Before your first time player heads to Stormwreck Isle, have them play this pick-your-own path adventure on DnDBeyond.com.

Similar to the classic books Choose Your Own Adventure, Before the Storm starts a single character on their path to becoming a hero. It uses two to three options at each path, connects those choices to how the game of Dungeons & Dragons runs, and then rolls a d20 to see if you succeed or not.

There are five different characters, which seem to be the same options as the pre-generated characters for the current Starter Set – Dragons of Stormwreck Isle (at your local game store or DnD Beyond).

Weaving a familiar and simple pick-your-path story with the D&D mechanics is an excellent introduction to what D&D is. People unfamiliar with role-playing games should catch on fairly quickly. The cycle of the D&D process is pretty simple.

• Action is described
• You make a choice
• Does it succeed?
• What happens next

That fits a simple computer program easily.

What makes role-playing with a real person so much more interesting is that the stopes for Choice and What Next aren’t confined to pre-programmed options. They’re up to the people at the table, together.

What else makes D&D special is that, unlike Before the Storm, is that it captures that idea that a diverse group is vital to succeeding in life. Everyone has different strengths, different weaknesses. By working together your group is more than the sum of its parts.

Before the Storm is strongly recommended for people who think – I want to play Dungeons & Dragons but don’t know how.