an act, pretending, showing off
Persuasion (CHA): convincing others, changing someone’s mind, shaping
opinions

6. Religion (INT): religious knowledge like deities, information, rites, rituals, texts, &
songs
Sleight of Hand (DEX): picking pockets, cheating at cards, palming a message or
item
Stealth (DEX): hiding, sneakily doing an activity, trying to whisper and not be
heard
Survival (WIS): following tracks and covering them, making camp, skinning your
kills, harvesting food, being able to identify flora and knowing whether it is safe to
interact with
There are many other examples that can be used – just ask the DM, your players, or Google!
Each skill has the same bonus as the corresponding score, but if you are proficient in the skill,
you add your proficiency bonus to the total, as well. For example: my DEX is a +2 and my
proficiency bonus is a +3, so all skills that fall under DEX have a +2 bonus to them, but any DEX-
related skills that I’m proficient at will have a +5 to them instead. So, my Acrobatics and Sleight
of Hand have a +2, but I’m proficient at Stealth, so that has a +5. You can be proficient in a skill
that you have a negative or no modifier for – that’s what can help it become positive!
D&D Alignments
Alignments aren’t required in D&D, but they can help you make decisions for your
character based on which one they fall under. I don’t use them, because most of my players
(and myself) are pretty chaotic, and like to toe the line between basically all the alignments. I do
make NPCs with certain alignments, but they’re also blurred.
People aren’t black and white; they’re gray, you know? A mix of good, neutral, and evil.
But if anybody is wanting to play any kind of straight-up evil character, it should be done
in a way where everyone else doesn’t know about it (they’re keeping it a secret and are waiting
to reveal it with the DM later on in the campaign – will the power of friendship save them?!),
everyone else is also evil in some way (villain-only campaign? Band of misfits trying to become
better people? Group of prisoners forced to work together?), or it was unanimously agreed

7. upon beforehand (you can be evil, but your party [or patron] don’t let you do anything too
heinous while traveling with them).
The biggest thing most people are worried about is whether someone is a team player or
not. If they are, the group will have its own alignment that constantly changes as they travel
together, shaped by their decisions and the events around them. If they aren’t a team player,
D&D isn’t the game for them.
No spotlight hogs or people with main character syndrome allowed here!
Lawful Good: endeavor to do the right thing as expected by society.
Neutral Good: do the best they can, working within rules but not feeling bound
by them.
Chaotic Good: act as their conscience directs with little regard for what others
expect.
Lawful Neutral: act in accordance with law, tradition, or personal codes.
Someone who follows a disciplined rule of life—and isn’t swayed either by the
demands of those in need or by the temptations of evil—is probably Lawful
Neutral.
Neutral: prefer to avoid moral questions and don’t take sides, doing what seems
best at the time.
Chaotic Neutral: follow their whims, valuing their personal freedom above all
else.
Lawful Evil: methodically take what they want within the limits of a code of
tradition, loyalty, or order.
Neutral Evil: untroubled by the harm they cause as they pursue their desires.
Chaotic Evil: act with arbitrary violence, spurred by their hatred or bloodlust.

8. D&D Classes
Artificer: class that crafts and enhances items by tinkering with objects;
a magic-user that gets their power from the things they create.
Barbarian: class that goes into a rage to make and take loads of damage;
best class to tank with.
Bard: a magic-user that gets their power from the music that they perform;
great for boosting allies and messing with enemies, making it the best support
class.
Cleric: a holy magic-user that gets their power from their chosen deity;
second-best support class, even a potential tank class (my son did it!).
Druid: a magic-user that gets their power from nature, and they can shapeshift
into all kinds of animals, beasts, and creatures; dangerous if you know how to
play them right!
Fighter: class that is proficient with all kinds of weapons and armor and knows all
forms of combat; deals a lot of damage but still quick on their feet, potential tank
class.
Monk: class that uses their fists and martial arts to damage enemies;
a secret powerhouse of a fighting class if you use the ki points right.
Paladin: holy magical warrior that gets their power and strength from the oath
that they swore; second best class to tank with, while also being a spellcaster!
Ranger: class that can hunt, track, and survive better than any other class, the
best one to travel with; they have the potential to be their own kind of
powerhouse if played right.
Rogue: sneaky and stabby, the stealthiest of all the classes, can easily be the MVP;
can’t take too much damage but can deal a whole lot of it to enemies.

9. Sorcerer: a magic-user that is born with the innate ability to use powerful magic
in practically any way that they see fit, but virtually useless in close combat.
Warlock: a magic-user who gets their power from a being that they struck a deal
with (or from a patron that they made a pact with); powerful spellcaster with the
potential to be a fighting class if built and played right, though the magic system
is a bit strange.
Wizard: a magic-user who gets their power from studying and reading books!
They are also virtually useless in close combat but have access to all kinds of
powerful magics.
D&D Dice
There are seven dice to each set of D&D Dice.
First, you have the d20, or an icosahedron.
This is the most important one of the set. Almost every single time you are asked to roll,
whether it be for attacking, making a check, or reacting to a situation, you will be rolling a d20.
The higher the number, the better the roll, with 20 being the best (nat 20, critical success), and
1 being the worst (nat 1, critical failure). In most games, a nat 20 is an automatic success, and a
nat 1 is an automatic failure, no matter what your bonuses or penalties to the roll are – you just
make or break it.
Second, we have the d12, or a dodecahedron.
These are usually heavy weapon damage dice, or hard-hitting spell damage dice.
Next, we have two dice that are shaped the same (pentagonal trapezohedrons) but mean
different things. The d10 and the percentile dice.
The d10 is 1 through 10, with 0 being the 10, and is also used for higher damage dice.
The d10 can also be paired with the percentile dice, which shows 10-20-30-40-50-60-70-80-90,
to roll in the place of a d100 when you need to roll that. So, let’s say I rolled a 5 on the d10, and
a 50 on the percentile dice – that's 55. D100s are rolled for extreme situations and crazy effects,
like on a wild magic surge table; don’t worry too much about that one at first.
Fifth, we’ve got the d8, or an octahedron.
These are usually used as the higher side of lower-damage dice.

10. Sixth, fittingly, we’ve got the d6, a hexahedron or cube.
This is the second-most used dice of the set, and the most common – the dice you roll for a
board game are d6s. D6s are the most common damage dice and hit point dice.
And, finally, we’ve got the d4, or a tetrahedron, what I also lovingly refer to as a caltrop,
because it sure sucks to step on! This one is your most common low-damage dice.
The number of dice rolled comes before the type of dice. For example: “roll 4d6” means roll a d6
four times or roll four d6s; “roll 8d10” means roll a d10 eight times or roll eight d10s; so on and
so forth.
You can only reroll damage dice if you have an ability saying that you can do so.
You can use any of the dice to determine the result on a table, to choose between players, etc.
If you have advantage on a roll, you roll your d20 twice and take the higher number.
If you have disadvantage on a roll, you roll your d20 twice and take the lower number.
When you are asked to roll an ability or skill check, you roll a d20 and add your bonuses or
subtract your penalties to that particular ability or skill, and you have to meet or beat the DC, or
Difficulty Class, for that roll. For example: the DC to sneak through a corridor undetected is 13,
so I need to roll that or higher in stealth to beat it. If I have a +2 to Stealth and roll an 11, I meet
the DC, and succeed.
D&D Links
Keep in mind that D&D Beyond locks pretty much everything behind paywalls and purchases,
so the links of theirs I have listed are only starting points! Google is your friend!!
https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/
One of the BEST name generators that exists! They have all kinds of species, games, movies, etc
for categories, AND they also have town names, lake names, etc. I usually type “species name
fantasy name generator” into the Google search bar, and it comes right up!
https://www.dndbeyond.com/species?
srsltid=AfmBOoq6BpG3wnpvtrRrW7wh2dYjbXta7oRaHSf4eVrlHTfdehDtHfZ6
D&D Beyond’s Species List
https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Conditions#content
Conditions and how they work, including Exhaustion!

11. https://dnd5e.wikidot.com/adventuring-gear
Equipment packs and what they contain!
https://dnd5e.wikidot.com/tools
Tool kits, their uses, and what they contain! Includes DCs and more!
https://dnd5e.wikidot.com/armor
Basic starting armors and their stats!
https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Weapons#content
Basic starting weapons and their stats!
https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/5e_Backgrounds
Great big gigantic list of backgrounds to choose from!
https://www.dndbeyond.com/feats?
srsltid=AfmBOooGK3KqChoqR5v8LOTKlvNlibFrDYYK1sCvVCSG4pV-lrccdvGk
D&D Beyond’s Feat List – you'll have to search the feat up on Google, because D&D Beyond
blocks it
https://www.aidedd.org/dnd-filters/feats.php
A shortened list of feats to choose from! Be sure to look up the actual feat if you choose one
from this list - there's usually more details and effects than listed!