Dungeons & Dragons at the ISAW Library
On a dark Thursday evening in October 2025 – the evening before Halloween – a band of unlikely adventurers gathered around one of the glass-topped coffee tables in the warm glow of the Oak Library. Each had picked up the quest virtually pinned by the ISAW Library on the Institute’s Google calendar, and as they sat there, on the floral patterns of the carpets, the squeaking leather of the old couch or soft, colorful fabrics of the arm chairs, they eagerly awaited their instructions. These instructions soon came from their leader, the Dungeon Master Tyler Carey, who had great experienced in guiding adventures – fresh as well as seasoned ones alike – on their quests for glory and riches. Armed with their character-sheets, dice, and a strong passion for throat-singing, this merry band of soon-to-be-heroes set out on a perilous journey from the Moors of Zandor in the world of the Grand Wazoo. Here, they befriended beasts, trekked through swampland, interrogated a cat, and most importantly freed an entire region from the grasp of an evil force that was turning inhabitants from near and far into mindless zombies. The quest was a success; so much so, in fact, that the party decided to reconvene and seek out new adventures, this time leading them to a small village in the Kingdom of Cormyr. The final chapters of this tale are yet to be written, and only time will tell what our heroes will discover on their journey as it unfolds before them …
In the autumn 2025, the ISAW Library hosted its first Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) session for members of the ISAW community. This has been the topic of multiple tea-time conversations at ISAW ever since I first arrived at the Institute back in 2020. Fostered by this interest expressed across what has since become several generations of this community and organized by Gabriel Mckee and the ISAW Library, these sessions have become fun spaces for everyone to convene, roll some dice, and defeat a monster or two, while having a good time in the comforts of the Oak Library – regardless of prior experience with D&D and similar forms of table-top role playing games (TTRPG). (Speaking as a senior student myself, blasting a troll in the face with a couple of high-level fireballs and laughing together with the other players at our shenanigans work wonders for blowing off some academic steam!)
Following our inaugural Halloween-themed adventure, a fully-fledged campaign has since been put together with three successful sessions throughout the spring of 2026. All adventures are run by the talented Tyler Carey, a semi-professional Dungeon Master, who continuous to offer his time and skills to the group. Despite a wide range in prior experiences with D&D among the members of our group, everyone gets to participate at the same level – both in a literal and figurative sense – and the sessions have quickly turned into a calendrical high-point.
Our current campaign is based on a module set in the Kingdom of Cormyr in the Forgotten Realms. Our party, an eclectic band of unlikely heroes, are exploring an old ruined dungeon deep in the mountains in the hunt for trolls on behalf of the mayor of a small, nearby-village. However, the ruins are riddled traps and other dangers, and everyone must work together to complete the quest. Time will tell if they are successful!
Our Dungeon Master, Tyler Carey, sets the scene in the haunted halls of Eveningstar