Dungeons and Dragons Program Now In Development at SFL!
Dungeons and Dragons is an interactive storytelling game in which a group of players collaborate with a lead storyteller (referred to as the Game or Dungeon Master) to navigate and explore the world, people, creatures, and scenarios that they encounter during the game.
A survey was conducted through the month of April regarding interest in having a D&D at the Library program. A great response from our survey participants verifies enough interest to host a teen group (12-18) and an adult group (18+) for multiple program options. An introductory program event may be open to a mix of both age groups based on respondent numbers. Scheduling and program development is now in the works as we review the survey responses and determine what options are best for the library and our patrons’ needs and limitations.
Thank you to everyone who filled out the survey! For anyone who missed the survey but still has interest in the program, stay tuned to our socials (Facebook and Instagram) and this website for future program events and D&D opportunities!
Why Dungeons and Dragons?
For the average player the answer is entirely personal. Some people enjoy the social aspect most, working with other players to solve problems and strategize battle plans, bantering back and forth, and having a few laughs with friends. Some people love the creative aspect, picking and choosing the details of their character and bringing that character to life in the game setting. Some people get more out of the shared storytelling experience, witnessing a fantastic story unfold around them and having the opportunity to interact and influence the direction it goes. Others still appreciate the escapist opportunity – the chance to put aside their cares and worries for a few hours and be somebody completely different for a change. Plus, when it comes down to it, who doesn’t love spending time with a good story?
That’s the player perspective, of course, but there’s also a whole academic research side of the game that demonstrates the educational and developmental benefits of playing Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) and other similar role-playing games.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: In spite of archaic stereotypes to the contrary, D&D is actually a very socially driven game. The players interact with each other and the GM every step of the way. This includes discussing action plans, talking to each other both in character and out of character, practicing conflict resolution, and sharing in successes and failures as a team. While individual GMs and gaming groups may vary in their approach, words and actions typically have consequences both in game and out of game, a point that makes Role-Playing Games (RPGs), like D&D, incredibly useful in exploring and practicing social skills in a way that limits any potential negative impact on the player’s real life. D&D has even been integrated and adapted for use as a therapeutic tool in the mental health field to aid kids, teens, and adults in practicing social skills and behavior modeling in a group setting. Of particular benefit is the role-playing aspect of the game. RP encourages players to develop and practice empathy by focusing on, “What would your character do or feel in this situation?” By repeatedly putting the response focus on the character, it reinforces the understanding that other people have thoughts and feelings too, and they may not always agree with your own.
PROBLEM SOLVING AND MATHEMATICS: One of the greatest joys a GM has is finding or developing a fun and interesting puzzle to use in the game and then watching the players work their way through it. This may appear in the form of traps, a literal maze to navigate, a monster with a series of riddles to solve, or any number of physical or mental challenges that test the players’ and characters’ skills, knowledge, and creativity. These problems routinely require critical analysis, fact finding, trial and error, experimentation, and even more practice with communication skills.
While the creation of a D&D character is an act of imagination and storytelling at its core, the completion of the character sheet that serves as the technical representation of the character in the game is very math and numbers focused.(Fear not, math-phobes, it’s not as complicated as it’s about to sound!) Without getting too deep into the details, every action your character does in the game is supported (or potentially impeded) by one or more of the 6 scores that represent your character’s physical and mental abilities (literally called Ability Scores). To get these scores requires basic addition. To figure out how each score benefits or hinders your character’s actions uses a bit of subtraction and division. Then there’s the addition of dice roll results and whatever pluses and minuses your character applies to an attempt at a desired action. The result is then compared “greater than-less than” style against a target number set by the DM to determine if the attempted action was successful or not. Admittedly, there are now digital character sheets that can do all of the heavy lifting on the math end for you, but that assumes your DM is willing to allow electronic devices at the table, and even if they do, most will require physical dice to be rolled where everyone can see them as a point of fairness and transparency, which means you still have to practice at least some math skills to participate.
LANGUAGE AND VOCABULARY: While most DM’s aren’t going to expect a 30 page backstory for your character, there is a certain amount of creative “writing” (or at least note taking) you will need to do. If your character choices were made to get access to a particular skill set or ability, you should probably at least have notes on how and where your character learned those skills. Your reading and comprehension skills will get a good workout as well, as you reference various ability and spell descriptions on the fly to know what your character can and can’t likely do in the game. Depending on how familiar you are with gaming in general and terminology commonly found in the type of setting your game takes place in (fantasy, sci-fi, alternate history, etc), you may find yourself regularly looking up words and definitions that come up in the game also.
D&D Players are often heavily motivated to find or expand on inspiration for their characters. As such, reading becomes a pretty common source of ideas and opportunities to bring to the table. From Tolkien to Sanderson, you’ll always find elements of popular characters (if not direct copies) appearing at the game table, whether the player realizes it or not. And anything that promotes reading is a plus in our books!
But My (Church, Grandma, Pastor, Political Figure, Internet Influencer, etc.) Said…
*sigh*
Dungeons and Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game that draws inspiration for characters, settings, monsters, and magic from mythology, folklore, legends, and existing works of fiction from around the world over. From those resources come references to darker elements that some people may find problematic or downright offensive.
Rather than pretend that these elements don’t exist in role-playing games (because they do and frankly these Big Bad Evil Things can make excellent challenges for a party of Heroic player characters to test their mettle against, just like in legends of yore), it is better to emphasize the following point: What appears in a role-playing game setting is entirely up to the Game Master and the players participating in that game. A good Game Master will discuss with their players before the game starts what topics and elements the players are comfortable or uncomfortable dealing with. They will then respect those limitations in the planning and development of that game. If something presents itself as an issue further along in the game, it is up to the GM and Player(s) to discuss the matter and develop a compromise or alternate course of action to remedy the situation. It is not the place of an outside entity or individual to create issues over a situation that doesn’t involve them directly.
As a public community entity, Seneca Free Library and the staff coordinating this program will endeavor to limit the inclusion of certain questionable enemy creatures and story elements in our RPG program events. This is not stated as an open invitation for censorship or an adherence to a particular view point, but rather an acknowledgement of demographic tendencies in the community and a commitment to serving the broadest population possible. Stated plainly, we don’t want our potential teen players denied access to the game because Mom or Dad are afraid their child will be corrupted by “unholy influences.”
But for anyone who might still have concerns akin to the 80s Panic (or just need a good laugh), here is an inside perspective of what a typical D&D game session looks like:
8-Bit Reenactment of “Dungeons and Dragons” by the Dead Alewives
Thank you for your interest in Library D&D! If you have any questions about the program or are interested in participating, feel free to contact us at 785-336-2377 or email us at librarian@senecafreelibrary.org. You can also visit with us directly at the circulation desk during regular operating hours!