D&D Preparation - Know how to fight!

In Dungeons & Dragons - much like in any other cooperative situation - you need to be prepared to make sure you succeed.

Now, that seems pretty basic, right? But I don't mean "read a few things and be ready to answer a few questions." No, this isn't that kind of fight where you have to only worry about your part. You must, first and foremost, understand the challenge that you're about to undertake. Fighting a werewolf or setting up to present a crucial part of the strategic roadmap to the customer are virtually the same: you just need to know how! And secondly, you must be VERY aware of what your other party members are capable of and how to complement them and work alongside them. Thirdly, you must have the right equipment with you!

By this I mean: it's not only up to you and it's not only up to someone else. You can take spotlight, but make sure you have everyone necessary involved in the conversation, just like you can keep quiet until you're under the spotlight and get to support what's already been said, with information only you have!

Five adventurers, each with specific skills and magic, in the woods fighting a werewolf, or five project members, each with a focus on a specific part of the project, prepared to take questions and explain thoroughly in a boardroom? Basically the same thing!

Get where I'm going with this? Never - or extremely rarely - have I been able to take on a challenging opponent in D&D by myself, without the support of my party, just like I have ever so rarely been able to take on a customer presentation without the full support of all teams and orgs that I was working on.

So you need a wizard - a solution architect, someone well read that can prep ahead of time - to set things up and prep everyone; a cleric - a PM with patience and understanding - to optimize, streamline, and ensure proper comms without any friction; a rogue - someone with a keen ear and an eye for detail - to pick up on potential issues and traps along the way; a fighter - that's gonna be QA, the brave souls - someone ready to take on the brunt of the damage and questions; and a bard - that'll be someone with serious customer facing experience - to take on the actual presentation at the end of the project, smooth things over, and make sure everybody leaves with a smile on their face (or at least a confused smirk as to why they just said "yes").

I feel like I should be making videos about this sort of approach to business, because I feel the words I'm putting down aren't doing it justice, but in the meantime, I beg you to have patience and stick with me as we work our way through what D&D is and how it can help anyone grow - both personally and professionally.

That small side note aside, let's delve deeper. Obviously, roles are not sufficient to define what must be done, how it can be done, and what timeframe we're looking at.

So you need not only figure out the roles within your project team, but also what the goal is and what resources you need. Let's put that into D&D terms:

Your party is about to take on a red dragon! Fantastic problems require fantastic solutions! Not only are you and your party going to take the time to look into and read up on what a red dragon is, but also specifically what sort of strengths and weaknesses it has and how each of the party members can use their specific skills and abilities to help out. Immune to fire, weak to cold? Got it! Job for the wizard! It'll be snowing ice daggers! Breathes fire, but can be managed with fire resistance potions? Awesome! Good thing the rogue took the time to swipe some from the local alchemist (the local alchemist won't be happy at first, but he's been working with the party for long enough to know it's worth it). The dragon hits very powerfully - claws, tail, wings, bite. We need someone to sustain the damage bravely while the others are busy bringing the beast down! The fighter is gonna have to take a few hits. Oh, damn! Looks like the fighter has taken a few too many hits and can't keep going! The cleric's gonna step in, taking some of the heat and healing the fighter on the way, making sure that everybody is freed up to do what they need to do. And lastly, when the beast is almost done and begging for mercy, the bard steps forward and - with a smirk - explains that this didn't have to be a fight at all, but simply a way to reinvest the dragon's hoard with serious returns at the end...all it takes is a bit of time and a plan readily planned out by the wizard.

I...I mean, I hope you got where I came from and where I was going with this whole dragon analogy.

Oh, and while we're at it, it helps that the wizard and the cleric have the right spells ready, that the fighter has the right gear (heavy armor and a sturdy shield don't come cheap), that the bard and rogue have the right information (and maybe the right potions). And that they've all discussed this long before stepping into the dragon's cave. You know? Just...be ready along your friends and make sure the people that know better bring in the right resources to bear at the right time, and don't just mention it in the middle of combat with a red dragon.

Makes sense? I hope so! It'll be linked to all the other D&D articles, so I hope you have fun!

Stay aware, open, awesome, and righteous!

Cheers!

Calin,