In the mythical land of Ashbury, players don their carefully honed characters in off-kilter improvisational theatre with epic dimensions.

A low-ceilinged building there called the Dragon’s Flagon looks like a twelfth-century gangland clubhouse. Candles and lanterns cast a dim light about the place, and six-foot-long rapiers and other implements of destruction hang on the walls. In the tavern, mead and elfin wine (Kool-Aid and ginger ale) are slugged by players dressed as knights, gypsies, half-orcs and mystic wood elves. But more importantly, this is where Camilla Zatar, the saucy inkeeper, dispenses gossip and advice to players waiting for their “adventures” to begin.

Here, members embark on “quests” during which they are presented with a problem — say, a farmer’s daughter has been kidnapped by a foul necromancer — and they have to figure out what to do. Although there are no scripts and players have to improvise, the adventurers are guided by plots devised by the plot committee; these include fighting monsters, solving puzzles, and casting spells. Brooklyn Bridge – May 1996