Level Up: Avril Jensen Discusses Her Love of Dungeons & Dragons

While she may have once longed to be an astronaut and then a screenwriter, Avril Jensen has clearly chosen the right career path for herself. At only 22 years old, the singer-songwriter is already blowing up. She released her debut album, Is Any of It Real?, in the fall of 2024. She followed that up with the release of her French language EP Parfois, les jours de vent this past fall. Both releases have received high acclaim from critics, including various award nominations, which have positioned her as one of the most exciting young voices in Canadian indie pop music.

Jensen recently received perhaps her highest accolades yet, thanks to her performance at GAMIQ (Gala alternatif de la musique indépendante du Québec) this past fall. She took the crowd by storm, performing an epic version of her song “SUPERNOVA.” Is Any of This Real? earned three nominations at the ceremony. Listeners have really gravitated towards her electro-acoustic textures, emotional dexterity, and poetic storytelling. Avril Jensen also recently earned the “SOCAN Foundation Young Songwriter Award.” She has a big performance coming up next month on March 27th at the Drake Underground in Toronto (tickets).

Outside of music, Avril Jensen has an extensive list of interests. We go through one of them today extensively, as we chat with Avril Jensen about role-playing games, specifically Dungeons & Dragons.

What is your favourite role-playing game (eg, D&D, Pathfinder, Call of Cthulhu, etc)?

Avril Jensen: “The only TTRPG I’ve ever played is Dungeons & Dragons, and it’s definitely my favourite game of all time. If we’re talking video games, I absolutely love Red Dead Redemption 2 and The Last of Us, for example. My favourite video games are all RPGs. I’m a big fan of stories that make you cry and/or make you wanna become a cowboy.”

When did you first get into role-playing games?

“I created my first ever D&D character with my sister and my dad when I was six or seven, I think! My dad was a big D&D fan and used to play all the time with his friends when he was younger. When he moved to Quebec and my sister and I were born, he obviously had other things to focus on, but he made sure to teach us how to play as soon as possible. He would DM games for my sister and me. A very big core memory for both of us for sure! Probably what got me into writing stories.”

What is your favourite character you’ve ever created?

“It’s so hard to choose a favourite character! The one I’m the most attached to is probably a multiclassed fighter/rogue level 12 elf I made when I was 11 or 12. I played her in a campaign with my sister and my dad as the DM, and it lasted for something like seven years! It’s the longest campaign we’ve ever played, and so it’s definitely a very important character for me. I’d say in terms of who’s the most fun to play, it’s probably a human sorcerer I made a few years ago that adopted a baby and named him Dragon.”

What is the most harrowing experience you had with role-playing?

“I’ve been larping for almost ten years now (I am a disgusting nerd), and I think the most stressful thing to ever happen was last summer when I hid in the woods in the middle of the night because the village we were staying at got attacked. I don’t think I’ve ever run faster in my life than when being chased by people dressed up as orcs and goblins. My family and I usually play a group of bards with no weapons and just play music for the whole weekend of larping, so we truly have no way of fighting back. It’s what makes it so fun, though!”

Who are your favourite people, or favourite kinds of people, to play with?

“I’ve been a dungeon master for some years now, and I’ve been on a mission to convert all of my friends to D&D, so I’ve seen lots of different types of players. The ones that I love the most are the ones that know how to balance between being stupid and focused. I’ve done some games that were pure parodies or jokes, and that’s definitely very fun, but it can lack nuance or get boring if that’s the only campaign you have going on. In my opinion, it’s the same for players who take themselves too seriously. But when you find people who are in that sweet spot of knowing when to make jokes but also know their stats and how to intelligently use their abilities, it’s so much fun!”

Do you currently have a campaign ongoing? How far along are you?

“I have multiple campaigns going on! I think you kind of have to, since your players are only going to be available all on the same day, like once a year. If you want to play regularly, you’ve got to have multiple ones in my experience. I’m a player in a campaign my dad is DMing with the sorcerer I mentioned earlier. It’s a family game with my sister, my stepmom and my stepsisters.

“I also DM a game with my friends who all started playing recently, so it’s very chaotic, but we always end up crying with laughter. I’m also writing a campaign I’m going to start DMing soon, probably in February, with players who are committed to playing twice a month. I’m buying each of them a house if we actually end up doing that.”

Do you think more people should be playing role-playing games, or at least trying them? How do you think that can be done?

“Yes! So many people judge without really knowing what they’re talking about. I’m very glad to see so many D&D podcasts getting that much recognition in the past few years! I’ve introduced so many different kinds of people to D&D, and all of them have liked it, even if they didn’t necessarily become regular players. It’s a great way to develop your creativity, your improv and acting abilities, there are no limits to what you can do, and it’s just hours spent with friends, eating snacks and laughing (or crying).”

For anyone who would want to get into the hobby, how would you recommend they do it?

“Buy the three basic books you need or find them online (all the information to run a game is so easy to find), find two or three friends and just start writing ideas down for characters or stories. I think people get intimidated by the amount of rules or by how complex creating a character seems at first, but the best part is you don’t need to know all of it by heart! You don’t even have to apply all of them, as long as you’re having fun, you’re doing it right.”