You want to play Harry Potter D and D. It makes sense. You love the books, you’ve seen the movies a dozen times, and you probably have a set of dice sitting on your desk right now. But here is the thing: Dungeons & Dragons is a game about killing monsters and taking their gold. Harry Potter is a story about mystery, teenage angst, and a very specific, soft-magic system that usually doesn't involve a 20-level progression scale. If you try to jam a square wand into a round d20 hole, things get messy fast.
People have been trying to bridge this gap for years. They want that feeling of walking through the Great Hall, but they want it with the mechanics they already know. It’s the "5e Problem." Because D&D 5th Edition is the most popular tabletop RPG in the world, everyone assumes it can do everything. It can't. Not well, anyway. But if you’re dead set on making Harry Potter D and D happen, you have a few specific paths to take that don't involve breaking your brain or the game balance.
The Problem With Wizards in D&D
Let’s be real. A 1st-level Wizard in D&D has like six hit points and can cast Sleep once before needing a nap. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are essentially throwing out infinite Cantrips from day one. In D&D, magic is a resource to be managed. In the Wizarding World, magic is a skill to be practiced.
If you use the standard Player’s Handbook, a level 10 Wizard is basically a god compared to a Hogwarts student. They’re tearing holes in reality, not struggling to turn a matchstick into a needle. To make Harry Potter D and D feel right, you have to strip away the "Vancian" magic system—the whole idea of preparing spells in slots—and replace it with something that feels more fluid. Otherwise, your players are going to spend more time looking at their character sheets than actually roleplaying the drama of a Potions class.
Honestly, the "class" system in D&D also falls apart here. If everyone is a Wizard, how do you differentiate the players? If everyone picks the Wizard class, the party is just a bunch of glass cannons. You end up with a very "samey" vibe where the only difference is whether you chose the School of Evocation or Illusion. That’s why the best Harry Potter D and D conversions don't actually use the Wizard class at all. They use the subclasses to represent different "houses" or personality types.
Wands & Wizards: The Gold Standard Conversion
If you are absolutely committed to the d20 system, you have to look at Wands & Wizards. This is a massive, fan-made conversion for 5e that is probably the most complete thing out there. It’s free. It’s detailed. It basically reskins the entirety of D&D to fit the Wizarding World.
Instead of Classes like Fighter or Rogue, you have "Houses" and "Specialties." Instead of spell slots, they use a "Stamina" or "Mana" point system that feels way more like the exhaustion we see in the books when Harry overexerts himself. It’s clever. It keeps the core d20 mechanics—rolling for initiative, Armor Class, Proficiency Bonuses—so your players don't have to learn a whole new game. But it changes enough of the "guts" to make it feel like you're at Hogwarts, not in a generic dungeon in Waterdeep.
Why Conversions Often Fail
Most people just try to rename "Fireball" to "Confringo" and call it a day. That doesn't work. The scale is wrong. In Harry Potter D and D, the stakes aren't usually "will we die in this hole," but rather "will we get caught by Filch" or "can we solve this riddle before the end of the term." D&D is a combat simulator. Harry Potter is a YA mystery series.
If you don't adjust the "Social Pillar" of the game, your sessions will just become a series of combat encounters with goblins in the Forbidden Forest. That gets boring. You need mechanics for House Points. You need a way to track "academic" progress that isn't just killing things for XP. Without those, you’re just playing a regular fantasy game with a British accent.
Better Alternatives (The "Not D&D" Path)
I know you asked for Harry Potter D and D, but I’d be doing you a disservice if I didn't mention the games that actually do this better than Wizards of the Coast ever could. Sometimes, the best way to play a specific genre is to use a system built for that genre.
- Kids on Brooms: This is the big one. It’s literally built to emulate "magical school" tropes. It uses different dice sizes for your stats. If you're great at "Brawn," you roll a d20. If you're bad at "Magic," you roll a d4. It’s fast, narrative-heavy, and focuses on the relationship between students.
- Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos: This is an official D&D book. It’s... okay. It provides a magical university setting, but it’s very "D&D-ified." It includes rules for exams and extracurriculars, which you can easily steal for your Harry Potter game. Many GMs use the Strixhaven framework but just swap the lore for Hogwarts.
- Bubblegumshoe: Stay with me here. This is a game about teenage detectives. If your Harry Potter game is focused on the "Yearly Mystery" aspect, this system is actually perfect. It’s about finding clues and social pressure, which is 90% of what Harry does.
Realism and the "Masquerade"
One thing players always forget in a Harry Potter D and D campaign is the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. In a typical D&D game, if you cast Thaumaturgy in the middle of a tavern, people might be impressed or scared, but nobody calls the magical police. At Hogwarts, or especially in London, casting magic in front of Muggles is a massive plot point.
If you're DMing this, you need to treat the "Masquerade" like a mechanic. Give the players a "Secrecy Score." If they mess up too many times, the Ministry shows up. This adds a layer of tension that regular D&D lacks. It turns a simple "how do we open this door" puzzle into a "how do we open this door without the neighbors seeing the glowing blue light" puzzle.
Making the Magic Feel "Potter-esque"
In the books, magic is often about intent and specific movements. In Harry Potter D and D, you can simulate this by using "Skill Challenges." Instead of just rolling to see if a spell hits, have the player describe the wand movement.
I’ve seen GMs implement a "Misfire" table for low rolls. If you roll a natural 1 on your Wingardium Leviosa, you don't just fail; maybe the object explodes, or it attaches itself to the ceiling. This mirrors the "Ron Weasley with a broken wand" vibe. It makes the magic feel volatile and earned, rather than just a button you press on a character sheet.
The Importance of the Common Room
In a standard D&D campaign, the "Long Rest" happens at a camp or an inn. In a Harry Potter setting, the Common Room is the heart of the game. This is where the "Downtime" happens.
You should spend a significant amount of time on these non-combat scenes. Let the players develop rivalries with NPCs from other houses. Let them lose points for their house because they stayed out past curfew. If you treat the school like a living, breathing entity rather than just a quest hub, the Harry Potter D and D experience becomes ten times more immersive.
How to Start Your Campaign Tomorrow
If you're ready to jump in, don't overthink it. You don't need a 400-page manual. You just need a framework that respects the source material while keeping the dice rolling.
1. Pick your era. Do you want to play during the Marauders' time? The Golden Trio era? Or maybe a "Next Gen" setting where the players can forge their own history? Setting it in the past or future gives you more freedom to ignore the "canon" plot of the books.
2. Simplify the spells. Don't try to map every D&D spell to a Harry Potter spell. Just use the Harry Potter spells. If a player wants to cast Alohomora, just let them roll a "Spellcasting" check against the lock's difficulty. Don't worry about whether it’s a 1st-level or 2nd-level slot.
3. Focus on the Mystery. Every "book" (or campaign arc) should have a central mystery. Who is the Heir of Slytherin? Who put Harry’s name in the Goblet? Why is the DADA teacher acting weird? This is the engine that drives the story forward.
4. Limit the Combat. Death is a big deal in Harry Potter. It’s not like D&D where you hit zero HP and then get healed back up a turn later. If a student gets hit with a curse, they should probably go to the Hospital Wing for a few sessions. This raises the stakes and makes players think twice before pulling out their wands.
5. Use a "House Point" tracker. Put a literal jar of marbles on the table. It sounds cheesy, but it works. When players do something cool, add a marble. When they break rules, take one out. It’s a physical representation of their progress and it gets everyone invested in the "school" aspect of the game.
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Ultimately, Harry Potter D and D is about the feeling of discovery. It's about that first trip to Diagon Alley and the realization that the world is much bigger and more dangerous than it looks. Whether you use a heavy conversion or a light narrative system, keep the focus on the characters and their growth. The magic is just the backdrop for the friendships you're building at the table.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Download the Wands & Wizards 5e conversion PDF if you are committed to the d20 system; it's the most polished community resource available.
- If your group is more interested in storytelling than math, grab the Kids on Brooms rulebook for a much smoother "magical school" experience.
- Map out your "Year One" mystery before the first session—identify one secret about the school that the players will uncover by the finale.
- Establish "House Rules" for magic early, specifically how you will handle "Infinite Cantrips" so the game doesn't become a spam-fest of low-level spells.