The following feature is excerpted from TIME Dungeons & Dragons: The Game that Changed the World. I enter a buzzing tavern, eager to partake in some drink and mingle with other patrons. On the way inside, a life-size mimic—with its menacing and toothy maw—is noticeable from across the room. Even with its monstrous denizens, the tavern is impeccably decorated with intricate wooden reliefs and carvings depicting dragon heads, owlbears, and battle axes.