Please roll a saving throw to see how much of this article you’re obligated to read… dang, I got a 1.
Lockdown & Dragons
Fifteen(ish) years earlier:
I sunk into the forest green sofa (…it was the early 2000s) and glared as I concentrated on my dad and brothers. A couple of their friends from the neighborhood had joined them in the living room as well, and when they had walked into the house a half hour earlier, I watched with insatiable curiosity as each one carried a handful of supplies in their arms. Looked like books and a bunch of toys. I liked toys too. Why wasn’t I allowed to play? I had plenty of Polly Pockets to contribute and they were wonderful singers.
….Oh. Right. I was “too young”. I often pouted when someone said this phrase, but there wasn’t much else I could do but pout and watch when the vote was 3 against 1. Fair and square and all that jazz. I was a kid of my word.
All of the guys, my dad and brothers included, were sitting in a variety of plastic and metal fold out chairs surrounding a white fold out table in the middle of our living room. Each of them had a heavy looking book besides them for which I was starting to understand from previous sessions was a bit like a bible but for geeks. In the center of the playing field lay a hand made map, completed by someone with a perfectionists eye. When each person’s mythical figure was slid across the surface to mimic the real person’s actions in the game, however, the drawings were smudged and had to be redrawn by the- I struggled to remember what the boys kept referring to dad as. The Dragon Mister?
All I knew was that they were playing what looked like a board game and I wanted in.
As mentioned in one of my previous articles, Bucket-List Lockdown, from the series, Stories from the Outside, COVID-19 has given me time to reflect upon myself and live the smaller of my bucket list dreams.
Dungeons and Dragons has been on my list since I was a little kid, even if at the time I didn’t quite understand what it was, aaaaand I giggled whenever my older brothers tried to speak in character voices (trust me, a 10-year-old attempting a gruff and steely accent was a sight for sore ears).
Now, however, I have been given the opportunity to craft my epic half-demon and step into a world I never thought I would experience.
I’ve been playing for about two months, on and off due to isolation requirements and the insanity that is the present world, and part of me wishes I had dived into this fantastical community years earlier. The other part is thankful for having just started now, however, due to the fun-filled newbie sessions that make the COVID weeks that much brighter.
Because of D&D my family and I are still able to laugh, sass, and connect with one another despite the wicked pandemic that has us all trapped in our homes.
Every Sunday evening a large portion of my family (about 8 out of 12 of us), gather around (mostly on Zoom) and spend a couple of hours together to explore magical caverns and defeat giant, smelly lizards. Though we can’t sit around the table in the flesh and enjoy the physical company of hugs and wine tasting, a set up of laptops and talking over one another to be heard is the next best thing. In lockdown, it’s one of the best things, especially when everyone sits in front of their computers, dice on their table tops, headphones strapped to their ears, and glasses of adult beverages in their hands (we’re all over 24 sooooo).
Despite the sadness, stress, and fear that has consumed our world, my family has been able to find solace and company in a game that can be played anywhere with anyone. This is why D&D has become so special to me.
This game is full of contagious energy and hope
But also…. how fun is it to create mythical characters?!
I specifically had a lot of fun creating my character’s backstory, even if the whole skills/equipment/spells thing confused the crap out of me at first and I spent an excessively long while staring at my glaring laptop screen thinking, “…..what?”. (Eventually I got the hang of it…kind of)
After lots of research and utter confusion, I have developed a Tiefling Bard named Maryola. To bring modernity into my character, her goal at the end of our campaign is to earn her share of the treasure and start a Tiefling Advocacy Group (TAG) with the money. Her side goal is to find her demon-mother and break the curse that has tortured her bloodline for generations. She had been traveling with her human half-brother until he fell in love and left behind the bard life for settling down with his wife. When the campgiang started, Maryola found herself traveling alone with little money and no support as she wandered city streets and entertained people who feared her for her heritage….I wrote a whole three pages of her story on Google docs 😉
Now she is a musical warrior, one of a group of seven in search of a legend that may lead to riches or, just as easily, to nothing. Who knowssss? *dramatic ghostly music
I felt connected to this fantastical creature as soon as she came to mind, and I couldn’t wait to see her come to life on the board. I couldn’t wait to see myself as Maryola as well, even if I don’t yet have an ensemble of badass gear to wear and I’m a little shy at the table. (Its coming though, just you wait. Horns, a voice, a lute, all of it!
Something else I love about D&D, as a writer, is the realism brought to a tale of fantasy. The Dungeon Master narrates a story that the players dictate, and that story can go in any possible direction the players wish it to go. This game isn’t just a straight forward, point A to B audiobook, it is an unpredictable, non-linear adventure. My dad isn’t just reading his kids a bedtime story, he’s building up our visions of the world we’ve stepped into. D&D is a self-facilitate interactive experience, much like any sort of attraction you can find at a Disney park and we all know that Disney does it right.
In addition to this, players are also asked to, within their comfort zones, inhabit their characters to the best of their abilities. The more one engages in them, it seems, the more the game bleeds into reality. This is partially why I am so keen on getting horns. Also they just look cool. I also have no idea how to play a lute but I would love to hold one every time I cast Bardic Inspiration upon someone….*Cue the song, Toss a Coin to Your Witcher….oh valley of plenty, oh valley of plenty woooooaaahhh!
Annnnnd bringing my tangent back to the main idea –>
To be simple for the first time in this article:
I have found that is the ultimate gamers form of escapism.
And everyone knows that distractions are just what people are looking for during times of great stress and turmoil.
Dungeons & Dragons has provided my family with something to use as a focal point for connecting with one another in a safe space for which we can have fun and spread the love.
This complex game has also provided me with fiction ideas along with storytelling components I had not yet thought of by simply reading and studying in classes.
Basically, another check off my bucket list!
