The Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) club is building a close-knit community of students through the rich story-building opportunities the American classic game provides.
Known by many as the game featured in “Stranger Things,” Dungeons and Dragons is a multiplayer role-playing and worldbuilding game experiencing a revival at Algonquin. After a rocky start last November, the new D&D club is led by sophomore Linq Kaelin and junior Mia Murphy and advised by Chemistry teacher Joshua Coulson. The group meets after school on Fridays in the library and all are encouraged to join, even those with no D&D experience.
In D&D, players assume the role of characters, choosing to become anything from a half-wizard barbarian to a dwarf orc. One person acts as the Dungeon Master (DM), who enforces the rules, guides the characters along a plotline and fills in for non-playing characters (NPCs). Dice rolls help determine outcomes, and the complex cast of characters and subplots can lead to infinite possibilities.
There are also three main books that guide players throughout their journey.
“First there’s the Player’s Handbook, which basically tells players how to make a character, how to play D&D, the different types of spells and what species you can play as,” Kaelin said. “There’s also the Dungeon Master’s Guide that tells people how to run a campaign, and there’s the Monster Manual, which has all the statistics for the different monsters and creatures that you can fight.”
All of the club leaders had different ways in which they were introduced to D&D. For Coulson, his passion was sparked at his previous high school, where he worked for eight years.
“I actually never played until I started the D&D club at Oxford High School and through their enthusiasm and interest, I actually learned from my students how to play and then I started with helping them run their club and then I started playing and dungeon mastering,” Coulson said.
Murphy first learned to play D&D in sixth grade because both her brother and her dad played at the time. When she heard there were plans to start a D&D club at Algonquin, she knew that she had to join.
“I saw the poster on [Coulson’s] door and I was like, ‘Well, guess I’m going,’” Murphy said. “And then because I was one of the more experienced D&D players in the group and we needed people to run games, I volunteered and became a leader.”
Kaelin discovered the game at the age of eight when he found his dad’s old D&D books.
“After that, I got really interested in it, and my dad started Dungeon Mastering for me and then I started playing when I was 13,” Kaelin said.
They all love the game’s flexibility.
“There’s a saying in D&D called ’The Rule of Cool,’ where if someone wants to do something ridiculous, if it’s fun and cool, let them try is the general idea,” Coulson said.
As a result of the games’ fluid nature, a lot of funny and strange experiences have emerged.
“Most of the funniest things happen from player antics, and there’s usually at least one or two people that have the most unhinged ideas,” Murphy said.
But members of the club agree the best part of the club is the sense of community. Coulson believes the D&D club is a wonderful way to foster new connections and help students find an activity they enjoy.
“I had a lot of people where it’s a struggle for them to make some new friends, and this is a great environment to make it comfortable and fun to meet other people,” Coulson said. “I think that that’s really important.”
Kaelin has experienced similar connection through the game.
“The storytelling and the togetherness that it brings other people is so rewarding, because you get to create your own character from scratch, and you can draw inspiration from other characters, whether you want to be a wizard like Harry Potter or an elf like Legolas from ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ Kaelin said. ”The whole club just grows together as a whole.”
The club is experiencing a lot of success, improving logistics and getting the game started with new members.
“Last year we didn’t really have a structure, but we’ve built one now, so it’s really working out, and I’m having a lot of fun,” Murphy said. “My players are having a lot of fun and we had our first actual D&D session last week which was crazy.”
One main goal for this year is to learn from missteps made last year when the club was unable to complete a game due to lack of time.
“[This year] we’re working towards a larger campaign over the course of the year that will hopefully be completed before school ends,” Murphy said. “But I’m trying to keep an open mind so that I can be ready for anything.”
Club leaders have big plans for the future.
“I hope to expand it even further, and I personally would like to not have my influence as heavily on the club and be more of an adviser and a facilitator,” Coulson said. “But I can see this getting bigger depending on popularity here.”
They also hope to recruit new members who may have zero experience with D&D.
“If you don’t know anything about D&D, that’s completely fine and you’ll be a very quick learner, so just come into the club even if you’re a tiny bit interested because it will definitely be a worthwhile experience,” Kaelin said.
