A small disclaimer for those who understand the topic: under the term “D&D“This article does not mean a separate system, but a collective image of any tabletop RPG with a similar approach to gameplay. If after reading you have anything to add, I invite those interested to the discussion table.

Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh vgah’nagl fhtagn!

My story begins on December 31, 2016, when a chance acquaintance with the artist launched a chain lightning of events, including participation in the first word and party in Magic: The Gathering. After 6 months of an active marathon on Magic, words, “Arkham Horror” and other projects for people willing to sit through a session for 12 hours, a wandering capital minstrel wandered into the will-o’-the-wisp of our party. Then we, already seasoned “literature specialists,” were tired of adventures without any rules, and the masterful arbitrariness and plot lines were felt too clearly. That’s why we tried to use the rules of the most famous role-playing system – Dungeons&Dragons, but it was difficult to call such efforts other than attempts.

Dungeon maps in Slovesk

The traveler quickly checked the character’s level with the master, after thinking a little, he chose the story of his formation from an imaginary list of heroes, after which the character’s capabilities appeared before the eyes of the shocked public. Then, when we first met inside the game, we experienced a second shock. The description of our new friend’s character was replete with epithets, images, sensations. The stranger’s appearance, presented in the form of art, was supplemented with individual touches and corrections. We felt what this character breathed, his aura (including game mechanics). And that was just exposition! What started when he spoke..

It was a night of discovery. We learned that playing by the rules is not the same as the talk that many of us have encountered to this day. The vocabulary has been replenished with a mysterious term – quenta – denoting the history of the character’s formation, from birth to the present day. For game dummies who only wore bright labels, the mysterious healer seemed something beyond comprehension. That’s why D&D – it’s about emotions.

For example, my character’s last quenta doesn’t https://nonukcasinosites.co.uk/review/lucki/ take up much space – only 6 pages.

More than a year and a half has passed since then. The mysterious healer turned into a teacher in the capital, and I became acquainted with a large number of heroes he created, each of whom kept his own secrets, had his own personality and a set of individual traits. We still actively “keep in” our own company, periodically changing the game master for variety or inviting newcomers into this bottomless well of experience and emotions, nicknamed D&D.

So why, you ask, should this be interesting?? The author did not give any arguments in favor of the position, other than personal experience and received emotions. Why the following pastime should be called one of the most useful and exciting for a person in general? Let’s figure it out.

First – and most importantly – board games teach. They teach you anything, as they are a universal tool for living experience, for which you don’t need to come up with any special practices or hire a coach. All you need is 2 people.

One takes on the role of a master – a person responsible for creating the world in the head of the interlocutor. He describes the terrain, climate, temperature, smells, cities, people – everything that surrounds the characters, creating a new reality. The second one tries on the role of a character – a hero created in advance, writing a quena in which goals, needs, character, worldview and other important information affecting the character’s life are indicated. It directly depends on the player how the created hero will be perceived by both other players and the world created by the master. Imagine the plot of a work in which the leading actor is immersed in virtual reality for a specific purpose. The same interaction between two (!) people creates virtual reality in the heads of those present without technology, allowing them to live ANY situations, getting ANY possible experience available to man to this day.

Skeptics will grin: “Who can truly believe what is happening if in the real world everyone is sitting at the dinner table without video or audio accompaniment?”. There is a simple answer to this question: No one can make anyone feel anything. Just as in any type of education – the student does not want – the student does not know. The same rules reign in the world of dragons – resist – and Narnia will turn into a wardrobe. That’s why D&D – it’s about experience.

However, I will not be unfounded. Once upon a time, another chain of random events led my friends and I to a two-day training, which was simply called: “Samurai Game”. Apart from some features, the process was built on the same bases as qualitative D&D session. Words cannot describe how deep the degree of immersion was in the era of feudal Japan with the code of honor of the samurai, whose social roles we tried on. The experience gained had such a powerful effect that completely different people, meeting for the first time, opened up, reflected, took out something so personal and shared it. The only observer was left speechless by how much the action HAPPENED for real. Even now, looking back, it’s hard for me to imagine how much those two days influenced everyone involved.

By playing a character, you penetrate deeper into your own “I”, become more clearly aware of your personality, acceptable boundaries, needs, beliefs. Learn to forecast, collect and organize information, make choices, resolve conflicts – internal and external. Over time, you hone your acting talent, train your vocal cords, voice timbre, facial expressions, gestures, and so on. Finally, you improve your emotional intelligence, because the characters constantly get stuck in sensitive, stressful and simply deadly stories. Experiencing the emotions and feelings of the hero, you safely experience given conflicts and problems. That’s why D&D – it’s about research.

Ancient Red Dragon Wyrm. Colossal 30 centimeters high. It is the creators D&D with their love for (surprise surprise) dragons, largely shaped the image of these winged lizards in modern culture.

But D&D – not only about experience or self-improvement. Have you ever dreamed of being in Middle-earth?? Wander the deserted outskirts of Tatooine? Take part in the battle of two armies? Fight the villain, be the villain? Become anyone, anytime, scour dungeons, negotiate with dragons, look for treasures, solve riddles. The wind of adventure calls us on the road, and the outcome of the joint journey depends only on the party. I can say with all seriousness that a good game of tabletop role-playing game is no less interesting than any series from HBO or Netflix. Those who watch, for example, the adventures of the StopGame team on this topic understand what we are talking about 🙂

This also includes the well-known Critical Role on the Geek & Sundry channel with star participants and voice actors. It depends on your preferences what the plot and the events taking place in it will be: an intricate detective story, an epic confrontation between good and evil, a complex psychological thriller with deep morality, or a dystopia with philosophical reasoning. Choose what you like best and create your own stories. Tabletop role-playing games are an ancient genre that originated in the twentieth century, and therefore a lot has already been invented – various systems and mechanics are being refined even today, campaigns, plots number in the hundreds and no one is forced to reinvent the wheel. That’s why D&D – it’s about the atmosphere.

For potential Creators and aspiring Creators, the world of tabletop role-playing games is an immense platform for the embodiment of any ideas, concepts and ideas. You don’t have to be a director, writer or actor to bring your own world to life, populate it with all sorts of creatures, bring it to life, and then put real people inside. In this sense, our little hobby is akin to a theatrical production, existing in the trinity of logos, pathos and ethos. It depends only on the master how believable the created reality will be, and therefore he must improve, including as a master of words, emotions and meaning. Use accompanying tools that enhance immersion – video\audio materials, miniatures, photographs, pictures, real-life objects. It’s amazing how sometimes the simple sound of rain and the creaking of a cart makes the imagination draw a detailed landscape of a rural highway. That’s why D&D – it’s about creativity.

The heroes broke into the temple of the goddess Ishtar, desecrated by demons, to find only pain, death and suffering of the doomed victims. Ahead of them lay a deadly confrontation with the city’s invaders.

Tabletop role-playing games and Dungeons&Dragons in particular today – the activity is not very popular. Many have seen references to the famous system in various pop culture products, not to mention a ton of famous computer games that continue to be released today. However, this activity in the CIS countries remains at the level of individual, local communities without close attention from. Unless gaming clubs hold thematic sessions with invited masters for beginners or those interested. But often people do not fully understand where they have come and how to play it, which also leads to an outflow of players. The threshold for entry into our hobby is indeed quite high, but the problem partly lies in the wrong approach to teaching new people. Maybe now is the time for a school for young role players to appear? Who knows. Until then Dungeons&Dragonswill continue to bear the proud title of a mythical representative of the RPG genre, about which you now know a little more.