In preparation for our gaming activities at the San Diego Comic-Con, Lindsay Garber sits down and chats with Jay Africa of the D&D Adventure League.
Lindsay Garber: I know you are busy getting ready for the convention, but we can get into questions if you’d like.
Jay Africa: Let’s do it!
LG: You are the Regional Coordinator at D&D Adventurers League. Congrats.
JA: Thank you.
LG: Do you write and create maps for the league?
JA: I do actually. Regional Coordinators were released from our duties about a year ago, but I coordinate in the Los Angeles area. If random D&D groups ask, hey where can we play, I am still in the know about where games are around here, as well as up and down the coast. Lately, since the change in position I have been writing. I have written one adventure for the Storm King under D&D Adventure League Season. I am also writing heavily for a number of conventions around the country. Currently I have three adventures released publicly at the GM’s guild. I have another 6 going on 7 adventures later this year as well.
LG: Wow, that’s quite impressive. I know you were just at another D&D event, with photography of the event and pictures of people dressed up in character. It was amazing to see. I didn’t even know there was a specific con for stuff like that. How many years have you been involved with the league and how did you begin this journey into D&D and then map and story creation?
JA: I’ve been with the league since it’s inception, or since it’s public release. I first started playing D&D in 1986 when it was first edition. When I moved to the states in 89, I started playing second edition. I took a long break for 15 years, so I missed third edition, but started playing again when fourth edition came out. I saw an ad for the red box. That inspired me to pick up the game again. I learned from the first edition red box. I have been playing since then. I started playing D&D encounters, which is one of their organized play programs during the fourth edition days. I kind of bounced from store to store, community to community cause I moved around. Eventually I ended up playing at Njoy with you and the group and that was during the transition from fourth edition to D&D Next playtest, then into fifth edition. When fifth edition was released they announced that the D&D Adventure League would be the new organized play program. I transitioned with the editions and started GMing (Game Mastering) exclusively in fifth edition. When the call was made for local coordinators, I was one of the first to volunteer, and one of the first in Los Angeles to be assigned a local coordinator position.
LG: Well if there is anyone qualified, I’d pick you. You seem to have the experience and have played a lot of stories, from a players and dungeon masters prospective. Can you give us a general walkthrough of how you find an idea for one of your stories and how you execute?
JA: For my own homebrew campaign I just think about concepts that I think my players would love to run through, and things I would love to run through myself. I get a lot of inspiration from books, movies, and video games. I think about those scenarios that I have enjoyed and how that translates, and what kind of spin I can put on that as far as the tabletop goes. For D&D fifth edition, a lot of the adventures that I am writing, the paths have already been determined, and given an outline. I go from that outline, and it’s usually just a paragraph of plot elements. There is a lot of freedom for the designers to really flush that out and develop it. Recently, mapping is sort of my thing, I’ve been thinking about the outline, and the settings, so I think about what maps I can generate from that setting. I’ve recently spent a day or two plotting out maps, drawing maps. Then I populate the map, the dungeons I fill the rooms, if it’s a location I figure out what is happening there. What the players will do, what kind of monsters will be there that they face. I really like to give the players a lot of agency on what they do. So the game is not on the raids but once they get to a specific location, I like to show them what that location is, and say hey, “Here it is, go where ever you want to go, do what ever you want to do.”
LG: So it’s more about the journey then the end point.
JA: Exactly. So I encourage a lot of problem solving. You see this location with monsters in it, but it’s up to you about how you want to attack them.
LG: So, D&D Adventurers League at San Diego Comic-Con next week in Mezzanine 16B. There will be 25 highly skilled dungeon masters running the adventures this year, can we expect to see any of your maps or stories played during this event?
JA: Yes actually. I am developing maps for the adventures that are exclusively released here at Comic-Con, there are going to be three new adventures. All of them are going to be geared toward new players. So they are for character levels 1-4. They were written by Mike Olson, who is the Emmy award winner designer of the Atomic Robo as well as a number of other games that use the Fate engine. We are really excited, we got to playtest a couple of the adventures. They are a lot of fun for new players. I am developing some of the maps for those. A couple of my adventures will be running at Comic-Con but they are for more experienced players. What we are hoping is that people will come in, get a taste of these adventures, and then want to return as Comic-Con progresses to play more games in the series. If they continue they very well might make it to the next tier, tier two, to play my adventures. Overall, I can’t wait! We get hundreds of new players. I am really excited to meet new players and introduce them to the game and the world of D&D.
LG: That’s exciting, and to see so many game testings of your stories and maps must be very exciting as well. There’s a lot of first time players, what plans does your group have to support the difference in the session between amateur/first time players, who might be in the same session as a seasoned player?
JA: Overall, we are going to be providing players with every reason to play D&D. If you come into Mezzanine 16B knowing nothing about the game, or a peripheral knowledge of the game from shows like Critical Roll or Stranger Things, our Dungeon Masters are not only prepared to run a game for you, but we have recruited Dungeon Masters who are also teachers. They know the game inside out, and have played in public settings before. They encounter a lot of new players. We are looking to take the pressure off players who may be nervous playing D&D for the first time, or don’t know how the game works. The adventures themselves are tailored towards a more introductive experience. Con games can be pretty high pressured, because you have a time limit that you are trying to adhere to. Experienced players are fine with that. They know their characters inside out. These games have a lot more wiggle room for the Dungeon Masters to discover what the players are like, and to play with the characters within the setting of the games. We will be providing pre-generated characters, so if you get there and don’t have a whole lot of time, you can just pick up a character. The Dungeon Master can go over what the character can do, and the general idea of how it plays. We are going to have pens, papers and of course miniatures to borrow to represent their characters on the map. We are also going to have full sets of dice for players to use. If they decide that they want to come back later on to play other games, we have partnered with Chessex so we can direct players to that booth so they can pick up their own sets of dice later on during the weekend.
LG: Awesome, that’s amazing that you are supplying everything, that you just have to come in, with just a bit of imagination, and everyone will support and give this experience some next level opportunity. I’m sure it’s part of the fun for these Dungeon Masters to work with these first time players to see what they are like, and adjust accordingly. Stories never go exactly as planned.
JA: Exactly!
LG: So depending on the Dungeon Master you have and the story, you’ll have a different experience every time. To be able to have an environment with first time players and people with a lot of experience and people in general who are kind and want to play, it doesn’t get much better. That’s what drew me into D&D in the first place. I love this learn to play program. For these first time players, what comment or advice in general would you tell a first timer to get them into playing?
JA: First of all, if you are going to be at Comic-Con come and check us out at Mezzanine 16B, part of the Adventure’s code of conduct is inclusivity. Making sure the environment is safe and comfortable for players to come and play. I know that D&D has a long history of being an insiders game. It very much isn’t that anymore. The rules have been streamlined so a person can come in, get a quick overview, pick up the dice and start playing. New players, don’t worry about the rules, the Dungeon Master is there to help you. If you have seasoned players at your table, they are usually more then happy to guide you as you learn the game. Just relax, enjoy yourself, and think about what your character would like to do, within the story of the game. Feel free to let your imagination run wild and try anything. Our Dungeon Masters are going to be very focused on story and easing players into the game. When you come in and play, just enjoy us. The Adventure League’s focus is on the fact that new players are going to be entering the game at all times. We want to make the environment easy to manage, pleasant, and fun for new players as much as we can.
LG: That’s great advise and actually why I started playing in the first place. You are around people who are supportive, no wrong answer as long as you can say why your character can do something, roll for it and see if they can. That’s what I love about the game. For the seasoned players it’s also great for experienced D&D players to come over to Mezzanine 16B for the new and exclusive content. Can you tell us a bit about Chad Kaski, what he does, and some of the prize opportunities with him and your other vendor partners?
JA: Chad has been a Dungeon Master for the Adventure League for the past couple of years, he might have started in Season 4, which was the Curse of Strahd. He may have started earlier. He is just one of the creative Dungeon Masters that we have had. The cool thing about D&D adventures is that they are usually set in these really fantastical settings, and Chad is a true craftsman. He builds out the marvels of these settings, and it’s just amazing to see them played. There was one setting in a 100-foot statue. He built out the statue so you could put the miniatures on it. It was amazing. For the various cons he has built arenas, carnival, and a house for the Curse of Strahd story. This year he is switching gears and instead of building settings, he is building gaming accessories for the various Dungeon Masters and players who are coming. These are finely crafted accessories. I think we may be raffling them off to various players. Players may have the chance to win these custom build player accessories that Chad has made. The organizers on the ground in San Diego have been reaching out to various product partners. I can’t reveal to much of those as well, but we have been getting various gaming products to give out to players. We are going to be giving out stickers, and other little souvenirs that players can take home, as well as big-ticket items that players and Dungeon Masters can get their hands on.
LG: Wow that’s fantastic. I’m definitely going to be there checking it out. Having that type of opportunity to see those items custom constructed for the adventure, there is nothing like that. You’ll see me there. Also, congratulations that D&D Adventurers League was such a success last year that you will now have over twice the space of the previous year. A lot more people will be able to play then before, and participants will be able to play adventures before the rest of the world.
JA:That’s correct, Mike Olson’s adventures will be premiering at Comic-Con and they are two adventures geared toward lower level characters. A fun romp through the fantasy and the forgotten realms setting. New players will get to participate in these adventures, which I will tell you, as they are designed, mirrors the Comic-Con, the attendees familiar with the Comic-Con experience may find themselves seeing hints in the adventure that they are playing. Hopefully they will enjoy that, and will gel with the spirit of the con, and that they can appreciate that D&D can be that for them.
LG: How has the convention crowds grown over the years in regards to D&D?
JA: D&D is growing like crazy now a days. Fifth edition is such a great edition of the game, players everywhere are looking to experience that game. When Adventures League first started at San Diego Comic-Con, we had 4 tables and it was offsite. Players had to seek it out if they wanted to play the game. Tables were packed and they ended up turning people away, a decent amount of people unfortunately. When Comic-Con saw that, they decided that we were ready to get a bigger space. For a couple of years we have been in 16B, but sharing it with another game. In the past 4 years we have doubled the amount to 8-10 tables. It’s been the same situation throughout. In 2017 they had to turn away a couple of 100 players. Players who wanted to play D&D. In the meanwhile the game we are sharing the place with are sniping players from us. “Hey D&D is full? Come over and play this game!” Which is cool, and fine. At the same time it would have been nice to have the table capacity to accommodate all the players that we can. We have put the numbers to Comic-Con, to the gaming organizers about the people coming to play. This year the other game is moving to another location, so we have all of Mezzanine 16B. That has more then doubled our table count. We have a lot more space to accommodate players. So if you find yourself looking for something to do at the convention, or escape the floor, then come on over. We will have seats open, Dungeon Masters to play games for you, everything you need. It’s going to be a fun time. If you happen to see the Critical Roll panel, or one of the panels by people who stream D&D, you don’t just have to watch what they are doing, you can come over and play if you’ve never played a game.
LG: Congratulations once again. When I tell people I play D&D the reaction is always, I want to play. When you have a full party, you can’t bring on more people. It’s nice to know that you can contact the D&D Adventurers League, to find a group to be able to play with. It’s good to know that at Comic-Con there will be 25 highly skilled Dungeon Masters running the adventures this year, with double the space, ready to play. That’s amazing. As for the scheduling at the Con, will it only be day gaming or will there also be an evening program as well?
JA: The Adventures League runs from 10am-9pm. It goes until the Con closes. We start when the Con opens and till the very last minute of the convention. The last game ends at 5 or 6pm on Sunday, so we are running games throughout. Which is why we had to recruit so many Dungeon Masters. We have so much content that we are going to be running through. That gives us some breathing room if someone needs to step out for a bit, and enjoy the floor, there will be another Dungeon Master available to pick up the game.
LG: For the people who want to keep playing after the convention, have you guys thought about running a Dungeon Master instructional session during the convention, to help players make the transition to becoming their groups Dungeon Master?
JA: Oh wow, that is something haven’t yet considered. That is definitely something to think about for future Comic-Cons. We have so many players coming through, that the focus has been getting those players a game. However that’s a good idea. Maybe to swap one day to get players started on Dungeon Mastering their own adventures. I’m definitely going to bring that up with the other coordinators.
LG: Great, I know it’s hard to find a really good Dungeon Master. Sometimes it takes one Dungeon Master, but other people assist as well, which is okay. Having a class or program would benefit anyone to see how a Dungeon Master thinks and works. It is a hard job, but also very rewarding. I wouldn’t mind taking one of those sessions as well.
JA: Absolutely. We wont be able to do it this convention, but I’ll talk to the other organizers about that. We D&D coordinators are constantly trying to train new Dungeon Masters. So hopefully we can get some “How to Dungeon Master” sessions out into the wild between now and the next Comic-Con.
LG: What else are you excited for people to experience at the con this year with the league?
JA: The hope is to get players to play through a series of three adventures. You can play them in any order. You don’t have to worry about if one adventure will tie into another. They’ll all be fine. We are looking forward to promote some of our vendor partners. Chessex being one of them. There are a couple of other gaming companies that produce really wonderful adventures that are going to be at Comic-Con and we’re going to be hitting them up. Those are Non-League adventures, but at the same time, they are such fantastic writers, that we just love supporting them. D&D is going to have a pop-up store at a place called BAIT. We are looking forward to sending people over there to see the other side of D&D. There will be a lot of Wizard of the Coast staff there greating people, talking about what’s coming, and exclusive merchandise. We are hoping to expand players knowledge more then just the streaming games and the homes game that they might be playing with friends. It’s a big world to be imagining, and fires off the brain on all cylinders once you start to realize how much there is.
LG: After Comic-Con next week, where can players find other games and events from the Adventurers League?
JA: If you are unable to play at Comic-Con, feel free to check out the Adventure League game running stores all over the country and world. We have several Facebook pages to help show you where your games are.
LG: I’m really excited to see the Adventures League on Mezzanine 16B, coming up next week. We are almost there!
JA: Comic Con is a lot to absorb, if you need a break, or if you want to fire up your creative juices, come on up and play D&D, let your imagination run wild. Learn to play, or if you already know how, meet some new players. Maybe you can meet a person to play a game with once Comic-Con is done. We have a lot of people who come in and make lifelong friends at the gaming table. Whether you continue on with the Adventurers League or not, its just a great social setting. That’s why we are so passionate about it. Many of us have met through D&D and we are great friends now, and we want more people to experience that. We think Comic-Con is a great place to reach new people, and get new people playing. To make new friends.
LG: Thank you so much!
If you’d like to reach out to find people to game with you can do so here:
D&D Adventurers League website
D&D Adventurers League Facebook Group
D&D AL US Far West Facebook Group
If you want to find out more about Dungeon & Dragons, please go here:
Official D&D website
To interact with Jay Africa, you can do so here:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/jafrica
Twitter – @jayafrica
Instagram – @transplantasian
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