Coming to Denison I had a long list of hobbies that I wanted to try my hand at, and the roleplaying game Dungeons and Dragons was high on that list. As someone who enjoys choose your own adventure books and games I figured that D&D was just an ultimate version of those styles of storytelling. So I became a member of Denison’s Gaming Guild solely for the opportunity to participate in some of their organized campaigns. With my first year of college almost over I am now part of two campaigns and am deep into considering learning how to become a Dungeon Master.
For those who do not know what roleplaying games entail, in their most basic form they require you as a player to assume the role of a character of your creation through your decisions in game, basically acting like your character. A campaign refers to a specific storyline that is ongoing, throughout many game sessions, involving the same characters. A campaign is run by a Dungeon Master (DM) who creates the storyline and the world that it takes place in. They control all your encounters both battle related or roleplaying with non-player characters.
The reason I have fallen in love with D&D is the storytelling aspect of the game specifically everything you can accomplish with your own character. I love the process of developing a character because it gives me a creative outlet, specifically in designing who this person is going to be. Everything from past experiences ideals and mannerisms are for me to decide, and the process of coming up with a complex person is so satisfying. And because the character is made to be played, the character is given so much room to grow and develop as a person through what they experience in game through interaction with the world.
With my frequent character development habit I have noticed how personal each one really is to me. Each character contains a side of me that I have expanded upon and overdramatized. I can now look back on a character I have created and see how their personality and their existence reflects a lot about me at the time of their creation. My first character was a ten year old half-elf cleric who wanted to prove herself useful to those around her. When I created her it was my first semester and I actually felt like a fumbling child trying to figure out college. So I created a character who as a healer had the responsibility of keeping her allies alive and with that responsibility she had to be confident enough in her abilities to make decisions that would affect everyone.
This is the hidden beauty and value of character creation in D&D, you put parts of yourself in your creations and you get to watch them grow as the adventure continues. If I have somehow convinced you to take a deeper look into D&D I recommend watching /listening to some of the many podcasts and shows that cover the gameplay. If you want something more well-known jump into Critical Role, for something on the smaller end try the show Dark and Dicey. Don’t be afraid to try listening to multiple different shows as they are all unique simply based on the DM’s style and group of players, there are plenty of great campaigns you can watch. Join in on the satisfaction of rolling a natural 20.