Carpe DM

January 16, 2019 | Mary Grace Woelfel

Dungeons and Dragons is a fantasy tabletop RPG, created by game designer and author Gary Gygax in 1974. The game is centered mainly around storytelling and adventure. The dungeon master (more commonly known as the DM) creates the story and guides the players through their adventure through words and imagery. The players create their own characters from name, to species, to background and appearance. The story takes place according to the character’s and DM’s will, with the player’s changing the shape of the plot with the choices they make. On their adventure, the characters are likely to encounter some foes along the way. In the instance of a fight, the players and DM (who takes control of all NPCs) use dice, making it almost all a game of luck. Characters have a set system of modifiers adding to each listed skill. Players keep track of these statistics and other details on their character sheet.

Though it requires patience to learn, there is no doubt that the game offers a creative outlet to all its players.

Here at South Meck, we have a club dedicated to tabletop games including Dungeons and Dragons. The club is run by seniors Cooper Cantrell and Mary Grace Woelfel, assisted by secretaries Chris Bouchard and Ben Heidinger. The club consists of around 30 members, almost all of them inexperienced with the game before this year. There are three different campaigns running in the club by Cooper, Mary Grace, and Chris. There has been a large influx of members this year after its advertisement, going from 6 members last year to 30 this year.

We spoke to Mr. Brookshire, one of the advisors of the club, about his experience with Dungeons and Dragons.

He’s been playing the game since 1984, not long after it had started to become relevant. He said that he started playing as an extension of his interest in fantasy themed books as it had really started to become popular at the time.

I asked him how he thought the game may benefit players if they used it as a creative outlet or kind of escapism. He made the good point that escapism and creativity are two different ends of a spectrum. He advised against using it as a mechanism for escapism and warned that if you do, the game might take a darker turn and end up going in the wrong direction. As far as creativity goes, he agrees, as you are essentially acting out a part you have to ask yourself a lot of questions like “Who am I as a character?” and “How is my character different than me, as a player?”

All in all, Dungeons and Dragons is a great game that can open up opportunities both socially and creatively. Though it may have a stigma surrounding it, it offers a great experience for everyone. So take a journey with some friends! Build your own world, your own plot, your own character, and your own story!