Over 60 people have joined the Dungeons and Dragons Club, the newest addition to the university’s robust and diverse catalog of student organizations.
Formed by Meg Garcia, Michelle Costell and Ryan Atkins, the Dungeons and Dragons Club acts as an access point for students who want to learn more about Dungeons and Dragons, a fantasy tabletop role-playing game that has been attracting players for nearly 50 years.
Dungeons and Dragons departs from the typical formation of strategy games by both allowing the player to create their own unique fantasy-inspired character and play within a world completely designed by the players, with no pre-established goals or objectives.
In short, just about anything can happen. There are few creative boundaries during play.
“I was a really big storyteller [growing up],” said Garcia, the club’s treasurer. “It’s a very good creative outlet for writers and creative thinkers and theatrical people who can help you learn more about your character and even more about yourself during the game. I’ve learned a lot of things about myself that I didn’t even know throughout this game.”
Garcia’s shared love for Dungeons and Dragons ultimately resonated with Costell, and, along with Atkins, they formed the Dungeons and Dragons Club.
Throughout the first general meeting, the executive board went over basic information about the club, as well as expectations for the coming weeks.
In addition, the next club meeting would divide club members into Game Masters, who serve as organizers and lead storytellers for each individual game of D&D, and general players, who control their respective characters and actively play. These groups would then individually find times that work best to hold campaigns.
There was hardly an open seat in the entire room, and the energy seemed vibrant and eager.
Following the meeting, several students expressed their excitement for the future of the club.
“I am excited. I’ve wanted to learn about D&D; I’ve been into it for so many years, and this is the chance.” said Brenden O’Brian.
“I feel like D&D is so diverse,” added Clay Reher. “One minute there’ll be a dead dude bleeding out on the ground. But the next minute you could be feeding spaghetti to a bear, which I did.”
One major factor for the mass appeal of Dungeons and Dragons is its adaptability. This allows for all sorts of conversation and community to thrive.
“I am also excited for people to find it as something like a safe haven, because when I first started playing it helped me with a lot of trouble I experienced from that past month,” said Costell. “And being able to show that to other people and be like, hey, this could be for you, too.”
Ultimately, there is a lot of hype growing on campus for what the Dungeons and Dragons Club has in store.
General meetings are held each Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in Ruff 007. You can also connect with the Dungeons and Dragons Club both on Engage and their Instagram page, @capdndclub.
