When it comes to creative outlets, Dungeons and Dragons has to be one of the most creative of them. D&D is a tabletop roleplaying game (or TTRPG, for short) in which you go into a game with a piece of paper and some dice, and you spin a story. I was around fourteen years old when I discovered the magic of D&D, and just how versatile and freeing it could be. So, here’s my love letter to Dungeons and Dragons, and how it has changed my perspective in more ways than one.
I have always loved writing stories. When I was younger, I would sit around and furiously scribble haphazard characters and plots into my journals, always creating and imagining. That never changed as I got older, and it still hasn’t! When I started high school and I discovered Dungeons and Dragons, it totally changed the game for me. I would spend hours creating characters and their backstories, even when I wasn’t a part of any campaigns (or games, in nerd lingo.)
I indulged in D&D as only a player for a year or two, before deciding to take on the challenge of being a Dungeon Master. A Dungeon Master, or DM for short, writes and runs a campaign for their players to play in, as well as all the characters they will be interacting with. Playing D&D is all about improv, and being able to play as someone who is different from you. You have to think like your character and make the decisions they would, even if you as your own person wouldn’t make them. In terms of being a DM, you have to play multiple characters at one time. As one-sided as it sounds, this process and expectation is on the DM and player alike. They both hold each other afloat, the story and mechanics relying on them to proceed.
It took me about a month to write my first campaign; it was a 16 hour game, and was certainly quite the challenge. It tested my storytelling abilities, and how well I could weave a tale for my players. I built a world from scratch, designing my own items and towns and characters for them to interact with. And while it was far from the perfect game, I learned a lot from it. DMing showed me a side of Dungeons and Dragons I hadn’t seen or experienced yet, and it gave me a newfound love for my hobby. It helped me see just how expressive D&D could be. The entire game is based on your own whims and creations, and everything is up to you. It took me a couple more years to DM again, but this past summer I wrote and ran a short session with some of my best friends (my favorite people to play with—seriously, if you wanna get into D&D, I suggest starting with your friends. Not only is it just fun to hang out, but you get to see a totally different side of the people you know and love) and our sessions were some of my favorite memories from the summer.
Dungeons and Dragons has helped me become a better writer, and helped me to express my creativity in a multitudes of ways. I have made wonderful friends and memories, written stories with characters I’ll never forget, and have rolled my ways into countless interactions that have left me laughing for hours after. I am a better person and creator since playing D&D, and it will always have a special D20-shaped place in my heart.