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[the_freak]

[Eddie would have preferred the theatrics of the drama room, but he did his best to set up an imposing angle for his message. ]

I’m thinking a lot of us could use a chance to blow off some steam, hmm? Lots of work to do around here, and weird ass monsters to fight, but not a whole lot in the way of recreation.

Back home I ran a group called Hellfire Club. Led us in some of the most epic D&D campaigns Hawkins Indiana ever saw. And I was thinking…I could offer my services as Dungeon Master here if people were interested.

Beggars can’t be choosers and I know we have a lot of people who’ve never played, so- lucky you- I’ve decided to open up admission to first timers. Little bonus- anyone who joins gets a Hellfire Mk2 shirt of their very own.

[He shifts to show off the new design he’s printed, a proud smirk on his face.]

I’ll be at the diner this week for people to sell me on their characters. If it’s your first go, I’ll have sheets prepared and can help you fill them out.

Comments

[the_freak]

[Eddie rolls his eyes, but can't help but smile.]

It's as flattering as the old one was, Harrington. [He can't resist teasing him a bit, but it's nice to see Steve pleased about something.

His posture shifts a bit, and he arches a brow.]

Mm, I like that. Like a job interview. Sell yourself to me, Steve. Tell me what you bring to the table.

[farrahfawcetts]

[ A very, very blank look. That is what he brings to the table. ]

Uh. Do you want like some drinks or something? I can get you some food from the diner? Or. Uh.

[ He frowns, not sure what else there is here. The idea of relating this to the game at all doesn't even cross his mind. ]

Dude, I don't know. A blanket?

[the_freak]

[It takes Eddie a moment to catch up with the miscommunication, and he laughs, waving it off rather than correcting him, shaking his head with amusement.]

Never mind, sit.

So you've never played before, let me uh- here. [He shuffles through his papers to find a blank hand lettered character sheet.] I'll help you make your character.

[He slides the book he was gifted across as well, opened up to the different races.] First you're gonna want to decide what race your character is.

[farrahfawcetts]

[ Steve looks at the sheet of paper and then sits down. ] Shouldn't I just stick with being white? I don't think it's cool to just pick something el- Oh. Oh, these are magic things.

[ He looks through the races carefully and feels himself getting lost in the options almost immediately. He frowns and looks up at Eddie a second before deciding.]

Uh. Human is fine.

[the_freak]

[He definitely expected that one, and snickers softly as Steve figures it out.]

White Human. [Eddie teasingly reads allowed as he writes it in.]

Sex?

[farrahfawcetts]

[ Steve knows what Eddie is asking but can't help himself as the smile breaks over his face. ]

Not even taking me out to dinner first, Munson? Think I'm cheap?

[the_freak]

[Eddie wrinkles his nose and waffles his hand in the air in a so-so motion, smirking, and quickly dissolving into giggles. He might be older but he certainly doesn't act like it.]

How many meals have I brought you? Room service even. And nothing. You're a prude Harrington.

phone tagging, no html

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve laughs outloud, surprised by the response but loving it all the same.

"Damn, I really am. You're putting in all the work and not even getting a kiss on the cheek. Poor guy."

He giggles a little more, surprised by the amount of fun he's having even with this. Probably just because it's Eddie

"I'll be a dude."

<3

[the_freak]

It's nice that Steve plays along instead of getting all uptight about it. Even if they're just playing, it's more fun when there's some back and forth.

"You better be worth it, Big Boy," he teases.

He jots that down on the paper. "Are you a dude named Steve?" he guesses.

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve closes his mouth as soon as he'd had it open. Because, yeah. Yeah, he was gonna be a dude named Steve. But now that Eddie had predicted that, Steve needs to change it up.

"No..."

His eyes dart around, trying to think of some name that's not just Steve or some variation of that.

"Uh. My name is gonna be..." What did Dustin name his character? What was a magic-y name? The only real magic people he knew were Billy and Tommy and those were as bad as Steve. Shit.

"...Ev...ets. Yep. Evets." He says a silent prayer that Eddie doesn't figure out it's his name backwards.

[the_freak]

"Evets," Eddie repeats, writing it down.

He pauses, looking at the letters. Looks at Steve. Back at the page. His lips quirk, but he says nothing.

"Let's figure out his class," he says, turning the page for Steve, "It's like uh...there job sort of. Like when I play, I like being a Bard. They're all charm and charisma." He winks, natural fit.

[farrahfawcetts]

Okay, so he figured it out. Steve blushes a little but Eddie isn't teasing him about it so at least there is that. Glancing over the classes, he listens to Eddie's short explanation.

"Charm and charisma. Huh, so this is a fantasy game." He grins up at Eddie, teasing as he gives a wink of his own.

The classes are all confusing to him. What the hell does he know about the differences between Sorcerer and Warlock? He frowns a little, thinking, before just pointing at one. Fighter.

"That works."

[the_freak]

"Oh don't act like you aren't into it," Eddie teases, batting his eyelashes and invading Steve's space with a laugh.

God, they really are just building Harrington. He jots it down, helping Steve pick out a few more stats.

"So do you know how the game actually works?"

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve's smile grows at Eddie's easy tease. Those fluttering eyelashes are cute and as he moves in close, Steve has the instinct to meet him there. Tweak his nose or something. Anything just to tease him back. He's leaning back before Steve can make a decision how, though.

"Uh. You roll dice and act like a nerd?" He's being glib but he's also not entirely sure why what he just said isn't the truth. "Try not to die?"

[the_freak]

"Heh," God, he's not wrong, but Eddie still rolls his eyes. "I mean...basically. You and the other players are the party. I'm the Dungeon Master, so I don't play the same as you, I weave together the story, play the people you meet, control the monsters you fight- you'll get it once you see it. You and your party will have some kind of main quest- a bad guy to defeat or relic to recover, and you have to work together with your various skill sets to eventually win the campaign. The dice rolls decide the outcome- so if you say your character is going to jump over the big chasm to save the day and role a 20- then I get to tell you how your character did three backflips and landed on a goddamn horse on the other side he did it so well. And if you role a 0...then you tripped over your own cape, fell headfirst into the burning chasm and dragged half the parties gear along with you."

[farrahfawcetts]

It was just an example but Eddie has a way of making it sound funnier and more interesting than it had any right to be. Steve laughs at the idea of his character flopping into a chasm and taking all the swords down with him. He leans his chin on his hand, intrigued now.

"Wait, so you just make up these outcomes on the fly? Like what if in that same example I rolled like. A four, huh? What does a four do? Or a six?"

Is he suckered into this now? No. Definitely not. He is just curious. That's it.

[the_freak]

Is Steve Harrington actually interested in D&D?? Hell, just having anyone interested in listening has Eddie grinning, happy and eager to supply as much information as Steve can stand.

"Mm, kinda, yeah? It depends on the dice you roll for your check. So if you're rolling the d20 like in the example-" he pauses to pass the dice over and point out the d20, "Then generally anything under a 10 would be an automatic fail. A lot of stuff will have even higher pass fail stats that only I get to see. But I basically use that to decide how bad you fucked up or how ridiculously amazing you do. Adds some real world chaos and chance into the mix, you know? So a four- you manage to jump this time, but it's super short. You fall screaming into the chasm, and get knocked out. A six- you get a running start, it looks good- ...you still come up short, you fall into the chasm. You twist your ankle take a bit of damage, and for the next two turns your rolls are -2 but you're clear to look for a way out."

[farrahfawcetts]

Okay, this is sort of fun. Which sucks because Steve really wants to hear his song get played while Eddie grimaces through it. That would be a lot of fun too. Still, he can't help but get sort of invested into the idea of this game. The thought of a dice roll basically changing the whole outcome is sort of like gambling but with a story's plot instead of money. That's sort of interesting. In a nerdy way, sure. But still.

"So unless I make a ten, I am screaming into the chasm. That's like 50/50, dude. I don't know if that's worth it. So I guess in that case I would...not do that jump? Or I would?" He thinks about what Eddie said before and considers. "Is there a way to get +2 instead of -2? Like if I'm really good at jumping, somehow? Can I prove I'm a good jumper so I don't fall in the hole?"

[the_freak]

It's addictive, Steve. And maaaaaybe, if he asks nicely enough he'll still get that song of his.

"There might be other ways across the chasm that don't involve jumping...?" Eddie encourages with a nod, but he looks pleased that Harrington's actually thinking about this, grinning as he works out things without even knowing.] Yeah, your stats can add to your roll in some cases, so you might turn a 9 into a an 11 because you have such high Dexterity, and your character manages to snatch hold of a root at the last second and hoist themselves up."

[farrahfawcetts]

"Oh, hey! Okay! That sounds good. So maybe..." He looks over at his stats and suddenly sees them all in a new light. He frowns at the intelligence score and the relatively low dexterity in comparison.

"Why would I need to be smarter than more...dexter...y? Isn't that more important because of needing to do things? I can be dumb but stronger so that I can fight things off for the group. Why do I need to be a brainy fighter?"

[the_freak]

"I mean, that's where the team aspect comes in. But there's more to it than just punching your way through every fight. High Intelligence means you might have knowledge to solve a problem, so different languages- like if some goblin is trying to speak to the party, maybe you can talk to it. Or if you use magic, it will determine what kinds of spells you can use. All the stats have different advantages and disadvantages, and you can be as creative as you want about using them if you know how."

[farrahfawcetts]

Steve shrugs. "I don't need to be smart to do any of that shit for the kids so I don't think I need the intelligence score that high. Besides, fighters don't do magic, right? That was the other things like wizard and...whatever."

He takes a pencil and scribbles over the intelligence score, lowering it so he can put some extra points in strength and dexterity. Satisfied, he pushes it back over to Eddie with a smile.

"There! Now, how do I get a nail bat?"

[the_freak]

"Pfft, you're smarter than me," Eddie says with a dismissive shrug. Steve had managed to graduate on time AND keep a herd of children from being eaten by monsters. It's pretty impressive. "But yeah, generally they don't use magic."

"Ha, so are we just done pretending this isn't you?" he asks, but he considers a moment, "Fuck it, we can make you one. We just need to find something close in the book to base it off," he concludes with a grin, flipping through the manual. "You're getting into this, aren't you Steve?"

[farrahfawcetts]

"I graduated before you. And probably because my dad bribed someone. That doesn't mean I am smarter than you by any means. You know way more shit than I do."

Steve gets out of his seat to stand behind Eddie as he goes through the manual. He doesn't know what he's looking for but assumes a bat will be on some page and he can just figure out magic nails to shove into it. That's a thing, right? Gotta be.

"And I'm not getting into it. I just. You know. If I'm gonna play, I wanna not be shit at it." He was totally getting into it. "The character isn't me either, by the way. It's Evets. Super different."

[the_freak]

Eddie scoffs, but arguing over which one of them is stupider is not an great use of their time when they're both stubborn idiots.

"Okay, uh...oh there's a club, that's like a bat. You just need to work up some backstory for why your character decided to hammer a bunch of nails into it. And I'll add a chance for bleeding. That'll add damage over time if you roll well."

He gives Steve a knowing look, grinning smugly, "Super different," he agrees, "Wouldn't be Evets Notgnirrah, would it?"