D&D / DnD: play amazing games for rest of your life for €20 total
TL;DR: ALL you need is the €3.85 "White Box: Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game" book and 2x €5.90 Dice set = €15,65 Total
White Box: Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game:
https://www.amazon.com/White-Box-Fantastic-Medieval-Adventure/dp/1545516480
Dice Set (x2):
https://www.amazon.com/vvpesca-Blue-DND-Dice-Set/dp/B0CG2QL8J9
Both the book and dice are also available on different sites other than Amazon.
The above is not hyperbole. Those two items, are absolutely all you need, presuming you have a few pencils, an eraser and a few sheets of A4 paper or any note-block laying around. I will explain below how, and why. Then will give a few more recommendations.
If you still have trepidation, or perhaps you think D&D is hard, or you are scared to join a group, possibly are not sure if you will love this activity. Or maybe you fear that you will "do it wrong" somehow... Then these two videos below will absolutely lay to rest all those (likely largely unfounded) fears and probably make you positively giddy to play your first game! The first video also touches on the many other genres besides medieval fantasy:
"How to Get Into Tabletop RPGs!"
The one below also explains the very basic concepts and why D&D is so different than any other game & why it is a game for anyone and everyone:
"Dungeons and Dragons, explained"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PEt5RdNHNw
Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast, that own the most famous and commercial version(s) of D&D are problematic in a dozen ways and have been for decades. The less said about that here, the better. Should you be curious, look up "OGL Scandal" or you could watch the video below if you really want to delve deep into decades of terrible stewardship and the many examples of Hasbro being rather awful to the roleplaying community and their customers.
Positive alternatives are much more interesting to discuss and far better to start D&D with. Or, there are hundreds of OSR books and systems with which to play any other genre or type of Table-Top Roleplaying Game (TTRPG).
Since I discovered the OSR:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_School_Renaissance
I have happily vowed to never play Hasbro D&D 5th edition or any "official" Hasbro edition ever again.
Yet I very much play "Real" D&D. And you can too. For extremely little outlay you can play forever, without ever being dependent on, nor giving a dime to a greedy and soulless company that has put out middling versions of D&D for years now. I do not mean a lesser or diluted version, and certainly not a bad approximation, I sincerely mean: a version that besides being exponentially cheaper, is better and more fun in a myriad of ways as well.
The OSR offers 100s of D&D variants by people who created them for the love of the game. The vast majority are far, far closer to how the two creators (Anderson and Gygax) of D&D (and hence originators of all tabletop role-playing games generally) wrote and played D&D. In essence that means: a D&D game that is faster, that has far fewer unnecessary rules, pages or words and which is so much easier to learn, more challenging and truthfully, more fun!
"What is the DnD Old School Renaissance? (OSR)" https://youtu.be/wRVJNkOObIU?t=62
There are many OSR D&D variants I love. In my opinion the cheapest and best value one is indeed the ca. €4 White Box.
"REVIEW: Whitebox - Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game" https://youtu.be/C8A3kuHqDmo?t=115
I know I could play with just that single book, happily and forever, this despite having owned and ran almost every "official" edition of Hasbro D&D and currently owning at least 20 other OSR variants, rule-sets, and books. I am decades into DMing and can with confidence say it is not the amount of books or rules that determine how much fun you have. In fact, there is often an inverse relationship. A bit less, can be much more.
Furthermore, White Box is just that good and complete and also has great inspiring art. While at the same it is never hard to understand nor play, nor a slog to read or reference, it has 144 pages, with all you need.
Of course, if you love D&D, nothing stops you from later buying other OSR expansions or rule sets, accessories and more. Sometimes these will be a little, and sometimes quite a bit, more expensive but most still offer great additional value and ideas!
I'd recommend: Basic Fantasy RPG, Black Sword Hack – Ultimate Chaos Edition, and especially Shadowdark and Swords and Wizardry Complete & Revised among dozens of others. The majority of OSR products are made by awesome, deserving people and have great communities.
Or perhaps you are more into FALLOUT, Aliens ("MOTHERSHIP"), Pirate Börg, Bladerunner, Star Wars, Star Trek. Or maybe you love the idea of near future, 20th century historic or contemporary settings and rule sets. All that, and far, far more awaits.
However, there are so many outstanding totally free One Page Dungeons, adventures, modules, art & illustrations, ambience music and soundscapes, maps, files and ideas that are being shared online. The makers simply do not ask any money for these, the like sharing it with community. I could play with just those and White Box, forever, and have the best time. Youtube, Pinterest, blogs and searches have you absolutely covered.
Two complete dice sets of 7 dice each are important, because often you will need to roll two of the same dice type at the same time. It really saves time and hassle to have at least two sets. Three or even five sets is nice to have, but absolutely not required. I vastly prefer high contrast, easy to read, transparent dice for practical reasons.
If you are going to order the White Box book, i'd really suggest ordering at least two copies. Maybe even one for each player. They are dirt cheap and each player having their own means they can study the rules at home. Which means they won't rely solely on the DM to know all the rules. Additionally anyone or even everyone being able look up a spell or detail at the table at any time, easily and quickly, is invaluable.
If you play more than a handful of times, I'd highly suggest a dice tower, there are 100s of (free) printable ones as well as wooden ones and more. I like the one below specifically, it is free to print and sometimes you can find it for sale already printed. I tried many models, this one is very practical, many others, less so.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:738485
For some, an erasable battlemat, whiteboard markers and miniatures or tokens can be an awesome addition. Personally I almost never use them anymore since I prefer "theatre of the mind". I do use my laptop and a 27 inch monitor a lot, to show players many things. We purposefully have banned any other electronic devices during the session.
Neither laptop nor monitor are necessary, you can absolutely play fully analog, but it some images etc can be nice to help visualize and truly imagine and immerse oneself in the world. For maps particularly it has proven very helpful. Having a BROTHER (which have a cheap cost per printed page) laser printer has also been great for me.
I hope you order the book and dice today, so that very soon you can step into what must be the most fun, rewarding, educational, cheap, creative and cooperative hobby I have ever had the good luck to stumble into. Or perhaps you will just page through the fun short White Box book, and who knows, one day,.. play. You have nothing to lose.
"May all your rolls be 20s!"