In Mike Wheeler's Dungeons & Dragons party, what role does he usually play?

In Mike Wheeler’s Dungeons & Dragons party, what role does he usually play? The answer is Dungeon Master.

Mike Wheeler usually serves as the Dungeon Master, or DM, for the boys’ Dungeons & Dragons sessions. In that role, he describes the fantasy world, controls non-player characters and monsters, presents challenges, and makes rulings when the players’ actions do not fit neatly into the rules. Dustin, Lucas, Will, and later other members of the group participate as player characters.

The role helps explain Mike’s position within the party. He is not simply another adventurer choosing a class such as ranger, cleric, or paladin; he is the person guiding the campaign and shaping its story. Stranger Things uses the group’s games as more than a hobby: D&D vocabulary becomes a way for the characters to understand threats such as the Demogorgon and Vecna.

A Dungeon Master does not control the players’ characters. Instead, the DM presents the world while the players decide what their characters attempt. Mike can therefore be the party’s organizer and storyteller without being one of its standard character classes.