One of the issues that makes Stranger Things so compelling for later generations of players is that we see our youthful selves on display. Let’s begin with essentially the most weirdly correct parallel: me.
The Mike
Beyond having the title in widespread, Mike was additionally the host of a lot of the Dungeons & Dragons periods for the group. My home was too, at the very least partially as a result of my residence life was essentially the most steady. You came upon fairly rapidly who was in a position to have youngsters over their home and what was happening there once you performed each weekend collectively.
Additionally, Mike was the without end dungeon grasp for the group. I DMed repeatedly, and was solely a participant after we tried different role-playing video games, with one exception (described under). Eventually, I used to be the one one who had a girlfriend who performed with us.
Unlike Mike, once I do play D&D I are likely to play sophisticated characters: artificers, clerics, wizards.
The Eleven
I met my girlfriend in my junior yr and highschool, because it turned out she was a role-player like me. She was additionally a author (there was a variety of overlap these days), and so we had a variety of widespread. She was additionally my promenade date. She joined my D&D marketing campaign within the later years.
Like Eleven, my girlfriend did not slot in with most teams socially, however she was no slouch both. She was a lifeguard, an completed author and artist, and an enormous fan of comedian books. For me, her superpower was being concerned with role-playing video games (and keen so far me!).
Our Eleven was keen on enjoying monks, rangers, and rogues, emulating her favourite superhero: Elektra.
The Dustin
Despite D&D’s fame as being for uber-nerds, my group was extra a set of outcasts who did not match wherever else. Only considered one of our gaming group, who I met in typing class, match the archetype of a super-smart gamer, and he was a licensed genius. He had internships with aerospace corporations and full scholarships for college. He even had a long-distance girlfriend like Dustin.
Our Dustin performed two totally different characters: an elven ranger and giff fighter.
The Will
Will is the quiet child who likes to play, however NEEDS to play as a result of it is the constructive factor happening in his life. Will’s the child who suffers most when the group breaks up, however as a result of he is quiet the opposite gamers do not essentially discover how onerous it’s for him.
I’ve written beforehand about my pal Joe, who handed away of a coronary heart assault in October 2020. Joe performed faithfully in each considered one of my D&D campaigns, and once I lastly threw within the towel in gaming with my highschool associates he was the one who had no technique of connecting with me: he was barely on Facebook, did not have a automobile, and infrequently traveled out of state. The finish of our gaming was successfully the tip of our relationship.
Joe was keen on enjoying dwarves: fighters or clerics. It’s considerably comforting to me to see Will come by way of the opposite finish of his tribulations (of which there are numerous in Stranger Things). I wish to assume that Joe might need too, if he nonetheless had a community to assist him.
The Lucas
The emotional coronary heart of the group, Lucas does essentially the most rising up through the collection. He transforms radically from being the stalwart participant to branching out on his personal. This causes strife inside the different gamers.
Our Lucas equally began out as a shy, chubby child who beloved martial arts and drawing manga, and matured right into a match, fashionable man who had his personal automotive. He would drive any of us wherever, present up in any respect hours to assist, and will all the time be relied on in a disaster.
So it was a shock when he began going to golf equipment and did not need to play D&D anymore. We did not understand it on the time, however he had shifted social teams and we hadn’t moved together with him.
Our Lucas beloved enjoying monks and paladins, and infrequently multi-classed characters who have been each.
The Eddie
Described by the Stranger Things wiki as a “full-on nonconformist metalhead” and avid D&D participant, I knew an Eddie who had a scary fame however was a candy gamer who caught by his associates.
Our Eddie had it powerful. He was the one considered one of us who smoked, was a metalhead, had lengthy hair, and he was an enormous child (probably, like Eddie, having been left again, however we have been afraid to ask). We solely performed at his home as soon as, and it was clear our Eddie did not have a enjoyable residence life. But he was loyal to his associates, and being his pal got here with some degree of safety — he slammed considered one of my bullies right into a locker as soon as.
Our Eddie all the time performed evil characters like antipaladins and assassins, and when he DMed our one recreation it was only a continuous area of evil characters slaughtering one another. With a tumultuous residence life, he moved typically, so he solely hung round for a yr (a season, in Stranger Things phrases), however he made a really sturdy impression.
There are many extra character archetypes than listed right here and much more gamers (my group reached 12 at one level), nevertheless it’s fascinating to see how a lot Stranger Things bought proper.
Your Turn: Do you acknowledge players out of your group in Stranger Things?
