MATTAPOISETT — Three adventurers rounded a corner in a dark, damp stone hallway deep underground. 

They had entered a dungeon in search of treasure and glory. 

From further down the hall lurched a translucent gelatinous creature — and it was coming right for the group.

“Roll for initiative,” said Gabe Skaar, who was running a Dungeons and Dragons campaign at the Mattapoisett Public Library on Saturday, Jan. 21. 

Skaar directed the group to roll 20-sided dice to determine who would have the first action against the creature in their path. 

His party of adventurers were three children, Manu Palomo, who played as a cleric named Arwen Hunter; Penelope Angeley, who took up the mantle of a paladin called Zyrin Alclemida; and Miles Gardner who was the crafty wizard Passeroff.

The group joined together for the Mattapoisett Library’s bi-weekly Dungeons and Dragons campaign. 

Dungeons and Dragons is a tabletop role playing game where players create fantasy characters, go on adventures and use dice rolls to determine the outcome of their actions. 

During their travels in the mystical world of Mula, where the game takes place, the group fought man-eating snakes, navigated a tricky stand-off with a cyclopic monster and solved a few small puzzles on their path toward treasure. 

According to Skaar, Dungeons and Dragons is more than just a fun way to pass the time, it can build real-world skills like communication, decision making and team building. 

“Generally I like to push players toward cooperation because when players work together they do bonus damage,” said Skaar. “The more everybody works together the more buffs go around and those buffs make a difference.”

A buff is a spell or ability that gives extra power to a teammate. 

At one point, the cleric Palomo used a guidance spell to give a four-point buff to a teammate who was picking a lock on a large iron door. 

“The more everybody works together the easier the dungeon is,” said Skaar. “If no one is working together at all we have an issue.”

The team encountered a few issues where the game started to “derail,” but due to Skaar’s planning — not to mention stacks of notebooks and players’ manuals — the game kept going smoothly. 

“I really prepare for eight different possibilities,” said Skaar. “When things kind of go off the rails, usually I’m ready. The more you plan, the less off the rails you can get.”

Following an encounter with an ice-cold moat of water, the group found a chest filled with 100 silver pieces, gold pieces and three silver goblets — a treasure trove of riches. 

They then left the dungeon with their new-found loot and were more than excited for the library’s next Dungeons and Dragons session. 

Palomo, who played Dungeons and Dragons for the first time on Saturday said that she learned about the game when a cousin started playing the game. 

“My mom suggested that I get into it and I did, and I like it,” she said. “I like that the dice determine your fate.”