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9 | W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,N ovem ber 28,2019 w aterloochronicle.ca*sale excludes winter boots. 7 day return policy with store credit. 42 Wyndham St. N. Downtown Guelph info@IFfootwear.com Open Friday 10am-8pm *Selected Inventory Only* *Excludes Winter Boots* My oldest daughter and her teenage friends play Dungeons & Dragons, the most popular fantasy role- playing game in the world. D&D sparked much con- troversy in the 1980s for al- legedly encouraging Sa- tanism and witchcraft - but like most such moral pan- ics, it was much ado about nothing. I've never played the game myself, but I've al- ways been fascinated with the lavish art of D&D, with paintings, sketches, and il- lustrations of monsters, treasures, labyrinths, and exquisitely detailed maps of strange worlds of fanta- sy. So, I struck up a conver- sation this past week with Marc Quaglia, game spe- cialist at J&J Cards and Collectibles in Waterloo, who first discovered Dun- geons & Dragons in the 80s. "My older brother start- ed playing D&D when he was 10 or 12 and I always wanted to play with him, and that goes back to the first edition," said Quaglia. I asked Quaglia if D&D, now in its fifth edition after 45 years, has always been a co-operative game. "In the beginning, it was very much designed as a competitive game, as one person was playing the dungeon master trying to thwart the efforts of every- one else, and everybody else was working together trying not to be thwarted," he said. "But now, it's a co- operative storytelling ex- perience and it's a wonder- ful experience when it works well." Quaglia added that "a good dungeon master is someone willing to take some time and energy in making sure all the players are having a really good time, they don't approach it as a competition and they work with everyone to craft a really cool story." He showed me a D&D Starter Set, which contains the essential rules of the game and everything you need to play heroic charac- ters on perilous adven- tures. "You can pick it up for just 25 bucks at your friendly neighbourhood game store," Quaglia said with a wink. "It basically walks you through a very simple two to three-hour adventure where you are going to determine the fate of this particular ad- venturing group, and it's a really inexpensive way to try it out and put your toes in the water. There's also an Essentials Kit, which is kind of part two of the Starter Set and picks up the story where the origi- nal left off." Quaglia told me how the Starter Set is a great gate- way to action-packed sto- ries of imagination for those new to role-playing. "It's a really fascinating universe," he said. Seeing how much joy and laughter it brings to my daughter and her friends, I recommend Dun- geons & Dragons to anyone interested in jumping into an ongoing fantasy story. Whereas parents of the 80s worried that D&D could have an evil influence over youth, I see quite the oppo- site. In an increasingly dig- ital world, where instant gratification is always a click away, it's encouraging to see young people using their imaginations to cre- ate complex narratives. Marshall Ward is a freelance writer and artist. Email is welcome at mar- shall_ward@hotmail.com. IN A DIGITAL WORLD, IT'S ENCOURAGING TO SEE YOUNG PEOPLE USING THEIR IMAGINATIONS Marc Quaglia of J&J Cards and Collectibles. Marshall Ward photo OPINION D&D ISN'T DUNGY - IN FACT IT'S QUITE THE OPPOSITE, WRITES MARSHALL WARD MARSHALL WARD Column