How Tabletop Role-Playing Games got me Through 2020

I miss making up stories onstage. Sure, like the rest of the global improv community in 2020, I now do shows via video chat, but the gigs I am part of usually feature montages of disparate scenes. We often explore the same universe, but we are rarely telling one tale.

While it may be a while before I’m doing narrative improv in person again, I have found a medium that sates my need to devise adventures with friends: tabletop role-playing games.

Much like the improvised quests I devise with The Parentheticals, games like Dungeons & Dragons are focused on collectively creating a story that follow the same characters throughout. Everyone involved becomes emotionally invested in the party’s journey. You wince at their pain and punch the air when they are victorious. It is exhilarating.

I cannot wait to get back onstage, but until it is safe to do so, I am very content with participating in what are essentially private performances. Each campaign is a story shared with only five to eight people. Some groups livestream their game or turn sessions into podcasts, but part of the appeal for me is that no one else can fully appreciate the world in our heads.

To explain what happened during these sessions is akin to telling someone your dream. The significance of events is lost of them. You cannot adequately convey how exciting it is to defeat a fictitious foe. In-jokes are never going to be as funny when explained to someone.

Given the improv background of my fellow players, there is a giddy silly energy to proceedings whenever we play. There are lots of comedy bits and tangents. Introducing an audience however could make us self-conscious. The Observer Effect would kick in.

These sessions have helped me become far more comfortable telling a joke for one person than trying to please an entire room. I still miss the thrill of whipping up a crowd, instinctively feeling when to ride a laugh, but I think I may emerge from this time at home as a less needy performer. I don’t want to be a SUPERSTAR. I am satisfied just making my pals laugh.

That said, I do enjoy how RPGs allow me to do some acting without the rigmarole of pursuing it as a career. The roles I give myself are never ones I would be up for in auditions. No one would look at my boyish chubby cheeks and floppy fringe, then cast me as a po-faced bureaucrat nearing retirement (which is exactly the part I created for a Monster of the Week campaign). You can play characters outside of your age, gender identity, and, if you want, species. As these games take place inside your mind, the only limit is your imagination.

Playing the same person each week makes me feel like I am part of a long-running serialized drama. I have the luxury of being able to settle into a role. Just as in an improv scene, I can gradually feel out which choices instinctively seem wrong. I can adapt and drop quirks until I have a rounded character whose choices are completely different to mine. Brendan thinks running into danger would be a terrible idea. My grumpy monster hunter however…

Admittedly, at times, the line between myself and my creations can be blurred. For instance, in one campaign, I am playing a boy saddened that circumstances beyond his control mean it is not safe for him to go home and see his family. Mostly though, it is a joy to turn up each week and know whatever happens will be fun.

After all, the most obvious benefit of playing these games in these times is escapism. For a few hours, we have a chance to temporarily forget the ongoing numerous crises and instead focus on something fantastical. Don’t think about rent – we have an orc to slay.

I will now stress, for the sake of my parents, that I do also think about how to pay rent.

Right now, in the real world, we are not encouraged to travel. In our imagined adventures however, we can go all over the map, traverse many lands. We ride horses, sail boats, and trek across fields. We hunt vampires and haggle for potions. We can actually hang out in a pub! And all from the comfort of our respective homes.

Holding these sessions virtually is so convenient. Playing together in the Before Times required coordinating half a dozen schedules to find the one Saturday afternoon a month in which we can all travel to the same house. Now we play weekly.

It is a delight to “meet up” so often. Before the lockdown in March, I was already part of one campaign. I now play in three. In this year alone, I have played seventy sessions of TTRPGs. To put that into perspective, in 2019, I played a total of twelve.

The games are such a great way to bond. They are the happy medium between a free-flowing jokey chat of a check-in with mates and the structured fun of a quiz (although both of these have been part of my lockdown too). I finish each week with two consecutive nights of games and always leave them wanting more.

When we can go to each other's houses again, all the campaigns I am in will continue and most, if not all, will stay online due to people living in different cities. Tabletop role-playing games are a major part of my schedule now and I like it that way. They form part of a balanced diet of hobbies alongside improv and making podcasts.

I love having these games in my diary. They have kept me sane. They made sure I’m still exercising my storytelling muscles. They gave me something to look forward to. In other words, they are exactly what I needed to help me cope with my time at home.

The Games that Got me Through 2020

Dungeons and Dragons (various authors. Currently published by Wizards of the Coast)

I am playing two campaigns. One is taken from a book (Curse of Strahd. I’m a big fan of this as I love all things spooky). The other is an incredibly inventive homebrew adventure devised by my sister.

Monster of the Week (original guidebook is by Michael Sands)

Your group is a team of monster hunters trying to figure out which supernatural threat is causing chaos this week. Basically, it’s your chance to roleplay as Buffy and the Scoobies/Mulder and Scully/Sam and Dean.

Goat Crashers (one-shot by Grant Howitt)

A one-page game in which you are all goats trying to fit in at a party.

Dead Drunk Detective: Oh Christmystery

 

This post is about the series four Christmas special. You can listen to it here.

Christmas spent at your parents' house. Christmas with your friends. For the third instalment in this seasonal trilogy, I thought the next logical plot was the "joys" of hosting Christmas at your place.

This is the first time Johnny's parents - and the show - have visited Johnny's apartment. He previously said he sleeps there so rarely that he expects his landlord wouldn't recognise him.

Betty points out that Johnny rarely uses his gun. I have previously explained this is for practical reasons.

Santa working for the Grim Reaper has been canon in the Dead Drunk Detective universe since series one.

Johnny states he does not eat meat in case it gives him a taste for human flesh. I rewrote dialogue in this scene to make sure it did not imply he eats no food at all. Instead, he just rules out full meals.

As is tradition, the episode ends with a rendition of the minor key version of 'Jingle Bells' and the cast laughing with relief immediately afterwards.

Dead Drunk Detective: Drown and Out

 

This post is about the series four finale of Dead Drunk Detective. You can listen to it here.

Four series in, I knew my format and wanted to see what else the show can do. Betty leads an mystery? Sure. A cosy Christmas special which doubles as a family reunion? Done. A bottle episode which essentially plays out in real time? Well, let's see...

I contemplated writing scenes that act as a counterpart to this plot. These would have been set in the office and feature Betty and Hairy realising that Johnny may be in trouble. I also considered concluding the episode with the police arriving at the brewery, but thought this was too similar to the final showdown in series three. As the final version ended up as a two-hander, this is the only episode in which Betty does not appear.

Despite featuring multiple members of the Van Helsing family, this is the first series in which Dracula (and Charles, the man who plays him) does not appear. He is namechecked here and in the wedding episode, but he could not be in the latter as he would recognise Van Helsing.

Dead Drunk Detective: Dead Letter Day

 

This post is about 'Dead Letter Day' and series four of Dead Drunk Detective. You can listen to the episode here.

This the twenty-fifth episode. While not traditionally hailed as a milestone, I thought to celebrate it, much as I had with the previous Christmas special, by featuring a lot of our series regulars. There's also a few references to past adventures including a nod to episode one and Jo's blackmailing past.

In a reverse of the pilot's premise, Hairy is initially thought to be the intended victim, but the culprit actually wanted to target someone else.

I cannot believe it took so long for me to use the phrase 'not today Satan'.

Satan's remark that some people in Hell actually enjoy being poked with pitchforks is one of the dirtiest jokes I have written since series one.

As with series three, I aimed to make this run a coherent whole. The villain's motive stems from Johnny's actions in 'Here comes the Died'. The final scene takes place in the brewery from episode one, a mystery where the eventual culprit was a character we had not previously "met".

This is also the case with Anne. She was listed in Johnny's rundown of fellow recovering alcoholics in 'Who's the Pawpetrator' and referenced again at the start of this episode. but does not actually appear until the cliffhanger.

Dead Drunk Detective: Who's the Pawpetrator

 This post is about 'Who's the Pawpetrator'. You can listen to the episode here.

I accept that this mystery is pretty grim. Johnny has tackled murders before, but not one where the victim is an animal. Producer Katherine asked me if the dog had to die, so, as a compromise, I added the reveal that there are hellhound puppies. I also tried to keep things light throughout with a double whammy of snake puns and dog puns.

Betty hints towards an explanation for Johnny's previous penchant for booze: he felt it numbed his brain, thus stopping it from zombiefying. He now aims to distract it to similar effect by keeping it preoccupied with mysteries.

Having previously featured A Loch Ness Monster, it made sense to finally bring in the real thing. I asked Jacqueline to play her with a Miss Piggy diva energy. The 'moi?' was a line change suggested at the recording and made the homage more overt.

Dead Drunk Detective: Here Comes the Died

This post is about 'Here Comes the Died'. You can listen to the episode here.

We record the theme tune monologue afresh each episode instead of using the same take every time. Apropos of nothing, Arfie's version this week is quite jovial.

Having said I started doubling up on monsters to make it clear there's not one of each type in town, here I state that not all vampires know each other. However, Johnny points out he's known both zombies that Betty's met - this is a reference to Vince Hampshire and Jacqueline.

Despite getting a pay raise in the series three finale, Betty still needs a second job to make money. To be fair, sleuthing is not a career with a steady income.

Helga and Nick are played by real-life couple Nat and Duncan. I did not write the parts with them in mind and would like to stress that they are not actually obnoxiously cutesy.

Nat plays the dual roles of Betty and Helga, so is frequently talking to herself.

Dead Drunk Detective: Trouble Brewing

This post is about 'Trouble Brewing', the series four premiere of Dead Drunk Detective. You can listen to the episode here.

In the closest we have ever done to a cold open,  it is revealed Johnny's traditional monologue over the theme tune is taking place at a meeting for recovering alcoholics.

This immediately establishes the series four arc: Johnny will try to kick alcohol. It seemed the logical consequence of the series three finale. He got his booze back, but could still be easily taken advantage of if someone someone stops his supply again. Plus, his drunkenness is part of the show's title - him dealing with his predilection for scotch was a story I would inevitably have to tackle eventually.

Betty is played in series four by Nat. She was originally cast as a character in a later episode, but was bumped up when Kate was unavailable to reprise the role. The pair are close friends and so, with the latter's permission, we gave Nat the part for the whole run to maintain continuity.

The ongoing mystery of Betty's surname continues. This time I go as far as ruling out names, thus limiting my options should I ever decide to make one canon. In this episode, Betty confirms it is neither Adams, Smith, or Wilson.

This is the third series opener where the crime is a theft (the first episode of each season has the job of reintroducing the premise for new listeners, so I tend to keep the case being solved relatively clean-cut). However, this is probably the first mystery in the show where the culprit is a character we do not meet.