вЂњ D&D is a sociable game,вЂќ says Dwarven Forge founder Stefan Pokorny. Everything IвЂ™ve learned about my friends has been at the D&D table.вЂќ вЂњI could play League of Legends with friends and not say a word for hours. Storm, a Hollywood stunt actor whoвЂ™s played since Second Edition (1989). вЂњEverything about this game requires communication,вЂќ says T.J. Unlike previous versions of the game released in the 1970s and 1980s, Fifth Edition emphasizes creative freedom over complicated rules. When weвЂ™re all isolated, D&D is a great opportunity to maintain a connection with people youвЂ™re close to.вЂќ вЂњIt, fortunately, happened to land in a place where itвЂ™s easy in situations we find ourselves now. вЂњFifth Edition has been the most successful version of the game,вЂќ says D&D executive producer Ray Winninger. Spurred by the 2014 release of the lucrative вЂњFifth EditionвЂќ version that made D&D more accessible, the pandemic has transformed a 46-year-old game played with dice and pencils into something more like an online video game. Social distancing is rebooting Dungeons & Dragons. вЂњThat was the first time in two weeks I forgot about the coronavirus.вЂќ Nathan McNiff вЂњPeople who like to hug and play around a table are still going to want to play at a table,вЂќ Phoenix says. ItвЂ™s why some say D&D will never be an вЂњonlineвЂќ game, even when itвЂ™s never been easier to play that way. Now, that barrier has vanished.Д«ut while even the dice rolls are virtual, many D&D players still prefer the tactile feel of the game, and the experience of playing in-person. Before the pandemic, it was a meme that players could never agree on a time to meet. Others like Phoenix are already attuned to online D&D, citing frequent travel as a reason to pivot.

With the pandemic, player groups including McNiff and RisteenвЂ™s in Massachusetts have been forced to go online. вЂњThis was a natural thing that was happening.вЂќ вЂњI can feel it in the air that weвЂ™re going virtual,вЂќ says L.A.-based player Satine Phoenix, whoвЂ™s hosted online D&D sessions since 2010. Quarantine is now kicking that cultural shift into overdrive. In the 2010s, D&D shows like Critical Role amassed a large audience and brought attention to D&D, hastening its digital evolution. The digitization of Dungeons & Dragons has been underway for as long as people have had high-speed internet. In the process, the pandemic is changing how D&D is played, maybe for good.ДЄround the world, 'D&D' fans like Nathan McNiff and Ashley Risteen have migrated their sessions to the internet, using online platforms like Roll20. Though binge-watching Netflix and assembling puzzles are far more common ways to pass the hours, many are playing D&D to experience their own Game of Thrones-like adventures, all over Zoom and hobby-specific platforms like Roll20. She adds, вЂњWhen I play D&D, I feel free.вЂќДЄs people are forced inside, some are retreating to their own imaginations thanks to Dungeons & Dragons. I donвЂ™t know how much we get that when we sit and watch Netflix.вЂќ WeвЂ™re having so much fun, our attention turns away from the terror of what is happening. вЂњItвЂ™s the only time in the week when we feel present. вЂњIt has been the highlight of my week,вЂќ says Ashley Risteen, 29, an actress from Byfield who plays a paladin in McNiffвЂ™s game. It was the first time it wasnвЂ™t dark for the hours we played.вЂќ вЂњThat was the first time in two weeks I forgot about the coronavirus,вЂќ McNiff tells Inverse.ДЄs the owner of a small business, The Wandering Stage, McNiff sees Dungeons & Dragons as a distraction from stressing about his livelihood during a pandemic. So McNiff, 37, and his friends from the Boston area have escaped into a safer world: that of Dungeons & Dragons.

ItвЂ™s emptied streets, closed businesses, and kept friends apart. McNiff's state has more than 38,000 cases of the virus and 1,700 of those people have died. Outside McNiffвЂ™s home in Woburn, Massachusetts, the Covid-19 pandemic has the world in a vise. McNiffвЂ™s friends stare back at him through his laptop screen, hanging on every word. Nathan McNiff leans into his Chromebook microphone like an audiobook narrator and describes an epic story akin to the 1981 fantasy film Clash of the Titans.

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