What is D&D? A Beginners Guide for Parents

Dungeons & Dragons is popping up everywhere. It’s no surprise to me that it’s made its way into schools and after school programs. As an educator, I feel like this decades-old fantasy role-playing game is like a secret passage into the treasure room of educational content. But many parents are still wondering- what is it?

Allow me to attempt to describe what happens at a D&D game.

The players gather at a table where a story-facilitator (the Dungeon Master, or DM) has prepared the session. Usually, a game begins with the players generating characters. To generate a character, the player must make some essential choices. Will they be human, elf, dwarf, half-orc, dragonborn, or a variety of other fantasy races? (Editor’s note: in the next editions of D&D set to come out in 2024, the concept of character race will be replaced by species- long overdue!)

Next, they choose what class they will be. The character’s class determines what type of hero they are, and what their specialties may be.

Are you a sneaky rogue spy who can creep around in the shadows? Are you an untrained barbarian from the wild lands? Are you a pious cleric, who channels their devotion to unlock divine magic and drive off evil? Or perhaps you are a studious wizard, who has spent their life learning the secrets of the arcane?

The character’s class will determine what they bring to combat, social encounters, and exploration in the world.

The Dungeon Master may assist the players to find common ground in the character’s backstories based on the setting that the DM provides. If it’s an urban setting, perhaps the characters are all traveling with a circus troupe, or a band of merchants. Or maybe they are all a part of an adventuring guild or enlisted in the retinue of guards and city protectors. Something usually binds the characters together and forms them into “the party”.

Once the party is formed, the DM will begin with a classic “call to action”. Someone is in danger, something needs investigating, or there’s treasure hiding nearby. There might be the introduction of an evil presence, malicious intent, or monsters threatening innocent folk. The characters are invited to do something about it- to become heroes.

All the players have recorded their ability scores on a character sheet. This is a reference form that shows strength, dexterity, constitution, wisdom, intelligence, and charisma. They also track important details of their background- alliances, sentimental items, and languages studied.

Once all the character’s are completed, this is where the real adventure begins.

Once the party begins to seek out their adventure, they will begin to engage in role-playing their character. They may meet people along the way and take into consideration what their character wants, needs, and requires. In storytelling, as in D&D, each character should have a fulfilling and surprising arc.

The DM’s job is to ensure that everyone has a role to play in the story. It may not happen in the first session, but luckily, a game of D&D is usually played over a series of 2-4 hour long game sessions. Over the course of the game, the characters face multiple threats, challenges, and social encounters that determine the degrees of success toward their goals.

Let’s talk dice. The polyhedral dice assist the story whenever something challenging arises and a determination is needed on if an attempt is successful or not. The twenty-sided die is the “engine” of the game, and will be rolled when a task is ahead of the character, or the group. Navigating the jungle? Roll a survival skill check. Attacking the goblin? Roll to hit with your short sword. Negotiating a truce with rival merchant families? Roll a persuasion check.

As a parent, you should know that the skills that are learned from playing in a D&D group are transferable to other subject areas. D&D involves a lot of reading, math, and collaboration. Yes, your character could die facing a dragon, but if you’ve worked together, then the entire group is looking out for each other. That sense of community that is created as we delve into a unique story is a magical thing.

What emerges from a D&D campaign is connections- a story that engages our imaginations and perspective. The friendships that are forges at the game table is truly incredible. Kids who need connection find it here.

We can’t overlook the potential for D&D to give young people a chance to explore their own goals and dreams, their own identity. When you can play an hero, who overcomes their own flaws and troubles, perhaps, just maybe, through engaged play, that player can find strength enough to push through obstacles, unravel a tangled emotion, or find the word to express their feelings.

Dungeons & Dragons gives us all a dreamscape to play inside. The world we make is a safe space to explore, fight demons, and build trust. Here, at this table, we have each other’s backs, and that is a skill that is transferable to any setting- especially middle school.