Use your imagination!

D&D is, at its heart, a storytelling game. Working together, helping each other, and generally helping to create a great story is the primary goal. D&D is not competitive like a video game. The DM is not (actively) trying to kill your character. It can happen though, so be prepared.

Decide what sort of character you’d like to be in the story. 

D&D characters start with choosing a Species. There are many options including humans, elves, tabaxi (cat people), dwarves, fairy, orc, halfling, etc. 

Imagine your favorite character from a book, movie, series, or even your own imagination. What sorts of things do they do well? Do they cast spells? Do they fight? Are they sneaky? What you specialize in doing is your Class. (Think of it as a job.) As with Species, there are many options including fighter, barbarian, cleric, wizard, and rogue. 

The DM (dungeon master) sets the stage for the story you are about to tell together.

The DM’s job is to create a framework for the story, but how it plays out is up to you and your party. The DM will start the story, guide the story, play the NPCs (non player characters) that you encounter, manage the group, and describe what happens in the story based on that framework, your decisions, and dice rolls. The dice decide how well you did. Obviously you’re going to be better at some things than others based on your species and class. As Matt Mercer says “You may certainly try.” 

Your job is to know what your character can do well (class, species), pay attention to the story, and work together with the rest of your party to create a fantastic story. 

This is where things get a little technical. There are rules to the game to learn, figuring out what your character can do and who they are, dice rolls to manage (OMG! MATH!), and roleplay (think improv). Please do not get too hung up on the rules. Read over the basics in the Player’s Handbook, but you’ll learn much more by just playing the game. The simplest way to create a character is by using D&D Beyond. You can join for free. It really does much of the technical work for you.

Find a group to play with.

This is probably the hardest part. It is helpful to start by checking with local game stores and geek groups to find out who is running a beginners game. You can also play online, but that is much more complicated and your experience will not be the same as an in person game. Your DM should hold a Session 0 with you to help you create your character and establish the table rules/boundaries for the game. These can be quite different from table to table. 

You will need: a computer and access to D&D Beyond ( free account is fine ) OR a paper version of your character sheet, to be familiar with the basic rules of the game and how your character works, something to write with and on. Optional - polyhedral dice set. D&D Beyond has virtual dice, and there are many virtual dice apps you can download.

My Basic Guidelines for Games

1 - D&D is cooperative storytelling! Working together to create a great story is the primary goal. D&D is not competitive like a video game. This DM is not (actively) trying to kill your character. 
2 - Diplomacy and problem solving are more valued than killing and looting. 
3 - Sexual violence, unwanted romantic advances between characters or players, or anything that does not have enthusiastic consent will not occur. When in doubt, just don’t. 
4 - During a session, immediately let us all know if something makes you uncomfortable. We can then discuss what happened, and fix the issue. If you have specific triggers we should know about, please let me know. Please save this option for very serious problems. 
5 - You are HEROES! Your characters should work together and treat each other with respect. 
6 - Please be mindful about allowing everyone a chance to speak, use positive language, be mindful of pronouns, etc. We are inclusive and affirming! 
7 - Players should help each other with decision making and combat choices. We will discuss any conflicts, but the DM’s judgment is final. 
8 - Please pay attention and limit distractions. No phones!
9 - Be prepared for the session. You are responsible for knowing your character class, species, and role. It is recommended that you share basic information about your character with everyone. Players are very encouraged to help each other. 
10 - Don’t cheat. I know it hurts sometimes, but be honest about your rolls and abilities. Please wait until the DM calls for you to roll before rolling dice. 
11 - The “Rule of Cool” applies. If you can imagine it and there’s no rule against it, you may certainly try. Be creative and think outside of the box!
12 - If you get the killing blow on a big creature, I will say “How do you want to do this?” which means you get to describe how you dispatch the enemy. 
13 - Ammunition is not tracked, but characters must have at least one bundle of the appropriate ammunition type in their inventory in order to use a weapon with the Ammunition property, i.e. crossbow bolts are needed to use a crossbow. 
14- We don’t use encumbrance within reason. You aren’t carrying around a horse, for example. 
13- Players must have spell components, but only if the spell has a gold value listed in its spell description. Players are responsible for tracking the number of consumable components in their inventory.

Which Class Should You Play?

Barbarian - You're big, strong, and you hit things really hard, usually whilst being pretty angry.

Bard - You're charismatic, good at talking people into and out of things, and good at magic. You don't have to be a music-playing bard in the traditional sense, but you will need to choose a performance type. 

Cleric - You're a deity's special little friend. You get to pick what deity you have, which reflects the powers you get. You are great at healing. 

Fighter - The "everyman" class. If you wanna play someone who's whole thing is hitting things and hitting them good, this is your class.

Monk - You punch real good. You don't have to be a traditional spiritual monk, but you can be. No weapons or armor, just really fast. 

Paladin - Your belief in a concept or a deity lets you make your weapon smite your enemies with holy magic. Kinda like a fighter with a bit of magic.

Ranger -  You love the forest and animals, but also good at hitting stuff with ranged weapons. 

Rogue - You're sneaky, you can pick locks, and you're pretty good at slitting people's throats. Sneak up behind your foes. 

Warlock - You're borrowing power from a greater being, typically not a god/dess. They can be giving you power for good or bad motives. Squishy, so stay in the back of the party if there is a fight. 

Wizard - You've learned magic through intense studying. You're kind of easy to kill (squishy), but you can do a lot of damage, and have a lot of spells. Like the warlock, stay far away from the fighting. 

A balanced party consists of a tank (barbarian, fighter), damage dealers (Ranger, Paladin, rogue, monk, warlock, wizard), crowd control (bard), and healing (cleric) if at all possible. These aren’t all of the classes, of course.

That being said, there are ways to build your character to fulfill other roles, and there are many possible combinations of Species and Class that do the same. The above is just a short list of some classic Classes. For example, an Aasimar bard character can be a great healer, and there are cleric builds like a Forge Cleric that can do some serious damage. 

What Can I Do?

Each combat round in D&D equals 6 seconds. Here is a complete list of your options: https://crobi.github.io/dnd5e-quickref/preview/quickref.html 
 

Bottom line: D&D IS A GAME! Games are fun! Go have fun!