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Slick Dungeon’s 2023 Wrap Up

Photo by Engin Akyurt on Pexels.com

Well Happy New Year out there all you dungeon crawlers! It’s officially 2024 but before we start off the new year for real, I thought I would give a little wrap up about what happened here on my blog this year. I’ll also give you a little peek into a few of the things you might see on here in 2024. If you can’t stand this kind of a post, don’t feel like you need to read it, I just like to do a little reflection now and then. I’m just going to be talking about what happened on my blog more or less, not big news stories (for the most part) or anything like that. Let’s see what happened in the categories I covered.

film

I started off the year wanting to review every movie I saw. I failed on that goal because, well, you know, life and stuff. But I started out reviewing one of the oddest movies I have ever seen called Adult Swim Yule Log (AKA The Fireplace). It’s not for everyone but it’s definitely memorable. In January I also reviewed Prey which is best entry the Predator series has had in decades. Horror films in theaters started off fairly strong in the form of M3GAN about an android doll who does what android dolls do and tries to kill everyone. January also had a Friday the 13th in it so I reviewed the last of the Friday the 13th movies I can, Freddy vs. Jason. I’m still hopeful for a 13th movie in the series but we’ll see if that ever actually happens.

In February they rereleased Titanic for a limited time and made me ugly cry as always. On Valentine’s day I watched Picnic at Hanging Rock which is a quiet horror movie with a decidedly creepy vibe which also happens to take place on Valentine’s day. I also watched Tom Hanks be a grumpy old man in A Man Called Otto. February brought with it more Ant-Man in the form of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. It was sort of okay but certainly not Marvel’s best.

In March I watched Idris Elba and Andy Serkis star in Luther: The Fallen Sun. It’s not a bad film at all but it’s definitely got some disturbing stuff in it. Also in March I watched all of the Oscar best picture nominees including All Quiet on the Western Front, Elvis, Top Gun: Maverick, The Fablemans, Avatar: The Way of Water, Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Banshees of Inisherin, Triangle of Sadness, Women Talking, and Tar. Towards the end of March I decided to do a deep dive on the Scream series starting with the movie that saved slasher horror, Scream. I spent the rest of April completing that series of reviews.

In May it was the anniversary of Return of the Jedi so I wanted to give everyone a guide on how to go about watching, reading, playing etc. in the universe of Star Wars. I’ve got a lot left to review on that so stay tuned if you like Star Wars. Also in May I reviewed the entire Fast & Furious franchise starting with the very first movie, The Fast & The Furious. It’s mind boggling how far into ridiculousness these films get.

June saw what was for my money the best animated movie of the year with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse.

I didn’t really watch any movies in July actually so nothing to report here.

In August there was a refreshingly independent horror movie called Talk to Me. And a couple of box office juggernauts were launched with Oppenheimer and Barbie. I watched them both but only got around to reviewing the first one. They’re both worth watching though!

In October I reviewed the whole Psycho franchise (excluding the TV series Bates Motel) starting with the first film. I also reviewed the double feature slashers of X and Pearl.

I was a little burned out on movies so didn’t review any others until December when I watched what might have been my favorite film of 2023 and an absolute mastery of storytelling with Godzilla Minus One.

So, what’s coming up on this blog for film for 2024? Well, I can’t say I am overly excited about what is coming to theaters but I’m sure I will review a few things here. I’ll almost certainly review the Oscar picks for best picture. As far as film series to review I think I am going to go with the whole Halloween franchise and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies. We’ll see if I end up doing any others.

Books

It was a busy year in books for me. In February I read the second volume of the Time Corrector series, The Movement by Avi Datta. It’s a fantastic series and a beautiful book. And I am very excited that I have the third volume which I will be reviewing in early February. I also started reviewing the Empire series by Tim Goff.

In March I read The Underground by Ty Pape. and continued to review Tim Goff’s series with Empire: Capital.

In August I read Empire: Spiral and The Light of the Jedi which is a great entry point if you don’t know much about Star Wars.

In November I read Illyadra by Adriel Wallaker and Drakomunda by Guy Quarterly.

December I read The Badlander by Tom Golden which has an utterly unforgettable ending. I also read To the Solemn Graves which is a solid ghost story anthology by Kim Idynne.

In 2024 you can expect more reviews of independent author’s books from Reedsy. I’m also hoping to but in a few more Star Wars book reviews and couple of reviews for bigger name authors, especially in fantasy and science fiction. I am a slow reader so we’ll see how far I get.

Marvel

I continue my quest to review every Marvel 616 comic in order and I made some progress this year. There is still a ton to go.

I could link every post I did on these this year but my series of reviews is meant to be read from the beginning so I am going to cheat a little and just link you to that first post here. If you read through it, you can link to the next one at the bottom and go in order.

I love Marvel comics and for 2024 I plan to continue with these reviews. I have to take breaks from it here and there because as much as I do love them, these early issues can seem a bit repetitive. Once you’ve seen Thor beat up a bunch of communists you don’t really need to see it again but that just keeps happening. Anyway, as far as Marvel goes on this blog just watch for more of it!

Star Wars

As far as Star Wars goes, as I mentioned above I have a lot left to review. I did come up with a guide for how to get started here. And I managed to review The Light of the Jedi.

For 2024 I’ll be reviewing Into the Dark which is the next book in phase 1 of the High Republic series. I will also probably start reviewing the movies but those are going to be a super deep dive so I’m not sure if I will complete that this year. I’ll be consuming tons of Star Wars stuff as I always to but how much I review basically remains to be seen.

Role Playing Games

Oh boy did a lot happen in the world of TTRPGs this year! There were too many crazy things to cover but the year did not start off well for Wizards of the Coast who makes Dungeons & Dragons. They had a huge debacle in what came to be knows as the OGL well.. debacle. And a ton of other stuff happened too. At the end of 2023 I basically feel better about TTRPGs as a hobby as a whole but D&D really needs to figure itself out as soon as possible if it wants to stay the most popular TTRPG of all time.

In January I gave my recommendations for the Top 5 TTRPGs to play in 2023. Also in January things started happening with the OGL (Open Gaming License) which allows creators to make third party stuff for D&D. But you know what? There are other rules systems and companies out there and people who want to make stuff for TTRPGs can use them. One of my favorites is the Basic Role Playing system by Chaosium. January just went crazy with the whole OGL thing and another company who I would say proved to be one of the best in 2023 was Paizo who makes Pathfinder. I wrote about that here.

In February I gave my picks for great gifts for any game master here. I know, it’s not romantic or whatever but hey, everyone can use dice and stuff like that. There were also a lot of play tests of new games happening in 2023. In particular in February there was the first play test of what was called Project Black Flag but will be known as Tales of the Valiant. It’s got the potential to be a D&D rival but it remains to be seen how popular it ends up becoming.

One of the things I find most difficult about TTRPGs is just finding a group to play consistently. A great way around that is to play solo TTRPG games which is why I cam up with my list of Top 5 Solo TTRPGs in April.

In August I got my hot little hands on a game I am super excited about which combines my love of Marvel comics with my love of TTRPGs. That’s right, I wrote about everything you need to know about the Marvel Multiverse Tabletop Role Playing Game. I also did a review of the core rulebook here and did a breakdown of the first chapter here. I’ll be doing a lot more with this book and this game in 2024 so if you are into Marvel TTRPGs watch for that.

In October I did one of the two things I am most proud of for 2023. I wrote my first scenario for Call of Cthulhu 7th edition called Fantastic Light Display. I worked for more than a month on it and I’m still just really excited to have published anything TTRPG related. This is definitely not for everyone but I had an absolute blast making it.

Also, because it was October, I couldn’t resist giving my recommendations for the Top 5 Monster TTRPGs to play.

In December, the MCDM TTRPG had a crowdfunding kick off and I have to say this is the game I am most excited for coming out in 2024 so expect a lot more written about it right here on this blog.

I had such a great time making my first Call of Cthulhu 7th edition scenario that I decided to do it again. This one is called Trouble on the Rock and is set on Alcatraz island just as the military prison is about to become a federal penitentiary. This is also just the first part as I intend to do two more in the On the Rock series. In February watch for the second in the series called Terror on the Rock. Just to be clear, these are related but stand alone scenarios so you don’t have to play one to enjoy the other. If you are into TTRPGs and like Call of Cthulhu it would be awesome if you could spread the word about it!

In 2024 you can expect more posts about how to play TTRPGs, more Top 5 lists, and definitely more scenarios, adventures etc written by yours truly!

Stories by Me

I definitely didn’t write as many short stories in 2023 as I intended to but I still got a few out.

In January I wrote Resolutions. Never try to grow tomatoes is my advice.

In February I wrote about Twenty Years of Walking Away and a story called Invasion. I also posted a story called Space Walk. That story actually first appeared in a collection called Flashbang! Volume II featuring a bunch of independent authors. I just wanted everyone to enjoy my story for free as well if they wished to.

In September I had another story featured in a collection called In a Flash. Again, it features a whole lot of independent authors and they are all flash fiction stories so it’s a nice small bite of fiction for when you don’t have a lot of time.

And as I said in the section above, I published my first two Call of Cthulhu 7th edition scenarios. These are not technically stories but they are written by me and I hope people enjoy them. I’m not trying to make anyone spend a dime on anything I write unless they want to but if you do, buying those scenarios is the best way currently to show your support for this blog.

In 2024 I definitely want to bring back my Flash Fiction Friday series and hopefully have a few good stories for you to read. I absolutely am not going to have one for every Friday of the year but I’ll do what I can!

I’m also working on a novel, but I’ll tell you more about that once I get to a point where I think it’s really worth sharing something. I’m not sure what all else I will get up to as far as writing goes this year but you can definitely expect more blog posts!

Heading into 2024

There are a lot of things I am excited for in the coming year and I hope you’ll decide to keep reading some of my posts whether you enjoy my fiction, my reviews of books and movies, my nerding out about Star Wars and Marvel and TTRPGs or all of the above. I hope everyone has an incredible 2024 and I wish all of you a Happy New Year!

Annually yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Monster TTRPGs: Call of Cthulhu, Vampire, Werewolf, and More

Banner: The best cosmic horror & Cthulhu Mythos @ DriveThruRPG.com

Hello Halloween friends! It’s spooky season and if you’re like me, you may be looking for a good and spooky TTRPG to play this month. There are literally thousands out there in about any genre you can imagine which makes it tough to choose. But sometimes you just want to fight (or become) a monster. Whether it’s creeping cosmic horror barely held at bay, a big hairy werewolf, or space survival horror, I’ve got you covered. These are my favorite monster TTRPGs but by no means the only ones out there. These are not in any particular order. Whether any of these suit your table is up to you but I’ll give you a brief run down of what kind of game it is, how you can get started with it, and give you handy links where you can buy the game.

(Note: this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through this post I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you)

Honorable Mentions

Dungeons & Dragons

Say what you will about Dungeons & Dragons (everyone does) but at its core, D&D is about fighting monsters. Which edition is best and how adaptable to horror the game is happens to be a matter of opinion. But they have an entire book dedicated to monsters so, yeah it’s a good monster game. My personal recommendation if you are just getting into TTRPG’s is to go ahead and start with the 5th edition, as it’s the current and easiest to obtain edition.

You’ve definitely heard of it and there are tons of different ways to get this game. In order to play the full game, you’ll need the three core books – Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master’s Guide. These all retail for different prices but they generally run from $30-50. The best way to get these books is at your local friendly game store. You can get them on Amazon for a bit less as well. If you want to do that, all you need to do is click the hyperlinked text above. Also, if you want to play exclusively online, I recommend clicking on the image above where you can get Roll20 compatible content.

A free way to get started is to just use the basic rules but there’s a lot more work upfront for that and you’ll be limited in the amount of monsters you can find. Still, if that’s more your speed click here.

Pathfinder

This game is a lot like D&D but there are a few differences. It’s a little crunchier so if you like that, this game is great. One nice thing is that you really can just start with one book. It’s got some cool monsters, great art, and is fun to play. You can also buy this game on Amazon or at your local friendly game store. If you want to get it through Amazon, do me a favor and buy through the image above or by clicking here. This book generally sells for around $45 but a lot of times you can find a good sale.

Now on to the top 5 Monster TTRPGs!

5. Call of Cthulhu – Cosmic HOrror TTRPG

Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook

It can’t be overstated how much I enjoy Call of Cthulhu. It’s a game of cosmic horror where you are faced with a bleak world where you are not likely to survive. The universe not only does not care about you, it actively despises you. But you and your friends can try to be a small shining light in the dark, fight the cosmic evil, or go mad in the attempt. (You’ll probably go mad but it’s a ton of fun).

For this game you can go for the main book known as the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook but there are also great entry points. If you want solo adventures go for Alone Against the Flames. If you want a starter set, that’s a fantastic way to begin and Chaosium, the publisher of the books does an amazing job putting together a starter set.

The prices run from $10 – $50 depending on what you want. If you just want PDF’s use my links above. But if you want hard cover books then your best bet here is actually going to the Chaosium website. (By the way all their games are fantastic and worth the money in my opinion)

4. Vampire the Masquerade – Blood Sucking TTRPG

Vampire the Masquerade

And now we enter the World of Darkness. Vampire the Masquerade 5th edition is a game where you are the monster. You are a vampire in a world much like our own. But you are most decidedly an undead creature of the night. You need to do all the things you think vampires need to do. You need to drink blood, avoid sunlight, and you get some really interesting powers. But, there is a world out there ready to destroy you in any way you can imagine. You’ll have to navigate a world of intrigue, secrecy, stealth, power, politics, violence, despair and every single vice you can imagine. And you’ll want to try to suppress the constant hunger you feel which could reveal to the world just what you are at any time.

Vampire the Masquerade is definitely on the mature side of gaming and it makes absolutely no apologies for that. But you and your group will want to be sure to make exceedingly clear lines on how to safely role play in this game so you only traumatize characters, not players. It’s a bit of a fine line but good game masters (in this case called Storytellers) can handle this no problem.

This is a great game full of narrative possibility and I highly recommend it. You can get this book on Amazon or at your local game store. A less expensive option here is to get the PDF version by clicking one of the links above. The PDF will run you around $30 while the Amazon book is often priced closer to $50. I just use the PDF and I find it just fine.

3. Monster of the Week – Monster TTRPG

Monster of the Week

I mean, the title kind of says it all here. You know the shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, and Supernatural where there is a monster every week and the good guys fight them? Yeah, this is that. It’s a heck of a lot of fun and it’s pretty quick to learn too. It’s great to use both as just a one off game night or for a bit of a longer campaign, but of course, you’ll still want to have a monster to fight each week.

You can get Monster of the Week on drivethrurpg and it’s currently on sale for just $12. This is just the PDF version but it’s a great deal and gives you perfect Halloween month vibes.

2. Werewolf the Apocalypse – Wolf TTRPG

Werewolf the Apocalypse

If you have a list of monster games and you have vampires in it, well, you’ve got to have werewolves too. Werewolf the Apocalypse is the newest title on this list although there have been several versions of this game already. This also takes place in the World of Darkness so it sits adjacent to Vampire the Masquerade and chances are if you like that game you will like this one. However, there are definitely some differences.

As the name implies, things are getting dire for werewolves, not to mention the rest of the world. There tends to be a bit more action and a little less intrigue than VTM but the players are definitely shape changers who have a big battle to fight. This is a newer edition so I have not fully played it and can’t tell you how it compares to older editions. But so far, the rules seem fairly clean and the gameplay is easy to pick up if you have played any Storyteller system game before. Also, like VTM this is for mature audiences so be forewarned.

The PDF sells for $38 and you can get that by clicking the hyperlinks or image in this post. If you want the hardcover book it’ll cost you closer to $55. For this one, I recommend going to your closest gaming store for the hard copy.

1. Alien – Space Horror TTRPG

Alien Starter Set

In space no one can hear you scream. I mean, unless you are playing a TTRPG with your friends on earth and then you can all hear one another scream. Alien the Role Playing Game is a fantastic game of space survival horror. And if you think you know all the bad things you can find in a game like this, well, you are underestimating what is in store for you here.

In my opinion the best way to get started here is with the starter set. This set gives you a rulebook, a scenario, five ready made characters, a big ol’ map, a bunch of game markers and custom cards to use in the game.

There are two good ways to get the starter set. First, you can grab it on Amazon for around $40 here. This will give you all the stuff mentioned above in a neat, slick box. If you don’t mind printing stuff on your own, you can save a good bit of money to get the starter set as a PDF on drivethrurpg for $20 right here.

Well, that’s my list. Now, go out and get yourself something to play for a good old spooky time and have fun!

Monstrously yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Top 5 Solo TTRPGs

DriveThruRPG.com

Hello TTRPG fans! It’s Slick Dungeon here. You know how it’s awesome to have a group of friends to game with? Well, it is! But, do you also know how it can be nearly impossible to get a whole group of people together because of scheduling, work, family obligations and the fact that no one can even agree on a game to play sometimes? I’ve got a solution for you. Try one of my favorite solo TTRPGs! These are all available on Drivethrurpg and are worth checking out. Some are games in and of themselves and others are ways to adapt a great game. These are in no particular order and they are just my favorites. Let’s get right into it!

5. Alone in the Dark, Solo Rules for Blades in the Dark

Alone in the Dark

Blades in the Dark is a game where everyone basically plays a rogue. It’s full of heists and scoundrels and infiltrating cults and all the awesome sneaky stuff you love if you love rogues. But did you know you can play this one without a Game Master? All you need is this rulebook for going it alone. It’s $3.99 if you want just the PDF (probably all you need really) but if you want to pay a little more you can get a softcover or a hardcover for $10.99 Check it out here.

4. Dungeons & Dragons

The Wolves of Langston

There are a bunch of different 5E adventures I could put here but The Wolves of Langston is one I have played and enjoyed. It doesn’t take a ton of work upfront as long as you know 5E rules. You basically just make a character and off you go on this adventure. You can get it for $19.99. Check it out here.

3. Call of Cthulhu

Alone Against the Flames

I really can’t recommend this one enough. I love Alone Against the Flames and I’ve played it several times, usually coming to a rather tragic end. It’s fun and it teaches you the rules of Call of Cthulhu so it is perfect for beginners. You can grab this for $12. Check it out here. Plus, if you love this, there are a whole bunch more of the Alone Against series which are really fun to play.

2. Stars Without Number

Stars Without Number Solo

Feeling spacey and want to play in the vast expanse of the universe? Stars Without Number is a great game with a solid rule set but it’s tough to play without a group. Unless, you have the Solo Adventures ruleset for the game. This one is a bargain at $5 for the PDF (probably all you need) or you can splurge and get a hard or soft copy for around double the price. Check it out here.

1. Ironsworn

Ironsworn

There’s a reason Ironsworn is at the top of everyone’s solo rpg list. First, it’s got that full fantasy flavor you want. Second. it’s nice and gritty if you want it to be, or you can scale it back a little to give your hero a bit more of a chance to succeed. Third, it has everything you need to play on your own right there, including rules, setting, character creation and advice on how to play the game in a few different ways. And last but not least, you can get this for the fantastic price of nothing. That’s right! If you get the digital version it won’t cost you a penny. You can, of course, pay more for the print versions if you wish but the entry point here is free. Check it out here.

Well, that’s my list. Now, go out and get yourself something to play when your group falls through and have fun!

Solitarily yours,

Slick Dungeon

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The Executioner’s Daughter: Dungeons & Dragons Solo Adventure Review

The Executioner’s Daughter, Part 1 of the Tribunal Trilogy by Ashley Warren

Hey Everyone, Slick Dungeon here. If you are like me you love playing Dungeons & Dragons. Also, if you are like me, you can’t always get a group together to play. So what do you do? Find a solo adventure you can play by yourself. I found myself in this situation recently so I decided to play The Executioner’s Daughter by Ashley Warren who writes some fantastic RPG material you can purchase on the Dungeon Master’s Guild.

(Note: this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through this post I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you)

What’s a solo adventure for Dungeons & Dragons you say? Simple. It’s kind of like a choose your own adventure book but where instead of making decisions you roll up a character sheet and roll some dice to find out what happens.

These types of adventures have become increasingly popular in the last year for obvious reasons. Never let the lack of a group stop you from enjoying your favorite TTRPG. Now, on to the review.

The Executioner’s Daughter is an adventure meant for a 3rd level character. This can be played by one person alone or is easily adapted to have a Dungeon Master and a single player.

The adventure is rich with detail and has some pretty cool twists and turns. I chose to be a 3rd level Aasimar Paladin because I had never played that race or class before. I found the combat challenging (mostly because I somehow managed to roll really well against myself and really poorly for my character). I will say that the adventure tends to lean toward the good side of alignment but you can play as whatever you want.

The setting is a place called Soldra that has a history of fighting dragons but at a price. I don’t want to get into spoiler territory here but basically Soldra has survived for years by sacrificing a young woman from the city every year to Bahamut the dragon god. Things must be going relatively well because there hasn’t been a dragon attack on the city in years. The ceremony where this selection happens does not go as planned this time and that is where your character comes into play.

Conveniently, all of the stat blocks you need to play are included right in the module so there’s no awkward pausing to find something in the Monster Manual just to continue playing.

While it is a bit odd rolling against yourself for combat, I got used to it pretty quickly.

The artwork is high quality and it helps to make the adventure feel truly immersive.

There are some drawbacks to the module. First, if you have never played D&D before, this could prove challenging because the module assumes you know how to make a 3rd level character. Since that’s outside the scope of what the module is trying to achieve, I don’t hold it against the creator. I just thought it would be fair to warn anyone who might purchase this that it’s not for totally inexperienced players.

The module is text heavy and does seem to assume a couple things about your character. Mostly it assumes that you want to get in on the action somehow. Since it would be a pretty boring adventure without getting involved, I can’t really hold that against the module either. But due to this it can feel a little bit like thee outcomes are inevitable.

Overall, including the time it took me to make a character, this adventure took me about 2 hours to play. I am sure some people will go faster and others will take longer.

So, what’s the cost of this little adventure and is it worth getting? I have good news for you. This is a steal at only 99 cents. It’s technically a Pay What You Want title on the DM’s Guild but I paid the full price and I think it was worth every penny. If you are interested and want to buy it, click on one of the links to it above or click this link here.

Not only did playing this fill my time and give me a couple hours of fun, it also crossed off one of my challenges for my read-watch-play challenge. To check that out take a look at this post or download the challenge here for free.

I should also mention that this is part one of a trilogy. I plan to play all three and review them on this blog so if you are interested, stay tuned and I will let you know how they go. I feel like there is a lot of story potential in this first one so I am looking forward to the next adventure in the series.

Adventuringly yours,

Slick Dungeon

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3 Reasons Why Parents Should Play Dungeons & Dragons

Huge Discounts on your Favorite RPGs @ DriveThruRPG.com

Parenting is hard. One minute you have to drop kids off for a soccer game and the next minute you have to explain why eating chocolate for breakfast is not a good idea. Next, you have to encourage a kid to face the world with bravery as she peers suspiciously down at the pool when she is getting her first diving lesson. It’s overwhelming. Parents need structure to their day, they need to improvise constantly, and they have to do it all with a sense of adventure that keeps their kids engaged. It’s no easy task. Parents need help.

There are all kinds of parenting books and advice out there. Some work well and others are a waste of time. I’ve got a tool you probably haven’t considered using in your parenting arsenal. It’s fun, it’s easy, it’s effective, and it’s something you can do with kids present or in those precious few hours you have to yourself. You’ll get the benefits either way. Obviously, I am talking about playing Dungeons & Dragons, one of the best parenting tools available.

You probably think I have a couple of screws loose in my toolbox but hear me out. Playing Dungeons & Dragons can help parents to improvise, learn to provide structure, and foster a sense of adventure. 

Improvisation

Most Role-Playing Games call for improvisation. You have to think on your feet and if you want to survive, or be a good game master, you have to do it well. You can play the game where all you care about is the math. Sometimes you just want to know if you kill the monster or not. But, In Dungeons & Dragons whether you are a Dungeon Master or player, there will come a point when you have to make something up. As a player, you will imagine what your character looks like and is doing. As a DM you have to decide what is on the other side of the wall you described but never expected your players to try to climb over. It’s time to think on your feet. If you do that while playing Dungeons & Dragons, you’ll get better at doing it as a parent. 

After you’ve improvised a thousand times for the fun of it when playing Dungeons & Dragons, it’ll be much easier to improvise a reason why Dad can stay up as late as he wants but kids have to go to bed at a reasonable time.

Structure

Improvisation is great. It can be useful in a ton of parenting situations. Do you know what’s even better? Having structure. Kids need it, parents need it, everything runs better when there are rules. Guess what Dungeons & Dragons has? Rules. Lots of them. You don’t have to know even close to all of them to play the game but knowing that they exist is important. And the more you play, the more you learn the rules. Being able to clearly state a rule and know the structure of what should happen is hugely important as a parent too.

It’s one thing to be able to tell a kid that they need to do their schoolwork so they can get good grades. It’s something else to be able to provide them with the structure needed so they can get the work done and not become stressed out about it.

Adventure

Parenting is an adventure, hands down. There is no telling what’s around the next corner, what the next monster to slay might be. Why not experience a little adventure in a safe environment at a table with some friends? That way when you see the challenges in front of you as a parent, you know you have the courage to confront them. If not, you can think about what your character would do in the situation and do that instead. Either way, having a sense of adventure is going to help you as a parent. Your character is probably one filled with bravery and sometimes reckless abandon who will stop at nothing to achieve a goal. That’s something most of us can use more of in our lives (well, not the reckless abandon part maybe) and it might just come in handy. If a kid is struggling with a problem, make it a challenge. Tell them about the time your Half-Orc Monk went into a deadly situation thinking it was going to end for her but through careful and unexpected tactics she succeeded instead.

Most of the time we can all use a little more adventure in our lives. Or at least, a sense of adventure that is fun and exciting. You get that while playing Dungeons & Dragons. Remember that feeling the next time parenting feels overwhelming and think of it as your next big adventure instead.

Plus playing Dungeons & Dragons is downright fun! So, take some time today (or whenever you get a second to yourself since I know you are busy if you are a parent) and have some fun. Play some Dungeons & Dragons with your friends or your kids. If anyone asks you why you’re doing it, tell them the obvious. You’re doing it so you can become a better parent.

If you want to know why I think kids should play Dungeons & Dragons, take a look at this post: Kids Kill Monsters – Why Kids Should Role Play.

Adventurously yours,

Slick Dungeon 

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