Dungeons & Dragons, session 1

First, an admission. For all its connotations of pale, nerdy guys huddled in a basement, arguing over how to slay a dragon and severely disconnected from reality, Dungeons & Dragons is actually a beautiful metaphorical representation of life.

Sure, it's formulated in a fantastic world, and I would never need to battle a goblin in real life, but the underlying premises are the same. You have to work in groups with teammates who each have personal talents and flaws. You need to accomplish particular tasks, and your success (or failure) depends on how skilled you are, with some allowances for random luck or misfortune. Solutions are not always clear-cut, and the consequences of your actions are not immediately apparent. In fact, when you think about it, DnD, like economics, transforms everyday interactions into quantifiable mathematical equations. However, there is still plenty of room for open-ended creativity.Hence, the inherent appeal for us Feddies.

Phil started us off on an adventure titled "The Sunless Citadel," which is supposed to help ease newbies into the game. There were 5 of us who were new role-players, plus Amber, who knew what she was doing, and saved our asses on several occasions by dutifully checking for snares and traps. Right off the bat, I could see how people get caught up in ludicrous, hour-long debates over how to cross a bridge. We were told that there was an ancient citadel which was ripe for exploration, but Phineas (Erik) wanted to try helping the dying wife of a villager instead, which I deemed to be a waste of time. (We're all level 1 characters, so Phineas' healing powers consist of healing "minor wounds.") Meanwhile, Yocxjufyabiu (Nate wrote a random name generator) the sorcerer was bent on casting spells left and right, and decided to "animate a rope" to be very stiff and sturdy while we climbed down into a ravine. Combat rounds were taking an hour to resolve, in part because no one knew how to add up points and modifiers, so Phil had to help us do all the math. I did roll a 20 during combat (the highest point value), though I didn't get the critical hit. After killing a few dire rats and undead goblins, we began arguing over where to set up camp for the night, and Nygavok the sensitive fighter (Chris) tried to seduce me while we were supposed to be keeping watch.

After playing for a few hours, we had to catch the train back to the city. I tend to view everything through a rational economist perspective, but I started to catch myself thinking in DnD terms. We weren't sure which direction the train was coming from, so we decided to ask a passing pedestrian. Mentally, I thought, "A stranger approaches. Does he appear trustworthy? Should we send the member of our party with the highest charisma, or the person most able to intimidate him into giving us directions?"

I also have to confess that certain web comics have become a lot funnier.