D&D with the Gamer's Guild

The group held their breath as the Dungeon Master threw her 20-sided dice. Time seemed to slow down as the dice rolled. A collective groan echoed through the group as the dice slowed to a stop at a 20.

The month of May was an interesting one for the Gamer’s Guild as they embarked on a fantastical journey into the world of Dungeons & Dragons.

Created in 1974, it regained its popularity in the 21st century after appearing on hit TV shows like ‘Community’ and ‘Stranger Things’, and livestream campaigns like ‘Critical Role.’

On 11th May, they organised their first session with Dungeon Master (more commonly known as DM) Kiara Ong, a committee member of the Gamer’s Guild. I walked in knowing absolutely nothing about the game, but it seemed that that was the point. DM Kiara guided us players through what was essentially a tutorial session.

We first introduced our characters and their personalities and skills (which were created by DM Kiara) before diving into the scenario she had chosen.

She also taught us a little about what each dice is meant to do in the game, and what rolling certain values entail. Fortunately, despite her rolling the highest score for damage, we still managed to complete the scenario she had set.

Her emphasis throughout the game was that we could do anything we wanted as long as we could justify it, which definitely did not land on us newbie players.

The session ended with the group in laughter as it dawned on us that we didn't use an obvious resource we created in the scenario.

Two weeks later, Gamer’s Guild invited their first ever guest speaker, Aaron Leong! Aaron is a well-known DM in Malaysia, and has been doing so for over 10 years. He owns an original copy of the D&D Player’s Handbook as well as the Dungeon Master's Guide. He also owns multiple resources gathered over the years.

Starting off with a bit of history on the game, he explained how this version is the 5th edition of the game.

“There was some controversy surrounding the game when it was first created due to the inclusion of fantastical creatures, but as time passed, people grew more accepting," he explained.

DM Aaron taught us about skills, damage and what each aspect of our character sheet meant by taking us through a short campaign. He taught us how to move forward and how to attack with our weapons and spells.

After some yelling and failed attempts at intimidating the enemy, we managed to clear the scenario he set.

All in all, both weeks were extremely enjoyable! Some students even wanted to play more in-depth campaigns, which led to a discussion on online platforms for the game.

If you’re interested, stay tuned to find out the next theme from Gamer’s Guild!