Diving into the Depths of Dungeons & Dragons’ Dungeon

Introduction to the World of Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons. It’s a name that almost all of us have heard at some point. From its humble beginnings, to its growth in popularity, and eventual coming to a point in its status as a classic piece of pop culture that now frequently – though not entirely justifiably – acts as scapegoat for referencing nerd culture, Dungeons & Dragons has much to answer to.

So, what is Dungeons & Dragons? It’s a game - a tabletop roleplaying game to be exact. But what defines Dungeons & Dragons (commonly referred to as ‘D&D’) is exactly what the term ‘tabletop roleplaying game’ doesn’t say – the underlying passion, sense of community, and face-to-face interaction that players experience in collectively creating an entire world, based almost purely on imagination. In truth, the ‘game’ aspect of Dungeons & Dragons lies heavily under the shadow of excellent storytelling and creativity.

To simplify things, however, it’s best to start by understanding that D&D is a tabletop game, which endows it with the familiarity of a board game that you’d set up on your kitchen table or beside the sofa. Secondly, it’s a roleplaying game, which is almost identical to its video game equivalent, except that instead of having a virtual representation of your character, whose role you are playing, you instead have a physical and/or imagined representation of your character.

Beyond that, D&D is a somewhat difficult world to understand for many, so instead of a direct explanation without context, let’s take you into a personal experience – some field research, if you will – whereby I recount my actual, firsthand experience of D&D, and what the world of Dungeons & Dragons entails:

An Experience from a Beginner’s Perspective

In trying to wrap my ignorant mind around Dungeons & Dragons, I struggled to comprehend many, many aspects of it. For one thing, I knew it was a board game, but on the other, I didn’t see how the storytelling and collective imagination of the players would be used to form the game. With the curiosity overcoming me, I went out to buy the game, only to realize I would have no chance of playing it. This isn’t to say that D&D is difficult to play, but that you need a group of dedicated players (more on that later), which I definitely didn’t have. I tried to find friends or people who I knew that would play the game, but none of us had experience, and one thing that you will hear almost all D&D players say, is that you need, or at least, it is highly preferred, that you have an experienced player to guide you into the game. So, my first attempt was thwarted before I even left the starting line.

Sometime later, my second attempt at playing D&D was vastly more successful, and the experience that really opened my eyes into not only D&D, but tabletop roleplaying in general: 

On my way home one evening, I saw a huge sign drawn onto a local pub’s chalkboard, adorned with a dragon, and advertising weekly D&D nights. I figured this was my chance to finally try out D&D, and in hindsight, going to a local D&D club, or a similar D&D group is the absolute best way for you to pick up the game.

So, the time came around, and suddenly I was standing in the back room of a pub filled with people at tables holding dice and pencils, among them, one person leading each separate group, holding a sizable book; the Dungeon Master’s Guide or Player’s Handbook. After conversing with the pub’s staff, I was seated at a table and given a vague explanation, which is really the only explanation that could be given. It boiled down to the following points:

• Dungeons & Dragons doesn’t really have a set ‘game’: there is a world that is created by the players (often by using the D&D Player’s Handbook and Dungeon Master’s Guide), which is where the game takes place.
• There is a Dungeon Master: the person who is telling the story of the world that us players create, and makes decisions on how the story should progress based on our actions. They are essentially the leader of the game, and the group of players.
• My character is entirely made up by me, or given to me by a template set by the Dungeon Master. Yes, I still have to follow some restrictions, alike to most roleplaying games, but aside from that, I can choose to make my character as cool, uncool, good, evil, amazing, or as ridiculous as I want.
• My character will interact with all the other players’ characters in one way or another throughout the game, whether they choose to be my ally or enemy.
• There is an underlying objective to the story that the Dungeon Master is telling us.
• The twist to all of the above is that we interact face-to-face with everybody who is playing the game, and so, we are collectively interacting to create the story. Yes, the Dungeon Master is leading the game, but we greatly influence how the story progresses with our decisions.

So, with all that in mind, I created the most bland and basic character imaginable; myself, except, slightly cooler, since the real me isn’t a rogue, and I don’t carry a dagger in my pocket. From then on, I was transported into a world that I could imagine occurring before my eyes, and from which all the players on the table were deeply invested into. The plot was that a virus outbreak had occurred in a town, and we need to find a cure. Less than thirty minutes later, I found myself with a basic understanding of the game, and also infected by the virus that we were all trying to avoid.

Like any other board game, D&D is turn-based, so most of the time was spent watching and comprehending the decisions of others; a great way to learn the ins-and-outs of what to do. During our turns, each player made a decision to a prompt given by the Dungeon Master, and then would roll dice to determine the outcome. For example, in one instance, I was prompted to decide what to do with a map that had been found. Instinctually, I said ‘read it’, and rolled dice to see if I could do so. That being said, I could have suggested my character do almost anything. I could have asked to burn the map, throw it away, put it down, give it to someone else – and so the list of possibilities go on. It took me some time to get comfortable with this, as the fact that there is almost no guideline to this means that I had to get familiar with making decisions that can influence the entire game for everybody based on nothing but a prompt.

On a very important side note, this is also when I became acquainted with the authenticity and dedication that players put into the roleplaying aspect of D&D. In previous scenario, when I said ‘read it’ in response to the fact that our characters had found a map, the other players were all acting in the voice of their character, offering suggestions. This continued throughout the entire game, with each player literally acting and performing some amateur (yet sometimes very professional and convincing) voiceover work towards their characters, and each action that they made. It is safe to say that the fact this was all occurring in a pub, greatly aided the zest by which each person was delivering lines of dialogue from their characters; a particular red-faced man roaring with his entire chest like a muscular knight when his character kicked down a door and swung his sword. But that being said, alcohol, nor intensely delivered dialogue is a necessity, nor may it ever enter your experience. In the end, it all comes down to who you play with.

And that right there is the true key to Dungeons & Dragons; who you play with. By the end of the game’s session, I had a great time, but ultimately said my thanks as well as a goodbye my fellow players. Though I had a great time, I realised that I didn’t fit into the group of players very well. That isn’t to say that I am not a sociable person or that the players weren’t anything but kind and sociable to me. If anything, I commend all of them for so readily accepting a new player into their group and am grateful for letting me experience it all. But, when it comes down to it, I knew then, and know now, that those weren’t the people that I could truly immerse myself into the game with. It really is who you play with.

Since then, I’ve had many great experiences with Dungeons & Dragons, and tabletop roleplaying games in general, meeting new people, and eventually finding groups where all the players and I worked well together, and it all just felt right. I’ve battled through besieged forts in D&D, and on zombie-ridden spaceships in similar games – the latter being one of the most wholesome tabletop gaming experiences I have ever had.

The Hard Facts

So, aside from my rambling, the tell-all facts of the story are that Dungeons & Dragons is a tabletop roleplaying game where you will need a group of friends, a D&D club to participate in, or something similar to the two. It is heavy on the imagination, rewarding to play, but requires a dedicated group of players who are willing to collectively explore the game together. In starting your D&D journey, I personally also recommend like many others that you join a group of experienced players. That being said, if you already have joined a group, are looking to jump into the deep-end and start your own group, or simply wish to know more, here are the hard facts of what you will need:

• A Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook (ideally, the most recent edition).
• A Dungeon Master’s Guide (this can be more of an optional addition to your game, but most serious players have a copy).
• One set of tabletop dice (ideally, you will have a few spare, since dice tend to go missing quite quickly).
• Printed character sheets: these are the character sheets that you design your character with, and act as a template and guideline on how to use your character in-game.
• Tabletop miniatures: this is not necessarily a must, but many players bring miniatures to their game, as to have a more visual representation of what is occurring.
• Pencils (You will be doing a lot of writing, and probably want to take some notes, too, as to remind yourself of past events).
• A map of the world that you are creating (you can draw this on paper, on a whiteboard, or even digitally; so long as every player has access to it).
• A calculator: for when the game’s basic maths becomes a little less basic.
• A story: this can come in the form of a bought adventure template in the form of D&D storybook, or an adventure that you design yourself.
• A group of dedicated players.

Final Words

In the end, giving you an anecdote about my personal introduction as a complete beginner to Dungeons & Dragons is perhaps the most authentic of an explanation that the game can have. Unlike a lot of modern media, Dungeons & Dragons is not something you can pick up, learn, complete, and put down again. It is an experience. An experience that grows, forms and shapes with you and your fellow players, often becoming much, much more than I have described. With the right people, it is something anybody can enjoy, and should be seen as such. No matter who you are, considering playing Dungeons & Dragons is something to be done at least once in your life.