A Taste of D&D
My name is Eli, and I’m a nerd. I
know that it’s become much more popular to be nerdy than it was when I was a
kid, but ever since my father read me The Hobbit as a bedtime story, I’ve been
lost to the path of the nerd. In this blog, I just want a space where I can
talk about the things I love and share my thoughts with people who will call me
a stupid poser asshole who doesn’t know what he’s talking about. The internet is a wonderful place.
I suppose I should have something
more substantial for my first post, though.
Sometimes people ask me what it’s like to play Dungeons &
Dragons. This is one of the entirely true stories I tell them to illustrate how
much fun it can be and how easily it can go wrong.
“Just
heal me!” Steph was getting pissed.
“If
I heal you now, the ogre will just hit you again! At least if I heal myself, I
can survive the next volley of attacks from the cultists long enough to help
you next turn!”
“Not
if he kills me!”
“You’re
unconscious. We’re the bigger threats.” Stephanie’s plan of charging her ranger
straight into the enemy hadn’t been working out that well.
Brian
looked over his DM screen. “So, what are we doing?”
“I
use Majestic Word on myself.”
“I
want you to know I’m trying to kill you with my eyes.” Steph and I have an
interesting friendship.
Brian
smiled, but pushed the game forward with the patience every decent DM needs. “Okay, you heal yourself and it’s on to
the ogre’s turn. Stephanie, he swings his club at your unconscious body.”
“God
damn it, Brian!”
I
couldn’t stop laughing while the ogre brained her ranger with a single hit.
“You
know, I’m usually against victim-blaming, but that was entirely your fault.”
This is what I love about gaming.
It gives you the chance to riff with your friends and create a story that’s as
zany, or immersive, or intense as you want. D&D and other role playing games give you a blank slate
that lets you create your own fun in a way no other game can compete with.
Thanks for reading, now go play a
game.
