Matt (Player Character): And (I’m) hitting the back of the knee with an ax.

Anthony (Dungeon Master): Wow, okay.

Matt: I’m going to roll that first bad boy. [dice roll] That’s not too great. 8+6. So, 14… +2 for being enraged. So, 16.

Anthony: 16 does it.

Matt: Okay. So, the first knee is going to take… [dice roll] 7+3+2. So, 12 damage.

Beth (Player Character): D***.

Anthony: Wow. All right. He is bloody. So, you successfully wind up and shatter his left knee cap and he goes— 

The Library (Big Bad Evil Guy): Oh, no! Undelightful!

This is just one small snippet of combat from the popular DnD (Dungeons and Dragons) podcast, “Dungeons and Daddies,” a recorded game of DnD played in real time by the DM (Dungeon Master) and four character players. 

Dungeons and Daddies is just one of the many pieces of media that’s been bringing back the popularity of the RPG (role playing game), DnD. The Netflix phenomenon Stranger Things is another mainstream program that’s bringing interest to the game. 

Played through the years since the mid-seventies by plenty of people, DnD used to have a stigma attached to it. People who played the game were deemed “unpopular” and “nerdy.” DnD is now becoming more and more socially acceptable to be played due to rising popularity in the media. 

   Many students on campus have been joining together to play in their own campaigns. 

Gage Shelton, sophomore, is new to it but is glad to have become part of the DnD community. He feels it’s a bit more acceptable these days to play societally but says that people in this small county are still a bit confused by it.

“Every other adult I’ve talked to in Franklin County about it is either just like, ‘What’s that?’ or ‘Oh! THAT.’” Shelton jokes. 

Jazmin Scarberry, senior, has been playing Dungeons and Dragons since she was a kid. She started playing with her dad, who was also a big fan of the game. She finds interest in the world-building that’s associated with creating a fantasy setting and says that is what piqued her interest.

“I used to draw maps and stuff when I was younger. Just imaginative world maps and things like that. I like stuff like that,” Scarberry says. 

Dungeons and Dragons has been around for nearly 50 years. Having so many new players who are eager to learn is giving the game a much different reputation than the fringe social standing that it used to hold.