When I was a kid, playing D&D was the nerdiest thing you could do, like the lowest level of nerd-dom.
I don’t know where this stigma came from specifically, but I have some examples. Does anyone remember the old Disney show, Recess? (Let’s pause for a moment of nostalgia). There was an episode called “Lord of the Nerds”, where TJ hurts his arm and has to have indoor recess with…the Pale Kids, the “uncool”. They were ultra-dorky kids, with taped up glasses and braces, who were into Star Trek (strike one, young D.M.), comics, models, and…D&D.
Okay, not D&D specifically, “Daggers and Dragons”. The point of the episode was wow, these guys are all right! But then at the end, the Pale Kids go back inside because they can never fit in, really. They’ll always be weird.
So D&D was a level you didn’t really want to sink to. I couldn’t escape the Star Trek, my mom showed me all the old episodes when I was growing up. I was already heading down a dark and dangerous path. I had to prevent myself from being “uncool.”
It didn’t work guys. I’m “uncool” and proud of it.
It started with my high school boyfriend. He used to run interactive stories for me through AIM (another moment for nostalgia). Sort of like the pick-your-path books. No levels or dice, yet. I really enjoyed our stories, so much so that I started writing my own versions for one of my friends later. I started exploring ways to make it more interesting for him and started venturing to the dark side…I researched adding dice rolls. Dangerous territory, my friends. Dangerous.
My first roleplaying game was in University, a game called Mage the Awakening, through a student activities group. I don’t remember a lot about it, except being really excited over my character (Cricket), and going to buy my first set of dice at a local comic store and feeling so…awesome. I enjoyed the game, until I had to take an early morning class on a satellite campus and had to leave the group. We all lost touch, which was a shame.
My best friend Kat is really to blame for dragging me into the deep end. She started playing D&D during grad school. She knew I was into writing (poor thing read a lot of my English papers when we roomed together), and asked me to help her with some storylines. I hated admitting I enjoyed it. I wanted to play. I was curious.
It took a few years before I finally found the time to play. I continued to help Kat with her games, and she introduced me to Adventure Zone. My roommate started showing me Fantasy High episodes. And then she started dating a guy who was a Dungeon Master.
I was doomed.
I had my roommate’s boyfriend run my first game as my birthday party two years ago. We had fun- we even video called with Kat so she could join. I played a character from noble descent and started taking on a Draco Malfoy attitude (MY FATHER WILL HEAR ABOUT THIS!) Somehow this resulted in me being named queen at the end of the one-shot. I still feel like DM Rick did this because it was my birthday, but I’m not complaining. It was a great evening, and my favorite birthday.
It wasn’t enough, though. It took me that one game to realize I wanted to be in the driver’s seat.
Being a Dungeon Master is now one of my favorite creative outlets. I usually run my own story lines, so I get to write and plan. I get to tell stories to people and act. Set the scene. Watch as the chaos unfolds. Did I mention the writing? I’m not just an outliner, I will write out entire scene descriptions in advance. I spend a lot of time prepping between sessions.
The kicker is, just like when the characters in my novel decide to do their own thing, my players can break my game. My last group had the habit of doing that. Plot hook? What’s that? I want to know everything about your banking system, not hunt for bad guys. Once, their characters went to visit the Oracle at Delphi for an ancient Greek themed game. I had asked them to give me questions during the session before so I could write them all little poems… of course they got there and they decided to just ask one group question that wasn’t on the list. (They really thought I’d tell them the villain that soon in the campaign!) I made up a poem on the fly that haunted them until the game ended.
The other benefit to D&D is I can test bits of stories out. I have a campaign set to start in January that’s based in the world my novel exists in. It was Kat’s idea- I gave her my world, some plot points, and some pre-made characters from my world history, just out of curiosity, and she ran it as a campaign with her roommates and classmates. Creating the world for them to play in was a great test of my world building. They ended up acting out a crucial moment in my lore that I had been struggling with.
D&D is one of my favorite things. It’s “mainstream” now, but I’d like to think that I would still play, even if it wasn’t. Who cares about being dorky? I get to world build and write stories and then set people loose in my creation and get instant feedback. As a creative person, I can’t really ask for more.
The path you chose is full of hate
Resentment has been reborn
But listen closely to you fate
And drop your mask of scorn
Abandoned by all
Forgotten gods will rise once more
But capable of the fall
and set their hearts to war
seek help of those with power
your allies are close at hand
and at your darkest hour
join in to make a stand
be warned: betrayal is near
someone you think a friend
the person you think least to fear
will bring about your end
It’s no masterpiece, but not terrible three drinks in and dealing with five people who are looking to cause chaos. They never trusted anyone again.
Zoey Delmaire Writes 