The End?

            Well This is is my last class mandatory entry for my project, and what a project its been. From seed to jungle an unrealized potential is how I would describe it. It's been a amazing journey from that day in TAG when I came to the idea to this weekend when I stood before those eager faces and said “let the games begin!” There has been ups and downs but in the end all that matters is the end project and how amazingly electric it was.

            Well It went very well, the morning of I woke with knots in my stomach and negative thoughts like wolves began to paw at my enthusiasm, but my love of teaching was my single beacon in the fog of despair. My passion for the game pushed me onward every second of this journey, every step, every time I climbed further out on those social branches to reach that lush ripe fruit which awaited me there.

            I think that through this entire project I have had the passion and the want but much like Renee from Elegance of the Hedgehog, I have been afraid to put my true elf to the world. “normal” people don't play role-playing games, they don't spend their weekends rolling dice and fighting dragons... and so I felt like around my non gamer friends I had to play the part of the dumb concierge. I hid my hobby in certain company because I was afraid people wouldn't except Dakoda McAlister the Dungeon Master, the Role player, or the kid who spends his Wednesdays pretending to be an elf or a gnome. And yet I think that over the course of this project I have found who I am and become comfortable with the way that people may see me. Though this project I have found inspiration and hope.

            It was amazing it was like my passion squared and personified. That library room was filled with a sunny electricity that made my hair stand up on end as I took center stage. All those faces looking at me, not judging me but listening as a child does to a parent. The sound of 15 people's hearts all beating in constrained excitement as they passionately waited for me to give the word and the Dungeon Masters to begin.

I was amazed and all in all my original goal was was met, the room was filled and we had three very successful tables going. Everyone I asked said that they would love to continue what we all started that day. I have approached the members of my table about playing some time outside of the project and words have been exchanged between e and Kathy. This project became much more in my eyes and heart then just a tag project, it speaks so much of beauty, and service, of friendship and unity, of pride and handwork. Very soon D&D may be a twice a month thing down at the public Library of Saint Joseph. I am for once excited about the future.

Entry d10: A Slip of the Tongue

    Today during my fashion fabrics class we had some down time, so I took the chance to get some work done on my project, which is beginning to hurtle at me very fast. What I was doing was cutting pictures out of all the old core rule books so that at my event I can show the crowd the evolution of the books from edition to edition. I was busy cutting away when I hear the comment;

    "People still play that?" from my teacher Mrs. Talafero. It was funny that when she asked this as two of my weekly players were sitting right next to me, so I explained that we still did and that in fact we were going to be playing this very night as we do every Wednesday. She laughed and said she remembered some people who played back when she was younger and then walked away to attend to the class. While this is interesting, its something that she said later that really got my motor running.

    After school we stopped by her class room to help her move some sewing machines for her, in there with her was her son who she introduced... but when she introduced us she said it like this:

    "This is David, Dakoda, and Sage; they play Dungeons and Dragons" This introduction kinda shocked me, not in a bad way as I have never really kept my hobby a secret; I carry a d20 on me at all times and I can even be seen carrying the Players Handbook during school on occasion, no what shocked me was that I was okay with this definition of my person.

    In the last post I detailed one of my negative encounters via Dungeons and Dragons, but I never really got into how the reaction during my project has been. In truth I was surprised how willing people have been to allow me to hang posters in their stores or place cut out paintings in their buildings. So far I have put posters up in several language arts class rooms, the library, the local gaming store Gamers Haven, and even my botany classroom. I plan to go to borders tomorrow and post my fliers up there, and I even thought about trying Hazels. I expected resistance and a lot of negative feelings towards what my project is. Yet the most I've been met with by those that Ive invited or asked about posters to is a good natured curiosity of what is D&D and what my project stands for... and these positive reactions from the public are awesome.

    In the end I think that the label, that defining comment she placed on me has only encouraged me further, only inspired me to give 243% on this project and make it so it'll be the best it can be, whether the public continues to except me or not. I'm going to shatter the stereotypes that surround the role playing community, I'm going to change the minds of people like that woman at Hazels.

I'm Dakoda McAlister, and I play Dungeons and Dragons.

Entry d9: A Coffee Cup of Anger

    Ah Dungeons and Dragons, what can I say; at times its like arriving home after being caught in a cold shower on the long walk home, while at other times it can be more like finding that your stuck in that very same rain storm, and you have been locked out of your car. By this I mean that it is great when your among others who play D&D, as they are welcoming and excepting... and know what your talking about when you say armor class or divine caster class. But sadly the world is populated by more then just the people of this first group. Sadly there are those that see D&D as something to be shunned, hated, and made fun of... and with the game, those who play it.

    As a player and fan of Dungeons and Dragons I know that there are people out there in the world who view my hobby as anything from weird and nerdy, all the way to evil and dangerous. I know all the stereotypes that have been placed upon my hobby, all the negative rumors that float around us like pestilence, and when I really thought about it I can only ever really remember one time when someone gave me and my group of friends a hard time for what we liked:

    My group used to play every Saturday afternoon, and we constantly switched up the environments in which we played. We'll I am a huge fan of coffee and seeing a clever idea as to how I could combine my two loves I thought of the excellent idea of taking my D&D group to the coffee shop Hazels here in Saint Joseph. Well thinks went smoothly for about an hour or two until just as we were packing up as a rather nasty storm had blown in, the manager/owner of the shop came in and saw us there in the corner. She kinda asked us what we were doing and we explained that it was the role playing game Dungeons and Dragons... I figured this meeting would go similar to many in the past, as I had been asked questions by curious people before, but this woman as soon as she heard us say the words "Dungeons and Dragons" the smile vanished off her face. I will always remember the next words that came out of her mouth:

    "You mean that game where people kill themselves?"

    She went on to say that just like so many others she knew a woman who's sister's son killed himself after playing the game and then went on to ask if we were going to bring weapons into her establishment. I was furious but managed to calmly tell her the only way some would die from this game was from laughing to hard.

    That experience left a very sour taste in my mouth for many months, in fact for a while I refused to go back to that shop because who knows I might bring a weapon in! I got over it tho and in fact today I stop to have a mocha with my friends all the time, but I'll never forget that moment when the ghosts of the past came back to haunt us.

Entry d8: A Poster Child

   Well today, I at last got a few of my stand up cartoon characters made. Even though on Monday I was sick I spent that night at my dinning room table table, wrapped in blankets, wearing a scarf and coat painting on these huge sheets of cardboard that took up a majority of my table.  It was great fun and really helped to keep my mind off the mind crushing headache I had all that afternoon.

    I painted a small street urchin looking person with a blue vest over a tan tunic. He carries a parcel bag with scrolls spewing from under the lip. In one of his little stick arms he is holding up one of my fliers as if to say "Read all about it!." I also painted another one last night which is a goblin wearing furs, and a necklace made with the bones of some unknown creature. He also holds one of my fliers in his left hand and in the other a large spear. Both of these cut outs stand about three feet high and are painted in bright colors to make them catch the eyes of an interested passerby all the more.

    The goblin raider (named Grimmick Longtail) is currently raiding the small language arts classroom of Mr. Haskey. I hear that hes already pulled the attention of a couple travelers. While the street urchin (Travis the minstrel Magillacuty) will in just a few hours from when I post this, be peddling his wares in the lobby of the Saint Joseph Downtown Public Library (thanks to Kathy) and hopefully be attracting some visitors for the event. I'll place him there at the beginning of my Undead Poet's Society meeting this afternoon.

   To those that read this blog, I encourage you to spread the news of my project to others in the Saint Joseph community, and if you have any questions feel free to ask them via comment.

Entry d7: A Dire Whale of a Tale

    The project has really started to come together over the last few days. I have made the first of my posters for the event as well as sketched out the base ideas for the stand up figures of fantasy cartoon characters I plan to place at the library as well as at my school. Its progressing very well, but the other day a great dire whale of an idea struck me; Dungeons and Dragons is an art not in that it brings people closer, but in the way that it does this.
    I mentioned in entry d2 that Dungeons and Dragons is a living breathing art form because it brings a wide variety of people together, but I really didn't pick the meat from this idea. It wasn't until I was reading through my copy of the book The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. As I walked the endless labyrinth of passages I had previously marked as important, I stumbled across the blood smeared, inked up passage:

     "Olympe is not one for for affected charades, the way some people in the building are, to prove that because she is a well-brought-up-child-of-leftists-without-prejudices she is conversing with the concierge. Olympe talks to me because I have a cat, and that brings us into a community of interests."

                           (Elegance of the Hedgehog P.115)

    I stopped searching when I came to this passage as it inspired me to pick up my pencil, and I feverishly began to write my ideas. Dungeons and Dragons, is a game that I have in the past three years come to love very dearly. I will talk, debate, argue, and discuss this fantastic game for hours with anyone stupid enough to willingly enter a conversation on it with me, and yet the thing I had never thought of or taken into consideration was the community the game builds around itself, nor the way it seems to draw those cast out back in.

    A community of interests, a community that allows people to practice escapism so that they may for just a few hours be the hero, the one who always gets the girl, or the one who has the power to stand up for those they see as friends. In this fictional world, created by the dungeon master, and shared by the players characters, the players can hide from the cruelty of the harsh world, and for that time feel like others do.This is a beauty that is created by the game, an artificial and completely fictional scene, and yet it has the power to create such a very real beauty in this world of ours.

    Like 1920's America, Dungeons and Dragons seems to have the motto, give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free, as it is a shelter for all who seek to express themselves in an environment where no one will patronize them for their "strangeness" or their "short comings".  It allows for those with social stresses or social disabilities to feel the way everyone else does.

    Now I am not saying that everyone who plays Dungeons and Dragons is a geek, nerd, or social out cast; because they are not... and that's the beauty of the game! Its the bridge between cliches, the glue that builds communities of interest, and its in this creation of community that all those that play Dungeons and dragons help create beauty in our world. So for my event I want to help foster that beauty in all that attend my event. I want to extend a hand to those who have fallen into exile from the world, I want to banish the negative thoughts that surround the game like a challenge rating 3 bat swarm, to break down the walls that create the cliches of our lives, and most of all I want to build a community that is based upon acceptance and creative expression.

    Dungeons and Dragons is how I create Art, and as Paloma said "I want to be building."

Entry d6: A Poster or Two

Well today I got my posters done... well at least the first two of a series of four. They were made using open office. I went with a retro 80s look when I made them. I think they are great and will really catch a couple eyes when I hang them up this weekend!

Heres the first one:

and then here is the second one, now with 100% more pun:

Entry d5: A Confirmation

Well today I got back from school and checked my inbox on Yahoo to find this message from my TAG instructor:

   "Please don't let the due date stop you! I will allow you the weekend after the 8th for you to follow through with this great idea!"
                                               Mr. Haskey

This means I will be able to hold my event on a Saturday. I am super excited for this, and now that I have confirmation on the date; I can really start on the finer details and the hard work that will allow this project to be the best that it can be. Yet I'm a little afraid of the next couple steps that I have to follow after I relay this information to Kathy the woman at the public library. 

First I have to find volunteers to help me run games as well as people who are familiar with the game to sit among the ones that are new to the game. Many of these volunteers will probably be the guys who play with me every Wednesday. I also have to start putting together an agenda for the event. I do look forward to making the fliers for it, as I really like doing things like that. Theres a bit more to do as well, but for now I'll just keep my mind focused on what I can do within the next couple days. Well I'm off to get started!

I need to figure out a name for this whole event. If you have any ideas feel free to recommend them by commenting.

Entry d4: A Doomsday Dilemma

   Well today was like winning a free cruise... then finding out the cruise ship's name is the Titanic. Okay maybe it wasn't quite that dramatic, but in line of furthering my project; I have good and bad news. 

    Today I spoke with a woman named Kathy, she is the Sr. Library Assistant at the downtown Saint Joseph public library, about using the library as a venue. She actually was really fond of the idea and readily accepted the idea. I was so excited when I heard that she would in fact be willing to sponsor my event at the library. So I now have a venue! I now have step two done, but I bet your wondering why I am describing the S.S Awesome, when previously I stated the Titanic... well theres was one catch. 

    I have solved the answer to "where" but not the "when!" See the issue is that I really want to hold this event on a week-end. As the library is open on Saturdays 9;00am till 5;00pm, this is perfect for my event. The only problem; Available Saturdays... this coming one, and Saturday, October 9th. The project due date is October 8th. Thus I had to email my Tag teacher Mr. Haskey about perhaps allowing me one more day of wiggle room. I really want to do it on a Saturday as this gives me a full day to set up my event and a plentiful time frame to allow for the participants to learn the basics of the game.

   My other options are that I can hold this event any Tuesday between now and then, but I fear if its on a weekday my turnout will be lessened. Plus the library is only open till 9:00pm... which is a bit late running for a school night event. So I'm in a bit of a doomsday dilemma here. 

    No matter I guess, I got good news and bad news today. The important thing is that Kathy the super nice Sr. Library Assistant is allowing me to run this event in the first place, and no matter the date I'm sure it will be a great time for all involved. Also worst comes to worst... I think that if I can I may run a session on a Tuesday for my project and then continue it outside of the TAG project on a Saturday after the deadline should Haskey reject my plea.

Entry d3: A Mission Statement

My service project will consist of sharing the beauty of Dungeons and Dragons by exposing others to the experience of the game. I hope to share that same chance I got my freshmen year with others. I do not have a venue as of yet, nor a true plan, but I want to not only educate people about the game and its history but also allow people to participate in the game itself. So here is a quick mission statement for my project:

"The aim of this project is to encourage creativity, imagination, social skills, and basic math skills in the community via the history of the Dungeons and Dragons role playing game, and by the playing of the Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 role playing game system."

All in all this will be accomplished by running an event (to be named later) at a local saint Joseph venue that will be open to the public. This event will include: A short description of the game in general, an adventure ran by me and other local players with experience in running dungeons and dragons sessions, and then a conclusion that will end with a short feedback session. This event will take around five and a half hours, and by the end of it I hope those participating will have learned more of the game. By doing this I hope to spread my passion and love for the game to the community at large.

The first goal of mine to make this project become reality is to secure a venue in which to hold the games, and mini-museum. My first stop is the Saint Joseph down town library where I will be giving my pitch to the woman in charge of the youth events and rooms.

If I able to get this venue here are just a few ideas that I hope to institute into my plan

   -Have a display of books from my and others collection, which will be open for the public to look at

   -Have all that participate go home with a starters guide written by my self.

   -Each table will have a bowl of dice which those playing may use. 

Entry d2: A Breathing Art

    D&D is a cumulative contribution of creativity between a group of people. This group may consist of two or it may consist of 100 (realistically 10 is a well exstablished max) really it just depends on how well the dungeon master can capture and hold the interests of his players. The dungeon master creates a world of his own in which the story takes place. In his head he will have a rough idea of what is to happen during each session of play, but ultimately the players decided the tone and story. This sharing of emotion and choice between each individual player makes D&D more then just a game at times, it makes it an Art.

    As my TAG class discussed, Art is created when one person attempts to capture their own raw emotion via some medium. This alone though does not yet constitute Art, the piece must then pass that emotion unto the viewer. When their is this sharing of emotion then the piece is considered to be Art.

    I believe that is is why Dungeons and Dragons is a perfect example of art. As dungeon master I sit down and I try to capture an emotion in my storyline. This message is not always created, but every session is a piece of breathing, living Art. Raw emotion is spilled out by players and dungeon master alike. When one character accomplishes a task the whole party soaks in his winning. When the party as a whole conquers a new enemy, they all celebrate in the glories victory.

    Yet it is not just this sharing that makes the game of Dungeons and Dragons an Art.. it is also that these feeling can be shared by anyone who is witnessed to then. If a group sits around a table with dice in their hands and adventure in their hearts, then all are subject to the raw emotions that will be expressed through role playing, be it pain, be it joy, be it suffering, or triumphant; all players no matter their background can share in this. (assuming all involved speak the same language) This Art is able to transcend over social, ethnic, religious, and personal barriers. An art form is created when a table of people who not only have out of game differences on a multitude of ways, as well as differing in-game goals and views, can share in a singular emotion because of something we as a collective brought to life is truly beautiful.

    All in all, it is this beauty we create that makes me enjoy Dungeons and Dragons so very much. I get to drink soda, hang with people I care for, be in an environment where no one is judging me, and be part of a emotional and creative collective.

An old advertisement from Wizards of the Coast for Dungeons and Dragons 3.5

Entry d1: A Call to Arms

      Hello, my name is Dakoda McAlister. I am a senior in high school at Central High School here in Saint Joseph, MO. I have lived here for about three years now. I'm your average kid, I have a straight B- grade average and I enjoy hanging out with my mates the few times a week I can. I enjoy music and watching television with my mother, as well as a host of other things considered to be the average interests of a teenage male.

    Currently I am enrolled in the T.A.G. program (Talented and Gifted), and as a TAG student I haven been given an assignment for the next month or so...

1. Develop an idea for a service project

2. Go out into the world and make it happen!

   Pretty simple the only rules of this project are that A. it must have a tangible goal, and B. whatever this project may be, it must exist in the higher spectrum of intelligence, and C. it had to wrap the meanings of art and intelligence and service into it as these were our central themes for the unit. Making this project as open as a Tupperware bowl with no bottom. When I got the assignment I was afraid and confused as to how I was going to manage to do this, but I knew that somehow I would wrap my own interests into it in order to make it unique. I was lost for some time, until I finally came to a conclusion on what my service project would be! I was going to work hard, put in a 110%, so that I could not only help the community but change the views of people. I was going to do this by using the only thing I could.

    As average as I may be, my interests are anything but that. I am a self-proclaimed nerd. I love reading Fantasy books, watching Sci-Fi, and "worst" of all I love playing Dungeons and Dragons. I participate in LARPs (Live Action Role Playing). I sew renaissance fair costumes, and I'm quite fond of drinking Mountain Dew while having lengthy conversations about the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, or 11th century warfare. I'm a hopeless nerd, and I'll admit it in a heart beat! 

    The question though was how could I turn that passion for all things geeky into a project that existed in the higher spectrum of intelligence and benefited man kind in some way? I had no idea.

   I soon came to an idea though. Dungeons and Dragons is a game that is very dear to me. It defines me, and at one point it made me who I am today. D&D is known for a lot of negative false hoods, but what they never tell people is all the therapeutic good it does for people with a wide range of problems.

"Over the years D&D has received some very bad press. Some right-wing nut jobs think its linked to satanic worship and black magic. Others have linked it to suicide and violence. All this is rubbish. Dungeons & Dragons gave me a safe environment to learn vital life skills that because of my dyslexia, the education system had singularly failed to provide me. For tens of thousands of bright teenagers with dyslexia, asperges, ADHD and other educational problems, this fantasy game has provided a safe haven in which to learn, explore and to grow."

Leon Lewis Jr.

    I really think the above quote really sums my message up. D&D is a great way for those that sometimes fall between the cracks to be able to grow creatively, socially, and it helps one to build basic math skills. D&D has helped me, one such teenager who suffers from ADD, to grow into myself so very much. I used to be very anti-social and generally afraid of people. My comfort level was null and I was miserable, but in my freshmen year I was presented with an object that would forever improve my life. The 3.5 Dungeons and Dragons, Player's Handbook.With this book I jumped head first into the hobby of D&D. I met new people and began to share my creative imaginative mind with the world.

    D&D gave me a place to be myself, and when I began dungeon mastering (running) a small group each week I felt like I was comfortable, and not only that but I was providing that same friendly environment to others like me.

So I have decided that for my TAG service project I will expand that invitation to all the people in my community that have ever felt that theres no one else like them in the world. I want to share the happiness that I get from D&D, and role playing in general with the community. I want to spread the wonderful game of D&D in order to encourage creativity. To be able to give others the same push I got freshmen year.