D&D Mythbusting

Let's slay some Dungeons & Dragons myths!

If you're new to playing D&D there might be some things you're nervous about - but you don't need to be, we promise. In this blog post we’re going to debunk some of the most common myths about D&D that can make people nervous, or even put them off playing.

"I can't play D&D because I'm not good at acting!"

One of the most common things people say they worry about is that they are not good at 'doing voices' or 'acting', so if that's you or your child, please hear us when we say - you don't need to do any of that if you don't want to! Whilst it's true that you are “playing a character” in D&D, it's okay if that character sounds and acts just like you do! The joy of D&D is that there is no wrong way to play it, so if you want to get deep into character and put on a funny accent, that's great, but it's equally great if you just want to talk like you normally do. In fact, I lied before, the only wrong way to play D&D is to not have fun!

"I can't play D&D because I'm really bad at maths!"

Another thing people often worry about is that they aren't very good at maths! In D&D there is a little bit of maths involved, it's true, but although it might look complicated with all those different sized dice, it's actually only ever basic addition that you need to do, and even then only when you're playing with real physical dice. All of our games take place online in what's called a 'Virtual Tabletop' and the great thing about this is that it does all the maths for you! So no matter what your maths skills are like, you can still enjoy D&D.

"I can't play D&D because the rules are too confusing!"

The next thing we often hear is that there are too many rules people need to learn! Whilst there might be lots of rules in D&D, you definitely don't need to learn them all off by heart! Your friendly Dungeon Master (DM for short, that's the person who runs the game) will help you with the rules as you play, and when playing online like we do it's easy to look up any rules you're not sure about as well. Even our experienced DMs don’t know every single rule off by heart, although it might seem like it!

"I'm just too cool to play D&D!"

Another one we used to hear, but maybe not so often anymore, is that D&D is for nerds… First of all, there’s nothing wrong with being a nerd, actually. And secondly that’s just not true these days. Thanks to the cultural phenomena of Stranger Things and Critical Role, D&D is actually really cool these days! Honest.

"I can't play D&D because it's evil!"

Finally there’s the sometimes elephant in the room - “satanic panic”. D&D famously received a lot of backlash when it was first released from concerned parents worried that their children would be getting involved in the occult by playing. Whilst cultural attitudes towards the fantasy genre have shifted over the years, and that’s not generally a thing people are as worried about now, as parents you might still be concerned about scary imagery or encouraging violence. Here at Bristol Adventurers’ Guild we make sure all of our games are appropriate for the age groups with which we are running them. Sometimes that means we omit certain details from the official published adventures which might not be suitable for younger players, and other times it means encouraging players towards alternative methods of problem solving, such as diplomacy rather than combat. At the end of the day, this is something that everyone will have a slightly different opinion on and tolerance for, so it is up to each individual parent and child to decide what is right for them. If you have any concerns in this area we would encourage you to speak to us so that we can be aware of what you and your child are, and are not, comfortable with seeing in the game.

Hopefully this has put your mind at ease about anything you might have been worried about playing D&D, if there are other worries you have that we haven’t addressed please do leave us a comment and we’d be happy to reassure you.

If you’re feeling reassured and ready to join a game, send us an email to info@bristoladventurersguild.co.uk and we’d love to have you join our adventures!