Real Women of Gaming

A few years ago, I joined Deaf Tabletop Gaming Online. It is bustling with Deaf and Hard of Hearing players, Dungeon masters, Game masters, and even board and card games in the number of 416 and still counting! I had build experience on online gaming thanks to DTGO, so I decided to ask a few founding members; StarofSorrow,(the Founder of DTGO, https://linktr.ee/deafttgonline ), Klaz(founding member), Root (founding member, https://linktr.ee/dicestew ), and Xenon(founding member) to bring up the awareness of Deaf and Hard of Hearing who play D&D, card games and even board games; but this one is for D&D and other gaming systems. There will be more articles coming related to DTGO!

What is Deaf Tabletop Gaming Online? How and when did it get established?

StarofSorrow: Deaf Tabletop Gaming Online is a community space on Discord for players who are interested in board games, collectible card games, and tabletop role-playing games to gather and mingle and play games with each other in American Sign Language. It all started in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic, when Deaf Board Game Convention (DBGC) couldn’t meet in-person due to the travel restrictions and health and safety concerns, so they hosted an online convention, which was extremely popular. 

The online convention then evolved into a year-round space where Deaf players along with hearing people who were fluent signers could play online board games with each other using different mediums such as Steam, online websites like Board Game Arena, and more. The tabletop role-playing community also took off when Klaz started a series of DND sessions which evolved into our first DND campaign for DTGO and it grew to include several new Dungeon Masters for DND along with experienced Dungeon Masters and Storytellers for other tabletop role-playing games. The collectible card game part of DTGO took off in 2022 (I think, I’d have to double-check on that) when we had some staff added to our ranks who focused on MTG and other card games. And we’re all still running strong to this day! 

When and why did you start playing Dungeons and Dragons? 

StarofSorrow: I’ve always been interested in the tabletop roleplaying games, but never was able to truly get into it due to several factors: communication barriers with hearing players, not knowing if there was serious interest in my local Deaf community to play DND, and time.

I started playing TTRPGs via forums (yes, I’m aging myself here, oy vey!) in late 90s and early aughts, using systems like BESM (Big Eyes, Small Mouths) and the like. I also got into the VTM (Vampire: The Masquerade) games in an virtual game called Second Life, and I played in several RP cities. The lore of VTM really drew me in, and I really liked the concept of exploring personal horror in a game. I also played a little bit of Star Wars using the Edge of the Empire ruleset run by a friend of mine, Hunter, and I played a little bit of Dungeon World. I never did become a Game Master, though. I felt like I didn’t know enough about running games to really try it myself. As for DND, I actually joined my very first campaign in January 2020 (yes, before the pandemic really took root here in the US!) with an interpreter as a DM, and I was really looking forward to experiencing my very first DND campaign when the pandemic hit. I was really disappointed when the campaign stopped even before we really took off (we had only finished our Session Zero and first session before the stay-at-home orders took place.) So, when the online convention came around, I took part in the online RPG streams and played different games, and had a blast! Then when Klaz started up his DND campaign, I joined up as soon as I could, and had a blast, and the rest is herstory! 

Root:  I first played dnd when I was in high school and a friend ran a campaign. I’ve already started playing RPGs way before and was curious how dnd worked as a system.

Xenon: Before COVID-19 started, I wanted something different. Something simulative. Google search function was what led me to discover the word “tabletop role-playing game”, which moved to the next word, “Dungeons & Dragons”. I didn’t know what it was, but it seemed so cool so I took a deep dive in the Facebook community and found two groups who planned to start a campaign. My first character was a halfling rogue, because you know, I thought it was cool. My experience with DnD 5e was short-lived with two groups due to schedule conflicts, but they didn’t stop me from trying to find a group. I found a startup west march server in Discord, where I was exposed to the concept of “play-by-post”. The rest was history as soon as I picked up a new character to make. 

Concurrently, I needed an in-person group, which was not easy for deaf and hard of hearing people with the same interests being spread out over the world. I decided to find a different Facebook community where I found an ad posted about a different RPG system, Mothership. We used Zoom meeting as our main videochat tool and Discord for rolling our dice – this lasted longer than my previous two campaigns and it was fun! 

What inspired you to become a Dungeon Master/Mistress?

StarofSorrow:  For me, it’s an opportunity to develop a collaborative story with players, and see how they react to the world I build for them. I love seeing other people have fun, and when I first started, I was nervous about running game sessions as a “newbie”, but received positive feedback. I feel like I have gotten better over time, and I truly enjoy seeing others enjoy the scenarios and the situations that they or I put them into. I’m always learning, and I feel like I’ll always be learning no matter how many times I’ve DM’ed.

Xenon: To provide some context on the terminologies, you’d notice I use it frequently for the rest of my responses. The word “West March” was something I learned and identified when I played on different servers in the past 2 years, but there is no official definition as far as I can remember. West March means a sandbox campaign hosted by multiple Dungeon Masters/Mistresses (DMs) with many players. The story was done by the collaboration between DMs and players, but from my experience, it’s heavily dependent on DMs to worldbuild and provide quests for the players to sign up for. DTGO did host a west march campaign from 2020-2022, which was called Dawnhome. It was a great run for me as both a DM and a player, of course – check out DTGO’s Youtube playlist!

As I mentioned earlier, I started out learning more about DnD 5e in a west march server with 20 other players. Our DM had an ambition of running multiple campaigns by themselves, and there were no other DMs to run that time. A few months later, our DM had a severe burnout and made a difficult decision to leave the server, which prompted a few of us to volunteer out as new DMs – I was one of them. It was not an inspiration, but rather, I felt obliged to take over because 1. I love to storytell; 2. I thought DMing would help me understand the rules better, which it did. This server lasted 2 years before I quitted and joined DTGO to help out a fellow DM in running Dawnhome. Not just Dawnhome, I was involved in at least several west march servers to find my niche – it was not easy to find the server I was comfortable with. (PS: Being in multiple west march servers in pbp format is actually a norm for those players who are in need of a group or an itch to play DnD 5e.) 

Fast forward, I am actively interested in various RPG systems though DnD 5e is still unforgettable and I’m currently running pbp campaigns using DnD 5e for 2  years – oopise, now it’s almost 3 years! 

Klaz: For me, I’ve wanted to play a RPG, like Dungeons and Dragons ever since I was young. I’ve never had the opportunity, the Deaf people around me never expressed any interest so for many years it remained a dream, but one day I decided that it was time, went out bought the books, and found four other people, who were also new to RPGs, and taught them and myself, heh. This was around 4 and a half years ago, I believe. I started as a gamemaster. Being an actual player did not come until much much later, once DTGO got founded and I found another gamemaster who actually could run games. It was a “finally” thing for me.

As a Deaf player, what do you do when you are in a session? 

StarofSorrow: Well, that depends on if it’s in person or online. Online, I have Zoom up, or Discord up for play-by-post (PBP). PBP is pretty simple, (but can be complicated starting out, though!) I just play my characters or run missions for other players to participate in, which I think would be the same as any hearing player, so I won’t get into that too much. 

For online with video with other signing players, I usually have Zoom up, or recently, some have started to use video channels in Discord to play games, which is always good. If I’m going to be streaming a actual-play session, I set up my streaming programs, too, just to get that out of the way.

During the game, I watch players, I do my best to be aware of what’s going on, and engage with other players via Zoom/Discord video, and I try not to get distracted by other things (such as checking my phone, or browsing the site) because that can come off as disrespectful of other players’ times if I do that. I also have my dice tray under my monitor, ready for me to use for my rolls if need to be. I have a Notepad/Word/Google Doc open to type notes if I need to, and sometimes I have a paper and pen to write notes too if I need that external stimulation of remembering something. As a DM, I also will have a drawing pad and a pencil/marker to sketch out a map real quick if players are confused by my scenes or with distance, etc. 

For in-person sessions, well, I make sure the table in my house is cleared off and extended so we all have space for our notes, dice trays, snacks, etc. We play games on my great-grandparents’ table that I inherited from my mom/grandmother, which I think is pretty neat! I also set up my DM screen, my notes, my books/notebooks, and I also set out the player’s handbook in case the players want to reference something in it (since not all my players own the PHB). And I sometimes cook food for the players if we’re doing potlucks ’cause I love to cook and share food with everyone.

Root: I would establish communication rules and make sure everyone is on the same page.  I do my best to pay attention to what everyone is saying and play along with the vibes being built up in roleplaying.  I also try to be aware of whenever I notice someone seems uncomfortable for whatever reason, then figure out what I can do to make them comfortable.  The most important thing is making sure everyone is having fun since this is a game.

Xenon: Do you mean the preparations for D&D5e specifically? Well, I tend to review my character sheet more than once within a week and within three days before the session starts because 1. It was to remember where the key information is located; 2. To understand the wordings – personally, I’m not a fan of these wordings; 3. To re-check my role-playing (RP) needs for my character since I try to be immersed in my own character and to avoid metagaming. Sometimes I scribble down my notes a few hours before the session starts and use my notes to ask a DM some questions for clarifications.

In non-DnD 5e RPGs, I don’t need a lot of preps to review my character sheets. They are bite-sized pieces of  information to absorb and understand quickly. What I needed to get ready was to recall the story from the last session.

Klaz: I’m actually going to flip that question, and make it “As a Deaf GM, what do i do”. Let me tell you what my games usually look like. I run sessions virtually on Zoom, and I use solely theatre of the mind (more on this in a second). I have my players either roll actual dice or roll on various platforms. Now, what I view as unique is the use of American Sign Language  (ASL) with my sessions. My players usually are fluent in ASL, and given ASL’s visual and physical nature, I find it amazing for actually painting a picture of the scene. In theatre of the mind, the GM describes the scene and then the players will get a image in their mind of the scene, and make actions, and such. Using ASL, I find that it allows me to describe things spatially in relation to each other, making combat much more clear, allows me to add physical body language and mannerisms to characters, allows me to describe action much more visually. I find through this, my actual role-playing is much more enhanced. One interesting struggle I have is handling modules. When I run from a book, it has boxed text that is supposed to be read aloud. It’s always so dry and not visual so I always have to translate and pizzazz it up for retelling in ASL.<Standard disclaimer – I do not speak for ALL Deaf GMs, experiences vary. I’m speaking for myself.>

What advice do you want to give to future Dungeons and Dragons players and master/mistresses?

StarofSorrow: Be open minded, be willing to learn something new every session. Even when I run sessions, I don’t know all the rules, so I’m learning something new every session, which is a good thing! For players, I would strongly encourage them to listen to their DMs. Try not to tell other players how to play their characters – everyone plays their characters differently and not everyone is always looking to min/max their characters, so to speak. And just have fun WITH your fellow party mates and DMs, not at their expense.

For the DMS – remember, it’s not you vs. them. Your goals may vary, but the heart of the whole tabletop sessions is for you and your players to collaboratively have fun and build a really neat world to explore, to react to, to make an epic story out of, maybe. Oh, and don’t try to be like Matt Mercer or Brennan Lee Mulligan. You can take some inspiration/notes from them, but be YOURSELF.

Root:  Please try out other systems.  Open your eyes to many, many new possibilities.

Xenon: Review. Review every time before you come to the session, trust me. Reviewing would save you a good 15 to 30 minutes before getting right to the heart of a mission or a quest. This applies to both D&D5e players and DMs. Active communication always helps to deconstruct the potential misunderstandings about anything. “Anything” can mean a character sheet, rule clarifications, information review, schedule conflict, etc. To be blunt, D&D 5e has a lot of information to absorb so being studious or assertive will benefit you in the long run.

To the aspiring DMs: Have fun with your players first. Always prioritize your mental being first to make sure that you’re comfortable running the quests or campaigns because I understand that feeling of needing to memorize every rule. Don’t. Just don’t. Forcing yourself too hard to memorize would only dampen your confidence. I worked with aspiring DMs in the past and this was a common issue I noticed so far because the DnD 5e system is on the fence between following rules religiously and having fun without needing to follow the rules. There are better DM tools to support you by just asking other veteran DMs or your players for their perspectives, or to find some RPG systems that are tailored toward running as GM (for example, Mothership RPG and DIE RPG). Be collaborative and flexible with the story guiding you through with your players.

I do encourage trying out other RPG systems other than DnD 5e because 1. Learning new mechanics might give you a new perspective of what you have been running so far; 2. Playing the rules-lite systems help you improve your quick thinking a lot to adapt with your players’ challenges; 3. Using the random tables will save you a lot of time in the long run to prepare a quest or a mission. I do borrow a lot of mechanics from other RPG systems to be incorporated in my ongoing dnd campaigns so don’t be afraid to explore and learn something new.

Klaz: JUST DO IT. Only by making that leap will you become able to run games. Your first few will be terrible. You’ll forget rules, look them up, forget them again. BUT your players will enjoy it regardless. Over time, you can seek feedback, improve, and build your own GM-ing style. One major advice to give in relation, though. Try and read the rules over, try to understand systems in relation – you do not have to be an instant guru, just look things over, so when things come up in game, it’ll give you hands-on experience, which will help your understanding of the rules overall. Another thing – Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself, try new things, because, literally nobody’s judging – people will KNOW you’re new, and cut you some slack for it.