They have waged campaigns across fantasy worlds of magic and monsters for decades.
Now a group of Dungeons and Dragons fans face a brand new challenge – save Port Glasgow.
Local enthusiasts have turned the Inverclyde town into a location for the popular tabletop game and created a plot featuring a terrible storm and a heroic band of adventurers.
The group will play through the game – known as a campaign – at two live events in August and October, as part of celebrations marking Port Glasgow’s 250th birthday.
Several historic figures feature in the plot including artist Stanley Spencer, who created a famous series of paintings depicting shipyard workers on the Clyde, and Chippy McNish, the carpenter on Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–17.
The game also includes Sir Patrick Maxwell, who was said to have murdered two members of a rival family in the late 16th century.
A free printed booklet and PDF download will be released in time for the sold-out opening performance on Thursday, featuring images from local illustrator Lost Haven Art.
The campaign will be played through again on Tuesday 21 October in the Grand Hall of Newark Castle, as part of the Galoshans Festival.
First launched in 1974, the tabletop game is played by millions around the world, with each campaign led by a Dungeon Master, who narrates the play.
It has spawned numerous spin-offs and tie-ins, including a cartoon series and a 2023 film starring Chris Pine and Hugh Grant.
It also provoked a moral panic in the early 1980s, when religious fundamentalists tried to ban it.
Players roll dice to decide their next move and games can last for days.
The Port Glasgow group meet regularly to play in the town’s library.
Inverclyde councillor Natasha McGuire praised the idea and said she hoped it would encourage people to give the game a go.
She added: “This is a fantastic, unique idea and well done to the young people who attend the Dungeons and Dragons Club at Port Glasgow library who were involved in designing the game.”
The origins of Port Glasgow date back to the late 16th century, before it was formally established as a burgh in its own right in 1775.