The first time Tony Ford played Dungeons & Dragons, he was a wiry Black kid who had never seen the inside of a prison. His mother, a police officer in Detroit, had quit the force and moved the family to West Texas. To Ford, it seemed like a different world. Strangers talked funny, and El Paso was half desert. But he could skateboard in all that open space, and he eventually befriended a nerdy white kid with a passion for Dungeons & Dragons. Ford fell in love with the role-playing game right away; it was complex and cerebral, a saga you could lose yourself in. And in the 1980s, everyone seemed to be playing it.
The game has since become one of the most popular in the world, celebrated in nostalgic television shows and dramatized in movies. It is played in homes, at large conventions and even in prisons.
When Ford, who is now on death row, first overheard the other men playing D.&D., they were engaged in a fast, high-octane version. The gamers were members of the Mexican Mafia, an insular crew that let Ford into their circle after they realized he could draw. The gang’s leader, Spider, pulled some strings, Ford recalls, and got him moved to a neighboring cell to serve as his personal artist. Ford earned some money drawing intricate Aztec designs in ink. He also began to join their D.&D. sessions, eventually becoming a Dungeon Master and running games all over the row.
This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.
A Fiery First Republican Debate — Without Trump
Ready or Not, Driverless Cars Are Here
Why the Coral Reef Crisis in Florida Is a Problem for All of Us
Inside the Sputtering Campaign of Ron DeSantis
The Sunday Read: ‘The Ongoing Mystery of Covid’s Origin’
How a Paradise Became a Death Trap
Hunter Biden’s Legal Problems Keep Getting Worse
Why a Coup in Niger Has the World’s Attention
A Law Used Against the Mafia — and Now Trump
What Lahaina Lost in Hawaii’s Wildfires
The Sunday Read: ‘The Silicon Blockade’
The End of An Era for U.S. Women’s Soccer
Lives, Livelihoods, and the High Cost of Heat
Elon Musk’s Quest to Own the Stars
The Legal Strategy Behind the Latest Trump Indictment
The Economy is on an Upswing. Should Biden Get Credit for It?
The Sunday Read: ‘The Vanishing Family: Life in the Shadow of a Cruel Genetic Mutation’
Fighting Canada’s Unending Fires
43% vs. 43%: Why Trump and Biden Are Tied in Our New Poll
The Charges Against Trump for Conspiring to Overturn the Election
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Up First
Today, Explained
Matter of Opinion
NPR News Now
Pivot