The Dungeons and Dragons Club, more commonly referred to as the D&D Club, is a club here at Granada that was founded in its current form in September 2021 by Autumn Fender [11]. Its advisor is Mr. Beach. The club is open to new and experienced players alike, and aims to give students a place to express their creativity and go on adventures with fellow students. The club, despite the information on the school website, does not have a consistent in-person meet, as it takes place almost entirely on Discord.

D&D is a tabletop roleplaying game in which players and a Dungeon Master(s) (DM) play through a world organized by the former. The players create a character represented by a character sheet, which organizes all of the character’s stats, abilities, equipment, etc. The amount of boxes to fill in seems intimidating, but there are a lot of resources online regarding the mechanics of character creation and D&D as a whole. There are also many experienced D&D players in the club who are more than happy to help new players. The DM writes a general story line for the players to follow and characters / monsters for them to meet, but the players have a large hand in shaping the story as well.

Autumn Fender, also the current president of the club, shares their experience with D&D throughout their life. “My biological father is big into it. I made my first sheet for a pathfinder game with him when I was like three or four years old… My step dad and I also got into actual play podcasts a few years ago, which was a good bonding experience.”

Fender went on to say, “I don’t think I got to where I am today until when I started going to Adventure League, which is a sort of organized public DnD game that people can hold in comic shops, etcetera. … I made a lot of friends there and learned to effectively play the game in a group setting, but I eventually stopped between the DnD club and COVID. Still, I think AL has a big influence on how I play now.”

Many members of the club share the sentiment that the club and D&D itself is a great way to meet new people and express yourself, both creatively and personally. Creating characters or even whole worlds for other people to play through creates a great outlet for ideas and personal expression. Fender explains how they, “know a lot of people who use it to explore themselves (such as in the case of sexuality) and certain difficult topics.” They also explain how the ability to solve problems and sort through different dilemmas in game can help prepare people to better deal with stressful situations in real life. 

Three members, Robin Ramos [10], Archer Bailiff [9], and Julian Amaral [graduate] express what about D&D makes it enjoyable for them:

“I love the creative freedom you have in D&D. You can make up your very own characters in your very own world, and I especially love that you can do almost anything if you get creative enough. It’s hilarious trying to do the most stupid things you can think of, and it’s even funnier if it works.” (Ramos)

“I think the part that I find most enjoyable about D&D is the wide variety of chaotic and fun things that can happen! There’s always a good time and sometimes you’re laughing so hard it hurts and other times you’re strategizing and thinking the problems out!” (Bailiff)

“The thing I enjoy most about d&d is that nothing is ever the same, there’s always a level of mystery and creativity that really brings everything to life.” (Amaral)

Overall, the members of the D&D club agree that the game and the club is a great place to meet people, learn new skills, and just have fun!