#1: Prepare to have breaks in the action

Dungeons & Dragons, as a whole, is a ton of fun. But if you are expecting the game to be exciting 100% of the time, you will be greatly disappointed. Let me explain. You’re playing with a group of people. The DM (Dungeon Master) has to take turns talking to each person during certain parts to find out what they’re doing. During battles, everyone doesn’t just talk and attack at once. You take turns, and the bad guys (played by the Dungeon Master) get turns too. You might not think that it takes much time to do this, but expect each person’s turn to take around two to five minutes. If you’re playing with four other people, and there are three enemies, there could be a half hour wait in between your turns, give or take. These lulls can be a little boring, so bring something to occupy yourself with in the meantime. I used to knit or eat when there was nothing to do. Some people draw or play on their phone. Just don’t get so preoccupied that you don’t know what’s going on in the game.

#2: Prepare to get attached to your character

You wouldn’t think that a character whom you made up on paper would mean much to you. You’d be surprised. I have created so many characters over the years, and I have loved them all. A sneaky wood elf, a mischievous pixy, a drunken pirate, a serious native American. The list goes on. When you spend time making up personality traits, thinking about how they look and how they act, and piecing together their background, they become a good friend within your imagination. What’s the problem with this? Well, your character might not make it through every battle. Or maybe it’s not even a battle. Maybe you thought it was a good idea to cross that rickety bridge, stretched between two cliffs, and your character falls to their certain death. Or maybe one of your teammates decides to throw a fireball for fun, and they incinerate you in the process. It is not until a tragic event like this happens that you realize just how much you loved that fat, grumpy, beer-guzzling Dwarf.

#3: Prepare to do a lot of talking

Although there are figurines, dice, maps, and character sheets involved in Dungeons and Dragons, this is not a board game. It’s a role-playing game. That means that you play the role of your character. You talk for them and tell the DM what they’re doing. You talk to your teammates, merchants, and anyone else who you might encounter. Most of the game is played out by speaking to one another. The map and figurines are only there as a visual reference to get an idea of where you’re at, and how far away things and people are from you.
This plays a large factor in why you get so attached to your character. You spend hours pretending to be them. In this game, you are not going to get away with sitting quietly in your seat and moving your little painted figure around.

#4: Prepare for things to not make sense sometimes

Dungeons and Dragons requires plenty of imagination in order to play it, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t rules. There are MANY rules. And sometimes these rules won’t make any sense at all to you. For instance, every character has a stat called “Passive Perception”. This is how good you are at noticing things when you’re not looking for them. However, when you’re actively looking for something, you have to roll a perception check to find out if you see the thing you’re looking for. Sometimes, you’re going to roll less than what your Passive Perception score is, and that just seems ridiculous. I once had a wood elf whose Passive Perception was 17 (it took a lot to sneak past me), but I would frequently roll perception checks of 10 or less. How was I able to notice things easier when I wasn’t looking for them?! It made no sense, but that’s just how the game works. With that being said, don’t get scared off by the rules. Honestly, I just play how I want to and leave the rule knowledge up to the DM.

#5: Prepare for conflict amongst your party

As with anything, the people in your party are not going to agree on everything. Once in a while, there will even be a member who everyone else downright dislikes. During these times, you need to talk to each other and work through it. I remember playing in a campaign where everyone in the party was on the same page except for ONE person. That person kept doing their own thing and running off without the rest of us. So what did we decide to do? We finally let him take off on his own, and we went on with our quest. His character ended up getting killed because he was discovered by goblins when he was all alone. Hopefully, your party can resolve things in a much happier, pleasant way.

No doubt, you’ve heard about Dungeons and Dragons before. That’s why you’re here. But do you know the story of where it came from? I will admit that most websites that give the history of this table-top game tend to throw too much information at someone who’s new to this scene, so let me simplify things a bit.

The birth of D&D goes back to the 1970s, in the magical land of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Two men named Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson had met and created a game that was very medieval, warlike, and tactical. However, Gary Gygax envisioned a game that was more fantasy based, like the Lord of the Rings series, written by J.R.R. Tolkien. He wanted to involve elves, wizards, dwarves, and dragons in grand quests and exciting battles. Thus, Dungeons and Dragons was created. They originally made 1,000 copies of the game/box set, which completely sold out in less than a year. You can buy a reprint of the original game at the official Dungeons and Dragons website.

It was obvious that D&D was a huge hit right away, but what happened soon after was a bit of a shock. In 1979, A young man by the name of James Dallas Egbert III was deeply involved in playing the table-top game while he was a college student in Michigan. One night, the college student went missing. In the wake of Egbert’s disappearance, a rumor grew. The rumor stated that he had become so engrossed in playing Dungeons and Dragons that he couldn’t tell fantasy from reality, and he had run off into underground campus tunnels in search of dragons and treasure, never to return. And so, the Satanic Panic erupted, scaring people and telling them that Dungeons and Dragons was all about witchcraft and devil worship. So, if you ever heard stories from your parents about not being allowed to play this “evil” game, now you know why.

Throughout time, the fear subsided, and several editions of Dungeons and Dragons have been released. Each edition (there are five) brings with it different rules and characters to create. When talking to a D&D nerd, ask them what their favorite edition is. They will most likely not hesitate before giving their answer, and they will also have a detailed explanation of why it is their favorite. My favorite is 5th Edition because it simplifies many rules, and I like the options for character creation.

Now that you have a basic knowledge of D&D, you can feel smart and involved when talking to your nerd friends. If you want to expand your mastery even further, check out all of the links that I’ve included in this blog post.

See that picture above? That’s me and my friends immersed in the middle of a D&D session. OK, WAIT! Don’t leave! It’s not as boring and weird as it might look. Sure, it’s not your average way to spend an evening, but it’s one of those activities that you have to actually try in order to “get it”.

When my friends first invited me to play Dungeons and Dragons, I just couldn’t grasp the idea of how it worked. The more they tried to explain it to me, the more confused I was. You play by using your imagination and talking to each other. There are rules that you have to follow, but the things you can do are limitless. What? This makes no sense to a logical person (and I am a VERY logical person. Just ask my fiance about what it’s like to watch a movie with me). So let me try to explain this in a way that a logical person would understand, at least as much as they possibly can without actually playing it.

So what is D&D anyway? It’s a role-playing game, and in case you don’t know what that means, Dictionary.com says it best. A role-playing game is “a game in which participants adopt the roles of imaginary characters in an adventure under the direction of a GameMaster”. In these types of game, you make up a character with specific traits, skills, and faults, and you become that character with a group of people who all do the same. Your characters make up a party that shares a common goal (killing a giant dragon, stealing someone’s treasure, rescuing a city from the rule of an awful tyrant, etc.), and you work together to reach that goal. Of course, there is always a “Game Master” who leads you on your way, creates monsters and bad guys to attack you, and keep you on your feet. In D&D, we call this position the Dungeon Master (DM). Before you raise your hand to volunteer to be that guy, keep in mind that the Dungeon Master has to keep track of the rules and do all the planning, so if you’re in that position, be prepared to be the “adult” of the group.

To give you an idea of what a session of D&D looks like, reference the picture at the top of this post. Get ready to settle in, because a single session can last a while (typically around 4 hours). Bring plenty of snacks and drinks. Wear your comfiest clothes. I recommend also bringing something to do when it’s not your turn (if you’re the Dungeon Master, disregard this advice. It is ALWAYS your turn.), such as your phone, a book, a knitting project, you get the idea. Most of the time you’re playing will be spent talking to the other members of your party, figuring out where you’re going, what you’re doing, and fighting fiends along the way. You’re basically creating a story with a group of people and the guidance of the DM. And don’t be afraid to go where your character takes you. If you’re playing a loud, bad-mouthed, drunken pirate, then act like it! Be a bit untrustworthy, start fights whenever someone looks at you weird, drink at every tavern you come across. Playing your character as it’s meant to be played makes the game much more enjoyable for everyone involved, and it also benefits you. I recommend watching this short TEDx Talks video about the benefits of role-playing games.

If you still don’t quite understand how to play Dungeons and Dragons, don’t worry. I’m not going to stop here. There is way too much to the game to explain it in a single post (thank goodness, or else I would definitely not have enough content to keep this going…). I wanted to start out by giving you a very high-level introduction to the game so that you have a little bit of understanding as we dig into the world of D&D. Also, if you’re not scared off yet by how weird and nerdy this all probably sounds, you just might be cut out to play.

Welcome to the journey!

“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination.”

Albert Einstein

Hi there. I’m Joy. In the real world, I am a six feet tall woman who works in the insurance industry, owns a house and an SUV, has a loving family, likes to eat good food, and exercises when I get the chance. In my imagination, however, I am an elven ranger, insanely accurate with a bow and arrow, with beautiful long locks of auburn hair, able to climb trees as though I was a wild animal, sneaky and quiet, and maybe a bit sarcastic.

Eight years ago, I was like most people when it came to Dungeons and Dragons. Only super nerds play that game. One session can last four or MORE hours?! Who has that kind of time??? What do you mean, you play by talking about what’s happening? That doesn’t make any sense. When a group of friends from work proposed that I play a D&D campaign with them, all of these things came out of my skeptical mouth. I was even more confused when I started playing. It’s a game all about using your imagination, but there are a TON of rules. I can be an elf with magical powers, but I can’t have a pet chipmunk that hangs out in my pocket and breathes fire?

Because I’ve been in that seat, I want to provide some guidance to those who feel the same. The ones who are curious about this game that has had a surge of popularity within the past year (you can buy the starter kit in Target for Pete’s sake!). I want to give you some history into the game, how to play, why it’s fun, and introduce you to all of the wonderful things that exist in the world of Dungeons and Dragons. A nice little perk of emerging into the D&D world? You’ll discover that many of your friends, family, and other cool people who you meet in the future play or have played this game, and will get insanely jazzed at the thought of participating in a campaign with you.

It is my hope that, with this blog, I can introduce you to a different dimension. One where you can be whoever you want to be, have magical powers, be an incredible fighter, have the intelligence of a wise, old wizard, be as beautiful as a mermaid, have the ability to open any locked door or chest, and obtain the inexplicable ability to persuade almost anyone of anything. Get ready to be acquainted with your inner child, my wannabe and semi-nerd friends.