My very first experience with the game was when I helped bake some cookies for my dad's campaign with some of his friends. A large grid map was lying on the table with weird shaped dice shattered around handwritten character sheets. I later asked if my dad would teach me how to play, and thus began one of my favorite hobbies today.
Some people reading this will be avid players. Others may have wanted to play but have either been nervous to for some reason or haven’t found people to play with. I have had the pleasure of introducing people to the world of Dungeons and Dragons in college. It is one of my favorite past times.
I would even go as far as to say that everyone should play at least once in his or her life. Allow me to tell you why you should play, whether you are a super geek or not.
It is more than a game. Sure, there are books out there with adventures planned where you can go on pre-written quests and fight monsters planned for the encounter. You can also play a game where your dungeon master, the game leader, had created the content and its story.
It provokes creativity. You are in control of your character, the character’s background, who he or she is, and what they do. Your character can be something you are familiar with and react like you would in various situations, or your characters can be something completely different. The game has inspired TV shows, movies, books, and art.
You can get into character. One of the hardest things is to think in your character’s shoes, despite how you would react. It is a method of characterization that you can’t really experience in a creative writing classroom setting. It is also fun to act. You are able to be as in character as you want to be with voice and personality.
Problem-solving becomes a necessity. From figuring out traps to mind games, characters and players have to solve issues in order to proceed. Suddenly, deadlines for papers and exams don’t seem that important. It is up to you to figure out how to save a village from a cunning ancient wyrm or make it through an ancient wizard’s lair.
You get really close with the people you play with. I’ve played a few campaigns and have enjoyed every one of them. Most of them lasted for months. My current campaign I have been playing for almost a year and a half. I played one that lasted over two. The players in the current campaign all have jobs or are students, but we make time to play and relax, unwind, and experience the story together.
Sometimes we get audience members who want to see how the story progresses. Most of the time, it is us in a room munching on chips and dip while catching up on life. We can introvert together without social anxiety. That is a great feeling.
