Slaying dragons on the spectrum.

“…in the interest of sharing the D&D love, I thought I’d put together a post outlining what’s worked to improve my experience of slaying dragons on the spectrum.”

I love playing Dungeons & Dragons. The first game I ever played in was four years ago at a friend’s house, and while that campaign only lasted for a few sessions, it definitely ignited a fiery passion that continues to this day. Being able to roleplay a strong, powerful adventurer and explore fantasy worlds really harks back to my childhood where I’d spend hours getting lost in fantasy novels by authors like Tamora Pierce and Eva Ibbotson. Dungeons & Dragons means you get to collaborate with your friends to create your own story – like a living Choose Your Own Adventure book!

I’ve played in a variety of groups and circumstances, and at the moment, I play regularly in two games. One campaign has been going fortnightly for two years, while the other campaign runs when we can and I’ve been part of for a year.

While there are parts of Dungeons & Dragons I struggle with (for example, improv still gives me a serious case of the sweaty palms and I can freeze up from time to time), I’ve definitely reached a point where I feel way more confident compared to when I started. It’s involved trial and error finding out what works for me as an Autistic player as well.

So, in the interest of sharing the D&D love, I thought I’d put together a post outlining what’s worked to improve my experience of slaying dragons on the spectrum.

Playing Online

I mentioned earlier that my first game was at a friend’s kitchen table, but both of the games I play in now take place online with players from across the globe. This is, for me, the ultimate way to play Dungeons & Dragons.

Playing online means I can be at home with low lights, sensory tools and colouring books, and my menagerie of cats by my side. Playing online also means no pants! As a result, I can play for longer, have an easier time focusing on what’s happening, and I have a lot more fun. I also find that while I still feel drained for a few hours afterwards (because even if dragons are involved, it’s still a lot of socialising), the recharge time I need is much shorter than when playing in person.

Using Roll20

While you technically don’t need to use anything when you play Dungeons & Dragons online, I love getting to use Roll20 for a couple of reasons: I get to automate my attack rolls, and I get to see a visual representation of what’s happening.

Being able to automate my attack rolls means that I’m rolling the right type and number of dice every time, which really helps me as I find it hard to commit how many dice I need to memory, and so it’s tempting to read through each of my attacks every time (which means my turns in combat can end up taking a lot longer!). That’s something you don’t get in an IRL game, but I’ve found making notes on my attacks along with the Dungeons & Dragons cards helpful so I don’t have to continually check the Player’s Handbook. I won’t lie – the lack of noise from the dice is also very good, but I know a lot of people live for the clicky clacky sounds dice make!

The other part of Roll20 I adore is the ability to have tokens and maps. Granted, you can have these at an IRL game as well, but Roll20 displays it all on screen with no fuss or mess, plus it’s so much cheaper and easier to make and display a digital map compared to a physical one. There are so many people who create maps and tokens online for use, but I really adore the style of 2-Minute Tabletop if you’re looking for a suggestion! If you’re looking to create your own maps, Wonderdraft is great for continental maps while Dungeondraft makes great dungeon or battle maps, and both are relatively inexpensive.

Flexibility

While the main game I play in meets fortnightly, there’s a group-wide understanding that anyone can cancel at any time. Sometimes, things come up that mean I simply don’t have the energy to play – I might have a particularly packed week at work, or I might have a lot of appointments that week, or there might not be anything going on at all, and I just don’t have the spoons! Flexibility is something that benefits everyone in the game, because everyone’s got things in their life (like disabilities, kids, partners, work, life) that means you can’t always play! I still like having that regularly scheduled time though, because I love having a regular game to look forward to as part of my routine.

Small Groups

At one point, the main campaign I’m in had eight players (plus the DM!), and I quickly learned that it wasn’t gonna work for me. There was just too many people talking so I couldn’t work out what was being said and by who, and every session led to a meltdown or a recovery period that would go into the next day. Since I also need to take a minute to work out how my character would respond, I found I’d also get drowned out or spoken over a lot, and a lot of sessions I either wouldn’t speak or would experience situational mutism. Each session became about one or two characters, and you lost a lot of the small interactions and nitty gritty bits about other player’s characters that you get in a smaller group.

That group split into two groups of four players, which works a lot better for me. If I was to join another game, my limit would be four players plus the Dungeon Master – any more than that and there isn’t time in game to explore backstories and all the little details about other characters and the world that I personally love to delve into.

Homebrews

While Wizards of the Coast (the publishers of Dungeons & Dragons) are working to revamp their content, a lot of their past work hasn’t been inclusive. Homebrews help to bridge the gap that Wizards of the Coast have left. Sometimes homebrews are supplements people have released on the internet (for example, you can check out D&D Wiki and D&D Beyond for some pretty extensive and free databases); other times, it’s something my Dungeon Master or I have written (or both!). For example, my half-orc barbarian is lawful good and follows an orc healing goddess my Dungeon Master and I created together. Homebrews can make for both more inclusive and more interesting worlds and characters!

Hopefully, this post encourages more people to take a step into the world of Dungeons & Dragons! I know these suggestions won’t work for everyone, but they definitely worked for me!

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