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De-bunking the geek factor. Or, how to explain to friends, family and co-workers why you spend your Wednesday nights as a Warrior Elf!

The best way to explain Dungeons and Dragons to people who don't play is to invite them along for an adventure. First hand experience is the best explanation. Lure them in with promises of great food and entertainment. Promise them they can leave if they don't like it! :) Why all the fuss? The average Joe is scared off by dungeons and dragons. The social stigma portraying all gamers as socially imbalanced losers is a constant trial for actual gamers who are most often upstanding members of society - lawyers, doctors and even your next door neighbor!

I also suggest prefabricating a character for the newbie, as well as arming them with a cheat sheet of the basic gaming rules. Don't scare off new players by plunking a stack of D&D handbooks beside them - if they become interested, they can read those later!

I can't imagine how to explain the D&D experience without making it sound flakey and complicated. Afterall, it is sort of flakey and complicated. The reason I play D&D is because in spite of these things, it's a lot of fun. D&D is like a board game requiring imagination which I can influence and shape along the way.

While seasoned players often play without visual or tangible aides such as maps and miniatures, for the newbie visual aides will enhance their understanding and experience. "You're walking down a dark hall. The ceilings are low and damp, the walls are narrow and oppressive. Up ahead you hear a faint shuffling noise. Beside you, you see a door, slightly open. Do you wish to turn back, proceed, or take the door on your right?" This is fairly descriptive, but requires some imagination.

I suggest instead to invest $10 at a local gaming store, and buy a laminated grid map, and white-board washable markers. This will allow the Dungeon Master (the guy or gal running the story and taking on the role of supporting characters and monsters) to draw the surroundings the characters are interacting with. A further $10 will buy basic plastic miniatures you can place on the map to represent the characters playing, as well as any bad-guys they run into along the way. I find the game is easier to understand if the new player can SEE what is going on.

The Monster Manual used with the gaming system has pictures of almost every monster the players may encounter. When the group rounds the corner and encounters a bugbear, have the Dungeon

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