Dating and Dragons

Quinn Norton, a 16-year-old junior, transfers to Laurelburg High School in rural Ohio in February after her family moves to be closer to her grandmother, Barbara. Quinn carries emotional baggage from her old school, where a failed date with Caden, the Dungeon Master (the player who runs the game) of her Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) group, destroyed her friendships. When Quinn told Caden she only wanted to be friends, he accused her of being a tease and turned the group against her, including her best friend Paige, who had secretly liked Caden. The move is a relief, but Quinn arrives friendless and anxious. Her younger brother, Andrew, adapts more quickly, joining the soccer team.

On her first day, Quinn's exuberant grandmother insists on taking photos in the parking lot, drawing the attention of nearby students. A cute fellow student named Logan Weber steps forward to snap the pictures and briefly flirts with Quinn. She also notices Kashvi, a South Asian classmate wearing sparkly d20 (twenty-sided die) earrings, signaling a shared love of D&D. A few days later, Kashvi invites Quinn to sit in on her group's final session, warning that most new players don't last long.

At Kashvi and her twin brother Sanjiv's house, Quinn discovers that the group, called "Don't Split the Party," livestreams their sessions, modeled after Critical Role, a popular professional D&D show. The group includes Mark, a laid-back player; Sloane, the creative Dungeon Master; and Logan, who serves as de facto leader. Quinn watches the final session in awe. When Kashvi invites her to join the next campaign, Logan questions whether Quinn is a good fit, calling her quiet and easily intimidated. Quinn pushes back, and the group invites her to a session zero, a planning meeting where players build characters and set expectations.

At the session zero, Quinn proposes Nasria, a hill dwarf sorcerer strategically built to maximize her hit points, a measure of how much damage a character can absorb. Logan is visibly impressed. The group outlines strict rules: no skipping sessions, no tardiness, no distractions during the livestream, and no dating other group members. The no-dating rule was instituted after a past player named Wyatt dated Kashvi and broke up with her by text, fracturing the group until he was kicked out. Quinn agrees to everything, privately wondering if Logan's coldness stems from the rule. She decides to prioritize friendship over romance.

Quinn's first livestream goes well. She loses herself in the game, using her sorcerer's spells to free the party from a ship's brig, and viewers enjoy the bickering between her dwarf and Logan's elf rogue. Afterward, Logan drives Quinn home, and she confronts him about his hostility. He deflects but admits he noticed her the very first morning. Quinn is flustered and trips twice getting out of his truck, blaming a fake ear infection.

Grandma recognizes Logan at the ice cream parlor where he works and engineers an invitation for him to help move boxes from her attic. Alone together, Logan admits he came because he wanted to see Quinn and that following the group's rules around her has become difficult. Their conversation is interrupted when Grandma falls in the kitchen, underscoring Quinn's parents' concerns about her living alone.

Quinn bonds with Kashvi during a sleepover, sharing the full story of Caden and Paige. Kashvi is sympathetic and shares more about the Wyatt situation. The group begins spending time together outside the game, making dice jewelry to sell at local stores. Quinn and Logan also text privately, maintaining a platonic front while their emotional connection intensifies.

The group attends a comic book event in Zanesville dressed as characters from the 1980s D&D cartoon. At the event, Quinn runs into Paige, who mocks her costume and warns that she will destroy this group too. Quinn hides to avoid Caden, and Logan finds her. He comforts her and nearly kisses her, but Quinn pulls away, citing the group rules and her fear of repeating past mistakes. They agree to stay platonic, though both admit their restraint is thinning.

When trolls later appear in the livestream chat, Quinn recognizes the usernames as Caden, Paige, and their friends. The group rallies around Quinn, but the conversation reinforces their commitment to the no-dating rule. Logan suggests telling the group about their feelings, but Quinn continues to hesitate.

The situation grows more complicated when Kashvi casually reveals that she finds Logan attractive, though she says she gave up on acting on her feelings because of the rules. Quinn is shaken, seeing parallels to her experience with Paige. She tells Logan they must stop seeing each other alone, and he reluctantly agrees. That same evening, Grandma falls again and is taken to the emergency room. Though she is uninjured, the family convinces her to move to a retirement community.

Ten painful days pass. Then Grandma convinces Quinn to go on a drive to Amish country. On a winding road, Grandma takes a curve too fast and crashes into a sign. Neither is hurt, but the car is totaled. Grandma reflects on aging and tells Quinn to live every minute of her life. Quinn texts Logan to pick her up. He takes her to his farm and shows her his stone shed, a private space filled with bookshelves and D&D maps. Overwhelmed, Quinn kisses him. They agree to tell the group, but Quinn insists she must speak to Kashvi privately first.

The next morning, Quinn discovers that Kashvi is on a coffee date with Andrew, Quinn's brother. After Andrew leaves, Quinn confesses about Logan. Kashvi takes the news calmly, explaining that her crush was never deep. They reconcile and declare themselves best friends.

Before the game at Kashvi's house, Logan arrives in a panic, having told the others they must not let Quinn quit without explaining why. His preemptive move forces the truth into the open. Quinn announces that she and Logan kissed. Sloane says they always sensed something between them, Mark is fine with it, and Sanjiv admits he only supported the rule to keep people from dating his sister. Logan declares he is in love with Quinn and will leave the group before allowing her to be pushed out. Quinn says she loves him too.

Then Sloane makes a discovery: The livestream was accidentally left running during the entire confrontation. Five hundred viewers watch the confessions and the group's emotional reckoning. Caden trolls Quinn again under a new username, but Stephanie from The Smiling DM, a popular D&D podcast that Mark and Sloane had invited to watch a session, tells him off in the comments. Grandma, watching under her full legal name, urges Quinn and Logan to kiss already. After the others leave for pancakes, Quinn and Logan share their first guilt-free kiss.

In an epilogue set three months later, Quinn and Logan run an assassin campaign they co-created for elderly residents at Grandma's retirement community. Andrew and Kashvi are dating, and the full group arrives to help. Quinn reflects on everything she has gained: close friends, a loving boyfriend, a stronger bond with her family, and a passion for D&D that now extends to teaching it to others.