Welcome, friends! In the second interview from the Meet the Monkeys series, let me invite you to the magical world of Dungeons and Banano (I’m pretty sure there’s also dragons somewhere!) with our guest, Zanefold, the Dungeon Master! You may know him already from the YouTube or Twitch channels, but hopefully this interview will be a chance to peek into the mind of a puppetmaster!
Asmo: First of all, thank you so much for agreeing to this, I'm really happy both me and the community will be able to learn more about you and the Dungeons & Banano project!
Zanefold: I'm very happy to participate!
A: Could you please tell our readers when you first got into the Banano community and how the whole Dungeons and Banano project started?
Z: I started May 4th 2021 and the ball with Dungeons and Banano started on May 12th.
A: Did you get involved in anything in the community before Dungeons and Banano?
Z: Nope! In fact, Dungeons & Banano started as a way for me to host a single event for Banano in hopes that it would get me citizenship on the server. After talking with Oops, I learned that the best way to gain citizenship is to be active and helpful in the community as well as nice to members of said community, so I thought coming up with a D&D themed event would help! One thing led to another and it ended up becoming a much larger endeavor and the requirements I had resulted in me starting my own server.
A: Did you have any previous experience as a Dungeon Master?
Z: Before Dungeons & Banano, I had probably about 3-4 years of experience with being a Dungeon Master for Dungeons & Dragons 5e (5th Edition). Before that I always tried to find a way to play D&D but was unable to find anyone to join, so I gave up and decided to start my own group after reading up how to play first... however it took me about 6 months to feel comfortable to actually run a game lol.
A: Could you briefly explain what exactly does being a DM mean for those of our readers that may be unfamiliar?
Z: The Dungeon Master (DM) is the individual in charge of creating every aspect of a given adventure. They controls all aspects of the game like what the npc's (non-playable characters) are doing and why, what the weather is like, what loot is available and more! However, the Dungeon Master does not control the actions of the player characters. That's up to said characters, their stats and most importantly the dice rolls!
A: Looks like you were able to combine your hobby and experience with contributing to the Banano community and earning your citizenship, that's actually great! Were you involved in any other cryptocurrencies before or is Banano "your first"?
Z: As far as community is involved, Banano was my first (and only). I was already involved with cryptocurrency for a year or so at this time. Unfortunately nothing significant, just a little here and there while I began to learn more about it.
A: How about your other hobbies? What else do you enjoy?
Z: My hobbies are running D&D 5e games, but also playing video games. Unfortunately I don't get very many chances to play video games these days between spending time with my family, work & Dungeons & Banano. Fortunately I have friends in the community (Blush, Ovi & Jimothy) that make sure I take some time away from Dungeons & Banano work and relax by playing video games with them (like Overwatch for example).
A: And what are your plans for the future?
Z: I hope to see the Dungeons & Banano project be a bridge between the TTRPG community (Tabletop Role Playing Game) and the Banano/cryptomonKey community. This however will take lots of work, time and, most importantly, patience. I also would love to one day have a Dungeons & Banano NFT line, however a number of things keeps me from moving forward with that (like already being super busy and not knowing enough to get started on my own lol). The main thought I have with it is how it would affect my relationship with the cryptomonKey community. I would only move forward with the NFT idea if it meshed well with the community. They have done so much for the project and myself (and all those involved), I want to make sure I continue to make everyone happy! I continue to look/work on more unique discord event ideas related to D&D for the community! Also, looking forward to Halloween!
A: I see! Do you agree like Mayor that Banano is a great gateway into crypto for beginners? Are you involved in any of the features like folding@home or wBan yourself?
Z: I agree with Mayor that Banano is a great gateway into crypto for beginners! The ability to earn Banano in a number of free ways (many of which are entertaining!) is an important factor, it's just as important that there's no transfer fees involved, lowering the stress and complexity of learning about crypto! Personally, I try to partake in folding@home even though I don't make much doing that. It allows me to have fun with server tips as well as contribute to the JungleTV queue/tips. The last I checked I was unable to partake in the wBan myself due to the specific state I live in (United States). However its been a while since I looked, I might have to take another look at it when I have a little bit of time!
A: In terms of bridging the different communities, I think D&D is actually a great activity for that. It's something that most people at least heard about and it isn't THAT hard to start playing, so it's a great way to actually spend time with friends you've made in the Banano/CM communities. Are there a lot of people interested in joining your group or running a group of their own?
Z: As far as running a private game of my own, I don't have the time to do that anymore. I finished my last private 3 year long campaign literally right before I started with Dungeons & Banano. People have messaged me asking to play D&D with me, but I explain that as much as I would like to, I don't have the time. That's one of the reasons I started the idea of the weekly "Community Driven Choose Your Own Adventures" on the Dungeons & Banano server. It uses similar mechanics as those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books but lets the community vote together on what choice they want to make and some choices requires me to make a dice roll to see what happens. This makes the story work like I'm actually playing D&D with the whole server at once since I have no idea whats going to happen until the community vote is finished and the dice roll is made. This can get difficult sometime since I cant write the story polls in advance since I have to write them right after the vote is finished. This results in me writing the story parts on my lunch break at work on the days that the community vote ends!
A: Sounds like a 24/7 job! The Choose Your Own Adventure game is a fantastic idea and definitely helps to keep the community involved and we of course know that community is THE thing in Banano, similarly to the relaxed atmosphere as you mentioned!
Z: Whats also great about it is at the end of each chapter of the story, a Banano reward is given to those who participate, but if the community either fails the bounty assignment or get s the character killed, they don't receive a reward. This way they have to work together for the best outcome. The question remains... what do they think will be the best choice to make!
A: If I remember correctly, the practice sessions for Dungeons and Banano are over and you guys are starting the recorded sessions now. I watched the one about getting the permits and it was hilarious to see how the players were struggling with all the paperwork! Is there a set schedule or anything like that so we know when to anticipate next episodes?
Z: We finished with the practice sessions which means that we're getting ready with doing streaming sessions where the community can watch live! The first one we do will be with JungleTV! As of this moment, we have a date set but have not exactly shared publicly when it will be. I will say that it will be in July if all goes according to plan!
A: I wanted to change the subject a little bit and ask about your nickname. Were did it come from?
Z: My nickname came from my world of Warcraft character that was a death knight actually lol! When I used to play anyway (stopped playing during the Lich King era, because I was failing my college classes). I just thought it sounded cool lol!
A: WoW is such a nostalgia game! I feel like a lot of people have similar experiences that they look back to and smile.
Z: I've always thought about going back... but then I remembered that I was so upset with almost failing my classes that I sold all my gear on all the characters, made them naked and gave all my gold away so I wouldn't want to go back lol.
A: I have just one last question remaining: would you like to shout out anyone or advertise any upcoming events?
Z: I want to give a shout out to all those that have helped get the Dungeons & Banano project to where it is today! If it wasn't for the community the project wouldn't be where it is right now! If people would like to get ready for future live streams and content, be sure to subscribe to the Dungeons & Banano YouTube channel so you don't miss out on anything! https://www.youtube.com/c/DungeonsBanano
A: Perfect, thank you so much! It was really fun to get to know you and the stuff you work on in the community a little bit more. I hope that thanks to this interview, our fellow monkeys will be more interested in your corner of the community!
Remember to check out the new Dungeons & Banano Channel Trailer released yesterday (27th)!
For more information about the Dungeon & Banano project, you can check out this article on The Daily Peel :)
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