Newbie Dungeon Master Astounded When His Storyline Gets Derailed By a 2-Hour Roleplay Session in the Tavern: ‘I had so much planned, [but] it was a joy to watch’

Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor

Jul 2, 2024 5:00 PM EDT

Dungeons and Dragons is all about roleplay.

We sink into our character's backstory, wading through a lifetime of lore, mystery, and storylines that most of the other players will never know about. Serious D&D players have entire histories behind their character and there's rarely a moment to share the profoundness of their wizardry… Unless you find yourself in a tavern, of course.

With the lights dimmed low and the ales flowing, it's hard not to imagine your team enjoying a rowdy night around a wooden table, a boisterous hearth, and merriment. But when this particular DM found his party traipsing through the doors of the local tavern, he never thought they'd spend the next two hours roleplaying their characters, ignoring the carefully planned storyline he'd prepared for them. At least he'll have a great mission planned for next week!

Hilariously, these are the moments we live for when we play D&D. Scroll for the whole tale of a DM's derailed mission and the hooded stranger in the corner of a tavern that was completely avoided to dive deep into each character's backstory.