IC DnD [MINGLE]

[press_start]

Who: You
What: IC DnD? IC DnD!!
When: End-May
Where: Residential floor lounge area
Warnings: Potential discussion of monster murder and other PG13 rpg themes. Some Bard's also gonna try seducing every enemy, I can feel it. Please tag if other things come up!

[ Did someone say IC DnD? Chiaki’s got your back.

Those frequenting the dormitory lounge may find that she's transferred several books from the library. There are two different versions of the Dungeons and Dragons Handbook, and two more of some different universe’s equivalent- it's called ‘Cellars and Cryptids’, and involves some unusual rules like settling all player disputes with dance battles but yeah. The spirit is the same. Some supplies have been provided- paper and pencils mostly, a few blank character sheets, and a box full of Ridiculous Assortments Of Dice. Good luck trying to find a 20-sided one, how about a d9.36?

She's tried to do something for the visually impaired, but unfortunately the braille copy of ‘Dragons in the Dungeon’ that she found is not in fact a DnD guidebook, but some kind of trashy romance novel. Sorry. :(

Grab some friends and go on an adventure together!]

Comments

[have_hat_will_travel]

Er.. Maybe?

If it's not a different edition. Or system.

[riderofcharlemagne]

[He dismissively waves his hand.]

It'd be a good enough starting point, surely.

[He's not about to go and do something like read the rules himself, now.]

[have_hat_will_travel]

Maybe? As long as it's not using like, three-sided dice as a core. That'd be awkward.

[riderofcharlemagne]

[He picks up the little triangular dice at the top of his stack to double-check the number of its sides.]

Those exist?

[have_hat_will_travel]

Yup. And five-sided, too, somehow. That one always wigged me out.

All sorts of strange dice, honestly...

[riderofcharlemagne]

I haven't seen one around here, so I think you're okay...

[He's taken all the dice currently not in use hostage, so he knows.]

So, how do we play this thing?

[have_hat_will_travel]

W-well, uh...

It's weird because it's definitely not a typical short-form game. You take the role of a heroic-ish character and play them over many sessions, alongside the rest of a group, with a 'Dungeon Master' adjudicating the entire mess and creating the stories the rest of you seek to work your way through?

The dice come in for the details.

[riderofcharlemagne]

I see, I see.

[He nods thoughtfully.]

So- what kind of hero-ish character do I get to be?

[have_hat_will_travel]

... That's a long question to answer, potentially. And it depends on what's in this book, but usually there's a whole lot of options, ranging from the simple-but-effective combat power of the fighter, to the might of crazy wizards.

Usually, you pick one of a specified array of standardized-ish humanoid races to play as.

I'm a weird case. REALLY weird.

[riderofcharlemagne]

What kind of humanoid races are we talking about?

[have_hat_will_travel]

Well, lessee...

[Pidonus opens the Player's Handbook...]

Dwarves, Elves, Halflings, Humans, Dragonborn, Gnomes, Half-Elves, Half-Orcs, and Tieflings, it looks like. In this edition. Tieflings as a core race? Interesting choice...

[riderofcharlemagne]

[Halfway through listing them off, Astolfo's already made his decision.]

Oh! I'll be a Dragonborn!

[Whatever those are.]

[have_hat_will_travel]

Lessee... Don't have much experience with them, actually, so lemme look 'em up...

[Pidonus goes to the appropriate page in the book for Astolfo...]

[riderofcharlemagne]

[He just peers over her shoulder in a way that is most assuredly incredibly annoying.]

Oh! I want to be a gold one, or a red one!

[have_hat_will_travel]

Welp, you can do that. That's the neat part. You chat with the game master, and prepare stuff that way. Build the story, set up the payoffs!

It's neat.

[riderofcharlemagne]

So it's just elaborate storytelling? But a game too?

[IS THIS NOT THE COOLEST THING EVER?]

[have_hat_will_travel]

The game influences the story, which influences the game.

If you're with the right group of friends or strangers, it's a pretty good time.

Not that... I have a LOT of experience here. Just, my world's based on something like this and I'm trained to know the tropes of the stories.

[riderofcharlemagne]

Then, would you like to play it sometime? I'm sure we could find enough players to join, and if it's so similar to your world you'd do a good job of leading us in it.

[have_hat_will_travel]

... I'm not sure I'd be a good choice for Dungeon Master.

[Pidonus does not lead things! She knows this!]

[riderofcharlemagne]

Why not?

[have_hat_will_travel]

The DM's role is... A lot more advanced than that of the player. They end up telling a lot more of the story by necessity of their role.

I'm a bard, I'm already risking overtaking scenes just by being my natural self. Make myself responsible for doing that?

Yeah. Probably less entertaining.

[riderofcharlemagne]

As a bard, wouldn't you be able to make it appropriately compelling and dramatic?

[That's what you do right.]

[have_hat_will_travel]

In theory, yes. In practice, once the players come in, things get all... Less serious. Fast.

There's a lot of classic tales of that sort of thing in the game's format.

[riderofcharlemagne]

What's the problem with that?

[He wants to carve out a new legend for himself.]

[have_hat_will_travel]

Six words: "I roll to seduce the dragon."

I have no idea how I'd handle that.