life & style // no. 11

¢ Never confuse a kiwi with an Aussie

Have an idea for a story?
Mlifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca

¢ Celebrate the fall season

¢ Experimenting with vegan food as a
first timer

 

..and more

= =.

DINGUSES AND DRAGONS: WHAT TO
EXPECT FROM YOUR FIRST D&D SESSION

» From roleplaying to cruising through dungeons, this game has it all

Jacey Gibb
Distribution Manager

 

Welcome to Dinguses and Dragons, a weekly column
aiming at demystifying and introducing the game of
D&D to new and potential players

O: of the (many) great things about Dungeons

and Dragons is no two sessions are the same.
Even the same pre-made storyline presented to
different groups of players can yield wildly different
results...

Everyone has a different approach to the same
situations. For example, when faced with an obstacle
like a locked door, someone playing a rogue character
might try to pick the lock, whereas someone playing
a fighter might try to break it in. How the players deal
with the locked door might affect events later on, and
a butterfly effect ripples forward.

A typical D&D session will contain a mixture of
four factors, and not always in equal parts. A lot will

i depend on your Dungeon Master’s (DM’s) style, and
hopefully on your group’s preference. Here’s a quick
= breakdown of the four components in D&D:

 

Roleplaying

Roleplaying refers to the interactions between players,
as well as their interactions with the NPCs (non-
player characters, always voiced/acted by the DM).
During roleplaying segments is where you get the
meat and potatoes of the storyline, any plot points, or
introductions to new characters. It can be as silly or as
serious as your group wants it to be.

Combat

Inevitably your group will encounter a situation

where they enter initiative or combat. Everyone rolls

a 20-sided die, and this determines who acts first,
second, third, etc. Combat can be as simple as just
hack-and-slashing an enemy, but the really juicy
combats have more at stake, like someone who needs
to be rescued, or a countdown where the party needs to
accomplish a task within a certain number of rounds.

 

Puzzles 3

D&D puzzles are incredibly polarizing. The players s

who love them fucking love them, while the majority ye

of people I've played with don’t care for them. My gripe 5

with puzzles is they’re quite rigid, often with a single aS he.

solution, and if the group doesn’t get that solution ic he

right away, youre just a group of frustrated players S |

working in circles. so i q
7-

Dungeon crawling = i

This refers to when the party enters a dungeon (or Any satisfying session will contain a mixture of Another tool I’ve found useful is SurveyMonkey. Fey

contained environment) and proceeds forward to these four situations. If youre feeling disinterested Have your DM create a survey on the campaign so F

some endgame. Sometimes the party is looking for a with some of the focuses being given, I’d suggest far, including a1 to 10 ranking of how much you've =

particular item, but they can also just be adventuring bringing it up with your DM—in a respectful, enjoyed each area. They can also include an open- Bs

in general. Often dungeons will have a specific setting —_ courteous way. DMing can be a bottomless time pit, ended question about what youd like to experience

and how it plays out depends on how the players so criticism can feel personal. Acknowledge the work in the future. This gives an anonymous approach to

approach it. For example, one room might have a they’re putting in and say what you've liked so far, things, but honestly, straight-forward communication

tripwire that alerts enemies of the party’s presence, but then also mention the parts youre not enjoying. is the best approach for D&D groups. It quickly :

but if the players inspect for traps beforehand, You can also talk to the other players individually to becomes obvious when one person isn’t enjoying the . A

they might be able to avoid said enemies. Similar see their preferences: if everyone agrees with their sessions, so it’s best to communicate why something

to puzzles, dungeon crawling can be somewhat favourite/least favourite parts, then great! If your least —_ isn’t working and brainstorm solutions together.

polarizing, as some players see it as too linear rather favourite parts are someone else’s highlight, then it'll }

than open-ended. have to be a balancing act. 7

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