How Dungeons & Dragons Got My Creative Gears Going
Ever since I rolled my first D20, I've been on a wild ride of creativity, imagination, and, yes, chaos. Since my husband and I showed interest in Dungeons & Dragons, our wonderful friends caught on and decided to forever ruin our lives with it. They did warn us that once we get into it, the game will start seeping into every aspect of our lives. We should’ve taken that warning, but curiosity killed the cat.
To be honest, though, we’ve always wanted to play but never found a good group. It was also a big commitment we didn’t want to make yet, and it was scary to roleplay in front of people. But hey, we wanted to try something new, and we have a great group of friends, so why the hell not start now? And we’re damn glad because it’s been so much fun! D&D has sparked so much inspiration in so many aspects. Who knew that rolling math rocks a couple of times a month would turn me into a creative machine?
Rolling a Nat 20 For Writing
When I started writing, it was tough. I couldn’t have done it without coaching from a friend who is also a writer and re-learning grammar. I was struggling with topics and filled with doubt about going head first into this and investing in myself. Within a couple of months, D&D was introduced. And boy! All of a sudden, I’m feeling inspired by so many things. It was a treasure trove full of ideas for my newsletter and books I want to write. Each session fuels my brain, and I take that to other aspects of my writing.
Props to our DM’s rich world-building; each session is packed with drama, humour and plot twists that could rival Lord of the Rings. And yes, my followers are now getting random notes about the things I do with my character. You’re welcome.
Character Development is Over 9000
In most games, when you create your character, you either pick it out of a pre-built deck or you get to pick some of its appearance. In D&D? You can literally write their life story. They become so real you can smell their breath. When I first made my character, she was pretty basic. I gave her a bit of a tragic story, then collabed with our DM to give her a bit more depth. That all changed this week when I went full out and started a novel for her for fun.
I never once thought I would build out a character with so much depth nor was I even inspired to. It makes me want to go back and build my Gloomhaven character’s story (he’s a rat named Diggy Boi, LOL).
Fancy Fighting
In video games, you're often stuck with the same five moves, so when I started playing D&D, I was doing the same thing. It was like button-mashing in real life. I never knew you could get super creative with it! Feel like trying to leap off a wall while grabbing a small goblin to throw it and flip through the air to drive your knife into an ogre? Go for it!
You may have to roll for certain things because you could very well fall and break your leg, but think about it; it makes sense! If that did that in real life, I would 100% break my leg. But the freedom to invent your very own moves makes it ten times more fun, and I can yell random finishing moves because every great hero calls out their final moves!
Bringing Back the Cosplayer in Me
I have always loved cosplaying! It was only until the pandemic that I stopped. I got back into it in 2022 and went from making elaborate costumes to more “casual.” Well, why not bring it to the campaign?! I’ve been creating so much AI art of my character and all her different outfits that it’s inspiring me to bring some of those pieces to life. I have a lot of it in my closet since I designed her style very much after myself, but it’s cool to make tiefling horns, etc.
Not only do I like making cosplay pieces, but I want to start making more props that my character would have and carry. I’ve also decided to create fancy character bios and start a Pinterest board! What have I become…?
Nat 1 For Acting
I never thought I'd be learning to act, but here we are. To make things easier, I designed my character after myself, except dialled up to level 10. For example, I’m curious by nature, but my character would most likely get killed doing something stupid. Although she’s not all me, I also drew inspiration from my favourite One Piece characters. Perfect time to unleash my inner diva!! Except I’m still way too shy to do all that in person…
D&D is Life
From writing to acting, Dungeons & Dragons has sparked ideas I never knew I had or could do. Some people laugh at how nerdy it is, but it’s a gateway to a whole new world of creativity! My husband and I have now reached a point in our lives where we compare real-life things to dice rolls. Randomly trip and fall? We clearly rolled a nat one for walking. In all seriousness, thanks to our friends, we entered a world where we do not want to leave.