My first D&D experience

In 2018 I first found out about Dungeons and Dragons. While searching for a new podcast for my commute to work I came across “The Adventure Zone – Balance” and loved it! Both the amazing story, which Dungeon Master Griffin McElroy tied up so very nicely at its conclusion, and the awesome mechanics the game of Dungeons & Dragons provides. After blowing through that podcast twice I listened to “Join the Party” and “Dungeons & Daddies” and I knew I had to try it out for myself. All I had to do was find a nice group to join.

Getting started

None of my friends, family or co-workers was into D&D yet and I was a bit hesitant to try it with strangers. So I started asking everyone I knew if they wanted to play D&D. I told everyone who did (and did not) want to listen about how the game works and how it provides the tools necessary to tell an amazing story together. I also told them that I would be willing to try my hand at being the Dungeon Master. Finally 5 of my friends were willing to give it a shot. None of them had any experience so I took it on myself to do a truckload of preparation which cost me a couple of days. For our first session I simplified the choices of race, class, spells and equipment and foregoing background and a proper backstory. I read up on some rules I wasn’t sure of, googled how to set up a one-shot, wrote a short story, laid out possible fights, made a puzzle and bought 6 sets of dice.

The first session

I started our first session with a cliché and had the PC’s start in a bar playing poker. A villager ran in screaming about another disappearance and promising a reward for the crew who finds out what is going on. This kick-started an adventure with two minor fights, a magical puzzle and a boss fight which solved the mystery and led to a happy end for our heroes. 4 months later the group has had a bunch of game sessions, two new players and one leaving player and everyone still seems to be having a blast!

What I love about D&D is how actions have consequences. These can accumulate to something amazing or can really come to bite you in the ass, especially when you become attached to the character you created yourself and have seen grow over your hours of gameplay.