Now there’s a title I didn’t think I’d be writing.
Ever since the summer of 2016, Dungeons & Dragons has been a surprisingly consistent part of my life, something that I prioritize when I can and always feel contributes positively to my well-being. So much so, in fact, that I even played with my group while in Mexico! What’s so special about it? Well I guess that’s what this is about.
One particularly attractive part of D&D is its creation of an immersive fantasy world. Nothing else we have comes even close. In case you’re new, D&D is basically a grown up version of make-believe. Imagine two children:
“I blast you with a fireball from my magic staff to burn you up!”
“I dodge out of the way and throw knives at you so you’re DEAD!”
D&D essentially this, played by adults, for hours, with 3 main additions: rules, dice and a referee.
The rules give a structure for the make-believe, bringing a sense of balance to a game that would otherwise become unhinged. The dice add the randomness that pervades our lives – sometimes you succeed and sometimes you fail and it’s just up to chance. The referee, also known as the DM, is the interpreter of both of these into a story: if the rules say you can summon lightning from the sky, and you roll high enough, then that’s what happens and your DM tells you how your enemies die a gruesome death.
You might think that only meganerds would take something as whimsical as make-believe and ruin it with RULES, but they do create an amazing effect: with a fine-tuned balance between power and limitations, D&D campaigns are immersive and incredibly effective at creating stories with a strong sense of magical realism. D&D is the closest thing we have to virtual reality, so if that sounds appealing you might wanna give it a try.
So how did D&D from Mexico go? I was DM (remember: the referee, head storyteller) for a spooky session that needed to be as immersive as possible. The more these players thought they were in a haunted house, the more they felt they could use their abilities to get through it. I had them dim the lights, I played creepy house sounds, and I tried my best to paint a picture of the place they were in. It’s very possible I overdid it with a creepy children’s motif, but it was nonetheless effective and I think it was a really fun session.
I had thought that when I came to Oaxaca, I would (again) be forced to take a break from dungeons and dragons. And when I considered playing remotely, it seemed like there was no way for it to be as good as it was in person. Putting in some extra time and using some new tools helped, but what really made the session great was the engagement and excitement of my players. As a DM, you can create the most intricate sandbox to play in, but it’s all for naught without creative players who genuinely delight in exploring. Sure, sometimes they like to pretend they’re cats and take an actual piss in your sandbox, but all in all your players are your teammates in D&D. It’s a lighthearted touch of home we’re accessing and I’m grateful for the fun and familiarity of our sessions.
Chase the Wind, Touch the Sky 