Members of the Moose Jaw Gamers Association have certainly been keeping busy since the pandemic imposed self-isolation orders on most households, and now the local group has decided to get back to running their regular Dungeons & Dragons sessions for interested adventurers.
The group had to cancel their bi-weekly D&D sessions when the Moose Jaw Public Library closed its doors to the public in early March, but they have chosen to revive the idea using a number of online resources.
Beginning on May 23 at 1 p.m., MJGA members will be playing Dungeon Master for three separate one-shot adventures of the popular tabletop RPG, hosted on the MJGA’s Discord server.
Adventurers will be able to play their way through a three or four-hour story using the 5th Edition of the Dungeons & Dragons handbook, with a handful of other players along for the ride. The one-shots are geared towards the early character levels, so no experience is necessary.
MJGA spokesman Kristian Sjoberg said it will be the first in a continuing series of similar sessions moving forward, taking place on every second and fourth Saturday of the month, so long as Dungeon Masters are up for the task.
Sjoberg said there has been plenty of interest in recent online D&D sessions hosted by members, with sometimes up to 20 players taking part, which is why the group decided to return to their regular sessions with a new vision.
“We did one two weekends ago, and it went really well,” said Sjoberg. “We even had people from North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee joined in on that one, so it was kinda neat.”
He also said that the library sessions had collected a number of loyal players, and the MJGA felt like turning to online RPG sessions would be a great way to stay connected.
“It's a good way of just hanging out,” said Sjoberg.
The sessions on Discord will be set up like a video chat, said Sjoberg, so that players can interact with one another and with the Dungeon Master — to keep alive the best parts of playing a tabletop RPG.
“The whole point of D&D is to be sitting in a group and really being able to read people's faces as they do things and as they think about what they're going to do,” said Sjoberg. “When people get that evil twinge in their eye, it's nice to be able to see that. [And] it definitely helps keep your level of interest when you can visually see the people you're playing with.”
Preparing to take part in these online sessions is relatively low maintenance, said Sjoberg. Players will need to have their character already created beforehand, as the session won’t be covering that process, but there are online resources to help with the process.
Sjoberg recommended visiting DnDBeyond.com, which features free access to the basics needed to create a character and familiarize oneself with the player’s handbook.
He also recommended tracking down a dice-rolling website or app, for those who don’t own a physical set of tabletop dice.
Discord can be used on both computers and smartphone or tablet devices, so the sessions are available to anyone interested in taking part — and the MJGA encourages anyone to join in, regardless of experience.
There are still a few spots left open for the May 23 sessions, and those interested in joining can do so through the MJGA Facebook page.
Another MJGA member is hosting a similar online session on May 16 at 7 p.m. using the free website Roll20.com, which also has a few open spots left. The Moose Jaw Public Library is also beginning its own weekly Teen Digital D&D sessions on May 20 at 6:30 p.m., which will return every Wednesday moving forward.
Dungeons & Dragons is certainly still alive in Moose Jaw, much to the enjoyment of plenty of MJGA members, and the local gamers group encourages any new adventurers to reach out to them with any questions.
The Moose Jaw Gamers Association is very active on Facebook, which is the best place to send them a message and keep up with the group.
