A while ago, I wrote about how playing D&D for the first time taught me some things about myself that I didn’t realize before. But what I didn’t mention was that I didn’t just grow independently; I also learned something about the people I was playing with — who just happened to be my coworkers. Before we begin, though, don’t worry — I won’t be spilling the tea on anyone at Rollacrit or singling them out by creating unnecessary drama. (Except for right now… you know what you did, Rachael.)
Experience Talks
Regardless of a person’s role in the company structure, it was pretty apparent who had played D&D first and who was learning the ropes. It was pretty neat to see my coworkers take charge, especially those who don’t usually get the opportunity to be front and center at big meetings. People who had only spoken a few words in front of me were commanding their skills with authority and strategizing like leaders while the rest of us were playing catchup. It was great to see people shine in their element.
Everyone Fixates on Different Things
Another fun thing that I noticed about my coworkers is the differences in their attention to detail in the game matched their attention to detail at work. Everyone here is pretty detail-focused… which is probably why we spent waaaaaaaaaaay to long in a magic forest talking to a spider monster instead of going inside the village (where the DM desperately wanted us to explore). I’ll take responsibility for that, though.
We're All Equal at the Table
We don’t have cliques at Rollacrit (mainly because we’re growing and don’t have a ton of people). But we do have natural friend groups — people who we naturally gravitate toward because our personalities are compatible. I, myself, was playing with a close friend at the table. In social situations, my instinct would be to stick with who I know, but in D&D, our friends became strangers, and strangers became unlikely allies. Because of that, I got to experience my coworkers interacting with me and others as if none of us knew each other.
Team Building Really Does Exist
I know, I know. I used a buzzword. I avoid “Synergy,” “Thought Leadership,” and the rest of those trash words that mean nothing like the plague. But I will say that playing D&D with my coworkers affected all of us. After the game, I noticed the group was closer and happier. We didn’t hate each other or anything, but we all experienced something together, and it brought us closer as a team. So, because of that, I will admit that team building really does exist… through D&D. And I noticed great qualities about my coworkers that I would never have seen had we not played together.
TL;DR, I learned that my coworkers are pretty cool by playing D&D. I hope we get to do it again soon. <3