Okay, I’ve done something I never imagined doing.
I went to the Redbud Library in Clearlake to play Dungeons & Dragons. No lie. I haven’t played games in over four decades. Well, that might not be true. I played Parcheesi with my mom. She was pretty blind from macular degeneration in both eyes and so I thought that if I cheated, she wouldn’t know. Rrright. She noticed immediately. I said to her, “I thought you were blind!” To which she replied, “I can still see.” Sure, if she cocks her head at an ungodly angle.
Speaking of my mom and her blindness, she was preparing to drive her car somewhere and I said, “Mom, you can’t drive anymore.” She said in a quiet voice, “I can still see shapes.” I was too shocked to laugh. But not too shocked to take her car keys away and sell her car. She hated to give up her independence so she would take the bus roundtrip from Whittier, where she lived, to Los Angeles, just to prove she could do it.
I once took her to the 99 Cents Store. She, long before, had decided not to buy anything from China due to their use of child labor. So in the store mom would pick up an item and turn it over to see where it was made. Not being able to see the stamp that told the origin, she’d ask me if it was from China. She did it several times and my answer was always the same, until I finally told her that EVERYTHING in the 99 Cents Store was Made in China. End of shopping there.
So, back to games, I had no idea what Dungeons & Dragons was but I decided it was something I could try. Why not? I figured it was better than sitting at home and binge watching yet another Netflix series.
The last time I had been to the Redbud Library was when I first got my first COVID test. The library, of course, was quiet with not many book lovers wandering through the aisles. I made my way to a side room where the Dragon Master (DM) was seated at a large table.
Little by little, several others joined us. I was definitely the oldest person by far. Even if everyone’s ages were added together, I was still the oldest. Yikes. Me, in a room of young gaming geeks. The youngest was a 10-year-old girl. Along with her 13-year-old sister and then a brother and sister who were perhaps in their mid-teens. That was okay. I get along with young people…quiet ones.
I still didn’t know what the game was all about, though. The DM began to explain that Dungeons & Dragons is a roleplaying game. It’s about storytelling in worlds of swords and sorcery and it’s driven by imagination. The imagination of the players and loosely guided by the DM.
That still didn’t register in my brain, but I sat and listened as everyone chose what characters they would be. I ended up being a dwarf (who I named Bandy) with lots and lots of armor. Others chose characters that they could build from the ground up, such as the teenage guy sitting across from me who chose to be a goblin who was obsessed with money, mostly gold. The more he “became” that goblin, along with the 10-year-old (who I called Miss Purple because she wore that color), the more I understood the fantasy role playing aspect of the game.
I’m not experienced enough to explain what all happened except to say one character blew up the tavern where our characters had gathered (Miss Purple’s character refused to drink any meade, being too young). There was a lot of noise because of it, mostly because the players were shouting with excitement.
Miss Purple chatted loudly, along with me/Bandy, along with the greedy goblin, the half-elf and the one who blew things up. The library room was in chaos! Goblin was in full goblin form, even down to his Gollum-like chittering, which made everyone laugh. Me, especially, since Bandy, was constantly trying to annoy him.
When the DM’s Shadowself asked Bandy how he was doing, Bandy said things were way too loud so he’d clapped his fully armored hands over his ears, accidentally knocking himself out. More chaos. More laughter. Who knew a roomful of strangers could have so much fun?
Later, I wondered if I’d go back to play another game with the loud, imaginative youngsters.
What was a girl to do? Go back for the next chapter and see how Bandy can cast spells on everyone, without knocking himself out. Just might be fun….
Lucy Llewellyn Byard is currently a freelance journalist for the Record-Bee. You can email her at lucywgtd@gmail.com
