In recent years, the classic tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons has been experiencing something of a renaissance.

The surge in popularity can be largely attributed to a recent wave of positive media portrayals including television shows like Stranger Things and The Legend of Vox Machina; video games, sucgh as Baldur’s Gate 3; and a proliferation of actual-play podcasts and web series, including Critical Role, Dimension 20 and the Adventure Zone.

The game has come a long way in the half-century since its initial version in 1974. Now on its fifth edition (5e), the Dungeons & Dragons playbook has gone through many changes over the years, adapting to the needs and sensibilities of an ever-changing world and ever-expanding player base.

Today’s version of Dungeons & Dragons provides an accessible entry point to a wide and increasingly diverse audience, where players of all ages and experiences can find their place in a mystical fantasy realm full of elves, dwarves and miniature giant space hamsters (yes, that is a thing).

At the table, you can use your imagination and pretend to be whoever you want to be. Maybe you are a confident and charming bard who can talk their way out of any situation, a fierce and righteous fighter who protects the weak, or perhaps a shape-changing druid who can fit in with any crowd, human or otherwise. The possibilities are endless.

In truth, Dungeons & Dragons is so much more than a game. It is collaborative storytelling experience, where self-expression and creativity thrive, and a group of players can work together toward a common goal, cultivating a sense of community and belonging.

Roleplay can be an invaluable vehicle for social-emotional learning, personal development and exploring one’s identity. It can even be therapeutic. This is especially true for young people.

Telling stories and creating an avatar character can help players explore previously hidden parts of their own personality, processing their emotions through the eyes of their game character and navigating challenging situations in a safe and fictionalized setting.

Not only that, but with the collaborative group dynamic, players regularly practice countless valuable social skills like cooperation, taking turns, effective interpersonal communication, conflict resolution, perspective-taking and empathy.

This fall, the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall aims to support young people entering the realm of Dungeons & Dragons through two distinct, new library programs and services: a do-it-yourself “D&D in a Box” Kit which can be used inside the library; and a series of one-shots as library programs — that is, short adventuring campaigns with a defined goal that take just a few sessions to complete a full story arc.

These campaigns will be led by experienced library volunteers and staff and will allow children and teens of all experience levels to take part in an adventure and learn the ropes together.

These programs will be open to kids and teens between the ages of 10 and 18, and registration will be required.

Those who are interested in participating in any future D&D programming are invited to join us Oct. 8 in the Lincoln Gallery for an “Introduction to Dungeons & Dragons” workshop led by our fearless volunteer Dungeon Master, Alex Just.

The afterschool workshop will begin at 4 p.m., and we will go over the basics of how to create your player character, the various species and classes you can choose from, combat basics and the various actions you can take when it is your turn.

Teens can register for the Oct. 8 workshop at bit.ly/acfl-dnd-101. We encourage you to join our Dungeons & Dragons teen programming email list as well at bit.ly/acfl-teen-dnd-list. There, we will send updates when registration opens for upcoming one-shots and campaign programs.

Then, for those who would like to start their own adventuring party, the “D&D in a Box” Kit is perfect for players who have some experience with the Dungeons & Dragons 5e framework but might lack access to the sourcebooks and materials or a reliable place to play.

The kit features everything that one might need to embark upon their own adventure through the Forgotten Realms: a 5e Player Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, character sheets and polyhedral dice, as well as some accessories that might not be integral to gameplay but add an exciting new visual dimension, such as dry erase battle maps and miniatures!

Our hope is that the “D&D in a Box” kit will support many groups of fearless adventurers on their heroes’ journeys, so it may only be used in the library. It cannot be checked out and taken home.

Essentially, we provide the materials and the meeting location, and the only thing you need to bring is your imagination and a group of three to five friends to be your adventuring party.

If you would like to use the kit for your own D&D group, please send an email to wobrakm@carnegiecarnegie.org to schedule a time slot.

Happy adventuring, and we hope that together we can make these programs a critical success.

Mikayla Wobrak is the children’s librarian at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall.

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