Dungeons and Dragons at Daylight Donuts

by Rebecca Ferman

During the weekdays, Daylight Donuts regularly provides all sorts of delicious sweets and savory drinks to its many customers. But on Friday nights, the Chesterfield donut shop becomes a fantasy realm for Dungeons & Dragons fans, transforming it into something magical while still offering tasty treats – and including a secret menu for the players.

Dungeons & Dragons is a tabletop role-playing game that started in the 1970’s, but more recently it experienced a resurgence in popularity due to online web series like Critical Role and The Adventure Zone, bringing in players of all ages and experiences. The game is played primarily through storytelling and rolling dice to determine what happens next.

The leader of the Friday night events, known as the Dungeon Master or “DM” within the game, is Daylight Donuts employee Hallie Roll. An avid Dungeons & Dragons fan, Roll designs the story being told for the players each session. In addition to creating the logo and world map displayed on one of the shop’s screens during the gameplay, Roll came up with a Dungeons & Dragons-themed shop menu for players to order from.

For newcomers to the game, Roll also has pre-made character sheets for them to choose from, and she’s more than happy to assist or answer questions about anything during the session. The stories will have continuity and opportunities for characters to level up based on how many times a player attends. “I love telling stories more than anything in the world, and [being the Dungeon Master] allows me to do that,” Roll says.

The game sessions are scheduled for future Friday nights from 5 pm to 8 pm. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, precautions have been put in place to ensure everyone is safe within the shop. Players are required to wear masks and bring their own dice, playable character, or any other equipment they might need for the game session. Seating is assigned so that everyone is socially distanced. The amount of people that can attend each game session is limited as well, with the maximum number of players at a time being only seven due to current St. Louis County ordinances.

The Dungeons & Dragons game nights was an idea from Drew Selman, who is one of Daylight Donut’s owners and the social media manager for the business. He’s been a fan of the game since he was 10 years old, and plans to be a guest Dungeon Master alongside Roll.

For the future, Selman says that he hopes to have more events at the shop, including trivia nights and musical events. “I always wanted to have it alive at night and for it to be a community place to hang out. I want to bring people together,” he says.

Selman also says that one of the best things about Daylight Donuts is the staff he works alongside at the shop. “I really like our staff members – they make it fun to come to work. It’s the people that make a place great,” Selman says.

To see the shop’s menu, find out more about their events, or view their social media, visit their website here. The live menu does change on a day-to-day basis based on availability, with selections ranging from red velvet to maple bacon donuts.

Dungeons & Dragons players interested in attending one of the sessions can sign up through an online form here or by checking the website’s calendar page.