Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game consisting of a narrator known as the Dungeon Master and characters that act as protagonists in a fictional story. The game uses dice to determine how likely a player is to succeed at a task of their choosing.
I began playing D&D in October right as fall term began, when the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing. I always wanted to play the game growing up, but having no prior experience made it difficult to corral my friends into playing what seemed to be something far too convoluted for its own good.
It wasn’t until I was asked by a friend to join their campaign that I finally was able to dip my toes in the water.
Out of everyone in our five-person group, I was by far the least experienced. Everyone else had been playing for years; this showed early on as I struggled to understand the game rules and was unable to roleplay at the same caliber as my teammates.
But I stuck it out and continued to play throughout the rest of the year. D&D gave me two things that were hard to find during isolation that fall: friends and routine.
With the vast majority of my old friend group graduating in spring of 2020, there were very few people I was regularly talking to — let alone seeing in person. But, having a time once a week where I could virtually hang out with a diverse group of people was exactly what I needed.
Reflecting on it now, D&D was the best element of the past year, but it took a few ups and downs to come to that realization.
“Gremblo, it’s your turn,” my Dungeon Master Kiana Lee said over our call on Discord.
I immediately panicked when I heard my character’s name called out because I was watching a YouTube video on my second monitor with the volume turned to low.
“I’ll attempt to slice the hell hound with my shortsword,” I anxiously said after switching tabs and realizing there was only one enemy left on our virtual map.
“Roll your dice to see if it hits,” Lee said.
I don’t remember what I rolled, but I do remember hearing the iconic words, “How do you want to do this?” This famous line — coined by DM Matthew Mercer of the web series “Critical Role” — tells players they have dealt enough damage to the last enemy and can describe exactly how they want to finish off the creature.
I confidently answered with what I thought was a very showy description: “I’m going to slide underneath the hell hound and slice its neck.”
Everyone in my adventuring party gave me an odd look, with a few audible chuckles as well.
Lee picked up a die and rolled it. “Well, the hell hound’s blood is made of lava so you’re going to take six points of fire damage.”
The chuckle evolved into playful laughter by everyone in the group, with them telling me that Lee had mentioned multiple times how hot the blood of the hounds appeared to be.
I should have been paying better attention.
A few months after this event, I was asked to be the DM for my brother and his roommates’ campaign. Out of everyone in that friend group — one of my brother’s roommates and now close friend of mine, Travis Scarfpin — was the most heavily invested in the game. Scarfpin would constantly message me outside of our weekly sessions, reflecting on the group’s current quest and asking for tips on how to better roleplay.
During one of our usual Tuesday sessions over Discord, Travis got a notification that my brother Mason Majeski was playing the video game Apex Legends during said session.
“Mason, are you playing Apex Legends right now?”
There was no response.
It stung knowing my brother wasn’t invested in the game that I spent so much time prepping for, considering the role of the DM is to act out non-playable creatures and characters, describe the world around the players and be the storytelling backbone for those that are roleplaying.
Right then and there I realized this is exactly what Lee must have felt months earlier when I clearly wasn’t paying attention during our previous session. That moment was not only pivotal for me as a DM and player, but as a person who values reciprocatory and engagement in conversations.
How can I expect others to engage with me if I don’t do the same? That aha moment made me realize not only how important D&D is for me, but how important it must be for Lee, Scarfpin and so many others as well.
