Dungeons & Dragons: The joy of the world's favourite role-playing game

The comic-book is no longer a tool with which to hide our lunch money (Marvel Studios and Chris Hemsworth's abs have seen to that), and fantasy telly has been established as top-notch office chat fodder (Thank you, Game Of Thrones and House Of The Dragon).

Yet, a gear-shift has happened that even the most hopeful champion of geekdom would years ago never have foreseen – even with a natural 20 on a perception check roll. If you got that one, your heart is true. Advance, dear reader, to level two...

Dungeons & Dragons (informally, D&D) has for decades stood as the world's quintessential role-playing game, and is recognised universally as one of the grand pillars of nerdery (if you are imbibing this article while also giving a Vulcan salute, Tweet me @DMorris_Star – you, sir/madam, are my spirit animal). Currently though, it is riding a wave of popularity that is seeing folk from all corners of the 'Forgotten Realms' getting stuck in, and consequently the estimated number of worldwide players now stands at a triumphant 50 million.

Here at Weekend Towers, we're delighted that one of the greatest bits of fantasy IP in the world is getting its due, and we want to help convert as many of you to the delights of 20-sided dice as we can. Here's your lowdown on one of the greatest games on the planet, folks. Let's get rolling...

WHAT IS D&D?

First published in 1974, Dungeons & Dragons is a high fantasy table-top role-playing game created by American duo Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The prodigious pair had been inspired by existing table-top war games on the market, but wanted to fashion something a little different.

Their vision was to have each player controlling one individual character rather than an army, thereby giving them the chance to truly get into said character and effectively play the part of that individual. Gamers would work together in a 'party' and, sat together 'at table', would follow the narrative of an adventure created by the particular game's organiser – the Dungeon Master, or 'DM'. This would involve them working together to battle enemies, solve puzzles and complete quests, with the outcome of their actions decided at the role of a selection of many-sided dice.

D&D adventures take the form of campaigns that can involve hundreds of hours of game play. As such, campaigns are split into smaller sessions. D&D parties convene on a schedule to suit players, picking up where the campaign left off each time, and enjoying a bit of good-hearted fun in a make-believe world of magic, monsters and mayhem. Sound fun? Oh it is, and Gygax and Arneson's creation quickly grew in popularity until it evolved through several editions into the joyous game played across the world today.

PLAY ON, PLAYERS

But it's just a game, right? Yes, and at the same time, a big, fat 'no'.

D&D's growing popularity and loyal following for the last fifty years have meant that it has been a mainstay of pop-culture undercurrent for half a century. It is as synonymous with the fantasy genre as the writings of Tolkien, and has itself inspired many of said genre's finest works – from video games to novels, TV offerings and movies. It is no exaggeration to say that 'swords and sorcery' as we know it would not exist without D&D, and its contribution to the growth of the high fantasy pantheon cannot be overstated. Celebrity fans have included Vin Diesel, the late Robin Williams, Steven Spielberg and Mike Myers, and these are just the ones we know about.

For many, Dungeons & Dragons is far more than simply a game, including a local chap who has built a flourishing career around it.

Joel Smith, aka, The Shropshire Dungeon Master, has been an avid D&D player for 16 years. For the last six however, he has organised and run games as a profession.

"I kind of dismissed the idea at first because it's something that so many people do for free," said Joel. "I thought to myself, 'nobody's going to pay anybody to do it'. It's a hobby, and you don't initially think that a hobby could turn into a career. But then about a year after I'd already sort of written it off, I saw an article about a guy in Canada who was actually doing quite well 'DMing' for hire – running games of D&D for money. So I thought, 'well, if he can do it, I can probably have a stab at it'.

"I did a couple of public gigs – including at The British Ironwork Centre up at Oswestry – and the next thing I know is I'm actually being asked to come and do public events and things, and that's grown. I now have regular games at Oswestry Library and I run sessions all over the place."

ADAPTATIONS AND POP CULTURE APPEARANCES

D&D's place in pop culture is so hallowed that pop culture itself has frequently paid homage to it over the years. Who could forget the epic game that Elliott was so keen to join in E.T.? Or James Franco's first session in Freaks And Geeks? In more recent times, Netflix super-smash Stranger Things has not only paid tribute to Dungeons & Dragons with scenes of campaigns in action, it has also used the game as a plot device and incorporated a lot of D&D monster lore into its story. Mind Flayer, Demogorgan – both are D&D baddies.

Stranger Things has been highly credited with the surge in popularity Dungeons & Dragons has seen over the last few years – with youngsters and oldsters alike keen to emulate the sessions of Mike and the gang (without the terror of extra-dimensional attack, of course).

While direct screen adaptations of D&D have in the past left a lot to be desired (see the 2000 Jeremy Irons flick... or don't), this year's Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves brought the true spirit of the game to the cinema, and will doubtlessly have created a few converts.

SKILLS BUILDING

D&D is first and foremost about having fun. But, as Joel relates, it is also a brilliant way for people to build performing arts skills and even discover a new type of confidence. "The role-playing side of the game is a great way for people to explore hidden talents of this nature," he said. "I'm now also teaching performing arts skills at The Phoenix Academy of Film and Theatre Arts, based at Shrewsbury College. They took me on a couple of years ago as a temporary thing and just kept me on board to keep teaching about character creation, immersive improv, and other things that are part of the D&D experience that can be used in the wider theatre world."

While Dungeons & Dragons is escapism at its absolute finest, it is also a highly sociable pastime that encourages all players to expand their creative horizons and enjoy being expressive. "It gets people around a table having fun, having a great laugh, making stuff up for hours at a time," said Joel. "And that is such a wonderful way to explore creativity."

VIRTUAL ADVENTURING

While for decades D&D has traditionally been played around a physical table, modern technology has of course broadened the ways in which sessions can be held.

"We now have so many ways of telecommunicating," said Joel. "Audio calling with lots of people whilst also being able to share video and text and images all at the same time brings a lot of that table-top feel to the internet, and means D&D can truly be enjoyed virtually."

Adventurers can now of course also be brought together from all over the world. "I've got a couple of players in Sweden that play with a group scattered around all of Britain with me once every month or so," Joel adds. "That wouldn't really have been doable ten years ago."

Joel believes that this, along with the game's representation in modern pop culture, has contributed highly to the recent boom in D&D's popularity, and also player diversity.

"This popularity wave has brought in different people," he said, "and it's really lovely to see the old stereotype of it being an all-boys club really starting to diminish. It's lovely to see a lot more women and girls coming in to the hobby. It's become such a wonderfully welcoming space."

AN ESCAPIST'S PARADISE

D&D may be the MacDaddy of role-playing games, but as Joel points out, it's far from the only one out there. And if the pandemic taught us anything, when it comes to how to have fun, broadening our minds is never a bad thing.

"There's a tabletop role playing game for everyone," he said. "You can play in the modern day as Marvel or DC superheroes, you can play in the 1920s, you can play anywhere with any theme. It's about storytelling, and if you don't want to re-tell The Lord of the Rings, you don't have to. You can come in with whatever you love and whatever you are passionate about and give that a try instead. It's not for everybody, but it's always worth a try, and you might just end up having a lot more fun than you'd think."

Well said Joel. Readers – carpe 'DM'!