Uncharted Thoughts.

I have been playing Dungeons and Dragons for the best part of 10 years now. Although the first couple of years were spend deciphering the DnD (A abbreviation of ‘Dungeons and Dragons) official books like the crusty old parchment from a ancient scroll only to come up with my own rules, loosely based on what I had just read. For the better part of a decade I have been sitting down, once ever week or two to explore my world of Koritha with several like minded friends.

Koritha is a island built completely out of my own imagination, spanning roughly 1200 miles from East to West and 800 North to South. This Island is one of vast cultural, spiritual and racial differences. With a long history of civil war, famine, political crises, great evils and dangerous beasts, Koritha is a melting pot of adventure. From the Sloland desert in the south, where tribes live among the sand dunes. To the vast endless northern realm of dwarven kingdoms, buried deep into the earths crust. Me and my five friends have explored it with our imagination as our greatest tool.

Ten years ago, dungeons and dragons was a nerds game. Something to be ashamed of, a hobby not to be spoke of in public. While The Free Masons greeted each other with strange handshakes, we Dungeons dwellers had to resort to deduction to find out if there is a fellow D20 roller in our midst. There are always signs, but to read them wrong could end in calamity, or perhaps just a awkward conversation. Now however, the rolling of dice in an imaginary world filled with dragons and goblins is mostly, excepted. Of course there are exceptions, I am sure the DnD club at school still has its regular beatings from the rugby lads and I’m sure your boss will give you an odd look when you decline overtime to “kill the great Silitar and his scourge army” But on the whole, no one really cares.

What on earth is Dungeons and Dragons?

At its most basic explanation, DnD is a role playing, table top game (TTRPG) where a group of individuals get together to complete quests set for them by a DM/GM. A lot to take in? Let me explain…

A table top game is anything that can be played with dice or on a table top. For example, Monopoly is a table top game. However, in the age of technology, DnD and Monopoly can now be played online, so the table top part is not pre determined. Personally, I prefer in person, table top games. With dice, people and snacks we can all share. For me it makes a more immersive experience and can create long lasting memories and friendships. However, while COVID was spreading across the world like a forest fire, and we were all locked away in our houses, zoom dungeon crawls were a welcome sight.

The RPG part of the TTRPG, stands for role playing game. Sounds saucy right? Wrong, well… depending on who your playing with I suppose it can get pretty heated. A role playing game, is any game where you have to play a specific a character. This can range from dressing up as a dwarven barbarian in full cosplay, to mimicking an elf wizard or just choosing the characters choices determined by their personality. This brings us to characters. Usually, with a TTRPG, however not always, the players get to create a custom person that they play as. So Lets just say you are particularly fond on magic and the high seas. You could create a Elven wizard that has sailed the high seas under the flag of a well known pirate name Oooga Booga. From this, you will create stats, which determine what your character is good at, and what its really bad at. The stats in DnD are; Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma. With these and a roll of the D20 (twenty sided dice), you can determine the outcome of any situation put before you by the DM. Each player can play one or more characters, however it is most common for one player to have one character. A ‘party’ is a group of players, each with a character. Although there is no limit on how many can be in a party, for the sake of the DM’s mental capacity, anything between 1-7 is a sustainable amount.

What’s a DM? Or GM? Well, they both do the same thing, just the names vary from Dungeon Master to Games Master. A master, determines where your game goes, what obstacles are put in the way of the players, describing the environment and playing any NPC’s (non playable characters). Lets just say, your Elven Wizard Pirate walks into a shop, there’s a shop clerk there. The Master will act as the shop clerk for you to interact with…

So that the basics of Dungeons and Dragons. While that is the very basics of DnD, it must be stated that games can last for years. While there are one shot session (single session games that last no more than 6-8 hours) some campaigns can go long after. My world of Koritha was built with the intention of bringing years of campaigns to life. My longest having lasted close to three years.

How to identify a fellow D20 roller.

Thirty years ago, well before my time. A dungeons and dragons player could be determined by four key attributes. Body Odour, a high BMI, bad dress sense and thick glasses. Of course this is complete stereotyping, but unfortunately, those stereotypes come from a place of truth. Now however DnD players can range from high end CEO’s, your local barman or military generals. No doubt the poor dress sense stereotype still remains, overall us Dungeon crawlers have adapted to normal society and walk among you.

What I am trying to get at is, Dungeons and Dragons, as well as other TTRPG gamers are becoming, dare I say it… Cool. With the help of pop culture, DnD has become far more popular than ever before. While the Lord of the Rings trilogy sparked the imagination of everyone in the early 2000s, and the Game of Thrones series in the later 2010s. TV show Stranger Things boosted the nostalgic feeling of the late 70s and early 80s into the public consciousness. Even those born after the 80s had concluded, were fascinated by a nostalgia that had no part in their lives. Stranger Things indirectly brought DnD back to life with a new, modern target audience by introducing its characters playing the game throughout the story.

How DnD changed my life.

It may sound a little bit of an exaggeration when I say that DnD changed my life, but it is for the most part true. Dungeons and Dragons has produced life skills that I would never have had prior to playing. My ability to think on the spot and adapt to social situations has increased. I have become a far greater leader and follower, understanding my place within a group and how peoples strengths and weaknesses can be used to reach a common goal. I have improved my fictional writing and understand the structure of story telling. Being dyslexic and have ADHA tendencies DnD has improved my organisational skills and time management.

Above all, it has given me time to spend with my closest friends. Once ever week or two we get together, leave our troubles at the door and disappear into a land of fantasy for six or more hours. Creating fond memories while sipping on our favourite beverages. These memories, although fictitious are very real to those that take part in these epic adventures, and with the help of a good DM can seem almost real.

If you are considering starting a DnD session with some of your close friends, or perhaps with a new group that you want to bond with, I implore you to try a couple sessions.