After weeks of talking about playing, my group finally reached a point where we weren’t bogged down with homework or exams.  And so, we were finally able to begin our campaign.  Taking place in a fantasy world which has reached a time period of technological advancement akin to the Victorian Era, my friends and I were dropped in the midst of a long war between two rival empires: a human one and a dwarven one.

Out of the six of us, three of us have previous experience playing Dungeons and Dragons.  The Dungeon Master and I are both familiar with the fifth edition, as we had played together in my own campaign and previously with several groups using third edition.  The last person with experience was new to fifth edition, but had a decent amount with the preceding fourth edition.  Thanks to our collective experience with Dungeons and Dragons, the new players were able to be introduced to the game mechanics relatively smoothly.

With papers and dice strewn across the table, the group was finished for the day. Photo by Ryan Salameda.

The success of the session, which lasted approximately four hours, lays not only in the hands of the Dungeon Master, but also in the hands of the players.  Despite our group being split on experience, the enthusiasm to play and learn from those new players ensured everyone had a fun time.  Each player made sure to be involved, although they were more hesitant to make decisions early on.  Specifically, the awkward beginning of each campaign.

Classically (and stereotypically), a campaign will start with a group of intrepid adventurers meeting in a bar.  It is a quick and easy way to explain how a random assortment of characters first meet.  But, in our case, the characters were invited to speak with a defense minister under the promise of gold.  This sort of start was different enough to be interesting, while also being a plausible way to explain how five adventurers from across the continent just so happened to get together.

An ettin, the two-headed giant. Drawing by Wizards of the Coast.

All in all, our first session was a great way to introduce friends to Dungeons and Dragons and relax after a stressful week.  We got involved in a secret mission for the human empire, fought a two-headed giant, and visited a naval airship yard.  But most importantly, we were able to have a fun time escaping from the growing monotony of dreary weather and midterm blues.

While some enjoy the excitement of a fantasy-filled adventure through a Tolkien-esque world, others look to tabletop role-playing games to fulfill their desires for horror.  For those willing, they must look no further than the classic horror-themed role-playing game known as Call of Cthulhu.  Based on the iconic Call of Cthulhu story by author H.P. Lovecraft, as well as his other stories (such as The Shadow over Innsmouth and Dagon), this game is filled with unspeakable monsters and extra-dimensional beings that significantly outmatch the size and strength of a person during the 1920s, culminating in a horror genre known as Eldritch/Lovecraftian.  For a taste of Lovecraft’s writing and the genre, his full works are available at dagonbytes.com.

Cover of the original Call of Cthulhu rule book and guide. By Chaosium, illustrated by Gene Day.

First launched in 1981, Call of Cthulhu entered the still-young world of role-playing games, although the game would not become more popular until the mid 2000s, becoming the well-known addition to the field it is today.  Since that first edition, seven different versions have been released, in addition to various spinoff series.  Most famously, the ACHTUNG! Cthulhu series has grown to have its own following.  In this spinoff, players are thrown into the midst of World War II, where they must struggle to fight off a combination of Nazis and Eldritch abominations.  For this version of the series, miniatures have become a large part of the following, similar to that seen on the Dungeons and Dragons side of role-playing games.

But, for all its similarities to D&D, the Call of Cthulhu family of RPGs has defined itself through its unique system of play.  Rather than using the classic d20 style that dominates the genre, this series makes use of a skill system based on rolling percentile dice relating to a character’s skills.  And unlike the leveling aspect of D&D, Call of Cthulhu characters improve in skills only, leaving survival against Lovecraftian horrors up to the wits and luck of the players.  Another layer of play is added through features such as sanity, as the creatures of the game are supposed to destroy the mental stability of the characters, leading to insanity playing a large role.

An original sketch of the titular character Cthulhu, as drawn by its creator, H.P. Lovecraft.

As a whole, the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game series has given players not only a vastly different genre to explore, but a different system as well, adding to the diversity of the role-playing game industry.

Although the original Dungeons and Dragons was purely pencil and paper, the modern game has evolved to include a plethora of additional pieces that help players become immersed in the game, while also making it easier to visual and understand what is going on.  One of the most vital additions is the use of miniatures, more commonly shortened simply to minis.  These minis are used to represent both player characters and non-player characters, as well as monsters and other creatures, on a grid.  This allows the group to have a visualization of what is occurring in the story, making situations like combat easier.

A mix of both monster and player miniatures. Photo by Alan De Smet.

Back in the early days of the game, these miniatures were made of pewter, but nowadays most are plastic figurines.  The company that owns Dungeons and Dragons, Wizards of the Coast, produces their own miniatures that correspond with the hundreds of characters and creatures present in the various published D&D manuals and adventures.  These minis are primarily sold in themed packs of four for around $20, with each mini in that theme having a different chance of being in it.  As such, the more rare ones can go to crazy prices, such as the Beholder, which can sell for as much as $65.  But usually the average miniature will sell for between $2-$5.

Due to the expensive nature of miniatures, other companies also produce them for lower prices, such as the popular Reaper Bones product line.  While the price is on the lower side, this line of minis fall into the unpainted category, unlike their Wizards of the Coast counterparts.  For those just starting to get into using miniatures, the Reaper Bones are a cheap and wonderful option, while also opening players up to the world of miniature painting.

A standard 28 mm miniature, unpainted. Photo by Mark Merifield.

Much like the rest of Dungeons & Dragons, unpainted miniatures allow players to express their creativity in a more physical sense.  The ability to choose how your miniatures look gives an added sense of the game being all about what you want it to be.  Although it can be challenging for the less artistically-inclined (for instance, myself), practice does indeed make perfect when it comes to painting miniatures.  A how-to kit can be purchased from Amazon.com.

From personal experience, adding miniatures to my games have made the game even better.   Between the better visuals and chance to express your creative side, the addition of miniatures to Dungeons & Dragons has been an immensely beneficial development.

When it comes to playing Dungeons and Dragons, it’s not as simple as just showing up with a character, at least, not for the Dungeon Master.   This player has several options when it comes to planning how to run the session.  As he is the one running the show, not being prepared can lead to a bad time.  The first step in preparing for a session is determining whether the group wants to play in a pre-made adventure or one made by the DM (known as “homebrew” content).

The cover of the latest addition to the 5e set of pre-made adventures, by Wizards of the Coast.

For a pre-made adventure, a DM can purchase complete campaigns in the form of a book, which allows him to easily run a session.  This is a great way for someone new to the game to learn and understand how to smoothly run a game, although the additional cost is not that appealing.  Examples of different pre-made campaigns include The Rise of Tiamat, Storm King’s Thunder, and the Starter Set.  The Starter Set is a perfect introduction to D&D, as it includes a pre-made adventure, characters, and the standard rules, allowing people unfamiliar with the game a cheap way to try it out.  At around $17, the price is a cheap and smart alternative for those new players.

For those more inclined to design their own adventures, there exists a plethora of resources to help in creating whatever you want.  In the Dungeon Master’s Guide, there are whole chapters dedicated to explaining how to run a successful game and keep your players engaged.  Need to make a dungeon?  There’s a section for that.  Even beyond the official books, a seemingly infinite amount of homebrew content is shared online, with websites like reddit.com having communities dedicated to helping new players out (try this subreddit for high quality content).  The online resources have made D&D easier for that new DM to start on the right foot, making everyone’s game better.

A hand-drawn map typical of what would go into planning a longer campaign, by Ryan Salameda.

Organization, like for much of life, does wonders for quality.  A notebook is great for writing out ideas for campaigns, settings, characters, stories, etc.  Personally, I use both a notebook and Trello, a free online organization tool.  In addition, taking notes during sessions ensures that you won’t forget any details, especially ones you didn’t plan.

In my own experience, preparation is important to a good session, but not vital.  Yes, a Dungeon Master should have a general idea planned for each session, but it is impossible to account for all possible actions of the players.  As such, quick thinking and creativity is key.  You may have planned for the group to visit a magnificent city you spent weeks preparing, only for them to choose to travel to a mountain you happened to describe in the distance.  But that’s what keeps the game alive and fresh.  Anything can happen, so be ready to keep your cool and react.

While making your own content is time-consuming, using your own hard work is a great feeling.  But, it isn’t for everyone.  Pre-made adventures are a great alternative, so either way, you’re sure to have a good time.

All Dungeons and Dragons adventures must start somewhere, and this time, it started with me and my roommate convincing our friends to play.  Somehow.  Surprisingly, our group was quite enthusiastic about learning more and playing soon, the key to having a successful and enjoyable experience.  But, as most of them were new to the game, they had a lot to learn.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and that step for us was character creation.  What is your class (wiki article explaining)?  Your race?  What does your character like?  Who is your character’s motivation?  All of these questions and more would now need to be answered and filled out in everyone’s character sheets.

This character sheet for 5th edition slimmed down the one from 3.5 edition, making it easier for our friends to understand. Produced by Wizards of the Coast.

Without failure, there were at least two people in our room a day to talk to us about Dungeons and Dragons and how to create characters.  We discussed how to handle all the various aspects of character creation.  Most importantly, we discussed backstory.  It is the backbone of each player’s character and is what makes them unique.  What happened in your character’s past helps you to decide how he/she would act in the present (your game).  Maybe your ranger grew up in the woods or your wizard was abandoned by his mentor.  No matter what, each point combines to create a fully dynamic character for each player.  For more specifics on how to flesh out the background of a character, check out this article by Geek and Sundry.

Beyond simply coming up with a story for each character, players also had to be taught a basic understanding of what each aspect of the character sheet means.  For example, ability scores and skills had to be explained. Ability scores are broken up into strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, wisdom, and charisma.  Each of this is used to determine how well a character does when performing skills, such as deception, athletics, and perception, with a very in-depth explanation of each available here.

Working on creating characters. Picture by Ryan Salameda.

Although character creation started as a complete dive into a formerly unknown realm, each member of my group was able to quickly learn and understand the basics of the game, preparing them for when we eventually play.  It won’t be long before our group starts adventuring in our own brave new world.

My experiences with tabletop gaming go all the way back to seventh grade.  Like everyone else, I was an awkward middle schooler with bad hair and no idea what they were doing.  But, I did have a strong group of friends (which includes my roommate), a group that would stay together to this day.  One day, our friend Zach introduced us to a game his older brothers had played when he was younger: Dungeons & Dragons.  It wasn’t long before we were all hooked.

The admittedly confusing character sheet of D&D 3.5e, which would be replaced by a streamlined version in 2014. Produced by Wizards of the Coast.

Back in 2011, the edition we played of D&D was known as 3.5e.  We would continue to play this version until we switched to 5e just this year.  Over the course of the last six years, plenty of nights were spent playing all manners of tabletop games.  We used it as a base off of which to plan an event.  There were plenty of times where we planned a night of D&D, paired with either poker or a movie.

An example of Dread being played, albeit it with an oversized Jenga set. Picture from this Geek and Sundry video.

As time went on, we began to expand our experiences with different games each of us would find.  For instance, sophomore year was defined by our focus on Stars Without Number (available as a PDF here), a space adventure reminiscent of the sci-fi western show Firefly.  Meanwhile back in freshman year, we centered on Apocalypse World, a post-apocalyptic tabletop game.  Or, there was our most recent edition with a mix of D&D 5e and Dread, a horror game played using Jenga blocks (can be seen played here), both of which we played over our final summer together.

Playing together is really what it was all about, especially over the last couple of months.  With most of us going our separate ways, playing these different tabletop games gave us one last chance to relax together and have our own little adventure.  Now, we may be spread out across the country, but our shared experiences with things such as role-playing games give us things to look forward to come winter break.  Before then, I hope to continue my history with these games with my roommate and new friends, something that will help us all de-stress from the hectic college life, especially with midterm exams going on.  Luckily for us, the Comic Swap, a store right in town, sells all the necessities for D&D.

Why is it that a game such as Dungeons & Dragons has grown in such an expansive manner, reaching at least seven million players in 2007 (CNN breaks down the cultural importance of D&D here)?  Simply put, tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) is an enjoyable experience, be it from the genre, play style, or group.

The cover of the Call of Cthulhu player’s handbook is adorned by an eldritch horror, similar to ones found throughout campaigns. Art by Sam Lamont

Although most known for the fantasy worlds of Dungeons & Dragons, tabletop games inhabit a wide range of genres, such as the cyberpunk and fantasy Shadowrun series, science fiction-themed Stars Without Number, and the Lovecraftian Call of Cthulhu (extensive list of various games by genre).  Because of the vast number of different games available, everyone is bound to find one that fits their taste.  This key aspect of role-playing games, the ability for the players to choose what sort of world they will be playing in, is what makes these games so appealing to such a diverse audience.  You love Lord of the Rings? Perfect, try Dungeons & Dragons or Pathfinder. Star Trek and Star Wars? There are TTRPGs for both of them.  If you don’t know what you would like, that’s fine. Half the fun is trying out different games to see what works best for you.

An example of what a set-up for a hack and slash session might look like. Picture by Rocco Pier Luigi.

Regardless of the genre, the play style of the game changes the experience further.  Take for instance the classic style of hack and slash.  As the name implies, this style focuses more on fighting, especially when it comes to delving into a dungeon.  Expect to push through hordes of goblins in a cave or storm the gates of a castle.  On the other end of the spectrum lies immersive storytelling.  In this style, it’s all experiencing and guiding the story.  Characters may be swept up in the political intrigue of a space opera-esque plot or unraveling the mystery of a lost city.  Between those two extremes exist infinite balances of the two, similar to the balance of exploring, fighting, and role-playing described in the last post.  As a group, each players’ preference combines to form a dynamic play style that is enjoyable for everyone.

The most important part of any game though is the group.  Maybe your group is made up of old friends.  Maybe you don’t know them yet.  Either way, the experience is memorable and friendships are strengthened or made.  In my own experience, the social aspect of playing Dungeons & Dragons has been what made it the most enjoyable for me.  Yes, I’m a big fan of fantasy and sci-fi, but hanging out with friends goes well beyond that.  After every session, the consensus was always the same: each of us had a great time.  Don’t just take my word for it, check out a group of professional voice actors on their long-running series Critical Role.

The combination of genre, play style, and group is what brought not only me, but the growing millions of other players to the wide world of tabletop gaming, an increasingly diverse group of people from all manners of backgrounds.

When you hear Dungeons and Dragons, the first image that pops into your mind is probably something like this: a group of nerdy guys looking like they came straight out of Lord of the Rings and into one of their moms’s basements.  While this is true for some players, many play it like you would a board game, instead keeping things relatively “normal.”  Beyond that, there are a plethora of people you never would have guessed played D&D, such as Vin Diesel, Stephen Colbert, Curt Shilling, and James Franco. A list of other famous players can be found at nowloading.co.

Pictured: Gary Gygax, co-creator of D&D, photo by Rocco Pier Luigi

But before all of this, there were only two guys with a passion for fantasy and games: Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.  First published in 1974, D&D was an instant success, quickly becoming a cornerstone of geeky and nerdy culture [a thorough timeline of its history can be found here].  Nowadays, Dungeons and Dragons has further increased in mainstream popularity through shows like Stranger Things and Community.

What is Dungeons and Dragons though?  At its core, D&D is a tabletop role-playing game played with pens, paper, and dice.  A group of players, guided by the “Dungeon Master” (DM), assume the role of individual heroes they create, such as a halfing rogue or elven archer.  These players go through adventures planned and run by the DM, leveling up their characters as they go along to become more powerful.  As indicated by the name, D&D adventures in the beginning consisted of a lot of dragon-guarded dungeons full of treasure.

From its humble beginnings, D&D has grown into a heavily player-focused game.  The players create and control their characters, choosing what they want to do in the world created and controlled by the DM.  Gameplay is typically broken into three pillars: exploring, fighting, and role-playing.  The first includes traveling to cities, delving into dungeons, and exploring the wilderness.  The second covers battling monsters and people.  Finally, role-playing constitutes the interactions between player characters (PCs) and non-player characters (NPCs), the latter being played by the DM.  For all three pillars, tasks that would be considered challenging are determined as a success or failure, using the dice picture below in what is called a d20 system (on account of the most used 20-sided die, otherwise known as a d20).  In this system, various skills of the characters can increase or decrease the chances of succeeding, making each PC better-equipped for different tasks.

A standard set of dice used for playing (includes a 4-, 6-, 8-, 12-, 20-, and two 10-sided dice). Picture by Rocco Pier Luigi

As a team, players are able to overcome challenges thrown at them by the DM, all the while having a fun time.  That’s really what D&D is all about.  Ask any player about their favorite memory of playing with their friends and I am sure they’ll have several stories to tell.  So, for the truly adventurous, I invite you to take the dive and look into the world of Dungeons and Dragons.