What other game is more synonymous with “nerd” than DND? Countless hours spent mulling over a piece of paper, poor handwriting scrawling away a character’s life, a map, foreign lands stretching across continents, carefully etched into the paper sprawled over your bed… that idea of endless possibilities, the ability to forge your own story through war or peace, is what makes DND so enticing to me - and I hope it will convince you to try it out for yourself!
First off, what is “DnD”? Dungeons and Dragons is a turn-based, tabletop roleplaying game (or RPG!) that revolves around luck-based dice rolls. These dice rolls can change the course of the game on a whim, ranging from missing attacks to strokes of unfortunate luck, the possibilities are endless! A dungeon master will run a game, meaning that they will play as any enemies or non-playable characters in order to enrich the user experience, allowing for groups of between 3-6 people to join and play together depending on their preference.
A couple of my friends run a DND extracurricular at my school, and I’d heard of the game beforehand and so decided to join. Needless to say, the ECA was a complete hit with me and the rest of my dungeon party, with extracurricular sessions extending far past the allotted time into the afternoon. At the height of COVID, locked in the coffin of my own room, it was great to be able to relax and daydream about knights in shining armour, embarking on quests to create ice statues for a festival. My friend was a great dungeon master too!
Nowadays, I’ve taken it a slight step further - I’ve gone ahead and found an online, international community that is not only close-knit but hosts DND events on a regular basis, with a different event presented on my plate. The choices are endless - although I have very limited time to play, everyone that I’ve played with has proven incredibly lively and proactive, providing me with the best experience a starter DND player could ever ask for.
I remember my first campaign, where my party and I were tasked by a mage to enter a cave and create ice sculptures. Although I’d gotten off to a shaky start - I wasn’t sure if I was meant to act as my character or just myself. My character’s meant to be rather reclusive - I’m not sure if I did a great job roleplaying as him by robbing people at “bow”-point! Mining ice in a cave almost got us killed, as we were attacked by these small animals - Wynlings, which were able to blend into the snow to injure us. Almost running down the allotted time thanks to a couple unlucky rolls, we were finally able to sculpt a couple presentable figurines, including one of the Wynlings. That campaign’s remained a core memory of mine, every moment for me almost as reinvigorating as a good cup of coffee.
I understand that many people associate Dungeons and Dragons with the concept of “being a nerd”, but I’d love for more people to become hardcore DND delvers! The Pandora’s Box of fictional worlds awaits…
Like what you see? Feel free to subscribe to our blog to receive updates whenever we post.