One Fandom to rule them all

Now, despite the title of this piece, I am not referring to Lord of the Rings. I am, however, paying homage to it, as it is the fiery forge in which the fandom I am rooting for was created; crafted by steeled hands and precision tools in an era that came to fear its popularity. I am of course referring to Dungeons and Dragons.

Dungeons and Dragons (D&D as I will refer to it for the remainder of this story) has become something of a staple in the nerd community, gaining a resurgence in the past few years. Perhaps it's the state of the world right now that has pushed people to find comfort in a fictional world, or maybe our society has returned to a high level of creativity, but either way D&D has seen a flourishing of popularity it hasn't had since it released.

Now give me a chance to explain. I know a lot of people may think of D&D as a tabletop game, and not something that has a fandom behind it in the same way as stories like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Hunger Games and other well known novels do. But I disagree, and I will tell you why. D&D was inspired by the works of J.R.R Tolkien and his famous world, and took upon itself an impossible task; create a game that doesn't feel like you're playing a game. Instead, for those who take the time to play D&D with others, be it friends or strangers, they are playing through a story of their own. Essentially, each game of D&D is a chapter in a larger book, a story that spans over decades of dedicated work. The players take part in sculpting the world around them based upon their actions, be they evil or good, and stamp their mark in the history of the overarching narrative. Now, there are plenty of people I'm sure that have played or do play D&D simply for the fun of it; they don't try to create the best story possible or see themselves as active participants in a large novel. But the beauty of this game is that regardless of how you play, as long as you enjoy yourself and have fun, the story will write itself. As each edition of D&D has come out, new pre-made adventures were released; stories that players could play through that told the larger story behind the game. There are even novels that were written about these pre-made adventures, most famously by people like R.A. Salvatore, Gary Gygax, Richard Baker, and more. Over fifty different authors have written books based on these adventures, and I'm sure many more will come! It shows just one small part of the immense story that is D&D.

Players, while a major part of the storytelling that comes with D&D, are only one part of the puzzle. The other piece, and also in a way the one who creates the puzzle as well, is the Dungeon Master (DM from here on out). The DM is the one who narrates the outline of the story, providing details and descriptions, along with creatures and people, that help tell the story the players are playing through. Without the DM, the story would be stagnant; the players eventually giving up as their actions have no consequences, their choices having no part to play in the narrative they had hoped to be a part of. The DM acts as the storyteller, and sometimes the author, to help build a world that players can enjoy. Every session, every campaign, every choice that is made can be seen as a story; and with those stories come characters we love, characters we hate, and eventually we find ourselves invested in the story that has come to be. We, the players and the DM's, are the fandom of D&D. But it goes further than that.

With the stories that we've read and those that we've taken the time to learn, we are at the liberty of the knowledge that only can be provided by the person who wrote it. If we have questions about how something would work in that world, or what may have been happening in a location that wasn't mentioned in the story, we are at a loss. Unless the author of that story comes forward with the answer, we as the fans are left to our imagination. But with D&D, we as the fans can make our own answer. Not only can we explore any and all stories that may come from a certain time or place, but we can make those stories unique; simply because we are the ones who write them. The world of D&D has become so richly imaginative and inclusive; there are more people than ever that are finding their voices as creators in the D&D community! And in our current state of affairs, that has become absolutely invaluable. We need this fandom more than ever, and the hope, comfort and acceptance it can provide for so many out there.

For that, and for all of the stories that have been told over the years, the D&D fandom is, and may always be, the best we can find.