All in Our Minds

Last night was Dungeons and Dragons again. What a blast!

Role-playing games still don't make sense to most people, but those of us who enjoy them love putting our minds into mysterious situations, unusual characters, fantastic places and then watching a story spring to life, based on the actions our characters take.

Our group of D&D players is not into the "role-playing" aspect as much as some people are. We're not built like actors, who spend time becoming someone else. But we've read enough fantasy, seen enough movies, played enough video games, that we like our grown-up version of "Let's Pretend."

When a group of guys [because that's what we are] get together, we get weird, silly, sometimes rude -- and we laugh! Then a battle occurs in the game and we feel as if we're participating in a movie, but not knowing which heroes will kick monsters to the curb (Gallant) and which will die (Jeran) valiantly. Who will cower and stay out of perceived danger so consistently that he'll be left behind when a door slams shut (Harvey) and which rogue will be "in the zone" and be able to disarm deadly traps to uncover loot that will help the campaign survive? (Japheth)

Yes, I do believe that Dungeons & Dragons is one of the great games. And having "The World's Largest Dungeon" in which to play makes it easier to enjoy the game on a consistent basis.

But the real fun is in the people who play, the experiences we share, the unpredictability of the story each night, and the combination of fantasy, mystery, heroics, danger and silliness that fill an evening.

Like I said -- It was a blast!



.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

This was session 2 in Region B of "The World's Largest Dungeon."


Dave Arneson died this month. He and Gary Gygax were the primary co-creators of Dungeons & Dragons. They left a legacy with an influence that cannot be measured.