Dungeons & Dragons Club, Week 2; 14 students; +6 on last session. Wow!

Six new players arrived this week and it was fortunate that two other players from last week couldn’t make it… so, really, it’s a +8 student growth in one week.

It’s amazing to me that one session of fighting Goblins, chasing them up to a cave, and the good time had by all was enough for the wavering curious to join us. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised.

Four students were off doing their own thing while ten beginners joined me for a raid on the Goblin hideout in the caves. It was brutal and fabulous!

Most memorable was some really smart play from a total newbie playing Adric the Wizard: they ran into a cave with six Goblins holding a prisoner; cast Sleep on the Goblins (dropping three of them); then bested two more in combat (injuring one, killing another) with a shortsword in hand, while the sixth Goblin went to the prisoner and threatened to kill him; Adric then cast Magic Missile on the last two and killed them both.

But it didn’t all go so well: eight of the party faced off eight Goblins, a Bugbear, and a Wolf; three characters fell to the Bugbear’s mighty mace and an arrow storm from the Goblins. They drove off the Wolf but had to pick up their injured and flee… but it was a reasonable move given that Adric had rescued that prisoner.

For me, it’s a very great privilege to give these young people a first taste of D&D, and of roleplaying games generally. It’s also entirely exhausting and illuminating. I learn so much from these young imaginative players… and they seem to enjoy themselves along the way.

That said, we really do need another Game Master.

Game on!