Hey, everyone! It’s Fan Friday again! I have to say, every Friday is a reminder of just how much nerdy stuff I like. Today is just going to be about D&D, or DnD, or Dungeons and Dragons, whatever you want to call it. I like other systems but I’ll always be a fan of D&D because it’s where I started.

If you’re not familiar with it, D&D is a form of collective storytelling in a fantasy setting. There’s usually a DM (Dungeon Master) or GM (Game Master) and the rest of the people are players controlling a single character each. The DM guides the story, monsters, traps, castles, and all that good stuff, while the player’s characters explore the world.

My group of friends started playing in high school, maybe around 2004 or 2005. The books were present for a couple of years before we sat down to play a game. Most recently, I’ve been the main DM and that’s fine for now. I really prefer to DM sessions that emphasize the idea of collective storytelling, which can only come from players with strong characters. Essentially, a DM can be firm or soft in their manipulation of the story.

A DM with a firm hand can put the player “on rails.” I’ve done that before and it rarely works for me. It gets boring for me when I know what will happen every single second. So I started experimenting with sitting back and letting players choose more of their own direction. I throw a few ideas out there and see what sticks. In a way, this requires more preparation. I need to be ready for them to pick a fight, sit around and talk, look for work, or do something truly unexpected. To me, this is fun. It’s fun for the players, too. They’re shaping the story, their story, a personal and unique story.

Which edition? I don’t know, they all have their good qualities. In recent years, my friends and I have mostly been playing 4^th edition. Here’s the thing about 4e, it can get really gamey really fast. Honestly, I’ve seen game in 3.5 get the same way, though. It’s up with the DM and the players to ensure that this doesn’t happen. Burden of responsibility usually fall to the DM when it comes to generating ideas for fixing the problem, but it’s a group effort. That’s where collective storytelling shines.

I’m also a big fan of RP sessions, or at least that’s what we call them. These are sessions with roleplaying and no dice. It helps the players connect, or reconnect, with their characters. They can’t sit back and say “I attack!” and throw some dice. They need to speak, interact, and think their way out of situations. It’s great but your players need to be into it, they need to be willing to invest time in thinking of a character, much like a writer might.

As far as settings go, I love Ravenloft. I’m running a Ravenloft campaign right now and if it’s the last campaign I DM, it’s fine with me. I’ve always like it and I actually waited to start something in Ravenloft until I felt confident in my abilities as a DM. In the future, I’ll probably do Fan Friday posts about specific settings in D&D. I have a few that I really like, though some can be more challenging than others when it comes to running a session.

Now it’s your turn! Have you experienced D&D? If so, what edition or play style do you prefer? What settings do you really love? Or, if you’re not all that into D&D, what other systems do you enjoy?