Why should you play D&D?

 

Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson in 1974. Essentially, it’s an old game of make-believe with dice and math. In the past, it had a reputation for being only for nerds in basements. This reputation was not unearned, as the game requires a strong suspension of disbelief and can seem ridiculous from an outside perspective.

Since then, the popularity of D&D has grown and the player base has become increasingly diverse with each new version of the game. In fact, many celebrities have played D&D, including Vin Diesel and Jon Favreau, director of Iron Man and The Mandalorian.

Now that you know what D&D is, why should you play it? In short, it is a fun escape from reality that lets you embody a character of your own design. As kids, we all played pretend or make-believe to some extent, but as we grew older it began to seem silly or immature so we stopped playing altogether. Some people would recapture or maintain the sense of joy by becoming an artist or writer, but most people just suppress their imagination in order to deal with “adult things.”

Playing D&D allows people to recapture their sense of imagination by providing a structure in which people can live out their childhood fantasies. For a moment, you don’t have to worry about  problems at work, term essays, or anything else the world throws at you. For a moment, you are a knight fighting a dragon, a wizard casting reality-changing spells, or a magical musician enchanting a crowd with your songs. For a moment, you are a kid again playing make-believe on the playground.

Now that you know why you should play D&D, how do you get started? The first thing you need to do is decide what version or edition you want to play. The most commonly played editions are D&D 3.5 or D&D 5th Edition (5e). The current and easiest to learn edition is 5e but, if you’re looking for a more number-focused game you would probably prefer D&D 3.5. 

Now that you have an idea of the edition you’ll be playing, you have to decide on what roles each person will have. There are two distinct roles in the game: Game Master/Dungeon Master (GM/DM) and Player Character (PC). The DM is the one in charge of preparing the game and has to put in more time outside of the game. This role is better suited for the type of person who likes to focus on the lore of different media franchises and is typically the most experienced person at the table. The PCs are everyone else and they play the protagonists.

The best thing you can do once you’ve decided what edition you want to play and what role you would like to have is to find a friend who already plays the game. They’ll probably have the core rulebook already and can help teach you. If none of your friends play D&D you can typically find a local group through Adventurers League, D&D’s official game campaign, at game stores or libraries. You can also find groups online but that’s a different subject altogether.

If you’re still not sure about whether or not you’ll enjoy playing the game and don’t want to invest money into the hobby just yet, you can find the basic rules and character classes online through websites like D&D Beyond. If you want to get a better understanding of how the game is played, you can find a lot of videos on YouTube where people play through adventures. 

Before listing some of the higher quality playlists I would like to add the disclaimer that many D&D videos are made for entertainment and do not reflect the average game. Additionally, they have some adult humor but nothing explicit. For humor and satire, watch anything from the channel Dimension 20, especially Fantasy High. For Tolkien-like fantasy, watch Critical Role Season 1, and for grey characters with political intrigue Critical Role Season 2, which is still ongoing.

Luis

Teen Content Creator