Scrying on Iran's Tabletop Scene

My story is a common one. I was a gamer captivated by Matt Mercer’s performance in my favorite game. Soon after, I fell into the rabbit hole of Critical Role and Dungeons & Dragons. Where my story differs is more geographic: I live in Iran.

Living under an oppressive government, heavy internet censorship, and limited access to books and products from outside the country didn’t mesh well with a new D&D enthusiast wanting to get into the hobby. I remember vividly the protests of the Bloody November in 2019, when I was catching up to Critical Role’s Mighty Nein campaign, and I lost access to my only source of comfort during those turbulent times due to a complete internet shutdown at the time.

But even during peaceful and normal days, finding a way to play D&D seemed impossible. As a long-time fan of video games, Tolkien's works, and fantasy and sci-fi media in general—communities and fandoms that should have talked about D&D all the time—I had never heard of the game before 2018. I was a part of a very active Iranian Tolkien Fandom, The Arda Forums. I spent hours at gaming hubs and cafes, and I knew of other fandoms such as Twilight, Star Wars, and anime, but I didn’t know where and how to start playing TTRPGs. I wanted to experience this wonderful game for myself and create a memorable story with a group of friends. But I didn’t think I could find people who were interested or even knew what D&D was.

I didn’t want to bring it up with my college friends for fear of being labeled “too nerdy”. So, I suppressed my desire to preach the wonders of roleplaying games to everyone I could find and was content to enjoy the hobby with my parasocial group of friends, the cast of the actual play shows I watched. I felt like the young protagonist of a fantasy novel discovering the secrets of lost ancient magic, overwhelmed and alone, with only the projection of historical visions both keeping me company and keeping the magic alive.

"But even during peaceful and normal days, finding a way to play D&D seemed impossible."

But that changed in late 2019 after the protests. An online friend posted on Twitter about seeing a group playing Dungeons & Dragons in a cafe. She had taken the number of the person running the game, and once I expressed my interest in joining a game with her, she called him and we scheduled a one-shot session. I created my first-ever character—a level three tiefling bard—and we gathered in a small cafe in Tehran. My first experience playing the game was… mixed. Perhaps my expectations were unrealistic.

I came into Iran’s D&D community with a Western perspective. I learned about the game from American actual play shows, and I thought that professional and performative experience was what I would get.