By Bill Reynolds
La Conner Community News
Fun and games now have a place at the table alongside traditional research at La Conner-Swinomish Library.
And for good reason.
Dungeons & Dragons, the immensely popular fantasy tabletop role-playing game, has long been hailed for combining creativity with social collaboration, key elements for fostering critical thinking.
The flow of the game, stresses La Conner-Swinomish Library Director Jean Markert, requires reading, mental math, strategy, and delving instantly into character.
That’s why D&D, embraced globally for its medieval setting, is a pursuit whose time has come at the local library, with a group of the game’s devotees meeting there every two weeks.
Markert welcomed nine players, including dungeon master Aslan Lyon of Sedro-Woolley, to a three-hour evening session last Tuesday.
That turnout reflects the game’s popularity.
“The ideal situation is for a table to have four or five players,” Markert said. We had 10, counting myself. But Aslan said he’d still be our Dungeon Master, and he did a fabulous job.”
Lyon’s participation was akin to an interlibrary loan, Markert noted.
“I borrowed him for our table,” she smiled. “He runs a table at the Sedro-Woolley Library, too.”
Lyon, as the game’s narrator and referee empowered with controlling assorted D&D monsters, introduced for the La Conner players a scenario set in a small seaside village hosting a seasonal festival.
The players had to explain how their characters would respond to the scene in which they were placed. In some cases, they had to relate what occupational or societal factors drew them to the festival in the first place.
Lyon, often employing an Old English accent, proved a relentless questioner.
“I’m a procurer of other peoples’ stories,” he quipped at one point. “Some people call me nosey.”
Markert said Lyon deftly moved the game along despite the relatively large number of players, a lineup composed of both newbies and longtime enthusiasts.
“Doing it with so many people was very challenging,” said Markert. “Aslan was great.”
The camaraderie among players was evident throughout as they responded to Lyon and rolled dice to determine the success or failure of actions taken by their respective characters.
Markert indicated that the popularity of D&D, which was derived from 1970s tabletop battle simulations, stems from its creative freedom and blend of cooperative storytelling with opportunities for insightful problem-solving.
Markert invites more players to join the fun at the library, with the next scheduled D&D round here set for July 28 at 6 p.m. Those interested can do so by contacting Markert at the library or merely showing up on the 28th.
However, those wanting to be dungeon masters — a definite need as the library’s D&D roster grows — should contact Markert ahead of time.
Markert said that newcomers can pick up the nuances of D&D fairly quickly and more experienced players are always willing to help as needed.
More than anything, players are encouraged to bring their imaginations and a flair for the dramatic to the library.
“D&D,” explained Markert, “has been referred to as ‘a theater of the mind.’”
Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
