Dungeons & Dragons: Storytelling brings us together

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“Once upon a time, long, long ago, in a realm called the Midwestern United States—specifically the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin—a group of friends gathered together to forever alter the history of gaming.” Preface by Mike Mearls, Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook, 5th Edition.

Games like Dungeons and Dragons bring us together like a family meal. Game night, after-school activities, game shops, and online games tap into our imagination. Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) layers inspired personality combining teamwork, imagination and luck to build a world of self-expression.

From unpopular to mainstream

D&D once had a stigma, along with video gaming, reading books and comics, attending Comic-Con, and many other forms of entertainment, of being “lame.” We have slowly shifted towards accepting vulnerability and creativity. Netflix solidified D&D’s recent popularity uptick in the popular show, Stranger Things.

Lucas, Will, and Dustin loving the game

Set in 1980’s Indiana, the main characters are outcasts in their middle school. The show focuses on the group’s love of D&D, although it was one of many reasons they were bullied. But when we see them playing the game, they shed all their worries and express themselves. When their friend, Will, goes missing, they use the game to understand what is going on. They call the main evil entity a “Demogorgon,” a demon associated with the underworld in D&D. In another scene, Eleven flips the game board upside down to to explain the "Upside Down," or the alternate dimension the creature came from. D&D was their way of contextualizing the bizarre situation because they were comfortable with it.

Stranger Things helped eliminate D&D’s poor reputation. Now video games, comics, and Comic-Cons are mainstream. People are shedding judgment and embracing storytelling in a completely new way. Think of The Witcher, Star Wars, Game of Thrones, and many more mainstream hits.

But what about D&D draws people?

D&D opens doors to the world of imagination where people freely express themselves. Watching a movie or playing a game engages you in the story. Many games, such as World of Warcraft and Skyrim, let you make choices and customize your character. But in D&D, you shape the story, whether you are the Dungeon master or a player character. It’s your story, and character creation is the entrance.

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Using a combination of game statistics, playable fantasy races (like an elf or a dwarf), classes (like a wizard or a paladin), and imagination, you build a fantasy world. Many people choose their in-game statistics and class first, but I like to make up the backstory first.

The D&D player base spiked during the pandemic. Many people who put off playing or were intimidated by the rules decided to give it a try because it was something to do. Wizards of the Coast, owners the official D&D brand, made much of their content free in 2020 and still had their best year on record. 2021 is set to beat that record. Sites like Roll20 and D&D Beyond (hosts of tabletop gaming online) see more traffic than ever. They had issues at the beginning of the pandemic because so many people were logging on and playing. Everyone was stressed and stuck at home, so why not try out a character in a brand new world?

D&D tells a story through a campaign and characters. It lets us get away and put our guard down for a little while. It’s becoming an excellent place for marginalized communities to get together as well. Many old faces who stuck with the game through terrible stigmas and new faces come together under the umbrella of imagination at the table.

Grab a few friends, pick up some books and start playing! If it’s too intimidating at first, perhaps watch a few episodes of Critical Role, a group of voice actors who stream their games every week. Also remember this quote from Gary Gygax, pioneer of D&D: “The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules.” A world of adventure awaits!