Learn to play D&D and about Libeterra

Getting Started with Liberterra

Liberterra offers play sessions with experienced DMs, so even if you're new, Liberterra is a perfect place to join the community and play.

Liberterra Discord

Liberterra is the name of The County Library's custom D&D setting and the name of our Discord server. We play virtually on Discord, which can be downloaded to your computer or mobile device.

Fill out this form to join the server and head over there to chat and ask questions about getting started and playing.

When you first join the server, you will only have one page you can see, with the code of conduct for the server. At the bottom of that page, you can agree to follow the code of conduct by clicking on the green check mark. This will unlock the player channels on the server for you to see and interact with.

Discord servers are made up of lots of different channels. Each channel is it's own chat area. These have been labelled and organized by topic on the server. So if you want to ask questions about how to play, you would ask it in the "New Player Tavern" channel. If you wanted to share a cool picture you made of your character, you could do that in the "Art" channel.

Most discord servers stay open all the time, but we want to make sure that we have library staff available when chatting or games are happening on the Library's server to keep the server a safe space for all. This means that we turn off the ability to post on the server outside of the library's normal hours (Mon-Thur 10 am - 9 pm, Fri and Sat 10 am - 6 pm). You will still be able to see all of the posts others have made, and even react to them using emojis. You just won't be able to post any new comments.

I need dice for D&D, right? What dice do I need?

Technically, you don't need any dice. We have a bot on the Libertera server called Avrae that will allow you to roll digital dice right in the server. However, even though the dice may be digital instead of physical, it's still a good idea to know what dice you can use.

The main die you will need is a 20-sided die, also called a d20. With dice, the number refers to how many sides a particular die has. So a 6-sided die is called a D6. You are probably familiar with a D6 already from other board and card games.

In addition to a D20 and a D6, a traditional set of dice for D&D also includes a D12, 2 D10s, a D8, and a D4. You will roll the D20 the most out of all these dice. Anytime you need to make an ability check, a skill check, or an attack you will roll the D20 and add a modifier from your character sheet to it. You will compare that number to a target number (like AC, Armor Class, which is a character's ability to avoid or absorb an attack) to see if you succeeded. The other dice are mostly used to calculate damage for attacks. Different weapons and spells use different sizes of dice to calculate the damage they deal.

How do you fight enemies?

The phase of the game where you fight enemies is called combat. Combat starts with an initiative roll. Each player and monster will roll an initiative check. To roll an initiative check, you roll a D20 and add your initiative modifier. For most people their initiative modifier will be the same as their Dexterity ability modifier. The highest number initiative will go first, the second highest will go second, and so on, until all of the players and monsters have had a turn to participate in combat. Once everybody has had a turn, that round of combat is over, and a new round begins, starting with the highest initiative again. Your initiative will stay the same for the entire combat.

There are three basic actions you can take on your turn in combat:

• Move—Your character will have a certain number of feet they can move in one movement action. This is labelled on your character sheet as your speed. You can break this movement up between other actions you do on your turn, so you can move, attack, and then move again so long as you have enough movement left.
• Action—You get one action per turn. More often than not, this will be when you use your attack, but that is not the only action available for you to use. You can also drink a potion, stand up after being knocked down, help another player do something, etc. A big list of actions can be found in the Basic Rules for Dungeons and Dragons (or the Player's Handbook).
• Bonus Action—Some attacks, actions, and spells are counted as a bonus action and allow you to do something extra on your turn. The description of the ability will specifically state it is a bonus action.

These actions can be done in any order, or not at all on your turn, which makes the fight very customizable for you.

In addition, you character can talk at any time during combat. It does not count as a turn action. Taunting enemies and coordinating with your party members can be a lot of fun during combat.