As 'Stranger Things' Finale Nears, Massapequa Librarian Keeps Dungeons & Dragons Going

MASSAPEQUA, NY. — As the Dec. 25 and 31 release dates approach for the final episodes of Netflix's "Stranger Things," fans around the world are preparing to bid goodbye to a show that introduced them to the kids of Hawkins, IN, as they faced demogorgons, mind flayers and Vecna. For Gary Mannino, Young Adult Librarian at the Massapequa Public Library, the show’s success was palpable from a unique point of view: Mannino runs Dungeons & Dragons campaigns at the Massapequa and North Bellmore public libraries, bringing groups of teens and adults into a homemade fantasy world he created where they can play as characters of their own creation.

Mannino started running Dungeons & Dragons at the library eight years ago, serving as the “Dungeon Master,” a role that involves creation of the world players play through, acting as every character players interact with and determining what they need to roll on a 20-sided die, commonly referred to as a “D20,” to be successful in the game. It was a game Mannino had known about for a long time, but the opportunity to run campaigns for teens only came about after he started playing with his friends in the 2010s.

“I was aware of Dungeons and Dragons since I was a kid. I didn't really understand what it was, and then you fast forward to about 2014 or so, my friends started playing, and they wanted to know if I wanted to join, so I started playing with them a little bit, really got to like it, and kind of learned how to become the Dungeon Master for a group,” Mannino told Patch Tuesday. “And then the opportunity just popped up at work. They were curious to see, because — maybe I was talking about D&D too much — they were curious to see if maybe I would want to try out doing a group for the teens. And then one thing led to another. I had three groups before I knew it, then there were four, and before I was even part of the teen department, I was doing programs for teens. So it kind of snowballed from there.”

While there was interest when he first started playing D&D at the Massapequa Public Library eight years ago, Mannino said recent cultural events like the success of “Stranger Things” and web series like “Dimension 20” and “Critical Role” have all contributed to rises in the amount of people looking to join in the fun.

“When we first started out, it was before ‘Stranger Things.’ And, you know, we had interest. I had two groups going at that point. So there was already some interest around, but I definitely saw an uptick in people wanting to join after Stranger Things debuted,” Mannino said. “And then, that kind of coincided with Critical Role and Dimension 20, all these other things that started to pop up. And it was a confluence of all these different things…I would see kids come in and they'd be like, ‘Oh, this is, like, from Stranger Things!’

On some occasions, Mannino noted, the passing interest in Stranger Things has even been the thing that gets teens in the door for a session.

“Literally, just last week, I had a kid and his dad that were in, and we were talking for a little bit, and the kid noticed I have a [twenty-sided die, commonly referred to as a “D20”] pen holder on my desk. So he said, ‘Oh, that's from Dungeons and Dragons, right?’ I was like, ‘Yeah!’” Mannino said. “Fast forward 20 minutes, I’m still talking about Dungeons and Dragons with them, and they're talking about Stranger Things, and I'm flipping through the book, and I'm showing them, ‘Oh, this is what a Mindflayer really looks like, in D&D. This is what Vecna really looks like.’ So they thought it was really cool."

By his own estimation, Mannino has spent over a thousand hours preparing and running D&D sessions over the past eight years, estimating that 75 people have participated in that timespan. Currently he’s running three campaigns for teens and launched the public library’s first campaign for adults this year.

While Mannino loves the game itself, he said the opportunity to see young people get ‘hooked’ by it is one of his favorite parts of running campaigns at the library.

“Leaving the actual game aside, because it's just fun to be part of it and play it, it's really fun doing anything with teens. I mean, they're just funny, they're fun. It's fun to just do something recreational with them,” Mannino said. “I'm kind of a big kid at heart, so I can still kind of connect to them on that level. And, you know, it's fun just getting to see how they put their spin on things.”

As players spend more time at the table, Mannino said, he has seen friendships and community spring up around a shared love of the game.

“Right off the bat, [players] know that everybody there is there because they all like the same thing. So it's like an instant kind of connection with people, and it's cool,” Mannino said. “I've gotten to see friendships develop. I've gotten to see these kids come out of their shells a little bit more, maybe they were a little shy when you first talked to them, but when they're [playing] their character, they come alive, you know? It's kind of cool.”