We’re back with more! Continuing the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons, we’ve asked some of our favorite Gen Con TV personalities about their memories of D&D.
Tinnel (She/Her)
How long have you been playing (or DMing) D&D?
About 3 years now
What has D&D taught you?
D&D has taught me that anyone and everyone has it in them to be incredibly creative! It brings out the most whimsical side of people.
Tell us you best D&D story
My favorite moment came from when a DM allowed me to befriend an evil plant creature that attacked me and it became my side kick familiar throughout the game. But at the end of the campaign they made me relive what was basically the death of Groot and the DM described it in such a cinematic way I totally bawled at losing my little plant buddy.
Follow Tinnel on Instagram for more.
Rich Kaalaas (He/Him)
How long have you been playing (or DMing) D&D?
Since 1978
What has D&D taught you?
Commeraderie, Creative Thinking, Conflict resolution, Diplomacy, so many things.
Tell us you best D&D story
“I backstab Death!” The personification of Death was drawing my close friend’s unconscious body ever close to “Oblivion”, and so I did the only think I felt I could do, and that was to try to backstab Death. Let’s just say it didn’t go well. 😉 I have never lived it down.
Follow Rich on Instagram for more.
Bryce Bebop (he/they)
How long have you been playing (or DMing) D&D?
25 years
What has D&D taught you?
Being able to place myself in a variety of situations with a variety of different “lived” experiences has taught me so much about the struggles I am personally facing as well as how to be empathetic to others struggles. In these games being able to think laterally and quickly usually makes for a great story and interesting ways of interacting with the world that the table has created. Working with others who I may or may not get along with as individuals, or possibly just our characters do not get along well, has given me valuable teambuilding skills and de-escalation tactics that I use everyday.
Tell us you best D&D story
During one of the earliest games I played in, our DM enforced critical failure rolls on skill checks quite heavily. We were all pretty new players and just figuring out the rules so when a character decided that his character was going to be really good at athletics we figured it would just be a fun thing to have along. Unfortunately the luck of the die was not with him. He routinely failed basic athletics checks, including many critical failures, one time jumping so poorly that he jumped incredibly high, hit his head on a branch, and knocked himself out. This character Zeppo, never recovered from that shame and decided to take any opportunity he could to jump, more on that in a moment.
Another party member was a grizzled ranger, whose name I have forgotten over time, who was more or less depressed with the state of the town he was in charge of protecting. He joined us to assist us and show us the way to the closest wizards manor so we could attempt to portal back to our home plane. While there he was subjected to a petrification curse that started at his hand. As it progressed up his arm his only solution was to disarm himself. We bound the wound and while he seemed more morose, he was living. Realizing that he would never be able to protect the town in his current state he reengages the statue that had cursed him with a hug. His body slowly petrified gaining mass and height. He turned himself into a living golem.
Back to Zeppo. The wizard let us know that a demon was responsible for our current circumstances and if we ever wanted to get home we would need to reason with them. That did not go well for us. We ended up bound in a cage over a pit of lava ala Bond villain. You may see where this is going for poor Zeppo and it most definitely did. He jumped… well tried to jump and took a dip into the pool of lava. His legs were incinerated beyond magical healing. We rescued him and bound his wounds the best we could. With no way to regenerate or heal him fully we strapped him to the back of our living golem and gave him two machine guns. He and the golem made a wonderful due that ran into a fight, spun around shooting machine guns, and delivering stone haymakers. It is to this day one of the most memorable parties I have ever had.
Follow Bryce on Instagram for more. You can find him on Actoroke on Gen Con TV. Bryce also works with Zombie Orpheus Entertainment with their live streaming team.
Sarah Moore (She/Her)
How long have you been playing (or DMing) D&D?
Approximately 20 years
What has D&D taught you?
D&D has been a huge part of my life for so many years. My table of players has become like family to me. They’ve been there for me in ways that I could never have anticipated. D&D has taught me that telling stories together at the table can allow me to be vulnerable with people, which has a certain kind of joy and freedom in it.
Tell us you best D&D story
There are so many moments that have felt so special to me throughout my D&D career/journey. It’s hard to narrow down to just one “best D&D story.” But, something that will always make me smile, is a pretty simple thing. When my kids were little and just learning how to play D&D, they had a habit of grabbing the dice immediately after it finished rolling. In order to be able to see what they had rolled, we started yelling “Hands up!” so they would roll and then put both hands in the air.
Because our regular table of players were there for so much of these games, they also did it to encourage the kiddos. It was always so funny to see a group of adults put their hands in the air as the dice finished rolling. But also, knowing that I (and my kids) had the support of this group of people always makes my heart warm.
Follow Sarah on Instagram for more. You can also find her as the production manager on Actroke, GMing with Rough Magic Games, and hosting her own Gen Con TV show, Sarah’s Table.