Blake Dowling
As a youngster in Dothan, Alabama, my friends and I lived in the “Stranger Things” era.
The mall was the home base for almost everything: The arcade (Diamond Gems), food court, record store, and Spencer’s Gifts. It was the 80s, with Nintendo and heavy metal music every day; it was awesome.
I recall a friend (Ben Black, Merrill Whatley, Patrick Lee, Quinn Borland; I don’t recall who asked first) asking me in sixth grade if I wanted to play Dungeons & Dragons.
I immediately said YES, as it had been in the news for encouraging Satanism and all sorts of misdeeds.
You can review the satanic panic that was very real.
The entire Tipper Gore PMRC and other religious movements created a massive wave of popularity for things like D&D, Ozzy Osbourne, Twisted Sister, and all things taboo for a young person.
So, our gang gathered around the dining room table, cranked up Ozzy’s “The Ultimate Sin” cassette on the Jambox, and got our character sheets and maps out, that cool graph paper, some miniatures of some monsters, the Dungeon Master’s handbooks, the multiple sided dice and we were ready. We paired it with Dominoes (30 minutes or less in those days) with some Jolt Cola and Potato Skins chips (they still make those?) — we were off for our five-hour journey.
What a total blast.
By the end of that year, we were all playing D&D in our free time, even at school. I’m pretty sure Houston Academy banned it at some point, which, of course, only made us want to play more.
Dungeons & Dragons first appeared in 1974 as a game about individual battles, quests, heroes and villains. The game is described as a fantasy tabletop role-playing game that includes participatory storytelling with a guide called the Dungeon Master. A group of players gathers together, creates their characters, and then embarks on a quest dictated by the role of dice. Many dice are 20-sided, four-sided, etc. In certain nerd circles (that I may or may not have run in), having the super cool transparent dice was big-time bragging rights, right up there with throwing stars when you are 10.
A few years later, there was a full line of D&D toys and a Saturday morning cartoon. Yes, it was my absolute favorite.
I would pour a heaping bowl of Count Chocola and pause the Atari; it always had my full attention. Although I am pretty sure, Acrobat was not a real character from the game; Hollywood, that was a good way to goof that one.
It felt like the game’s peak was in the 1980s, but it was, in fact, more recent. By 2017, there were 15 million players in the game, and there was even a Dungeons & Dragons movie in the early 2020s.
This year, 2024, Dungeons & Dragons is celebrating its 50th anniversary. According to the numbers, over 50 million people have played the game, and a billion dollars has been spent on the various guides and players’ handbooks needed to play it.
Florida is home to several annual gaming conventions featuring D&D. If you are into role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons, check out Orlando’s QuestCon and gather with like-minded folk to play games and hang out in a surreal environment.
Or, in Tampa this Fall, you can attend NerdCon, which is planning a 50th anniversary of D&D.
Of course, there are podcasts, too (why not? See the Adventure Zone.) There’s a D&D community that even raises money for sick kids via the Children’s Miracle Network.
There is even a gaming cruise, where you and three friends can depart Miami for a 4-night gaming at sea extravaganza, it is called GACUCON and while mainly about video games, we just had to include it today as it might be true blue nerd gold.
It’s not just a game for kids; most of these events are attended by adults as the game is very popular with all ages.
I have a colleague, Chris Ackerman, who leads a weekly game. I checked in with him to get his thoughts on the game.
“As a kid and avid gamer, I grew up playing role-playing games on PC and consoles, immersing myself in the amazing stories unfolding through the eyes of my characters.
“Some of my favorite video games over the years, like Baldur’s Gate and the Dragon Age series, are based on Dungeons and Dragons world and rules.
“Although I was exposed to D&D from a young age through, I never knew anyone who played the tabletop game. It was only in my late 20s and early 30s that a few friends told me I would enjoy it.
“In today’s internet-connected world, Dungeons and Dragons is more accessible than ever. I began playing D&D three years ago at the age of 31, and I have never written on a paper character sheet or rolled a set of dice.
“I met a group of people online through Roll20, an online tabletop role-playing game platform, and joined a campaign to rid a town of the darkness that befell it. I’ve put in countless hours rolling virtual dice and fighting the tyrannies of evil from the comfort of home after my daughter was asleep.
“Today, I’m the Dungeon Master (DM) for a campaign I run online. Every week, I look forward to Tuesday nights, catching up with my friends and coming together to do something we love.”
Little did I – the Hillbilly Level Five Cleric from the Realm of Dothan in the year nineteen hundred eighty-four, with his +4 mug of enlightenment – know that D & D’s quest mentality would carry over to the real world.
After D&D came a quest for girls, parties, concerts, jobs, diplomas, or whatever life may bring. Or, on a higher plane, a quest for peace, enlightenment, success, relevance, marriage, and happiness, right?
Aren’t we all on one big quest as a nation?
A game like D&D combines a goal-oriented task with creativity and imagination, allowing you to do something different in a game.
For those who shunned it back in the 80s, I think you missed the boat, and for those modern-day creatives who brought it back to the spotlight, I am talking about you, Matt and Ross Duffer, who put D&D on everyone’s radar via Stranger Things, we salute you.
And, of course, the Game of Thrones crowd put dragons on the cool (or even remotely cool) list in recent years.
The game, the cartoon, and the movies are all about the quest, and for anyone who has ever played the game, you know a quest is best launched with a large party of people you call friends, just like the quest of a life well lived.
Happy 50th, Dungeons and Dragons. Game on.
