Living Among the Nerds

Now I proudly describe myself as a nerd, and each one of my two roommates also describes themselves as nerds. However, each of us are of a different variety of the nerd genre. I lean more towards books/manga, horror/psychological horror anything, and anime, while Katherine (one of my roommates) is more into science fiction TV shows/books, superheros, and general fiction; however, Derryk (my other roommate) is big into video games, history, and dramatic historical fiction TV/books. These differences between us create some truly humorous moments, as our conversations can jump topics, and our different passions make each of us “fangirl” all over shared apartment. I want to tell you all about my experience watching, and kinda sorta participating in my roommates’ D&D (dungeons and dragons) campaign.

Lets start off with some background information. For the past few months my two roommates have been putting on D&D nights at our apartment every Thursday. My one roommate, Derryk, is the dungeon master, while my other roommate, Katherine, is the only girl out of their group of five. The other three players in this game are as follows: Jake a fellow coworker of Katherine, James Jake’s best friend, and Brett a mutual friend of myself and my roommates (we all went to high school together). If you don’t know what Dungeons and Dragons is well here’s a link to the official site so you can learn more.

Watching a small herd of nerds excitedly role play as their own distinct characters is just as entertaining as watching reality TV. There is swearing, backstabbing, cheers, fights, drama, and laughs. To summarize D&D is basically the best live action, nerd entertainment. The excitement surrounding rolling a natural 20 is unreal, there is cheers and high-fives, it’s basically a total celebration. *Note all of this information is coming from me, a person who has never formally played D&D but instead has made a bunch of witty remarks, consultations, and general teasing. 

Through watching this weird little ecosystem of nerds pretending to play giants, warlocks, and elves I’ve learned a bit about imagination as an adult. As I’ve grown up the phrase “act your age” has made its way into my ears more often than I like to admit, and I’m sure most of this D&D group has heard something similar. Imaginative play is important for developing interpersonal skills. Through role-playing different characters, my little roommate nerds practice social skills, problem solving, and creative thinking. All the while enjoying their time and further developing their individual characters. As an outsider looking into this D&D ecosystem I applaud, my nerdy roommates and friends. Their stories are hilarious and entertaining. The suspense of who could wind up basically dead is always present over the campaign, and the different goals each individual has is always just over the next horizon. Overall being spectator on a D&D campaign is like being emotionally invested in a really well done television series. You have your favourite characters, favourite enemies, and you get to experience all the moments that create the drama of the campaign. The only difference is the action is unfolding in real time, right in front of you— and sometimes random items get thrown across the room.

Have you ever played Dungeons and Dragons? Do you know someone who has? What was the campaign like? What kind of nerdy things do you enjoy in your free time? Let me know in the comments below or get in touch with me through social media! Links can be found throughout my website. Or if you would prefer email me here.