Join RavenWerks guild Leaders Mikaela and Taylor talking about their favorite parts of Dungeons and Dragons and what they would or wouldn’t change about their early campaigns based on their experience as players.

[Taylor] Hey! If you’re just tuning  into our channel, I’m Taylor… 

[Mikaela] Mikaela.

[Taylor] This little nugget back here is Mini. 

[Mikaela] Um… and we just wanted to to turn  around and chime in. We know it’s been a while  since we launched our… um… intro videos and  it was like kind of a second way to try to connect  with you guys on our platform. For those of you  who don’t know, most of our business and our work  is on our website and our blog. You can find the  link in the description box below. Um… But we  wanted to turn around and take today- you know so  far we have focused more on our sustainability and  spirituality and being environmentally friendly  and that kind of stuff – but a big purpose behind  RavenWerks that we have kind of discussed in the  past is making those alternative hobbies and those  other interests you want to pursue in life and  learn about, more approachable, and removing  alot of the the stigmas from around them. And  one of our favorite topics in that area is…  um… Dungeons and Dragons. There are kind of  a lot of- i feel like- misconseptions about  what playing Dungeons and Dragons is. You know,  for the longest time, it was labeled as the nerd  geek pastime. And especially- it’s begining to  become more mainstream and more accepted but it’s  still… there’s a lot of fear and trepidation  around -you know- starting to try and play or  find people that have those common interests.  And especially starting playing as an adult,  without that backstory. And especially as a  female. So… um… we kind of just wanted to take  some time to reflect on our previous experiences  and have a bit of a conversation there. Sooo…

[Taylor] Sooo… we just have a couple questions  today to start with and we’ll cover more in the  future BUT to start, I guess… uh…  FIRST QUESTION… What is your fart… *DIES LAUGHING* Word salad… it happens… What is your favorite part of DnD as a  whole? *still struggling not to laugh* 

[Mikaela] As a whole (repeated). Ummm… For me -I think- favorite part  of DnD as a whole is the community.  Not just the playing and of itself  and um the other people that you connect with.  For instance, if you watch critical role or if  you are on some of the Facebook groups and that.  But like whoever you’re actually playing with,  it’s a good social interaction especially  if you’re an introvert because it’s usually  like a small group of people. You can relax, have  fun, get in character and kind of out of yourself  and have that adventure but have it with other  people…um… in really most of the time in a non  overwhelming setting. So for somebody like me  that’s… when I played my first campaign there  was like 6 of us that played. It was once  a week. That was our Sunday event. That was  basically the majority of our day and I came home  feeling relaxed, like I had had a healthy social  interaction but I also wasn’t drained from it.

[Taylor] Uh. I would actually agree. So I feel  like my favorite part from DnD as a whole is  very much the social aspect because it’s…  it’s a different outlet of social. Like there’s  one thing if I like to get dressed up and go out  and party or if I go to the movies with friends or  I interact with people at work or whatever. But…  ummm… DnD is a little bit more of like a- I  don’t want to say, uh, intimate setting- but  it’s like it’s your friends and it’s a different  outlet because you get to be artistic with them.  It’s… some of my friends are more long distance  too so I get to interact with them and video chat  and that and I don’t have another outlet for it  because they aren’t going to drive, you know,  6 hours once a week to hang out with me.

[Mikaela] Also I feel like it challenges  you to get to know you friends in a different way.

[Taylor] Yeah. You do definitely start to realize  things about them… because you get to be silly  about things and play with different scenarios  you wouldn’t come across in real life. So feel  like… yeah… social aspect for me for sure. 

[Mikaela] Ummm… so then what was your biggest  challenge in wanting to start playing and what  would you say to someone wanting to learn  to play that’s never touched it before? 

[Taylor] So I actually feel like for me it was  finding a group of people to start with. It was  kind of intimidating because I… I actually  wanted to play for years. I kept bringing  it up. Uh… You even bought me like little  miniatures and like a book and I still didn’t  start playing for a while. I think I had a set  of dice set aside for like 4 or 5 years because  it seems daunting when you look at it. There’s  a lot of different, like, processes for combat  and things like that…that once you know are  super easy but it takes having somebody maybe  walk you through it for a couple of sessions  for you to feel comfortable. And it’s also hard,  or it least it felt intimidating to me to find a  group to play with to initially start it because  I feel like you either think that everybody’s  already got an established group and you can’t  come into it and you can’t come into an  established campaign OR you think that if  you bring it up with your friends you are just  going to get weird looks. Maybe I just didn’t  have the right friends though. I don’t know.

[Mikaela] No. I- Honestly for me I would say  it was a two pronged thing. Number 1, yes.  Finding the right group of friends. Cuz I had  a very small social circle. Um. And at least for  me, my friends were the right kind of nerds. They  were all as geeky wierd as I was if not wierder.  Um. But some of their nerd wasn’t necessarily the  same kind of nerd.

[Taylor] Yeah. 

[Mikaela] Ummm… It was a little bit easier  for me to find a group because I actually  got invited. Thomas and I actually got invited to  play by his brother and his brother’s girlfriend.  So that was a good experience but I think for me,  I think having the right group of people is part  of it because it plays a part in your comfort  level of putting yourself outside of yourself.  Which for me was the hardest part because it’s  real easy to have your character and your timeline  and this awesome story adventure in your head and  it is sometimes a lot more uncomfortable to then  role play that in front of people because it  does feel goofy when you are first learning. 

[ Taylor] Yeah!

[Mikaela] You’re sitting at a table  making strange voices, whole equally asking does  this work? How does this work? Can I do this? If  you are playing with a more experienced player.  So for me the scariest thing was putting myself  outside myself in public. Um… but what  I think made all the difference was having  a big enough group to fun but a small enough group  to have it not be overwhelming and have them be  people that had played before that could teach me  what to do and had the patience for it. As far as  what I would say to somebody wanting to start, I  would just say don’t do what I did and hold back  for as long as I did because the second I into  it- not so much the mechanics, that takes time,  learning what dice to use with what thing and what  you have an action and a talking or a movement…  that part is going to take time- but I was gonna  say throw three sheets to the wind, get out of  your own head, and get into it. Because the more  you put into it as far as your character goes,  the more you are going to get out of it.

[Taylor] Well, and I would also say, um,  I just…. I want to say real quick that  we are coming at this right now for like  a player perspective… not so much like  a DM perspective. And I… I mean I am  writing my own campaign right now. I do have  ideas. I do want to be a DM but just haven’t- 

[Mikaela] Haven’t had the oportunity yet.

[Taylor] Yeah. I haven’t had the oportunity  yet. So like, we will touch on that  later as I get more experience there but,  um… As a player I agree 100%. Like I just  feel like I wish I could back and tell myself  a little bit just like put my big girl panties on  and…. or even just go to like a gaming bar and  just talk to some people because I almost  guarantee there are people… there’s a  hund-… I mean there’s tons of people out there  that would want to play, would welcome you in,  even if they are mid campaign.

[Mikaela] They are excited when  people ask questions.

[Taylor] Yeah. Yeah.  The people in the DnD community, for the most  part -Like there are some real hard asses out  there- But like, for the most part as very,  very accepting and they want to teach you,  they want to bring more people into it even if  it’s mid campaign or even if they do like a one  shot. They will find ways to work around that.

[Mikaela] You can be a guest character. 

[Taylor] Yeah. Yeah. So just go out.  Just do it. Just do it. Just do it. Okay so…um. Next question here.  Looking back at your first campaign,  what would you have changed about the experience?

[Mikaela] It kind of ties in with that last  one. I would, i would honestly say, get into  it farther, faster. As far as, as far as like,  I spent a lot of time out of character  asking, like, can I do this? Most of the time,  if you go and try and do something in character  that doesn’t work, your DM (Dungeon Master) is  going to tell you. So it would be really  hard to have that mental shift between  character and then breaking character to talk to  somebody. So I guess if I could change anything,  I would, I would approach it a little bit  more comfortably and open minded from the  get go and I would be hopefully less afraid to ask  questions because part of it- nobody likes to feel  you know dumb of stupid or like they are  not picking it up and I felt like I was  afraid to ask certain questions because  I felt like I had already asked it and  so I should have understood it at that point.

[Taylor] Sometimes it takes hearing it a couple  different ways for it to click. [Mikaela] Or watching somebody  else do it before you are like  “OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH… That’s how that works.” 

[Taylor] Mmmmhmmmm…

[Mikaela] But… But there really is,  like she said, so much acceptance in that  community that like, they really don’t care  if you ask a question repeatedly cuz they want  you to enjoy it. They want you to come back. They  want you to part of their group. Ummm… I really  honestly think that’s my biggest one. That like,  I was so afraid of being social with it for so  long, that like, I hesitated to go every single  week. And then when I was there I had fun.

[Taylor] Yeah. Okay. So for me, this is a… *sigh*… I think  there is three things. And I think I am going  to contradict myself, some of the things I have  said before, just a little bit. And I will explain  why. So, the first thing that I would say is,  ummm… really get into character.Like, do not be  afraid to get into character. I feel like my first  campaign, IIIIIII- and I, this is something I want  to work on a couple of others because I am now on  like 3rd campaign kind of situation- ummm… none  of my characters, I have really played with like  voices and things like that and I really wish I  had. It doesn’t have to be an accent, it could  just be like the way you change your tone… 

[Mikaela & Taylor] Your vocabulary…

[Taylor] I feel like I have really gotten  into character in the way my actions play out in  things like that but I really want to play more  with like ACTUALLY PORTRAYING IT. So like  when you here me speak as my character vs  when you hear me speak META, you can tell, because  again it’s a way to play with the different- it’s  just like… yeah. That would be the first thing.

[Mikaela] There are some words that one  character wouldn’t use or terminology  because they aren’t relevent to them. 

[Taylor] Exactly. The second thing  I really wish that I had done is….  I know I said just do go out and just, like, do  it. But like, also do be careful of who you do it  with. (Are we talking about DnD or safe sex???)

[Mikaela & Taylor] For a first campaign. 

[Taylor] Like, later it’s whatever, but my  first campaign I just have to bring up, we  all knew each other except for the DM. We had  a DM… Mini please stop (she was scratching  and shaking the whole couch). So we had a DM who  basically ghosted us maybe siiiii…. oh, maybe  a year into the campaign. He was long distance  (DMing online), we onlyu really knew him over  the video chat. And it was just such a bummer  because I felt that we, as newer players,  were just finally just starting to get really into  it and that, I just complete… I don’t know… 

[Mikaela] It kills momentum.

[Taylor] It was just such a let  down. We had to find a new DM, Start a whole new  campaign. And it’s one thing, sometimes campaigns  fall apart (especially really long ongoing  ones) but I guess, just, that was my first  campaign and that was such a bummer so I guess  at least know somebody in your first campaign or  know that they are serious about it. And that  was going to be my next thing (#3), is that,  maybe make sure you find people who are just as  invested as you. Like if you’ve got people who are  really just not into it, and they are not paying  attention and they are not really, don’t care at  all. Like they are there JUST for the talking, it  kind of puts a damper on you playing and learning  because if you are really invested and nobody  else is and you are the only one that really  wants to get into character and do things…

[Mikaela] That almost adds to the discomfort. 

[Taylor] It makes it harder for you to learn,  it makes it harder for you to get into it. It’s  just… so yeah… I feel like those are the  biggest things with my first campaign that I  really was just (nonverbal emphasis with  hands lol), I struggled to get into it,  the first one. So yeah. I think that’s it.

[Taylor & Mikaela] *A whole lot of yeahs* 

[Mikaela] Last Question. Describe  your perfect DnD setting or ambience. 

[Taylor] For me… I really like to get into it.  Like if you have got mood music for it, depending  on the situation. Like I have different play lists  set up for my campaign. I am very ready for this.  My current campaign is, that I am in is One Piece  based and we actually started as a bigger group-  which can also be challenging, So don’t go  too big. Like 9 people in combat is a lot-  ummm but we all kind of fallen into kind of a role  like what we bring. Like I tend to bring salty  snacks and somebody brings alcohol, and somebody  like candy and everybody is swapping stuff around.  So I really personally like having that. And  it’s not something we set up at all. It’s just  kind of roles we’ve… it just happened. It’s  just really nice because we’re all able to like  bring something to it. We like to like dim the  lights a little bit (I do in my campaigns at  least) sometimes. It depends on the mood.  It depends on the campaign and who you are  with too. So like part of that depends on  the situation. I also prefer if everybody  is around a table. It’s hard to do it in like a  living room setting or something like that just  because there’s no central area and I like to see  people and talk to them when I am in character.  I would say that that’s my biggest thing. I  tend to prefer mine a little bit more relaxed  um, vs, like really, rigid.

[Mikaela] Yeah. As far as like, rigidity goes,  I will say I prefer a little more relaxed beccause especially if it’s your first campaign. Not only  do you have to have some give and take with  your DM, and when people have like a… like  if your working with a DM that has absolutly no  flexability in what they will allow and are very  by the book- and for some people that’s great- I’m  not one of those people. So I like the flexability  aspect of it. As far as ambience goes, we always-  my friends are all kind of like I said, extra-  so we allways went extra. It was our Sunday thing  and the ambience of the room adds- if you are in a  well lit, blank walled room with a table…  yeah you can play if you’ve got your character  sheets and a good group of people that are  really invested. You could totally do it.  But especially if you’re nervous and are coming  into it, having the right ambience almost makes  it easier for somebody that’s shy to get out of  that box and get themselves into that character.  So like what Macey would do, we had our long  table, and the five of us would be around it  and she either when she was creating her own  world, drew her own maps or we had the minis,  and she built landscapes and we had all of our  character pieces and she would move them around  to give us distance examples. She at one point had  a little fog thing set up on the table. Someday… 

[Taylor] That’s sick.

[Mikaela] Someday… those  tables… Someday I will have one. I will build  one, I will whatever. That it’s inset and that you  can move your people and you can make the mist  set up and have the light and everything. But  in the meantime, she had music and she changed it  for whatever. She would sometimes have the actual  playlist set up because she actually knew what  timeline we were going to be on. But obviously  then your characters threw a wrench into that so  then if we ended up in a fight she switched it to  like if it was dungeon fight music or bar fight  music music or whatever. And we did, we rotated  who cooked because it was usually like a whole day  think which I thought was awesome. I would usually  bring like one or 2 snacks or baked goods. If we  were doing it at whoevers house was hosting it,  they provided dinner, whether that was ordering  food in or like- we all like to try different  recipes. So sometimes what we would do – and  this was super cool but super goofy I guess- was,  each person, when it was their week to cook, would  prepare a meal or food that would have been custom  and normal for their character and we shared it.

[Taylor] I like that. I like that idea. 

[Mikaela] We had drinks and they weren’t always  alcoholic but there were. And that way you didn’t  have to get up and feel rushed or leave or  if you were uncomfortable and needed a break  or a bathroom break, you had something to break  those moments. And it just made the whole thing  relaxed. She would sometimes, depending on where  we were, have a candle lit with a certain scent  that… it was like it added to the…

[Taylor] Scent therapy is a thing. 

[Mikaela] The whole thing was just very emersive.

[Taylor] Yeah. So I have to say that… ummm…  so we are actually… the One Piece campaign is  actually building one of those tables and I am  super stoked. I LURV the idea of the food for your  character thing. So, previous campaign, we would  rotate houses and who hosted and whoever hosted  was in charge of food but I never thought about  doing a character thing. That is a whole different  level. I really like that. I will say, the One  Piece campaign, we all, maybe some of us did get  a little more into this than others. I spent like  a year making a costume. But depending on my mood  and like how rushed I am to get to the campaign,  I still wear that. Like, pieces and parts. Not  all of it but sometimes pieces and parts. Because  for me it does help a little bit to fall into that  character. And there’s something else to consider  there too. When you write your backstory, you’ve  got this idea of who your character is. Don’t be  so attached to it that your character doesn’t  grow. Like my characters have become something  else sometimes. Sorry. That just popped into  my head. BUT… ummm yeah… I feel like…  PROPS… props are so huge. Not just for a  DM but for a character, because, like I said,  I haven’t DM’d yet, but I know when my DM has a  prop- like they’ve brought a picture of one of the  NPC’s or like they’ve built something and have it  in the middle of the table or they’ve done their  own map- like that visual for me is amazing. But  as a character, I have to tell you how excited the  other people at the table are if I thought ahead  of something my character would have. For example,  in my One Piece session, there’s something  called vivre cards in that world that I like  pre prepped and I been like, as I get to develope  relationships with other players characters, been  like, rolling for stealth to hide them in their  belongings, slipping it into their belongings in  real life, not explaining what they are, and then  in like a session or 2 they will find them and  be like, what the hell is this? And it’s, like an  extra layer of excitment. Or like if something is  happening and I whip something out (like my own  photo’s of my summons or transformations etc),  like everybody else’s excitent. So you aren’t-  the DM’s not only doing ambience, you are just  as responsible for adding that extra little bit  ambience or UMPF to all those other character too. 

[Mikaela] Yeah. So like if you know up partially  in costume, it give them a visual for you as  well other than… hey there’s a girl with cool  colored hair sitting in the chair accross from me. 

[Taylor] Exactly. So that’s what I was talking  about too with like finding a group that’s as  invested as you because if you that they want to  do that and they are into that kind of stuff too,  it’s going to be so much more fun for you.

[Mikaela] And it’s a good reflection of DM’s  time too. It’s really depressing to watch somebody  that’s spent all this time building a diorama or a  map on top off writing the actual campaign and the  frame work of your story and then you have a group  of people that just sit around the table and they  are like mike character is going to doooooo this.  And that’s just kind of, there is no give and  take, there’s no…. I don’t do the whole,  I am going to do this anymore… I just in  character say it and my party can either respond  or… sometimes if it is out of line or it doesn’t  work, then my DM will out of character by like….  so I love you but you can’t do that.

[Taylor] Well I will also say too though that  it takes a little bit to work up to that because  the first sessions… we’re probably, maybe,  I don’t know, like 30 sessions into this One  Piece campaign right now and we’re just finally  getting to the point where I feel like, like for  example, my character…. I knew my character,  but you have to KNOW your character. Like it  takes a little bit to get to the point where  you are ready enough to be like IN character that  much because you are learning the character as  much as they are. So like. don’t beat yourself  up if the first 2 or 3 sessions or more, like I  said it took a little while, we have a really  big group so it took a while to get everybody  really in character. But don’t beat yourself  up if right off the bat, you’re not like…  I don’t know what I am saying.

[Mikaela] Give yourself some grace.  It does take time.

[Taylor] It does. 

[Mikaela] And I will be interested in future  conversations- because you brought up a couple  of things make me want to start talking about  them now but obviously in the interest of time  we wont do that. But in future talks, to be able  to talk about character building and yourself  vs your character. Because that’s like a whole  different dichotomy thing. SO… if you guys found  this interesting and you really liked it, give  us a shout, let us know if you have specific DnD  questions or things you would like us to cover.  Obviously our video blog portion is not just  limited to DnD, But we figured this was a great  place to start because especially for women there  aren’t, I feel I don’t meet as many women playing  DnD. Most of my campaigns have been full of guys.  So like if you have questions, if you want to  reach out, if you are looking to connect with  people. Or if you certain things you would like  us to go over or cover in the future… Let us  know. Otherwise you can find the link to our blog  down below and just keep tuned. Keep coming back! 

[Taylor] Down below. *whispered* Also…

[Mikaela] You had to with the fingers. 

[Taylor] I had to, I had  to. Also, I just want to say  you will be seeing more videos on some of the  other topics but we are also going to have a  blog post kind of related to this on our website  here, later this week as well. So just keep an  eye openand we will be covering more topics  and we look forward to talking to you soon. 

[Mikaela] Yeah.

[Taylor] Bye!