If you’ve been checking our articles here on D&D Beyond, you know there are some new faces behind the scenes. My name is Amy Dallen, and I heard someone was looking for adventurers?

Some of you might know my past work from places like Geek & Sundry, Collider, and DC Daily. I’m a writer, performer, host, producer, and professional nerd. Over the past decade, I’ve been lucky enough to have a front-row seat to watch and to sometimes contribute to exciting changes; the games, stories, and ideas I love have found new audiences around the world, and more people than ever before are coming to the table. I’ll have a lot more to say about that here and in our streams and shows, but to start, I thought I’d share a peek at some of things you might find on my own personal character sheet.

Feat: Lucky

There is no wrong time to fall in love with rolling dice and telling stories. You are a real D&D player and a part of this community from the first day you want to be. As it happens, though, some of us get lucky and learn that secret from other players sooner than others.

For me, it was in elementary school. I was a reader from a family of nerds and fell in love early on with games, stories, and music. A childhood friend found out about something full of fantasy, excitement, and make-believe. Best of all: there was something called a bard. Learning that I could play someone who could save the day through songs and stories was a chocolate-and-peanut-butter moment for me. This had clearly been invented just to make me happy. I didn’t know to call it second edition, and I wouldn’t say we were entirely faithful to the rules as written, but we started on an adventure that has lasted me decades.

Background: Outlander

We moved around a good bit growing up. I wouldn’t suggest relying on my Wanderer feature to find food in the forest, but I did get used to being the new kid. In the lonelier times, books and sourcebooks opened reliable worlds of adventure for me. Even better, while each move might have felt like a leap into unknown territory, what I discovered when I landed over and over again was that somewhere in my new surroundings — whether I tracked it down or made it myself — there was a table of players waiting to find each other.

Playing, learning, and eventually running RPGs became a path to friendship, community, and great memories. It has connected me with many different people over many years, although playing through third, 3.5, and fourth edition has left me with the occasional mental tangle. (Remind me: is that an Encounter power?) Always, though, there has been the shared experience of creativity, community, and play — the things that make RPGs uniquely powerful, and just plain fun.

The accidental multiclass

Some character builds are optimized, with skills, abilities, and subclasses working in harmony to make an adventurer who excels at what they are meant to do. In real life, I did the opposite. I was all over the map, and into everything. After all, proficiencies in Theatre, Math, and Fantasy Novels didn’t seem like any Quick Build my teachers or I had ever seen. That, though, was only because we didn’t know what was coming.

Welcome to the party

Finally, it came together. I was in the right place at the right time (Feat: Lucky) to join up with some incredible collaborators in places like Geek & Sundry, and we started making the kinds of things my younger self would have loved to see. In making shows about comics and games, experimenting with RPG storytelling, and shining spotlights on the creators and communities that form the backbone of what I love, I figured out what I’d been specced for.

Bardic Inspiration

All of which is to say, I’m so delighted to be joining the party at D&D Beyond. I hope to repay the favor by doing my best to give some of that joy right back. We have a lot of plans which I’m looking forward to sharing with you all to add to the rich legacy of stories, streams, and lore explorations you’ve come to expect from D&D Beyond.

There are great deeds to be celebrated and tales to tell — after all, I’m still a bard! I’ve always believed in the power of art to lend us strength, though I’m not above a few Cutting Words, either! I try to reflect that belief in my work whenever I can. Underneath it all, though, is my secret supervillain goal: a world where each person knows the joy and glory of a great story told at a great table.

I hope you’ll join me on the journey there. Consider this a sign posted proudly outside the tavern in the center of town: “Adventurers Wanted. Inquire Within.”

Amy Dallen (@enthusiamy) is a performer, writer, and professional nerd who started rolling dice in elementary school and will probably never stop. You might know her work from Geek & Sundry, DC Universe, Collider, or her own Twitch streams, where she plays games and runs a book club.