The following article was written by Andrew Dunbar, a game designer and aficionado.
Dungeons & Dragons has an interesting history and it all starts here in Wisconsin.
Gary Gygax, the co-creator of D&D, lived the majority of his Life in Lake Geneva. This is Southern Wisconsin locale is where he created the company Tactical Studies Rules, better known as TSR. From there, Mr. Gygax went on to release the first commercial D&D set in January of 1974. Almost immediately, D&D began to flourish.
Then, in 1997, a company known as Wizards of the Coast purchased TSR. Wizards of the Coast—or WotC—was known for creating games such as Magic: The Gathering, which is often considered to be the most popular game in the world. A few years later, in 1999, WotC was purchased by Hasbro. This put D&D in the same company that holds the right to names such as Power Rangers, Transformers, Nerf, My Little Poney, and many, many more.
I bring all of this up to let everybody know that D&D is neither the newest game on the shelves by any stretch of the imagination nor is it some small niche game that you or your children are just getting into now. Its roots started to take hold nearly 50 years ago in a town that’s a little over 120 miles away from Manitowoc.
Andrew Dunbar
Now, what is D&D, you might ask? Why should I play it? What am I going to get out of this? Good questions all. So, let’s take a look.
D&D is a roleplaying game where you step into the shoes of a character that you’re creating. Do you want to be a Warrior of Faith, such as a Paladin, and fight for your religion? Or maybe you’d prefer to be a Sorcerer and learn to use magic during your adventure. You, as the player, will play the game as this character. This character could think exactly in the same manner as you would or maybe your character could be a different version of you.
Using your own problem solving problem-solving skills combined with the luck of some dice rolls you make will start and finish an adventure. If you and your group succeed and you move to the next adventure, this series of adventures become what’s known as a campaign. Campaigns can last as long as you want—some players have been playing the same campaign for 30-plus years with the same group of close friends. The beauty of a campaign is that you are in control and it can change as often as you like.
Now that we have a basic understanding of what constitutes a D&D adventure/campaign and know a condensed version of its history, let’s talk about the upcoming “Teen D&D Adventure” program that will be taking place at Manitowoc Public Library on between 1 and 2 PM on Friday, July 14, in the First Floor’s Franklin Street Room.
In this class we will be learning the basics of a campaign, as well as spending some time learning about characters and the roles of the players in the game. However, the real fun will be in the mini D&D games we will have set up. Each player will have a chance to use a pre-generated character or come with one that they have created on their own.
A large chunk of the class will be devoted to people getting their hands into the action and seeing firsthand how things such as Combat and Charisma work. Maybe they will have to fight their way out of a Owlbear den or overcome the onslaught of a rampaging goblin horde. Maybe they’ll have to outthink and trick the town watch into letting them stay out past curfew. The possibilities are limitless and the fun almost as boundless!
It’s going to be a great day of D&D for everybody. I know that I have made lifelong friends from this game and I hope everyone in attendance will, as well.
Registration is required, so head to www.manitowoclibrary.org/event/teen-dd-2023 grab your spot! See you in MPL’s Franklin Street Room on July 14!
