AAA<\/p>\n
Not long ago, playing Dungeons & Dragons was considered akin to making deals with the devil. The role-playing game inspired immense panic<\/a> in the 1980s, with some parents and fundamentalist religious groups worrying it would expose children to dark, demonic whims.<\/p>\n This panic didn\u2019t last forever, of course. Concerns subsided as psychologists and players pushed against the ludicrous claims. However, even as it became more socially acceptable, the game remained largely relegated to the periphery of society \u2013 something only \u201cnerds\u201d would play.<\/p>\n Thankfully, being \u201cnerdy\u201d no longer means what it used to. Nowadays, D&D is everywhere \u2013 the teens of Hawkins play it in Stranger Things,<\/a> Chris Pine lives through it in Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves<\/a>, and voice actors master it for millions of viewers in Critical Role<\/a>. Even Vin Diesel has played it<\/a>. Over its 50 years, the game has gone from a satanic ritual or nerdy pastime to an all-out pop-cultural juggernaut.<\/p>\n While the game itself is everywhere, less is known about the people driving it. D&D wouldn\u2019t be possible without its dungeon masters (DMs), those who build and lead the fantastical adventures. They\u2019re so sought after there are Australian online marketplaces,<\/a> helping players connect with experienced D&D masters across the country.<\/p>\n So, what exactly does it mean to be a DM, and what does it take to be at the forefront of an ever-growing cultural phenomenon?<\/p>\n Matt Hillman<\/p>\n Fantasy always appealed to Matt Hillman, a 44-year-old game master at Melbourne\u2019s HP Gamemasters<\/a>. It eventually led him to D&D in high school, where he\u2019d play with a group of friends during lunch. However, it wasn\u2019t until the COVID-19 lockdowns, when he suddenly had ample spare time, that the game really took hold of his life.<\/p>\n Being a DM is now Hillman\u2019s full-time job. Each week, he spends around 15 to 40 hours planning \u201chome-brew\u201d campaigns (adventures based entirely on his own imagination rather than pre-written journeys), some of which he releases for other groups to enjoy.<\/p>\n So detailed are his campaigns that he sometimes fills out three entire notebooks with character traits, notes on narrative developments, setting descriptions and so forth. One of his favourite campaigns, \u201cTyranny of the Dragons\u201d, ran for over a year, with its war finale lasting 16.5 hours.<\/p>\n There is some debate over whether DMs should be paid for this kind of work, Hillman says. However, it\u2019s becoming more common, particularly given the time people like himself invest.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s meant to be a hobby, but the benefits of having a paid DM is you then have someone with experience,\u201d he says. \u201cThey have materials, kit and supplies to make the experience more spectacular. They\u2019re also not necessarily a friend, which is good because sometimes when you\u2019re DMing for friends and something goes wrong, that can be friendship-breaking. People get very passionate about this, particularly if you have a problem player at the table.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article D&D isn\u2019t just Hillman\u2019s job, it\u2019s also a way for him to bond with his 12-year-old daughter. She was in one of his first-ever campaigns, during which she just repeatedly set fire to everything with fireballs. She has since focused, Hillman says, and recently requested a D&D-themed birthday party. She\u2019s even running some of her own games.<\/p>\n \u201cAnyone can be a DM,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s no prerequisite. You just have to be willing to sit behind the screen, plan out what\u2019s going to happen for your players, and help drive the collective story you\u2019re telling. There\u2019s no real rules.\u201d<\/p>\n Alicia Warren<\/p>\n Alicia Warren\u2019s first D&D campaign ended in literal flames. The curtains were drawn while they played, and when they opened them hours later, a fiery red sky from the 2003 Canberra bushfires greeted them.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was almost like the D&D universe had followed us back into our universe,\u201d Warren says.<\/p>\n This experience immediately hooked her, leading to the establishment of Geek on a Leash<\/a>, a Sydney-based business that helps connect people with game masters for various role-playing games. Nowadays, Warren runs around four to five games a week, for which she\u2019s paid on average $40 to $80 per hour.<\/p>\n \u201cYou just need the drive to do it, and the capacity to either learn a pre-written module or understand the structure of the world enough to be able to create a story for your players,\u201d Warren says. \u201cIt helps if you\u2019ve got a passion for performing. If you bring enthusiasm to the game, it\u2019s almost impossible for your players not to be drawn in.\u201d<\/p>\n Clear communication skills help too, whether you\u2019re a meticulous planner or a looser improviser. You can hone these skills by watching other DMs in action, she says, either in-person or via webseries like Critical Role. A short improvisation course could even help, Warren says.<\/p>\n It isn\u2019t necessary, though \u2013 you can ultimately draw inspiration from anything.<\/p>\n \u201cI can be staring at a blank page for a long time before something will finally spark inspiration. It can be the strangest things. I could be walking my dogs, and a thought comes to mind after seeing a native bird,\u201d Warren says. \u201cOther times, it\u2019s the lyrics of a song. I\u2019m in the middle of completing a four-week campaign inspired by the lyrics to the Eagles\u2019 Hotel California.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article The only real challenge, she says, is co-ordinating times to play. The game also used to have a reputation for gatekeeping, being a pastime largely dominated by white men. However, Warren says this has changed significantly over the past decade.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you look at the statistics of who plays D&D, many are of minorities and different neurodiversity. You get a lot of people coming together. It\u2019s a co-operative game where there\u2019s a lot of acceptance and love of people just as they are,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople share their experience of using D&D to help discover more aspects of their own self and personality that they weren\u2019t otherwise aware of or didn\u2019t feel comfortable expressing in the real world. It\u2019s helped some people really discover themselves and feel more complete.\u201d<\/p>\n Lachlan Jones<\/p>\n Lachlan Jones began playing D&D at the tail-end of the \u201csatanic panic\u201d. He was nine years old, and had just discovered a neighbour\u2019s beginners\u2019 box set. This didn\u2019t sit well with his other neighbours, however, who advised his parents to stop him from playing such \u201cdevilish\u201d games.<\/p>\n Thankfully, his parents didn\u2019t heed this advice, and Jones is still playing to this day. He also runs games around twice a month, taking players on all kinds of adventures, from Pirates of the Caribbean-themed escapades to battles against gargantuan sharks with laser-beam eyes.<\/p>\n The \u201cnerdiness\u201d associated with DMs hasn\u2019t disappeared, Jones says. In fact, he calls himself \u201cnerdy in every possible sense\u201d. The difference now is that \u201cnerd\u201d or \u201cgeek\u201d labels don\u2019t carry the judgemental heft they once did.<\/p>\n Shows such as Critical Role, a massively successful web-series in which voice actors play D&D, have played a significant role in shifting these attitudes, encouraging a growing number of people to try it. This has subsequently lifted the barrier of entry, Jones says \u2013 even if it didn\u2019t intend to.<\/p>\n \u201cCritical Role\u2019s popularity puts some of the people who run the games on such a pedestal that it can actually dissuade others from wanting to try running a game themselves,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have that added pressure to live up to those who are famous for doing it, especially because you have an audience when doing it. Even if it\u2019s just your friends, you always have an audience \u2026 That\u2019s why I take the opportunity whenever I can to tell people that anyone can run a game.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeremy Vine<\/p>\n![\"Dungeons](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6f9f6874ce0bf725be5e34d79ccfbea96f6d0dc9.jpeg\")
Dungeons & Dragons used to be labelled \u201csatanic\u201d. Now, it\u2019s just seen as a devilishly good time.Joe Armao<\/p>\n![\"From](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/dc7639e0c18b9c0a583ddc311c335f6a8cb20bb4.jpeg\")
From Stranger Things to Critical Role, Dungeons & Dragons has become a pop-cultural juggernaut.<\/p>\n![\"Dungeons](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/85e137069fdc5b3f97becbbeb5e7d51aed964105.jpeg\")
Dungeons & Dragons isn\u2019t just a job for Matt Hillman, it\u2019s father-daughter bonding time.Ruby Alexander<\/p>\n![\"Even](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b6f049f5b6fbdc2e7ee4acd93f83f3cdbd0a2f9a.jpeg\")
Even Chris Pine got on-board the D&D train, starring in Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves in 2023.Aidan Monaghan\/Paramount Pictures<\/p>\n![\"Millie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/cf11be438b85c657ed7e0b0c94db0f3650dc6cb0.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Sydney-based](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ef7542b3e2b7cb9019451dfa5e606cad461c0613.jpeg\")
Sydney-based Dungeon Master Alicia Warren (right) says you can find campaign inspiration anywhere \u2013 from native birds to songs on the radio.Sitthixay Ditthavong<\/p>\n![\"Stranger](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1785548237_818_dc7639e0c18b9c0a583ddc311c335f6a8cb20bb4.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"If](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/f966031d9ed84ba0e6e7455f3d78a178cb5e9d24.jpeg\")
If his childhood neighbours had had anything to do with it, Lachlan Jones (second from the right) would never have touched the \u201cdevilish\u201d game of D&D.Edwina Pickles<\/p>\n
![\"Could](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/495db16a9639e11af0302609ec0f3e7440d0f795.jpeg\")
Could D&D\u2019s popularity just be a passing fad? Jeremy Vine (centre) certainly doesn\u2019t think so.Joe Armao<\/p>\n