Dungeon Dummy to Dungeon Master

By Ryan Percy

Dripping water echoes from the darkness beneath. Tightening your grip on your sword, you descend. Your foot catches on unseen string. The ceiling above rumbles. You roll out of the way just in time.

The dice shows 10, with your bonus it is 15 — you survived. You look at your miniature and drink your soda.

That is Dungeons and Dragons.

Dungeons and Dragons was the first commercially available tabletop roleplaying game, first published in 1974 by TSR, Inc. Now, hundreds of role playing games fill the shelves of game stores. A plethora of colours and worlds to explore. However, D&D still remains the most sold role playing game in the world.

How do you get started? First you are going to decide whether you are a player in the game or the Dungeon Master. Each group needs a DM to run the game and throw monsters at their friends.

Ian Gereghty-Davies, 48, said he has loved fantasy since picking up his older sisters’ copies of The Lord of the Rings books at age seven. He gatewayed into D&D through the old TSR Choose Your Own Adventure book series. Ian now makes a living off the hobby as manager and owner of The CG Realm. He believes now is the best time to get into D&D as stigmatization and barriers to entry are at their lowest .

“When I grew up in the ’70s and ’80s you didn’t tell people you played D&D. I dealt with the Satanic Panic,” Gereghty-Davies said. “It’s a lot less than it used to be. People are actively working to get more and more people involved who were excluded or didn’t feel welcome before.”

If you want to get your ankles wet, start with the D&D Starter Set. Your local game shop, or even a book store, will carry it for around $25 to $30. You’ll get a condensed rulebook for low level characters, a pre-made adventure and some dice — a solid price and good for starting a group. However, it has limitations because of the level cap of five.

Want to go thigh deep? You will want the Player’s Handbook, priced around $35 to $60 dollars. It will give you the ability to make characters with all the standard options. However, DMs at this level need to spend a little more. They need the Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual and Dungeon Master’s Guide, setting their price at $105. You may also want your own dice.

Finally, diving head first. You are looking for miniatures, playmats and most importantly, extra options for characters or monsters. Books such as Xanathar’s Guide to Everything gives new rules, class specialties and more for players and DMs to use. Book prices can add up.

Once purchased you have a choice: find a group or start one. If you bought from your local game shop you will probably be able to find a game there. In some game shops they might run D&D Adventurers League, an organized play format generally meeting at a set time and day each week to host games anyone can join.

Cynthia Scaife, 28, only started with D&D two years ago. She came into The CG Realm for the attached sandwich shop and stayed for the action and adventure. Scaife said the game helped her make friends and overcome shyness. She believes if you are thinking about playing, you should do it.

“Keep in contact with people, even if it is through a group online. There are avenues for D&D if you are stuck at home.” Scaife said, “I always think it is best to step out and try new things.”

Regardless of what level you decide to buy in at, D&D is about friends coming together to have fun. Let your imagination run free.