Of Dungeons and of Dragons

A letter from Clay

The one time our D&D group has played in person, when we were back in Illinois last fall.

Hey Friend!

Are you a nerd?

There are many kinds of nerds, and about the time I was in college it became fashionable to call yourself one. Obama was kind of a nerd, and Bush most certainly was not. But now we have sports nerds, music nerds, tech nerds, lit nerds, even beer nerds.

But, for the longest time there was an unspoken rule. Jamie used to say something like “yeah, I’m a nerd, but I don’t play Dungeons & Dragons or anything.”

Which is why when I took our teen daughter to a critically acclaimed D&D movie with big name actors, it was hard to believe. Hard to believe that this game made for those of us who are the perfect combination of sci-fi/fantasy nerd, theater nerd and math nerd had come so far. But should I have been surprised?

Back when I was our daughter’s age I was introduced to the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering by a friend. I played in (casual) tournaments at our local card shop, hung out there with friends on summer days and weekends, and even held my own tournament as a birthday party. Magic is both one of the greatest games ever made (and I have played a few) and one of the worst moneygrabs. The only reason I didn’t spend thousands on that game as a teenager was I didn’t have thousands, and the biggest reason I refuse to play now is that I do (but not for games!).

But that is not why my friend’s mom was worried when I introduced him to Magic. I remember his mom calling mine, concerned it was evil. My mom’s response was something along the lines of “It’s not like it’s Dungeons & Dragons”.

Ah yes, “Dungeons & Dragons - Satan’s game”. If you get that reference you probably trolled nerdy Napster a lot like me (or maybe you even heard it in its original airing on the Dr. Demento show). You’ll likely also remember the hand wringing in the 80s and early 90s about this game that is essentially a bunch of us nerds sitting in a room eating snacks, using our imagination together and rolling dice. But, the narrative surrounding Satanism, the occult and D&D was so prevalent in the 80s that it inspired the book and movie “Mazes and Monsters” and even a 60 Minutes special where they spoke with creator Gary Gygax and a mother who blamed D&D for her kid’s deat.

So, naturally, within 6 months of that conversation another friend and I took the cash we hadn’t spent on Magic, plus about $20 worth of found change to the Waldenbooks at the local mall where we bought the Player’s Handbook and Dungeon Master’s Guide for Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition. I can still see the mix of annoyance and amusement on the clerk’s face as she counted change to determine we did, indeed, have enough to purchase these tomes. We proceeded to bring them home and try to read them. At one point we even tried playing. Making characters was fun, but without an experienced player or dungeon master to guide us we quickly had to give up on trying to follow the rules. Far from a forbidden occult adventure, the game was needlessly complex to the point that it took the fun out of playing. Who cared about encumbrance!

I can only remember one play session as a teen that was actually fun. I had taken the books and dice with me on a family trip to Rocky Mountain National Park and one day was miserably rainy. Instead of exploring outdoors, my brother and I sat in the cabin and he created a character whose race was “monkey” and class was a thief or something. He proceeded to steal things, get chased and swing away on the rafters, avoiding fights. When we stopped worrying about getting all the rules right and kept the main focus on collaborative storytelling, we finally got a glimpse of the magic of D&D!

That was the last time I played until my 30’s. In high school I adopted the “I’m a nerd but not that kind” attitude toward D&D and Magic, opting instead for video games, computers and anime. But I never lost my love for board and card games, and got pulled into European style board games like Settlers of Catan and Carcassone by some college friends. Jamie and I played regularly with friends and family and amassed enough games that we now (after the purge of 2020) have 2 cabinets full in the Airstream and 2 bins in a storage unit in Illinois.

For a few years before we hit the road we held a regular Tuesday night game night (because nobody ever has plans on Tuesday). Friends and friends of friends would just show up after the kids went to bed and play games until midnight or later, while eating chips and salsa and Totino’s Pizza Rolls and drinking whatever people brought that week. Game night at the Fell house was something special, one of the things I miss most about living in one place. I have always loved having friends over, and I’m happiest when they feel so comfortable hanging out at my place they just show up, walk in and grab a beer from the fridge.

When Covid sent our game night online, it wasn’t long before D&D was suggested. At this point Jamie and I had been listening to The Adventure Zone regularly and had both become D&D curious - so we enthusiastically agreed. Friend, we have played 1-2 times a week with that group of friends for several years now, and are on our 4th campaign. We all role-play to varying degrees, and some people are more experienced players than others. The magic happens though, when one person has an idea crazy enough it just might work, and the group runs with it. Everyone reacts as their character would, which can sometimes cause hilarious problems for the group. At the end of my favorite campaign, we ended up on opposite sides from one of our teammates in an epic battle between the forces of the Dragon Queen Tiamat and those of the fallen angel Zariel, who we were trying to defeat or redeem. We ended up killing his character in dramatic fashion (a tiger was involved), and nobody loved it more than him. Ryan, our Dungeon Master, was there to keep the wheels on, but did his job of setting up the world for all of us to play in, and then let us run with it, creating together something an individual author couldn’t have imagined. It is very much like improv comedy (which, admittedly, can sometimes be more fun to perform than to watch). When it works, it works beautifully, but no matter what, as long as you keep saying “yes, and” everyone has a great time.

So I guess I shouldn’t be surprised D&D has become as popular as it has. 5th Edition is much easier for a new player, popular culture has celebrated it with shows like Stranger Things, and podcasts like The Adventure Zone. And, I doubt it is just me who has allowed themself to be exactly the nerd they want to be. Don’t focus on the rules, just make your own stories.

Happy travels,

Clay

P.S. If you’re ever in a campground with us, please stop by and grab a drink from the cooler and join us by the fire - nothing would make me happier. If you bring a game, even better.