nerd no more

When I was in High School I was a nerd. There, I said it, and if I’m honest, I’m still a nerd but the difference is that I’ve realized it’s not something to be ashamed of but rather to be celebrated. I spent time in the library, I learned sleight of hand, I played a significant amount of cards, and yes, I played dungeons and dragons. For the longest time the stigma of D&D players (as well as AD&D) was that… well, perhaps it’s just better to show you:

As I went from high school to college and into The Real World (tm), I had forgotten about my D&D days but about a year ago I discovered an online, video podcast called Critical Role where a group of professional actors get together and play D&D. I was hooked on the way these actors brought their characters to life - it was amazing and it’s no longer solely attached to the geek subculture. At one point I looked at the viewership for the 9/28 episode and there were over 24,000 viewers!

I feel like I should mention the actors (and some of the guest players) since I’ve made such a big deal of them above:

• Matthew Mercer, the Dungeon Master, is best known for his voice acting role in Overwatch).
• Travis Willingham
• Marisha Ray
• Taliesin Jaffe
• Ashley Johnson, best known (to me) for her role as Chrissie Seaver in Growing Pains.
• Liam O’Brien
• Laura Bailey)
• Sam Riegel Guests:
• Felicia Day
• Wil Wheaton
• John Heder (pictured above as Napoleon Dynamite)
• Darin De Paul
• Joe Manganiello, best known for his role as Alcide Herveaux on True Blood.

Matt Mercer also DMs for a Nerdist show called CelebriD&D which has featured such celebrities as Vin Diesel, Joe Manganiello, and John Bradley (best known as Samwell Tarly in Game of Thrones) playing D&D.

In short, Dungeons & Dragons is not just for nerds anymore!