Dungeons and Dragons and Dice Rolls

You'll find a lot of people talking about what they've done to keep themselves sane during the lockdown. Some people have cleaned their houses from top to bottom, some have started making craft products or learned how to bake. I have done none of those things. Instead, I doubled down on my rampant denial of reality and looked to find a way to fully ensconse myself in some kind of fantasy world.

I've been radially aware of Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) for years, though my attempts at finding a game to play were always met with failure. Ten years ago, I approached a random guy in a Games Workshop when I overheard him saying he needed two more players for his campaign and boldly volunteered myself and my wife (then girlfriend) to take part. We lasted one marathon six hour session because, true to stereotypical form, the DM (Dungeon Master, the person who runs the game and sets the scene) was a mulleted pervert who kept running his foot up the outside edge of my leg and one of the other players kept reaching over and picking up my wife's hand, running her fingers over her rings and outwardly flirting even though her boyfriend was right there.

We ran screaming - figuratively - and didn't look back.

But that was a long time ago, and with the relative confidence that any D&D playing would be done remotely (therefore no risk of the sensation of a socked foot sliding over my leg), I decided to dip my toe back into the creative waters of D&D.

The first thing that I found was that there are so many places now to go if you're looking to plunge headfirst into the dragon-infested waters, you hardly have to look past the first three Google results.

I ended up signing up to Roll20 and DnDBeyond relatively quickly, especially as they both offer a basic account for free which still allows you a great deal of flexibility and range of things that you can do. I spent hours nosing through their forums and gathering the courage to reach out to DMs who were looking for players. A further Google search netted me a Facebook group for players located within the UK which came with a link to a discord channel, filled with people who were looking to pass the time in the same way as me.

I think there are some things that you should definitely do once you've decided that you want to dive right on in:

1: Find a group with at least one experienced player.

There's nothing wrong with learning as a team, but if you're DM doesn't really know what they're doing and neither do you, there's a lot of 'dead air' that hangs around and can interrupt the flow of combat and storytelling. Look on Facebook for local groups, or use the forum options on the various websites to find campaigns that are looking for players.

2: Use D&DBeyond for your character sheet.

I cannot stress enough how good the character sheets are on D&DBeyond. They help with everything, initial rolls for stats and breaking down spells and items in easy to follow fashions. There are even browser applications that can do the rolls for you and help with calculations which takes the pressure of trying to do math when you're being screamed at by an ogre in the middle of a fight.

3: Familiarise yourself with the different classes and find one that works with the sort of character you want to play.

I'm not a huge fan of combat, really. When I play video games I'm a distance fighter or a mage and tend to prefer to sneak around than run into the middle of combat. I chose a Bard, which allows me some combat but my powers are mostly supportive and distance based (and I can insult people to death via Vicious Mockery which has proven to be hilarious).

4: Take your time understanding the mechanics and ask if you're not sure.

The people I've met so far, and everyone that's been chatting in the discord groups are so excited to share their passion with others that they don't mind helping. The more questions you ask, the more you learn and once some kind person's broken down how to do attack rolls for the third time, it's a lot easier!

5: Have fun!

That seems obvious, but I have pretty awful social anxiety and was really worried that I'd clam up and not be able to talk. And for the first forty minutes of the session that's exactly what happened, but the DM slowly, and carefully kept including me in things and then an hour in I had a guitar app on my phone so I could strum obnoxiously into my headphone mic and was googling insults for Vicious Mockery to delight in making the party laugh with the ridiculous insults.

Having risen to popularity in recent years following Stranger Things and excellent videos and podcasts such as Critical Role, it's hardly a surprise that there are tools out there to make finding, running and playing games much easier. And, as a total newbie to playing D&D, I am learning the pros and cons of each one as I go, as one game prefers to use Roll20, and one prefers to use 'theatre of the mind' (which is a fancy way of saying 'your imagination') and just uses DnDBeyond for character sheets.

I've now had one session with each campaign and I already know what I prefer when it comes to storytelling, because really, that's what it is. D&D is a collaborative storytelling effort, where you and some other people (maybe even friends, eventually) work together to tell a story.

If you've ever been curious to try D&D, the time is now. Zoom, Discord, Whatsapp, Facebook and Hangouts all have audio and video conferencing technology that can help make your party feel connected. Tons of creative people are looking for ways to spend their time and make new friends.

I'm intending on sharing my journey as a player, potentially a DM and also sharing stories of Maeve, my disaster!Bard in Dungeons and Dragons and Dice Rolls weekly, I hope you'll join me here, and maybe I'll even see you in a magical kingdom far, far away.