I am often asked by new gamers, "What do I need to have in order to play DnD?" The short, simple answer is imagination, dice, pencil and paper. But that's for people who have done this before. For new people, this can be quite daunting. So, in an effort to help the new guy in the group, I present this little write-up on how to make the transition smoother.
The first book any new player should get is, of course, the Player's Handbook. This is the essential guide to whisking yourself to another world. Inside, you'll find all the rules on characters, weapons, armor, magic, plus find out what the hell a d12 is good for. As long as we're on the subject, a gamer should own the following dice: 1d20, 1d12, 1d10, 1d8, 4d6, 1d4 and 1 percentile dice. Multiples of each die are preferable. You will find that collecting dice is a cheap and fun side hobby, by the way.
As far as character creation goes, the mechanics are hard to figure out, but there are harder steps to take first. I find that creating a character begins before I open the book--with a concept. When you have an idea in mind about the kind of character you want to play, that makes skill selection, feats, weapons and armor, and equipment selection and spells so much easier. I would recommend that first time players begin with something simple--a human fighter or something similar works best. This way, the new player doesn't have to worry about the mechanics of magic and whatnot. He can get right down to it and, in the words of Greek philosopher Kevin Clark, "Make wit' da killin'." First time gamers should also do something we all have trouble with--pay attention to what others are doing. Don't be afraid to ask questions--that's what friends are for.
For first time Dungeon Masters, the Dungeon Master's Guide is an essential tool. It contains prestige classes, dungeon and world creation guides, magical items, treasure, and information about how to really work the game.
I find when I run that the easiest way to do it is have stats ready for monsters, come up with a plot hook, and let the story develop. There are few things worse than spending hours at a time working on a dungeon only to have the characters not go through it. A plot hook, by the way, is a device used to get the characters going on an adventure. This could be a damsel in distress, a dragon to slay, a mountain to pillage, whatever. And if you really need monsters, and the few in the back of the Player's Handbook aren't enough--you need the Monster Manual. It's just what it says--a big-ass book full of nasty critters for the sole purpose of beating ass. (Note: The Creature Catalog is a free online resource with plenty of monsters for those who can't afford the Monster Manual to start off with)
So, if you want to get into the DnD experience, your best bet would be to find a copy of the Player's Handbook (available just about anywhere that sells books) and commit large portions to memory. Also, get dice. Lots of dice. You need something to roll all that damage with, right?