DnD is a TTRPG that is best played among friends. However, there are many things to learn when first starting out as a new player, and they aren’t always clear. For example, how many players is the minimum requirement for playing DnD? Can you play with two players?
Yes, you can play 2-player DnD. In those cases, you will want to play with one DM and one PC. You can play with as many people as you want in DnD. The number of players comes down to how many people are available, and how many players your party feels comfortable with. Naturally, there are differences in length and experience with many players compared to very few.
Now that you know that you can play DnD with two players only, let’s go through this in detail. Read more to find out the differences between many and few players in a game of DnD and much more.
Can You Play DnD With 2 Players?
As I mentioned above, you can play 2-player games. This means one DM and one PC. Most of the time in these cases, the DM has a DMPC that he/she controls during the adventure.
Adventures aren’t usually balanced for that number of players, however, so some tinkering might be required for this. Of course, it’s still possible and really fun if you do the balancing bit.
So, as I mentioned before, there is no official play limit or requirement to play DnD. However, there are numbers that are considered to be better, worse, and even optimal.
Remember, the DM usually isn’t playing as a PC, which means that if you play as three people, you have one DM and two player characters. Having as few as three players give the PCs more space to roleplay, of course.
Many people consider four players to be the optimal number for playing DnD. This means three PCs, which in turn means that each player still has space to develop and shine, while still keeping a great party balance.
Also, four players give you a chance to keep going even if a player quits. Playing with three players (2 PCs) at first and then going down to one PC is harder since you probably need to rebalance the adventure you’re playing.
Some groups have as many players as 5-10. Something you need to keep in mind if you want to play with a really big group is that everything is slower. Take combat, for instance.
Every player takes turns in combat, as you know, and having 6-7 players take turns will automatically make combat very long.
This goes for roleplaying as well. The more people you are, the less time for your character to shine. This can also turn into a balancing act.
A lot of times, a few players take the helm in roleplaying while the other players wait. This can cause annoyance in the long term.
Then, there is the aspect of organizing a playing session. Of course, this is in general much easier with a smaller group, since you have fewer schedules to match. A large group, therefore, usually plays less often.
Related Article: How Many Players Should You Be When Playing DnD?
How Many People Do You Need For the DnD Starter Set?
The DnD starter set is a kit containing a starter adventure, the Lost Mines of Phandelver, six dice, a rulebook, and a couple of pre-generated characters. This is a set that many new players buy to get into DnD, and it’s a great idea to do so.
However, some people are wondering how many players you need to play the adventure from the starting set. The starter set is recommended for 4-6 players.
A lot of people think that 5 people is the optimal number to play this set. You only get 1 set of dice, but you can share if you don’t have any other sets of dice.
This will make proceedings take a little longer since everyone has to wait for people to roll, but it’s a fine way of playing.
The starter set stuff that you get does not contain any information on how you modify difficulty and stuff like that in adventures, so I personally wouldn’t go too far off the recommended player count.
Can You Play DnD By Yourself?
Yes, you can play DnD by yourself. Do this by using tools such as DM Yourself and tailor-made adventures from the DM’s Guild.
It’s a different experience from playing with a group, for sure, but it can be fun if your group cancels the booked games night or something along those lines.
If you want more information on how you play DnD alone, I would suggest you take a look at the article below.
Read More: Can You Play DnD By Yourself?
What Do I Need To Run DnD?
While there aren’t a lot of things you strictly need to start a game, a few things can be very good to have so playing DnD turns out for the best. For example, I would strongly recommend picking up a copy of the Player’s Handbook, so you can look up rules and races, and much more.
And, I would also strongly recommend buying a dice set. Even if your friend has one, it’s much nicer to play when each person has their own dice set. It makes rolling much quicker, and you won’t lose anyone’s dice.
Except for the PHB and a couple of dice, everything else is kind of up to you. A lot of people have character sheets, pens, and stuff like that, and that’s good to have too if you want it.
Adventure books are nice to have, too, but that’s somewhat up to the DM and your group. If you want to play a pre-generated adventure, chances are that you will need an adventure book or some sort of printed resource.
Related article: How Much Does It Cost To Start Playing DnD?