In 1974 the first edition of Dungeons and Dragons was released into the world. Many people flocked to the game and spent hours playing. In modern times, telling someone to become interested in a tabletop game where you make your own character and story gets you a laugh. I was once one of those people who thought the game was 'nerdy' and not worth my time. That was until I watched my cousins play and I saw the endless amount of fun they were having. A week later I downloaded Dungeons and Dragons online and played for hours on end. A month later I bought my own Dungeons and Dragons starter kit. And now, I'm in the midst of a campaign with my cousins, brother, and close friends. I spend hours arranging my D&D binder and updating my character sheet. I have a constant itch to buy new dice and character figures of my own. I hold close to my journal and I'm always trying to find new ways to make it more organized. And when I'm not window shopping online for a new set of dice, I'm sharing, and making, D&D memes to share with my guild.
Trust me, never in a million years did I think I would sit down at a table, character sheet and D20 in hand, and pretend to be a tiefling sorceress named after Harry Potter characters and spells. Yet here I sit, Narcissa Morsemoredre, sorceress descended from demons, thrown to the streets by her family and taught everything she knows by Merlin himself.
Before you play D&D, you always think it's something for 'nerds,' whatever that may be. You never expect to have so much fun. You never expect to learn something. I've stayed up for hours with my cousins playing until four in the morning, laughing at the mannerisms of each other's characters. We've worked together to devise strategies in battle scenes and ensure the safety of our guild. We've created worlds and expanded upon the creativity that lies within us.
Dungeons and Dragons has taught me, better than any school project, on how to work together with those near me in any situation. Battle scenes feel like true life or death and you have to rely on each other and work together, to ensure that your characters, and the made-up characters in your party, survive. Discussing the best strategy takes democracy to hear each other out and make sure the plan is best for all involved. And creating these characters and worlds is hard work as well when you have no one else to make it up for you. All of these things are even things you can put on a resume one day. These skills are vital to the working world.
However, the most important thing that D&D has taught me is that spending time with people you care about is vital. I have never been closer to those that are in my guild. We all sat our phones, and everything for that matter, aside and spent hours playing this game and enjoying each others company. At the end of the day, you have to praise a game that can do all that.
So I urge you, reader, to go out and find people who would enjoy playing this game with you. Make new friends or become closer to old ones. And if someone calls you a nerd for it, own up to it.
