Climbing Moss

As you will know – if you’ve read any of the other posts on the subject – Ash has, over the last year, been playing DnD, with a group on Wednesday nights. It’s not all been plain sailing or smooth adventuring, though it has helped him learn the ropes, at times it hasn’t felt a perfect fit, so he’s been having itchy feet and looking for other places to play, with that in mind…

Whether it’s TV shows like Stranger Things, or the the trend for all things nerdy, Ash’s desire to play the Group Storytelling Adventures have been something he has always wanted to do and had always been laughed at, friends always called it ‘Too Nerdy’ or ‘Boring’ or just ‘Too Childish’. However, with the surge in popularity it’s become easier to find groups playing. With apps like MeetUp and Discord it’s become easier to find these little secret clubs where 4-6 people sit around making up the stories of a band of adventurers bent on beating strange creatures, looting Dragon’s liars or just gambling in an inn with a group of other races.

Ash’s attempts to find the first group is documented in the previous post here. The Wednesday night group, though great to get started and having helped him (and Bob to a lesser degree) learn the vast amounts of rules and lore needed to be a competent and able character in the realms, has at times been a struggle or a slightly uncomfortable fit. YouTuber and DM, Ginny Di is quoted as saying…

Like any group of strangers finding the people you bond with is often more difficult than any other aspect of social interactions and you would think that finding a group of like minded, somewhat nerdy, eager to play, people would put you all in the same frame of mind and take out that uncomfortableness of sitting around the table and playing a game for a few hours each week, but it’s just as awkward as a blind date arranged by your mum!

The problem with the ‘Wednesday Night Table’ is that, for one they are all office workers – IT, Accountants and the like – not really very creative types and they admit that. When Ash pulled out models and terrain for the party’s adventures they looked at the pieces of plastic and foam with confusion and awe at his ability to create their character’s so clearly and near perfectly, the group around the table are the type to use spare dice or coins as their character’s on a piece of A4 paper with a scribbled map drawn in pencil.

The second problem is the experience gap – A couple of the group have been playing for 20+ years and know every race, species and rule in the 400 page Player’s Handbook and DM Guides. Whereas I am struggling to remember which dice to throw and though they try to help there is a level of ‘Have you not committed every class’s abilities to memory, even if you will never use them?’

So having learnt a fair bit about the rules, the races, the classes and the myriad of possible scenarios available, the weekly game has been going along ‘Okay‘ but not comfortably and with that in mind Ash has been looking at the other Discord Servers, the MeetUp App and daring to brave his Social Anxiety once more and see if all DnD groups are just as awkward as each other.

There are numerous groups out there, but many are in the wrong location, a few groups out in Richmond and Putney are too far to travel across London for. A lot of groups seem to play on Sunday mornings, foregoing sleep in favour of killing Kobolds, but the most problematic issue is the fees, most tables charge, (that was the beauty of Dragons on the Hill it’s free, so long as you buy a drink and some food). The tables available on Meetup and other places often have requirements of fees and not just a couple of pounds, some charge a small fortune per night, we were quoted £15 for the table and £15 per person per hour – so a 4 hour session of 4 players and a DM came to £315. So that’s out! Ash did find a couple of other free places but one was run by one of the Wednesday group, so that didn’t really solve the problem and the other had a 18 month waiting list to play.

There was one place though and even though they charge to play, again £15 (thankfully that was the only fee) – it seemed somewhat more Ash’s kind of thing. He looked at the website and joined the Discord which is a busy interactive and friendly place, unlike the doldrums of the DotH Discord! A few tentative questions here and there and he got the sense that this place might be more of his sort of thing. So given a gap in play of the usual game, Ash booked himself in for an introductory night last Friday night.

Arcadia Games is in Essex St just off Fleet Street, a wonderful location opposite the Royal Courts of Justice and St Clement Danes Church, (there is a great pub next door – The Temple Brew House too, just saying! ) The ornate building with it’s vivid blue door and name written around it is quite impressive and a much more elegant entry than the upstairs room in a pub! Just entering the foyer of the Victorian Gothic Redbrick and white corniced building is dramatic, huge high ceilings and carved banisters lead up to the first floor.

Ash was welcomed by one of the staff and lead up to the main reception room. This barman spoke, explained details and asked of Ash’s experience etc, as they climbed the grand staircase, more questions and conversation was had in that first five minutes than he has had the entire year he has been playing in Bloomsbury. A good start! The main room is a now familiar deep blue with tables and comfy sofas, pride flags of many different types cover the walls, as well as notice boards for food and drink, as well as the ‘Quest Board’. Ash was signed in and told to wait until one of the regular staff/DM’s came to collect all the newbies to conduct the Character Creation Session – a must for all new players, whether you’ve been playing 30 years or it’s your first time.

The bar is extensive and a full calm, run through of all that was on offer was given and Ash dared to try a recommended Mead, it seemed all too fitting! The prices of drinks are pretty good, there is a selection of about half a dozen cocktails to order, listed on the board above the bar and each one gives the drinker a little added bonus when they come to start playing, basically an extra point on their throws or armour class, it’s a silly little thing but it adds to the ambience. The staff chatted happily and explained more as more newbies appeared and signed in, making the first interaction easier, because we were all new together, we sat at a table and chatted, waiting to begin. In all we were about 7 eager adventurers that entered the Character Creation room with the DM, Jack.

We were lead into one of the well decorated rooms, each of which is named something mysterious and suitable, the Mountain, The Forest, The Cavern, The Shrine and the ominous ‘Toilet’! Each has a large oak dining table and chairs, with a large flatscreen monitor laid along the table to act as introduction screen for the creation of your chosen character and then to become a map for the party to stand on, during the game. So you can actually sit comfortably, move around and make sense of the environment and make the game play easier, rather than pushing tables together and then having to listen to the quietly spoken DM over the noise of the other groups who are much bigger and louder.

Jack explained the Lore of Arcadia, it is a realm on its own plain in-between the Hell dimension, the Fey Realm and all the rest and adventurers can come and go as and when they please, each player is given a key to the realm to add to their itinerary and can use it to enter or leave when they wish – A little clever piece to ground the world and the reason characters are able to vanish at the end of a quest and return whenever! He then went through every step of the Character Sheet on the DnD Beyond App, that helps you make your new creation. It’s very involved and overwhelming at first, so being guided through is a blessing and something no one has helped with before, explaining what to add, what to turn off, which races and classes to pick or not and how to add yourself to the Game’s Realm or server.

An hour of deep diving and combing through the character sheet and we all emerged with a new character to start playing with. We returned to the main room and waited, the DM explained we had to wait to see what was posted on the ‘Quest Board’. The board is covered in all the previous quests and a few minutes later three sheets of paper each with tear off tabs at the bottom was pinned up and everyone – about 30 players – crowded around to pick their adventure for the night.

Ash was not sure how he and all the new players would fit in the ongoing campaigns, but it turns out that each night Arcadia runs ‘One Shots’, single game adventures run by different DM’s in one of the numerous rooms. On Friday night there were 3 Quests available.
1. To rescue a fiend by the name of Carmine (the character of Jack the DM) from a prison
2. A puzzle tower with disastrous and dangerous levels – that apparently none had bestest to date.
3. A mystery of stolen cows.
The Prison Break went before we even got to the board and the Tower seemed full of very experienced players who seemed a little too focused on trying to best the quest for a 2nd or 3rd time, so Ash and the 2 lesser experienced players chose to search for cows! We joined a couple of regulars in The Observatory with Adrianna the DM and proceeded to get the story and start the adventure.

The room was as the others were – Cosy with the dining table and chairs, the screen laid across the surface and a scattering of 3d printed buildings and later a selection of figures was laid out. The professional DM lead the story and the game flowed along with a lot of laughter – something else that is lacking in the other venue – ensued – Partly from the most experienced player at the table James (I think) playing a sentient Fried Egg – I kid you not! – With the most incredible high pitched voice that the player managed to keep going for 4 hours of play! Ash played a deep grumbling voiced Beer Splitter, a Goliath Barbarian/Druid who had the ability to Talk to Animals, which became a valuable commodity when talking to livestock and finding the missing herd. With a short break in the middle the game continued on to conclusion with no panic to finish because last orders were being called at 9pm instead we found, rescued and liberated the animals and concluded at 10.30pm.

Ash left hurrying to get home home to cuddle Solo, but not before the two staff who are on constant call should anyone wish for food or more drinks delivered to the rooms during play and then to welcome the weary adventurers for a post quest drink, they beckoned Ash in and asked how the first night’s play was and what he thought, what he liked, needed and when he planned on returning, calling out as he left.

‘This is your space you are welcome any time, we will be here when you need us!’

That sounds like the thing you’d expect to hear from a local Inn Owner in a tavern in the middle of an adventure doesn’t it?

Ash pondered when to return and how to juggle the ongoing Wednesday night game to see if his Female Drow character would ever learn her true backstory and the new fun of Arcadia and all the cool, fun and different adventures.

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So there we go another option for you fellow players in London – where do you play? Any other suggestions? Leave a comment as we would love to hear of new places and ideas. Come back next time for something completely different.