Dungeon & Dragons campaigning to be official school club next year

In 2022 it started with five friends, a quiet corner of the library, and a tattered notebook filled with concepts of maps and monsters. Since then a small group of students has been meeting on Tuesdays after school or during tiger time on Tuesdays in the 2024 school year to play Dungeons & Dragons, the popular tabletop roleplaying game known for its collaborative storytelling, fantasy adventures, and many dice. Now, the five-member group is ready to step out of the shadows—and they’re looking for new recruits.

“We started just meeting in the back of the library with some graph paper and a few sets of dice,” said founding member junior Tristian Seiberling, who serves as the Dungeon Master, the game’s narrator. “It was just a fun way to hang out, create characters, and escape into another world for a while.”

Over the years the group has grown close, continuing the same continued game and only starting a different one every six months or so. “ We take on the roles of adventurers navigating magical worlds, solving puzzles and battling monsters—all based on the decisions and a roll of the dice,” Seiberling said.

But now, the players are on a new kind of quest: becoming an official school club.

A passionate member of the group Ivy Long said, “We want to be more inclusive and open to anyone who’s interested, whether you’re a total beginner or have been playing for years. You don’t have to know the rules—we’ll teach you. All you need is imagination.”

The group hopes that official recognition will allow them to reserve a silent study room in the library for a meeting space more easily, meet on Tuesday during tiger time and be able to be excused to the library, and create a welcoming space for students who want to try something new, creative and collaborative.

“Here at school it’s been much easier for us to log and keep track of our current games when we play the online version instead of the traditional paper pencil version. Upon joining you will have to set up an account in order to play. I grew up with paper and pencil D&D and read all my dad’s books to study the history to learn the different ways to play, but trust me, the online game is just as fun, imaginative and easier to design characters,” Seiberling said.

Be planning ahead. An interest meeting for potential members will be held at the beginning of next school year, but two meetings will also be held in these last few weeks of school, those who’d like to come are welcome to inform your tiger time teacher and the librarian Abby.Hendrickson.

Students of all experience levels are encouraged to attend. Dice and character sheets will be provided.

“We’re not just rolling dice,” Long said. “We’re telling stories together—and we’d love more people to be part of that.”