Honestly? There’s three, maybe four, routes to getting started with understanding the system of d&d. If you go with another brand of game, those might shift a little, but mostly don’t.

Path one is to find a beginner oriented DM/game. The rule set for any given edition of d&d is best learned with help, and nobody will do that better than an experienced DM running intro tables.

However, route two is to do the opposite. You become the DM and round up a table of anyone you can con into playing. You read the core rules, and dive in head first. As long as everyone playing is aware it’ll come with a shit ton of errors and fuck ups, it’s a very fun way to get going.

Two B is to do the same, but as a player rather than the DM.

Route 3 is to go all scholar about it. Obtain the books of the edition you want to play, and study it like you’ll be getting paid to play. This is more viable nowadays since the more recent editions are written up better. It helps that YouTube and forums exist as well, because you aren’t limited to just what’s written by the company. You can get explanations.

Route four is some hybrid. Obtain the core books, read them, then go looking for a group to play with, be sure they know you’re a noob, and back that up with plenty of reading and video watching as you go.

The central idea of d&d is a big game of pretend, but with a mediator to keep things sane. Everything else is window dressing ;)

My first and only advice is to not play D&D but one of the many great games that aren’t owned by Hasbro.

Here’s the handbook just in case.

https://online.anyflip.com/brxpm/rfey/mobile/

There’s really a LOT to cover here.

Best recommendation is to find a DM willing to take new players. Board game and RPG conventions are great places to get exposed to roleplaying in D&D and to help familiarize yourself with the rules in a teaching setting. Likewise your local board game shop may do D&D nights.

Just in case it comes up in the comments, I would not recommend Baulder’s Gate as a tool to learning D&D as some of the mechanics in it only exist for the sake of video game. It could make it confusing when trying to play a real campaign. It is good fun tho especially of you’re already familiar with D&D.

Oh also dont use YouTube campaigns like Roll20 to learn cause they’ll just set your expectations above reality

It can be overwhelming. And that’s okay, it is an extremely complicated game.

These are the four rules I have used at every table:

1 - We can always stop. The stakes are never too high to pause and talk, or ask clarifying questions.

2 - We can always change the rules. This isn’t a video game where the code is closed-source and the only ones who can modify it are people with a level in wizard IRL. If a rule sucks, we chuck it. If it’s fun, we discuss it and add it.

3 - Rule of Cool. If the rules as written would interfere with the telling of a good story, then feel free to suspend normal conventions and let the players narrate what they would like to do. If it makes sense, seems possible, and makes the story better, then do it.

4 - We can always retcon. If a mistake was made or a bad roll led to consequences that are causing true, actual stress in the real world, we stop the game and talk about a do-over. This is a game, we can say that yesterday never happened and try again.

And the all-important Rule Zero: Real Life Comes First. It is just a game. If you’re late because you needed to pick up an extra shift, if you can’t make it because of a family crisis, if it’s finals week and you have to study, if you’re too tired and need to sleep, then take care of that first. We can make up what your character is doing in the background and fill you in later. We can make up a reason they aren’t there. And if it’s that important, we can skip session this week and just watch movies. Always, always handle the real stuff first.

Not an expert on the topic, but I’ve learned something by watching introductory YT videos about it. During my daily commutes, I’ve also listened to some podcasts where a group of people are playing a D&D game and explaining how everything works. Have you tried any of these options?

I think these are pretty accessible ways to approach a vast topic like this.

A lot of great answers on here. I think the main thing to remember is that it’s less like a board game, and more like playing pretend.

Remember when you were a kid and pretended to be a ninja turtle or whatever and beat up the pretend bad guys? It’s more like that, but the dice decide if your attempt to beat up the bad guy actually works.

The entire table works together to crate a story, and the dice rolls and the DM give you status updates on how the world reacts to the actions of your character.

D&D and all other role playing games are basically interactive fiction run/guided by a human. Think computer rpg but instead of computer, a human is running the game. If you plan to be a player, it’s pretty easy and only light knowledge of the rules are needed. If you plan to run the game as a Dungeon Master (DM), then a more in depth understanding is needed, as you are guiding but not completely controlling a story. The tomes are thick but are mostly reference guides and situational resolutions. Those resolutions are most commonly combat but other outcomes are also decided, mostly with dice as each character has a chance to interact with the situation in a positive to the character way. That is a successful sword blow, a chance to jump out of the way of a falling object, a chance to influence a interaction with a non player character (NPC). These chances vary per character and are influenced by skills, levels, character attributes, and items. You don’t need to memorize the rules more than understand where to find stuff when you need it. Combat tables, monster descriptions and treasure being the most common. To a good DM, the specific rule set is less important than the consistency of using a single set, so the players understand how to interact with the story and feel it is fair.

I wonder if you had tried to ask this in !dnd@lemmy.world?

Ok if you want to learn but not study intense like and read the books and stuff, at least not at first, there is a longer but more fun route.

Listen to an actual play podcast. I suggest the first season of the Adventure Zone since the hosts are learning the game as well. They even kinda explain how the game works.

But also tldr for the rules: it’s play pretend but sometimes the person describing the scene makes you roll a dice and the number says if you did the thing or not.

Let me ask you, do you want to play that game?

If so: ask someone else. It’s mid

If maybe: play your own game and run with it. How?

Develop a world: want to steal an idea from a book/RPG video game/movie/ their book you are supposed to go off of … Do it.

Most every new idea makes theirs meh. Developing a world is “scary” but so easy. Developing it doesn’t have to be all at one time, you can develop principals originally and then work all future creations around it. Sounds like a lot… Its not. We can spit ball and have a world on 5 minutes