Category: Features

So you want to play Dungeons & Dragons? You’ve heard about it. You’ve seen your uncle’s bag of oddly-shaped dice. You may have even seen it played on shows like “Community” and “Stranger Things.” But what is it?

What is Dungeons & Dragons?

The Player’s Handbook describes Dungeons & Dragons as a “childhood game of make-believe,” but with structure and consequences decided by dice.

According to the Dungeon Master’s Guide, D&D is a game of swords and sorcery. It’s a collaborative story telling game with heroes and villains, dragons and zombies, magic and politics. It can be anything you want it to be.

To an outsider, a game of D&D might look like a group of people sitting around talking about swords and dragons but that’s only because it’s primarily made up of imagination.

Jarod DePew, the Dungeon Master (DM) for his game, defines D&D as a game of imagination with three different parts: “the explanation of the surroundings, the players reacting, and the DM explaining the effects of their actions.”

According to DePew, a game of D&D may sound something like this:

Dungeon Master: You walk into a pitch black room. There’s a scent of smoke, but no fire. What do you do?

Player: I light a torch and investigate the area for clues.

Dungeon Master: You find a half-burned treasure chest and a pile of bones.

 

What do I need to start playing?

The two main components of a D&D game are the player and the Dungeon Master. The Player’s Handbook suggests a game consist of four players and a Dungeon Master chosen before game night for ample preparation time.

When it comes to game night, the players and Dungeon Master will need character sheets, writing utensils, and dice.

Perhaps one of the most iconic things is a Dungeon Master’s screen. A Dungeon Master’s screen can be something as simple as two binders or folders propped up in front of the Dungeon Master so the players can’t see their rolls or statistics of the monsters they’re fighting, according to DePew.

Another necessity for a game of a D&D game is food. Considering a game may last anywhere from two to eight hours on average (some play as long as 12 hours), being able to replenish calories burnt from fighting a dragon is a must, DePew said.

 

How do I become a Dungeon Master?

The Dungeon Master is “everything the players are not,” DePew said.

They are responsible for outlining a narrative, possible encounters, and potential situations for the players to react to.

There are several styles of Dungeon Mastering. Many Dungeon Masters like to prepare for any situation the players may wind up in. This means creating maps, characters and situations for anywhere the players may go.

Other Dungeon Masters find this method to be redundant.

“I prefer improv. Don’t get me wrong, I have papers full of information, but I like to improv,” DePew said.

“I like being a DM because I have a very insane imagination and I’m able to see things a majority of people can’t. I enjoy explaining to my friends and cohorts what’s going on in my imaginary world,” Depew explained.

 

How do I become a player?

The first thing you need to do as a player is create a character. This consists of choosing a race and class you think will be fun to play. For example, you could be Darius, the gnome fighter from the lost island of Loraxia, or you could be Hirron, the elvish warlock who once slayed a red dragon – with hundreds of character combinations, you can build any type of character you’d like.

Jordan Kortenber, who is primarily a player, said he likes being able to “run in, beat people up, and kick doors down, but some people like to cast a bunch of magic and spells. Some people prefer to be sneaky.”

During the character creation process you and the rolls of your dice will decide different attributes of your character like hit points, items and spells.

Game night is primarily about roleplay and pretending to be someone else, but there are many styles of play.

“A lot of people get embarrassed because they don’t want to say something embarrassing, but sometimes that’s the point. Our stories can be really dark and edgy sometimes, but more times than not, it will end up being funny,” Kortenber said.

 

Why should I play?

Kortenber explained that while there dozens of books and guides, the rules aren’t what matters. The game is really about friendship and storytelling.

“It’s a way to make new friends and even get closer to the friends you already have. Like, you’re playing for hours sometimes and getting to know a person on a whole different level because they’re expressing themselves through their character,” Kortenber said.

 

So you’re interested? Now it’s time to roll up some cool characters and get ready to dive into some dungeons. Have your dice ready and snacks prepared. And most importantly — May your swords be sharp and your rolls be high…

 

Friday.

The day most people long for. The start of the weekend, usually much overdue from the long work week. However, for me it’s quite a different story.

At 4 p.m., on a Friday my serving shift begins. I started prepping for the busy night. Cut lettuce, tomatoes, limes and lemons. Filled the cheese, butter, and sour cream. Made sure everything was ready to go.

At 4:30 p.m. I heard the bell that signals the first customers have walked through the door. I assumed it was an older couple, because they tend to eat dinner early.

“I’m going to need beer for fish batter,” the cook said.

Two hours passed and the dinner crowd began to flood in. I walked up to a table.

“May I get you started with something to drink?” I asked.

“Do you have Coke or Pepsi?” the customer replied.

“We have coke.”

“I will just take a water.

I then went to other tables to get more drink orders.

“Two cokes, three waters, sunlight, and a flirtini,” I sang to myself as I walk back to the kitchen.

After all my tables had their drinks, I started taking food orders. One table asked me a question concerning gluten-free appetizers. I let her know we have potato skins, but they are cooked in the fryer so, it just depends on how severe her allergy to gluten was.

“I am highly allergic, so that won’t work,” she said.

I proceeded on and took their dinner order, starting with the woman who had the gluten allergy.

“I will have the lime city sirloin, burnt, very well done,” she said. “And for my sides I will have green beans and the macaroni and cheese.”

I chuckle inside, smile, and go on to the next person at the table.

After that I stepped back to look over all of my tables. In my head, I go over the to-do list. I needed to make salads for table 101. Table 103 looked like they needed refills, and I still needed to take table 111’s order.

“I sat you six at 107 love,” my boss said.

Great.

Ok, I go take their drink orders, refilled drinks at my other tables, and start dinner orders from another.

“I will have the cobb salad, but light on the cobb,” a customer said.

I said alright and started writing it down. The table then began to laugh. I then forced a nervous laugh, because I didn’t get the joke, or maybe I just didn’t find it funny.

Back in the kitchen I had food up. As I read the ticket I realized I forgot to take their salads.

Crap.

Hurry made salads, delivered them, ran back to the kitchen and took their food. As I handed out their dinner I apologized for not getting their salads out sooner, blaming the cook for being too quick tonight. Followed by some more fake laughter.

After that was over I noticed one of my tables had finished eating. I cleared their plates, and asked if there was anything else I could get for them.

“No thank you, just our carryout order and the check please,” they replied.

Crap.

I rushed back to the kitchen and with a soft, sad voice I said the cooks name. He gave me a sharp annoyed look, knowing that good news was not about to come out of my mouth. I then proceeded to tell him the carryout order I had forgot to ring in along with 100 apologies.

Now another table finished eating.

“How was everything tonight?” I asked.

“Oh, it was just awful can’t you tell,” the customer replied as he handed me his squeaky, clean plate.

I move on, drinks, food, refill, clean and repeat for the next four hours.

Finally, the night came to an end. Silverware rolled, tables cleaned, and floors swept. I run my server report, take my cash, and go home. My shift was over, until tomorrow