Roleplaying Elves, Giants, and Paladins Dungeons and Dragons finally escape from the confines of the basements. The universe created in 1974 by Gary Gygax hits the big and the small screen, comes in countless genres and proves to be a therapeutic haven for its followers.
“Passion slammed into me like a bus. Jérémie St-Cyr does not exactly fit the stereotype of the shy soccer player. Dungeons and Dragons. The talkative and pleasant young man is nevertheless a standard bearer of this role-playing game in Quebec. He and his band of jolly fellows broadcast their delusions on the Internet under the name of Voices and Legendsa tracing of the American show Critical Role.
Each of the participants, training actors, embodies an alter ego character. The narrator St-Cyr guides the adventurers through invented and often improvised adventures. He invites them to slay imaginary enemies, to charm villains, or to flush out the traps in a fantastic medial universe.
Jérémie St-Cyr and his companions have tried their luck in this world full of calculations and statistics of which they knew very little just two years ago. “I was looking for a way that we wouldn’t lose sight of each other when we left school [de théâtre] “says the game master. “We could see that Dungeons and Dragons skyrocketed, it was a matter of time. We wanted to be at the forefront of that. »
St-Cyr then invents a story, his nose plunged into rulebooks and other bestiaries, and then unearths a studio. “We tell stories and we have fun with friends, without judgement. And all that unlocked the artistic fiber. It pushes you to write, to invent, he says. People want to embody a person, to embody a universe, then to have no limit. You can’t create a video game where you can do everything. I believe that role-playing came to compensate for that. »
Hundreds of people now follow the adventures of the band. The nested table game becomes in his words a “noble” entertainment formula, the prism of the game allowing to explore all kinds of identities. “We are now in an era of live and let live, and Dungeons and Dragons benefits from it. It got into the mainstream. »
Paying hard cash
The American series Stranger Thingswhose most recent season opens with a session of Dungeons and Dragons, also fueled this resurgence in popularity. Hollywood has now stepped in with a $151 million production tagged “Dungeons & Dragons” which will hit theaters March 31 as The honor of thieves.
Quebec is not hanging around and is also jumping into the adventure. Another film based on this fantastic universe, titled The Battle of Farador, will be released at the end of April. The coincidence between the release dates of the two feature films is not without disenchanting the director, Édouard Albernhe-Tremblay.
“For 12 years, I had only refusals,” he confides in an interview with the Duty. “Making a film with fantastic elements in Quebec, when you haven’t proven yourself, is very difficult, even if 75% of your story takes place in reality and 25% in the fantastic world. […] They were kind of like, “Come on, kid, are you crazy, do you want to make fireballs and lightning bolts?” »
The key to success: you have to “exaggerate the rules a bit” so that ordinary mortals understand.
His story is inspired by the hugely popular short film of the same name from 2006 in which a quidam finds years later his old friends who have never stopped playing. He laughs at these nerd stuck in the past. “Yes, you laugh at the characters, but it’s a tribute to what tripthere, ”says the filmmaker. “At the end of the day, you realize that these are people who are still working to improve themselves. »
Himself a player, Édouard Albernhe-Tremblay has seen the game evolve and start again. “I know more and more parents who initiate their children. I have friends who took them on a quest for adventure. »
An explosion of styles
The pandemic has emptied “D&D” books and other role-playing games from the shelves of one of Montreal’s biggest games stores, Le Valet d’Coeur. And the new trend continues. Two of the star game’s biggest competitors have sold out all of their 2023 prints in the past month, says co-manager Rachael Hardies.
“We have clubs in schools that contact us to buy all the parts to play. It’s a good investment, because even if the basic books are a bit expensive, you pay for it with a long campaign, she notes. Role-playing, with imagination, you have for years. »
If confinement has given a boost to table activities, the overflowing inspiration of manufacturers also plays a big part in it. Dungeons and dragons stories aren’t the only legends injected with fantasy anymore.
Recently, sci-fi, horror, spy, etc. role-playing games have been sold. “There’s even one on My Little Pony,” laughs Rachael Hardies. If it exists, there is a role play that goes with it. I even have one with bears doing bank robberies. It really became fly. »
Hasbro, the owner of Dungeons and Dragons since 1999, is partly responsible for the proliferation of these games because of a corporate reorganization in 2021. Leaked documents have suggested that the toy giant will change the rules and restrict the possibility of creators of enjoy it openly.
The news had the effect of an electric shock among the millions of players. Freedom, which is the richness of this pastime, was under attack. The leaders finally backed down in the face of popular discontent. “It’s clear by your reaction that we rolled a 1,” conceded the brand. The damage was done. Thousands of subscriptions were canceled in the process. Other games have jumped into this arena where creativity rules.
“I don’t know where the dust will fall in the end, but it’s good for leisure anyway,” said Rachael Hardies. Hasbro hasn’t cast its last spell and plans to launch a new version of its rules in 2024 under the banner One D&D. Between folklore and commercial franchise, who will win the battle?