Dungeons and Dragons Recap

So you have found yourself in an unfamiliar town on an island you've never been to. There are goblins in the woods and a heaviness in the air. The towns people only hold their markets at night where a strange hooded figure sells potions that don’t have labels.

This is where a group of young people found themselves. Dropped into an unfamiliar world with nothing more than a set of dice and a character sheet to propel them forth into adventure. 

This is the story of how our pilot Dungeons and Dragons campaign, that was graciously hosted by our video game club, started as a ship wreck, but turned into a chaotic battle against evil that ended with new friends, so many potions and our players literally finding a home.

It started with four, a goliath with a huge love of swords, a peaceful fox loving witch, a chaotic musician who could rap you into oblivion, and a literal human man.

Our four adventurers found themselves shipwrecked.  Our goliath quickly found his way into a labyrinth of despair coming head to head with a minotaur. The others however found their way to a town. While our goliath was fighting mythical monsters, our witch was learning spells, our human was fighting foes in the forest and our bard was collecting companions which by the time our story came to a close they had a mouse named Stuart Little, a sleepy bat, a magic staff that had come to life, and a handful of potentially sentient skulls.

Over the course of six weeks the party of four grew from four all the way to eight. Each of them with different levels of experience playing Dungeons and Dragons, but as their Game Master I watched each and every one of them slowly open up and their confidence grow.

Our fifth member was a second goliath who was happy to use whatever he could as a weapon, which meant a lot of discussion about the viability of using a magical red herring fish as a weapon.

For a time our party included an elven archer, who was played by one of our youth workers, who used their voice to help others find theirs. In that session our party really started to speak to each other as their characters and their confidence skyrocketed.

As the sessions progressed, our players bonded with not only one another but non player characters too building empathy for characters not represented by a person sitting at the table.

Then came our penultimate session, seven players sat around the table. Each of them, teleported from across the island through magical doors to their final battle! Our goliath who had spent several weeks navigating tunnels and fighting the same monsters over and over found  the source of these reanimated creatures - a necromancer overcome with power. Now surrounded by companions they made easy work of overcoming the biggest challenge they'd faced.

Through one orange magical door came a human knight clad in silver armour, played by our last edition to the table. Unsure of what to do, slipped back through the magical door, and made his way back to town. Where he met with a worn down group of ragtag adventurers, one wielding a giant fish another, carrying bags full of potions, a dazed witch, and several other exhausted party members. Despite their exhaustion they came together to help the knight settle in this new town. A town that since the downfall of the power-hungry necromancer once again found its life.

Several weeks prior, our players sat down at an empty table, with nothing but pencils and dice.

But in the end, they found something much bigger  a space filled with boundless creativity, where they could explore the edges of their imagination, build entire worlds, and become characters they never thought they could be.

Dungeons and Dragons has a unique ability to bring people together. It creates a space where creativity is valued, where different ways of thinking are embraced, and where there is no single “right” way to participate. For many neurodivergent players, this kind of environment can be incredibly powerful, a place where their curiosity, passions, storytelling and unique perspectives are not something to be managed, but something to be celebrated.

Around the table, players can practise communication, collaboration, problem-solving and self-expression while being supported by a shared story. They can explore identities, try new things, take risks, and experience connection in a way that feels safe and welcoming.

Because at its heart, Dungeons & Dragons isn’t just about the characters on the page or the adventures being played out. It’s about the people around the table — finding belonging, building friendships, and creating a world where everyone has a place.