In a time riddled with political unrest and a global pandemic, more people have turned to the fantasy realms of elves and wizards, goblins and epic quests. Dungeons and Dragons may have started as a tabletop game played in basements. But the game’s online presence is booming during the pandemic and more popular than ever.
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With months of social distancing and lockdowns it is no surprise that a game all about roleplaying and escapism has regained popularity.
To play Dungeons and Dragons, you don’t need a board game or even character pieces. What you really need is imagination. USC’s Trojans and Dragons club is in no short supply of that. Club founder Tate McCardle starts a recent game by painting a picture with words.
TATE McCARDLE: The train makes its way out of a tunnel and you guys are hit by just beautiful daylight of just this very grassy and serene looking meadow.
Players create their own characters from a variety of magical beings and embark on an adventure only limited by their creativity.
For folklorist and associate professor, Tok Thompson it’s all about nostalgia. He remembers being 10 years old when the game first came out.
Thompson: I was one of the first people to play Dungeons and Dragons certainly in Alaska, where I came from… no one had ever heard of it. And then we started getting some other kids in our school. We had like a Dungeons and Dragons league, and it’s spread everywhere and, of course, it’s gone on for a very, very long time.
Thompson says the resurgence during the pandemic comes from the need for human connection during a time when we couldn’t go and interact with others.
Thompson: People are locked in their little apartment. They need a little adventure.
But that adventure has a very different landscape from when Thompson first started playing.
McCardle’s club, Trojans and Dragons, was formed during the pandemic. He believes that it has gotten so much success because people got used to connecting online.
McCardle: Discord is basically made as a community for people who like to play games, it’s very much set up for Dungeons and Dragons. It’s just the perfect couple.
But he believes creative freedom is what gives Dungeons and Dragons the ultimate allure.
McCardle: It really makes sense that people gravitated towards a game that is kind of a pinnacle of creative freedom over a time where everybody is kind of contained in one place.
Most of the Trojans and Dragons members started playing for the first time during the pandemic, and although everyone comes from different walks of life, McCardle thinks anyone has the creativity necessary to play Dungeons and Dragons.
McCardle: That kind of the wonder and freedom that kind of comes with the game is something that we can all kind of connect to on so many different levels.
Whether you are posing as a mystical being or an ordinary mortal, months of quarantine and isolation have left many craving a fantasy world.