Located a fifteen-minute walk from Marymount MRT station is a row of humble two-storey buildings. Between a cafe and a pet hotel is a glass door, a sign reading “Gamersaurus Rex” hanging above it. Beyond it lies a staircase (occasionally, you will find the shop cat, Saber, lounging there). If it’s almost 7 pm, you should make your way up the staircase, past the cashier counter, and into the backroom. There, you will be transported into another world.
Unfortunately, there’s no wardrobe leading to Narnia in the shop, but you’ll find the next best thing at one of several tables: a Dungeons and Dragons (usually referred to as D&D) session. Although the gameplay itself is simple, the allure of this game which has allowed it to capture the hearts of thousands worldwide is this simple fact: armed with your wits, some die and a pencil, you can slay the dragon terrorising the kingdom, flirt with a princess or even bargain with a cigarette-smoking bear.
D&D is a tabletop Role Playing Game (RPG) which has been around since 1974 and has continued expanding its in-game world ever since. You begin by creating your character, with ten core races (elf, halfling, humans, etc.) and twelve basic classes (Mage, paladin, bard, etc.), there are almost endless combinations to explore (my character, Moira, is a half-elf druid!). During gameplay, you can choose to do almost anything, from patting a cat to fighting an orc, but the fate of your chosen action (such as whether the cat runs away or if your attack deals critical damage to the orc) is decided by a roll of the dice. Each action in the adventure is then guided and narrated by the Dungeon Master (DM), based on the result of a 20-sided dice roll.
The Legitimate Business hosts D&D sessions at Gamersaurus Rex every Wednesday (7.30 pm to 11 pm) and Sunday (7 pm to 11 pm). You can reserve a place for yourself at any of these sessions in 5 simple steps:
- Visit Warhorn.net and create an account
- Search for ‘The Legitimate Business’ and register to join their page
- Go to the events calendar
- Select a date
- Press ‘play’
You can choose any session, provided there are seats available. A modest fee of $5 (which includes a complimentary drink of your choice) will be collected at the end of the session, but what is that for almost 4 hours of laughter, camaraderie and a wonderfully unique adventure?
If you aren’t completely sure about throwing yourself into a full 4 hour session, that’s fine! The Legitimate Business will be setting up a booth at Singapore Comic Con on 7th and 8th December so you can dip your toes into the fantastical world of D&D there as well.
I hope you too will pick up your explorer’s pack and perhaps one day, Moira and I will meet you as part of our great adventure.