Please explain to me what to do on my turn in a battle in DnD

[AuroraBorealis]

I've been in a DnD group for more than a year now (with breaks), and I still am completely lost when it comes to battle situations. I have a character sheet from an online character generator. Can someone please describe to me in step-by-step instructions which and how many dice I am supposed to roll on my turn, and what that means?
I know this is supposed to be easy using the sheet, but I have always had major problems with game instructions. The others in my group have been helping me during my turns, but usually just told me what to do without explaining it. I felt rather stupid and slow and didn't want to stop the entire game for someone to explain to me step by step what my sheet instructions actually mean. It's come so far that I dread battle situations because I feel so lost.

It says the following:
- Trident. Melee weapon. Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 1d6+0 piercing damage. (If thrown, normal range to 20 ft; disadvantage long range 21 to 60 ft. If used two-handed in melee, does 1d8+0 damage). My DM added here manually: +7 attack, +4 damage (1d6+4), because something didn't seem to be working out. I don' understand it.
- Shortbow. Ranged weapon attack: +7 to hit. Hit: 1d6+4 piercing damage. (normal range to 80 ft. disadvantage long range 81 to 320 ft. must be used two-handed)
- Dagger. Melee or ranged weapon attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft. 1d4+4 piercing damage (if thrown, normal range to 20 ft.; disadvantage long range 21 to 60 ft)
- special attack: sneak attack: once per turn, deal +4d6 extra damage to one creature hit if attack with advantage using finesse or ranged weapon. Don't need advantage if an enemy of the target is within 5 ft of it, enemy isn't incapacitated, or you don't have disadvantage on attack.

I know the code, so I know that 1d4+4 for example means roll 1 4-sided die and add +4 to the result. I know what the distances in ft mean, we use a grid for battle scenes. I know that when the DM tells us in the beginning to roll initiative, that means to roll a d20 and add the dexterity modifier (+4 in my case) to the result. I have a proficiency bonus of +3, if that's in any way relevant.

Can someone please explain to me step by step what to do if I:
- want to attack with the trident
- want to attack with the shortbow
- want to attack with the dagger
- when I can use the sneak attack, and how to use it

Please use clear language and pretend in your instructions that you're explaining it to a little kid, step by step. I'd greatly appreciate it. My gamemates are all so into DnD and have played it for so long that it seems to me that they can't really explain it to a beginner. Also, I feel rather stupid because I just don't get it. I have researched it and everything.

Thank you so much!

 

[Misery]

In the case of something like attacking with your trident, it might look like this, once your turn to take an action comes up (and you're close enough to do the action):

1. Say "I want to attack [monster] with my trident".

2. You're going to roll to hit now. Time for the d20, to tell you if you get that hit. Roll that, and then add any "+ to hit" number to it. So, if you have a +3 to hit bonus, and rolled a 10, that's 10 + 3, so your full result is 13. Next, that result gets compared to the target's AC (armor class) to determine if you get a hit, or if the attack doesnt work. Higher numbers on your roll are best, always think that way. If your roll is equal or higher than your target's AC, boom, you've hit them! Your DM should have those AC numbers for you.

If you're rolling with disadvantage though (like if you're doing the super long trident throw), this means that instead of rolling that single d20, you now roll TWO d20s, and whichever is the lowest, is the result. And then you do the same as above with that result: add any bonuses to it and whatnot, and boom, that's your final result, and then that gets compared to the AC of whoever is unlucky enough to have your trident flying at their head. So, if you rolled those and got a result of 15 and 10 on those dice, the 10 would be the one you now work with, and then you'd jam your +hit number in there. The 15 on the other die would be ignored, because it's not the lower of the two.

3. You hit them? Time to see how much damage you did. You'd just be rolling that single six-sided die here, since that's the trident's damage, and then you'd add any bonus to that. So, since you mentioned you get the +7 bonus to your damage, if you rolled a 5 here, it'd be 5+7 = 12, so boom, 12 damage done, yay


Attacking with your other weapons is pretty much the same. Declare what you want to do, have a quick look at the weapon (seeing, for instance, that your bow would attack specifically at range and gets disadvantage past a certain range), and then do those steps up there. With that bow, you'd be rolling that d20 to see if you hit (and then adding the +7, since that is listed for it). If you connect, that's again, one normal six-sided die, and then the +4, and boom, that's how much damage you'd do. The bow has disadvantage at super long range, so look at the explanation above for that. It's those 2 d20s again, with the saddest of the two being the one you go with.


When it comes to using a special skill or something, I'd suggest keeping the ol' guidebook handy, and flipping to the page it's described on, and when it's time to use that skill/whatever, have a read. Follow the instructions. If you're going to be using a particular skill/spell/whatever a lot? Maybe write that down on your phone (in very simple terms) or whatever, so you can very quickly pull it up, and be like "Okay, this is when it says I can use it, and this is what it says happens when I do".

Also maybe ask the DM where the heck that extra bit on the trident is coming from, that they manually added to it. WHY is it there? WHY did they add it? They should tell you these things.


When I look up your sneak attack, it says a couple of things.

1. You need to have the right sort of weapon to do it. Something compatible. Your dagger there can probably do the trick!

2. You need one or two things to do it. Option one, you have advantage already. It's the opposite of "disadvantage"; on your "to hit" roll you'd be rolling those 2 d20s again, but this time you pick the higher number! But you need to be in a situation where you ALREADY have advantage (like hey, I'm hiding in a bush, SURPRISE) before you do your sneak attack. Makes sense, right? The othere option though, is that you can also do this if you are like, super close to them (5 ft). So you arent in that "advantage" position... like your'e not in a bush or something... but you're close enough that you can be like "LOL SUDDEN DAGGER IN YOUR SIDE". So that's the other way you can do it. You'll not be using "advantage" in that situation, so only one d20 for you.

The rest is just like everything else. See if you hit. Did ya hit? Roll that damage! You'd roll for your weapon damage (dagger, probably) as normal (including your usual damage bonus), and then you'd roll that blob of other dice, those 4 six-sided ones, and then add that mess on top of it for even more pain. Boom! There's your number.





Also seriously you're not stupid for not magically knowing all of this stuff. I play a lot of modern board games myself, which are quite complicated in most cases but still definitely not as complicated as DnD, and this exact sort of "I've done this 50 times and I still just cant get it" situation comes up A LOT. It happens to lots of people! Stuff like this isnt exactly super easy to learn. But the ways I'm describing stuff here, is exactly how I deal with board games as well.

Remember that expert players werent always experts, and they had to do the same learning you gotta do. And if they say "well it was super easy for ME", chances are, they're lying through their teeth. They had their difficulties too.

Just take it slow and easy... this isnt like one of those baggage scan lines at an airport where you have to jam all your stuff into a bin at like 200 miles per hour and then leap dramatically through the scanner because there's a zillion people behind you. This is a game. At a table. Relax. If you get a bit stuck? It's okay! You can get there! Really!

Stop telling yourself that you are stupid, stop telling yourself you cant do it. Instead, do the opposite. You arent stupid, and you CAN get there. Say that instead.


Also, have a look at some tutorials and such on Youtube, maybe! There's people on there who are super good at explaining things in ways that make it very easy to digest.


Hopefully that all made sense, I dont do this type of explanation all that much. Here's hoping I didnt get anything dead wrong.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

In the case of something like attacking with your trident, it might look like this, once your turn to take an action comes up (and you're close enough to do the action):

1. Say "I want to attack [monster] with my trident".

2. You're going to roll to hit now. Time for the d20, to tell you if you get that hit. Roll that, and then add any "+ to hit" number to it. So, if you have a +3 to hit bonus, and rolled a 10, that's 10 + 3, so your full result is 13. Next, that result gets compared to the target's AC (armor class) to determine if you get a hit, or if the attack doesnt work. Higher numbers on your roll are best, always think that way. If your roll is equal or higher than your target's AC, boom, you've hit them! Your DM should have those AC numbers for you.

If you're rolling with disadvantage though (like if you're doing the super long trident throw), this means that instead of rolling that single d20, you now roll TWO d20s, and whichever is the lowest, is the result. And then you do the same as above with that result: add any bonuses to it and whatnot, and boom, that's your final result, and then that gets compared to the AC of whoever is unlucky enough to have your trident flying at their head. So, if you rolled those and got a result of 15 and 10 on those dice, the 10 would be the one you now work with, and then you'd jam your +hit number in there. The 15 on the other die would be ignored, because it's not the lower of the two.

3. You hit them? Time to see how much damage you did. You'd just be rolling that single six-sided die here, since that's the trident's damage, and then you'd add any bonus to that. So, since you mentioned you get the +7 bonus to your damage, if you rolled a 5 here, it'd be 5+7 = 12, so boom, 12 damage done, yay


Attacking with your other weapons is pretty much the same. Declare what you want to do, have a quick look at the weapon (seeing, for instance, that your bow would attack specifically at range and gets disadvantage past a certain range), and then do those steps up there. With that bow, you'd be rolling that d20 to see if you hit (and then adding the +7, since that is listed for it). If you connect, that's again, one normal six-sided die, and then the +4, and boom, that's how much damage you'd do. The bow has disadvantage at super long range, so look at the explanation above for that. It's those 2 d20s again, with the saddest of the two being the one you go with.


When it comes to using a special skill or something, I'd suggest keeping the ol' guidebook handy, and flipping to the page it's described on, and when it's time to use that skill/whatever, have a read. Follow the instructions. If you're going to be using a particular skill/spell/whatever a lot? Maybe write that down on your phone (in very simple terms) or whatever, so you can very quickly pull it up, and be like "Okay, this is when it says I can use it, and this is what it says happens when I do".

Also maybe ask the DM where the heck that extra bit on the trident is coming from, that they manually added to it. WHY is it there? WHY did they add it? They should tell you these things.


When I look up your sneak attack, it says a couple of things.

1. You need to have the right sort of weapon to do it. Something compatible. Your dagger there can probably do the trick!

2. You need one or two things to do it. Option one, you have advantage already. It's the opposite of "disadvantage"; on your "to hit" roll you'd be rolling those 2 d20s again, but this time you pick the higher number! But you need to be in a situation where you ALREADY have advantage (like hey, I'm hiding in a bush, SURPRISE) before you do your sneak attack. Makes sense, right? The othere option though, is that you can also do this if you are like, super close to them (5 ft). So you arent in that "advantage" position... like your'e not in a bush or something... but you're close enough that you can be like "LOL SUDDEN DAGGER IN YOUR SIDE". So that's the other way you can do it. You'll not be using "advantage" in that situation, so only one d20 for you.

The rest is just like everything else. See if you hit. Did ya hit? Roll that damage! You'd roll for your weapon damage (dagger, probably) as normal (including your usual damage bonus), and then you'd roll that blob of other dice, those 4 six-sided ones, and then add that mess on top of it for even more pain. Boom! There's your number.

Thank you so much, that's super helpful!
I just got one question: We had a session tonight, and when I rolled to hit, the DM didn't tell me to add the "+ number to hit" on my sheet, but to instead add my dexterity modifier and my proficiency bonus. Why's that?
I needed a new character sheet anyway because we had moved up a level since last time, and I just ignored those DM's notes about the trident for the new one (or forgot, more like). I don't think it was that important, it was more of a situational thing.

Also seriously you're not stupid for not magically knowing all of this stuff. I play a lot of modern board games myself, which are quite complicated in most cases but still definitely not as complicated as DnD, and this exact sort of "I've done this 50 times and I still just cant get it" situation comes up A LOT. It happens to lots of people! Stuff like this isnt exactly super easy to learn. But the ways I'm describing stuff here, is exactly how I deal with board games as well.

Remember that expert players werent always experts, and they had to do the same learning you gotta do. And if they say "well it was super easy for ME", chances are, they're lying through their teeth. They had their difficulties too.

Just take it slow and easy... this isnt like one of those baggage scan lines at an airport where you have to jam all your stuff into a bin at like 200 miles per hour and then leap dramatically through the scanner because there's a zillion people behind you. This is a game. At a table. Relax. If you get a bit stuck? It's okay! You can get there! Really!

Stop telling yourself that you are stupid, stop telling yourself you cant do it. Instead, do the opposite. You arent stupid, and you CAN get there. Say that instead.

You're absolutely right about this, and thank you for telling me!
Actually, tonight was quite nice there because we had a new player and were a smaller, quieter round, so we all took more time for our rounds. My DM also explained the sneak attack again to me. I think I got so stressed out the last times because in those rounds, I was by far the least experienced player and everyone acted so quickly and decidedly in their rounds that I truly felt like at the airport or at the supermarket check out, like I need to rush or everyone will get bored or annoyed.
But you're right, it's "just" a game and I need to relax about it. It's super fun and I love it, I just need to chill a bit (as usual).

Thanks again! The explanation was great

 

[Misery]

We had a session tonight, and when I rolled to hit, the DM didn't tell me to add the "+ number to hit" on my sheet, but to instead add my dexterity modifier and my proficiency bonus. Why's that?

Those both pretty much are "+ to hit" numbers, in this context. I should probably point out that "+ to hit" is sort of just how I'm used to referring to stuff that increases accuracy and such when it's time to take a swing at something.

Your dexterity, one of your major stats, plays into all sorts of things you can do, and that absolutely includes combat. Think of it this way, if you're like a sneaky rogue, you're probably pretty dexterous, waving that dagger or whatever around with ease; that dexterity makes it easier for you to use it and actually strike your target (aka, "dexterity modifier" adding to your attack roll). The more dexterous you are, the more effective you are at stabbing (or whatever)!

Proficiency is basically like hey, you have some real skill with this specific weapon type here, you're better at using it than most people are. You're so darned skilled that you are noticeably more effective (aka, proficiency bonus added to your attack roll). So, if you're proficient with like bows or such, and you decide it's time to attack with a bow, boom, you get a bonus. If you arent proficient with the weapon type you are currently attacking with, hey, no bonus.

The whole "+ to hit" concept can take many forms (maybe you've got some spell or other effect on you that's making you more effective for instance, that also could add it). It isnt just one extremely specific number or anything. Really I should probably call it something else but I'm so used to using that term for it (well also I can be kinda awkward/weird when it comes to terminology). Your major stats, and proficiency, are a couple of the most common modifiers/bonuses you will see.

If at any point you're not sure exactly what on your character sheet (or elsewhere) might affect your hit chance and such, just ask the DM, I'm sure they'll be happy to show you. The situation is always changing as the game goes on, so it's easy to lose track of exactly what's what.

You're absolutely right about this, and thank you for telling me!
Actually, tonight was quite nice there because we had a new player and were a smaller, quieter round, so we all took more time for our rounds.

It is a lot easier when people slow the heck down, isnt it? I think it's a bit easy for people who are experienced with a game like this to sorta rush through their turn, not really realizing that everyone ELSE may not be able to match that pace (this is another one that happens in board games a lot too). And then that just makes it even more confusing for beginners who may be playing with them.