Dungeons & Dragons community growing
Exor Games building a second private room to keep up with demand
Brandon Massey holds a figurine in his hand. It's a barbarian figure, unpainted and grey – a blank canvas, ready for somebody’s vision to influence it.
"The beauty in these types of games is that you can be whatever you want to be," says Massey, manager of Exor Games in Charlottetown. "I can be a stormtrooper or a soldier or a barbarian. It's truly up to your imagination."
Wil Stevenson is a regular at Exor Games. He and his group have hosted weekly sessions there for almost two years.
Stevenson has been playing the game for more than 30 years. He says his love for the game stems from his upbringing.
"I learned about D&D (Dungeons & Dragons) through a friend of mine, and I remember buying my first couple of figurines when I was 16. Being able to customize your figurine to something that represents you is so rewarding."
With the rise of Dungeons & Dragons, Exor Games is constructing a second private room to host games to keep up with growth. The P.E.I. hobby shop is one of the largest gathering places for tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGS) in Prince Edward Island. Players of games such as Dungeons & Dragons, Pokemon trading cards, and Magic: The Gathering all gather there weekly to meet other like-minded people.
"In the past six months, we've probably seen double the amount of people that we usually get,” said Massey. “We've been getting new campaigns every day now."
Saturdays at Exor Games are especially popular. The venue sees use for the whole day, and acquiring a table to play requires a reservation a day in advance.
Additionally, sales figures are on the rise. D&D figurines and books saw a 40 per cent growth in the past six months.
Why do people keep coming back to play this 50-yearold franchise? Massey says the game's infinite replayability stems from the players' creativity.
D&D sessions are part of a larger group of play games collectively known as a campaign. A campaign's content depends on one person, a dungeon master.
The setting of each campaign can be whatever the dungeon master decides. The players could be a group of adventurers on a quest, sci-fi soldiers on a ship trying to commit treason against their commanders, or even something as mundane as office workers going through their day.
These campaigns can be lengthy and are dependent on the dungeon master's vision. Some campaigns can last for months or even years at a time.
Even employees at Exor have joined in on the fun. Clarissa Beamish was not a D&D player, but after she began working at Exor a little over a year ago, she's now part of a weekly campaign.
Massey said the community they have fostered at Exor Games is tight-knit and interconnected. Regardless of the game, people talk with each other about their interests.
"People love bringing in food for others to share. Donuts, pizza and all of that. The games last a long time so it's a good thing to fuel up on the go."
Currently, booking a table is completely free, but due to new renovations on the second floor and the new private room, Massey said that this may be subject to change.