SINGAPORE – Mr William Ngiam goes on a magical quest almost every day. But he does not leave the four walls of his home or workplace, or use any electronic technology. Instead, the 35-year-old is armed with paraphernalia such as 20-sided dice and miniature figurines.

Mr Ngiam is the owner of Gallant Games, a Pasir Panjang shop dedicated to Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), a tabletop role-playing board game that lets people create their own characters and go on quests across fantasy lands.

“I once guided a D&D quest where the players had to save a sheep from getting captured. It turned out that the sheep was a mage cursed by his teacher, who had gone rogue. In the final battle, the players had to fight a bed that the rogue teacher had transformed into a dragon,” he says with a laugh. 

He is one of many millennial and Gen Z Singaporeans – people in their 20s and 30s – who have embraced D&D as a rare analogue hobby in the digital age.

D&D was first published in 1974 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye, two Americans who loved miniature war games and devised a new one.

Almost five decades later, that same game is in the spotlight thanks to the new film, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, which landed in theatres on March 30.

In the movie, a band of rogue misfits – led by American actors Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez, who play bard Edgin and warrior Holga respectively –  embark on a quest across a fantastical land. 

Their adventures include escaping dungeons, interrogating skeletons, fleeing a dragon and planning a heist – all in a bid to defeat an evil sorceress.

The film’s storyline is inspired by the framework and tropes of D&D, which is now owned by a subsidiary of multinational toy conglomerate Hasbro, Wizards of the Coast.

In 2021, Wizards of the Coast, which publishes fantasy and sci-fi themed games, estimated that D&D has had some 50 million players, and that almost three-quarters of the players are in their 20s and 30s. 

The game has some famous champions, such as American actor Vin Diesel of the Fast & Furious films (2001 to present), and American television producers Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer, who referenced D&D in Stranger Things (2016 to present), the blockbuster drama series they created.

But D&D has also had its share of detractors. In the 1980s, it was even the subject of moral panic. As one academic explained to the BBC in 2014: “Since fantasy typically features activities like magic and witchcraft, D&D was perceived to be in direct opposition to biblical precepts and established thinking about witchcraft and magic.”

For players in Singapore, such thinking is outdated. They tell The Straits Times that D&D has allowed them to flex their creativity, socialise with friends in new and interesting ways, and work through mental health issues. 

Tutor Kevin Wee, who is in his 30s and has been playing D&D for about eight years, says: “The only hardware limitation in D&D is your imagination and how far it can stretch. You can make choices to do things, or not do them, however you see fit.”

He and some friends once created their own D&D setting based on Chinese mythology. 

“It’s almost like getting to participate in a movie or a play, instead of just watching. Your choices and decisions matter in how the storyline unfolds,” he adds. 

Ms Kara Quek, who works for a legal firm, enjoys the social interaction and collaborative story-telling that underlie a D&D game.

“I like how everyone at the table has a part to play in telling the story – you don’t get that from most computer or board games,” says the 28-year-old, who began playing D&D in 2018. She describes her first character as “a shy little gnome wizard with mild pyromaniac tendencies”. 

“I love going on adventures with my friends. Even now, we sometimes talk about memorable moments from past games as though they were things we had experienced ourselves,” she says.

Meanwhile, D&D has not only been creatively and socially fulfilling for theatre performer Farez Najid, but also “life-saving” as well. 

“I began playing in late 2017, during a dark, depressive period in my life,” says the 34-year-old.

“My therapist said: ‘Maybe in the coming year, try new things. And if those things don’t seem worth living for, then we can talk about it further.’ So I went all out to find new things to get me excited. And D&D was one of those things.”

He gathered his friends at theatre company Teater Ekamatra for a game and was quickly hooked.

“In D&D, I was able to set goals for my character and work towards them in a structured and meaningful way. I had to learn how to effectively communicate my thoughts and ideas with my fellow players. This has been especially helpful for me, as I often struggle with social anxiety and find it difficult to connect with others.”

The role-playing element of D&D has also provided a safe space to explore and experiment with aspects of his identity. “Through creating and playing a character, I have been able to try out different behaviours and ways of thinking that I might not have felt comfortable doing in my real life.”

Mr Farez may have stumbled onto D&D as a form of therapy, but some psychologists are starting to use it as a formal tool in their practice.

In the United States city of Baltimore, a counselling centre at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University set up a D&D therapy group in 2021. On a web page announcing the group’s formation, it was noted that “benefits such as increased problem-solving skills, self-esteem, confidence and empathy have been observed using this style of group therapy”.

Mr Farez is now a professional Dungeon Master, which means he teaches others – including local kids’ clubs – how to play D&D. He also facilitates games and tailors them to the differing needs of his players.

“I am able to create sub-plots and scenarios within each game’s storyline that addresses specific issues for players to navigate, such as anxiety or low self-esteem. The game provides a safe space to communicate, collaborate and problem-solve – both individually and as a group,” he says.

But Mr Farez is also quick to add that it would all mean nothing if the game were not also fun.

“After all these years, I still look forward to all the laughter and joy that never fails to occur each time we are gathered at the table for our next adventure,” he says.

How to get started with D&D

A typical game has a group of four to six players embarking on adventures in a fantasy setting, while acting out characters of their own creations, such as shape-shifting elves or warrior dwarves. 

The typical playing time for a single session is two to four hours, but each session is just one episode of a larger storyline, known as a campaign. The length of a campaign is determined by the storyline, the players and the Dungeon Master facilitating the game. 

One way to start with D&D is by printing out the rules from the official website. The only other things you need are graph paper to act as your “map” and a set of specialised dice. These include 10- and 20-sided ones, and there are usually six to eight in a set.

Cheap sets are available on Lazada for as little as $5, or you can go all-out with an eye-catching artisanal set from local art collective Sambal & Mages from $135.

Or try an official D&D Starter Set. Typically, this kit includes a rulebook, a set of D&D dice, some pre-generated characters and a scenario to get players started on their first adventure. 

The Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set: Dragons Of Stormwreck Isle ($35.95) was released in October 2022 and is available from retailers such as Amazon SG. 

There are also tabletop gaming communities across the island that organise Learn-To-Play sessions, and host games for individuals or groups, either free or for a fee. They include the D&D Adventurers League, Gallant Games, TableMinis, TinkerTales Studios and The Legitimate Business.