Hold on, what?

No, you read the title correctly. There’s a resurgence of a very specific game right now, which has been slowly growing over the past few years since 2017. It involves the classic, yet archaic pen and paper game from the 1970’s and 1980’s that once struck fear into the Christian heartland of North America and sparked a wide-scale satanic panic — driving a wedge into the mainstream zeitgeist between those who engaged with it as pastime and those avoided it like the plague for a variety of social reasons.

But by the ghost of Gary Gygax, D&D is back! And I’m going to do my best to give you a list of reasons to give it a shot!

Now, as a disclaimer before we start…

I am no thirty-year veteran to the scene. By most “gate keeping” standards, I am completely and wholly a rookie to the game. I only recently started engaging with D&D’s newest 5th Edition as of 2015/2016, and before then I had never played a role-playing game before in my life outside of good-natured interactions on internet chat rooms at the age of about twelve. As such, I’m coming at this article as somebody who has watched the new popularity of the game rise out of nowhere, but who has no clue as to the history of the game outside of the meta-narrative told by the media over the past several decades. If you’re a veteran at rolling dice and slaying dragons, this article may be for you to forward to friends and family who have shown some interest and just need that push to get over themselves enough to get involved and have some fun!

So why the hell should you get into DnD? Oh boy, have I got you covered. Well to start…

The game is flexible and adaptable to your specific play style, and is first and foremost aimed at having fun.

The greatest parts of DnD are all the variations on the game that exist. Outside of the “RAW” (Rules As Written in the books), each game requires a “DM” (Dungeon Master) or “GM” (Game Master) to run a session. Your GM plays a very strange and unique role — that of part enemy, part storyteller, part rules lawyer, and part actor. I’ve DMed quite extensively since my first initial playing of the game, and I can say that it’s absolutely great as a writing exercise. See, the job of the Game or Dungeon Master is first and foremost to ensure your players have fun. This includes adding your own rules or modifying the rules as written on the fly to keep the game flowing and progressing in an entertaining and dynamic way! It’s a great facilitator role, where you get to use each player’s unique backstory they’ve created for their character and weave it into the bigger story and narrative you’ve written, to help them feel like a part of the living, breathing world you have to actively write!

Some of my favourite moments DMing have been off the cuff interactions between the player group and NPCs I had originally given simple bit-roles and joke names. These were characters like “Jakob Jingle The Hammer Smith” AKA Jakob Jingle Heimer Schmitt, or the town guards “Ben and Jerry” who loved ice cream. Many characters became great inside jokes that perpetuated beyond the game sessions themselves. I also love to write great villains, who players just love to hate. While some DMs like to take on the role of adversarial enemies of the party, throwing brutal fights and near-impossible challenges at players, other DMs truly just want to tell a great story, and in some of my experiences as a DM I frequently had to remind them that I was first and foremost a storyteller who wanted THEM to make the big decisions on what to do next!

Now, for those considering playing, there are two unique ways to play DnD:

At the roots, the game’s fights and encounters are based on tiles and character figures on a board or grid. Most of the game’s rules operate on this premise for sake of ease, and to give players a visual of how each encounter is actually playing out within a 3D space. The closest analogy for those foreign to the concept is a board game. Some players and DMs love this aspect of the game, as it adds a sort of arts and crafts angle to it where they get to paint and model both their own characters as well as enemies and monsters the party might face.

Of course, for many, this doesn’t come cheap, as unless you have access to a 3D printer, these models can be upwards of $30 to order from custom character-builder websites. And that’s just for the unpainted models that you then have to spend hours delicately painting. Folks with backgrounds in war gaming like Warhammer tend to flock to this style of play, and it gives them a sense of accomplishment and commitment to a play group that speaks of longevity and willingness to stick with a specific character or story arc. If you tend to like either board games or war gaming, this might be the play style for you.

The alternative play style to the classic mode comes from a more imagination and theatre based model. Referred to by many as “Theatre of the Mind”, no physical props outside of general character stats and dice are required, allowing for a lower barrier to entry in terms of cost, and a focus on imaginative and descriptive storytelling, especially when it comes to combat.

Now, having a theatre and drama background myself, I tend to favour Theatre of the Mind as it requires far less setup, nothing in terms of miniatures, and I absolutely love DMing when I get to take the time to really describe elaborate scene settings or fearsome creatures. It also allows for better integration of “homebrew” content (which are original enemies or encounters written by the DM) as well as focusing on players describing their movements and actions in more depth.

As a DM myself, when I ran Theatre of the Mind DnD, I used good old Google Docs to write down my notes, stats, and encounters, which meant I could use my phone or laptop along with a single set of dice to run entire sessions! Now to be fair, this play style really does require both a DM and players who are creative and engaged in storytelling, as often Theatre of the Mind focuses on storytelling and playing the role of your character far more than the combat focus of classic play. You have to explain why you might be running somewhere rather than just moving a miniature on a grid as per the rules.

I find people who like creativity and a more unstructured games tend to like Theatre of the Mind. It’s for those who want to get started without pauses for table setup, and who thrive on treating the playing of their character like a method actor might get into a role. Those who do this by jumping into the mind of someone else (their character) really thrive in this environment.

Both play styles have benefits and merits, and it’s entirely up to you and your unique play group as to which you focus on. I’ve now played both styles fairly extensively, and there are definitely huge upsides to both. If you’re tight on cash, or dislike large amounts of setup and managing pieces on a board, stick with Theatre of the Mind. You basically only need the original Player’s Handbook and a single set of polyhedron dice to get started! If your playgroup is mostly comprised of folks who need strong visuals and like to “win” at board games, classic play is likely more the style you’d want to go with, especially if your DM is footing the bill for miniatures! Regardless of which way you go, it serves as an awesome exercise in coming together as a group of friends or acquaintances to make decisions on your preferences and practice compromise and consensus. Although… Usually at the end of the day, the DM gets final say as they’re running all the hard parts of the game!

2. Processing Trauma or Character Quirks in Your Own Life.

The neatest thing about being a player in a DnD session or ongoing campaign is that the character you role-play is truly something you craft yourself. While you’re bound by the restrictions within the game itself, the personality, alignment towards good or evil, and overall life story are entirely up to you in conversation with your Game Master. Personally, I always take a specific aspect of my personality, amp it up to eleven, and then craft a character’s personality around that one caricature. I’ve found over the years that even the simplest interactions between whatever character I craft and my fellow party members gives me more insight into my own personality quirks. It really allows me to walk away from a session and ponder or self-reflect on aspects of my life.

As a Demisexual dude, my first ever character was a bard with a huge inferiority complex, coming from my own issues around feeling “broken” due to my mental disabilities. Sassafrass, my bard, was lawful evil. (One of the alignments your character can have). I used the character to explore what such an inferiority complex could mean if it went the wrong way, completely opposite of me — into hyper sexuality and using sexual conquest to validate himself, openly using enchantment magic to mess with people’s brains to force people to like and love him, and all sorts of nasty things I assumed an evil character would do within the confines of the law.

By the end of the campaign, I knew that while my character could do these things willy-nilly, as getting his own “fix” of ego-satisfaction was his primary goal, he would come across poorly to anyone with an iota of a moral compass! It kind of reaffirmed my then-current trajectory, and allowed me to gain some self-confidence that at least my inferiority complex wasn’t actively hurting other people in real life. Honestly, it was a stepping stone on overcoming that inferiority complex in the long run as a sort of healing process. Even though my friends hated the character, they could see how his actions made him successful over the course of the campaign, and gave them insight as to how some people navigate the world.

Another character I’ve used as a sort of trauma processing was a goblin named Boggart, haunted by a foppish dandy noble’s ghost. This was me taking the ADHD I’ve struggled with my whole life and playing out the duality of impulse control in real-time. Boggart wasn’t a bad character. She was actually chaotic good! (Another alignment). But Boggart and The Baron of Knox represented the sorts of impulse-control battles that kids with ADHD face every single day. Boggart was the impulse, and Knox was the rational logical brain that knew better. Every time Boggart would do something as a result of low intelligence, lack of foresight, or craving and desire, Knox would be the invisible conscience, unknown to the rest of the party, but actively judging her even as he worried about his “host” and cared for her in his own strange way. Over time I really had to figure out A. How could I balance playing two characters in one? And B. How could I show kindness and compassion to Boggart despite her impulsive nature? Was it really her fault that she couldn’t control herself? Was it really my fault as a young child when I did impulsive things without knowing any better?

It’s strange, that such bizarre things like role-playing an impulsive goblin can help you heal your own conflicted past, and slowly work to heal trauma that you might have been carrying for decades. I have seen people laugh, cry, show fear, and erupt in anger at DnD tables, all for better and for worse. Just like theatre, television, or movies can help us process and feel emotion, DnD can do the same, helping us add a layer of distance to our own problems and histories in order to better deal with them. And in some cities across North America, charities and businesses are actually starting up that use DnD as a sort of play-based therapy! How cool is that?

3. It helps you understand the perspective and lives of others.

Through the lens of fantasy, we can often find empathy for things that normally we are unmoved by. It’s a lot easier to face issues of sexism and racism head on when talking about dwarves, elves, and other such creatures. I currently play a hillbilly crossbow fighter that originally hailed from a small farm in the middle of nowhere. Complete with southern drawl, the character struggled to understand concepts like Tieflings (A demonic playable race), referring to them for the first half of the campaign as “goat-people” due to their horns. While the bizarre fantasy context makes this humorous, it also helps show how fucked up and commonplace racial stereotypes can be. Over time, I had my character try to learn about and understand the other members in the party, showing how even those we write off as racist, sexist, or unteachable can eventually come around to ideas like prejudice, privilege, and power imbalance.

Talented DMs and GMs will use this as part of their storytelling, having player groups navigate such events as worker rebellions, corrupt lords or nobles, or even being thrown into the genocide of entire races, cultures, or civilisations. (Which is happening even now across the globe!) How their characters navigate these extremely problematic and difficult situations can lead to a ton of personal growth. The best of the best will also create scenarios that are as morally grey as possible for their party, leading to fascinating debates, discussions, and encounters. Do you report that young boy that pickpocketed your character on the street, knowing that if he didn’t steal money from travellers, he would likely starve? Or do you take him in and help him find a better life?

In one group I GMed for, one player took a big-brother role to a young servant boy NPC (Non-Player Character, played by the GM) named Laird, and acted as a strong positive role model for the entirety of the campaign. Every opportunity he got, he made sure to check in with the boy, give him presents, and shower him with care, and love. It was actually really sweet and an awesome example of how even in a fake fantasy setting, you can see the good and kindness in people’s hearts even within your own life and social circle.

4. It gives you a chance to be social!

Like many nerdy, hipster millennials, I struggled for a large part of my life to make friends in the small town I grew up in, which was largely dominated by blue collar work and hockey. With the rise of DnD, I was able to connect with new friends, and create community. By the nature of the game — a recurring weekly event, DnD adds structure to my week, and sets up a predetermined social event with friends. You WANT to attend sessions, as there is the duality of both seeing friends or acquaintances, and also of not wanting to let your party down by being a member short! Additionally, the new popularity of the game means that everyone is engaging with it, even those who might not seem traditionally to be the sort you’d see playing. There are even play groups of muscled buff dudes called “Jocks Machina” or all ladies groups like “Girls, Guts, Glory” that are breaking down stereotypes of play groups being exclusive to nerdy white boys in their parent’s basements.

I still play sports and go to the gym, myself, but I love having an event to look forward to every week. It’s an awesome chance to connect with friends, eat some pizza as a cheat day, and pretend to be someone else for a few hours, which recharges my own inner battery for my daily grind. In a new world dominated by less and less free time and an ever increasing financial crunch on those under forty years old, a largely free game that mostly requires imagination and can be played for as little or as much as desired in terms of cost is a great social activity for you and your more creative friends to dive into.

5. It improves your Math skills!

Personally, I used to suck at math. And it was nerdy card games like Magic The Gathering and DnD that have helped my quickmath skills along quite well! As a role-playing game, each character has statistics that you roll at the very start of a campaign or session, and which improve as your character levels up and gets stronger over the course of the story. The best way to improve your math skills is to practice them, and rolling dice and quickly adding to the result is a great way of improving your math skills. I find that there are always at least a couple kind friends who are also willing to help out with all the tough structural bits if you need extra time or simply can’t be arsed to do it!

This can be used for good or evil! While some people will make character choices for story reasons, other will choose to “min-max” (minimize-maximize their abilities) and build the most broken characters possible! Honestly, a good DM or GM will be able to account for either outcome, throwing unique encounters or challenges at a party that might involve more puzzles, social encounters, or unique enemies that counter the strongest fighters in a party.

There are more!

There are so many more reasons to get into role-playing games like DnD, Pathfinder, Starfinder, and many others. But to keep this article from becoming a novel, I’m going to wrap things up!

As always, please free free to reach out to me, either here or via my Instagram @cory_mcrae as I’m always willing to chat! I hope you can share an awesome game with the people in your life, or even meet new circles of people to become friends with! And if you’re nervous or need that extra push, please take it from me — it is TOTALLY worth it!

All the best out there, and happy role-playing!