This is a sort-of sequel to a previous piece from a year ago. If you want the full story, I recommend you read that first.

As you may know, I play D&D.

I’m a Mountain Dwarf Monk named D’Fwan Holderhek (yes, I had just binge-watched 30 Rock before creating this character). I got into it during a low time in my life and, without sounding too melodramatic, it saved me.

The game gave me an outlet - a way to meetup with friends regularly who I hadn’t seen in ages, escape the humdrum normality of everyday life, and allows me a safe space to directly address my anxieties by building a character that is essentially me.

Put simply, it was awesome. But we all have to start from somewhere, and that somewhere for me was podcasts. My friend recommended I consume as much content as possible, to understand the flow of the game - nudging me towards Critical Role as a good example.