Dungeons and Dragons Draws a Crowd
Dec 08, 2015 13h57 ● By Bryan ScottBy Elizabeth Suggs
Sugar House - D&D, or Dungeons and Dragons, is a fantasy-based tabletop RPB (role-playing game). The fifth edition, released recently, has brought a spark back to D&D being played every Wednesday night at Game Night Games.
“Since the fifth edition came out, more people have been coming out,” Glick said.
Currently, according to Glick, there are three groups of up to seven people per group, and that’s not including the DM (Dungeon Master). While Glick currently is satisfied with each group’s size, it hasn’t always been ideal.
“We at one point had one DM and 12-13 people wanting to play,” Brandon Liddiard, one of three DM’s present, said. “Wizards[of the Coasts] doesn’t like that much, but we only had one DM and we weren’t going to turn anyone away.”
Wizards of the Coast, a daughter company of Hasbro, is the reason Game Night Games can pull off D&D every night. According to Glick, the company gives out free items for the DMs to play with, and while this seems ideal for a large group, even groups of seven can be a hassle.
The problem with having more than seven players, according to Brandon, is the time it takes to get through a game.
“We need to bring more awareness to DMs,” Derek Liddiard, D&D player, said.
Still, according to Brandon, he enjoys the amount of players who show up, and on Veterans Day he was spared the usual drone of players. However, Brandon still waited past the seven o’clock hour to ensure no one else was coming.
While the amount of players depends on the night, some players, like Lou Barreto, couldn’t imagine missing D&D.
“I’ve been waiting all week to play,” Barreto said.
Barreto, an employee at Biofire, falls into D&D as easily as he falls into jokes, despite his D&D character with an intelligence of five.
While a dumb character could be bad, for Brandon, it’s better. He compared both Derek and Barreto’s characters, saying Barreto got the better end of the deal. Having a smart character, Brandon said, is difficult. Everything must be done with thought, compared to Barreto, who’s able to play whatever random thoughtless act he wishes to play.
As many of those who already play D&D will note, no matter how smart or dumb a character is, the character can’t hear what the player is saying. Every joke is lost with the characters and any “smart” thought is hidden from Lou’s characters, but Lou doesn’t mind and it doesn’t stop him from joking with the other players.
The fun, joking atmosphere is apparent in all D&D groups. As you might have expected, according to Glick, the groups are welcoming and easy to get along with: even newbies are accepted. Don’t worry about not knowing the rules. According to Glick, Derek teaches to “anyone that wants to learn.”