Amidst what sophomore Daniel Bletsch considers the stressful academic environment of Conestoga, Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) Club allows students to socialize and have fun. DnD, although the world’s premier tabletop role- playing game, remains a relatively niche interest amongst Conestoga students.

Conestoga’s DnD club, which provides students with the opportunity to explore the game, meets after school on Thursdays in room 250. As president of the club, Bletsch hopes to increase membership by introducing more students to the world of DnD, which features characters from magicians to gothic vampires.

DnD is a collaborative story-telling game in which one player assumes the role of the narrator, or “dungeon master,” and oth- er players act as characters. The dungeon master is responsible for weaving an engaging narrative and setting the pace of the storyline, while the players, who are responsible for the decisions of their respective characters, supplement the action. DnD players can belong to multiple storylines, or “campaigns,” at once, and many club members have started personal campaigns outside of school.

“There are no definitive rules on how you structure a campaign. It’s so open-ended. The players part of the campaign meet in different sessions where they go through the story, fighting monsters, beating dragons (and) casting spells,” Bletsch said. “Stereotypically, (DnD) is portrayed as medieval knights going around with wizards, but it can really be any sort of setting.”

The dungeon master selects and details the campaign’s setting, choosing a genre spanning from gothic horror to tropical adventure. Each player typically creates one character to represent for the duration of the campaign based on the story’s premise, and determine their character’s race, class, abilities and personality, amongst other traits.

Sophomore Maddox Kirk, treasurer of the DnD club, explains that each role in the game presents unique challenges.

“From a dungeon master standpoint, it’s difficult because you have to build the story up from the ground and reel the players back into the main plot (when) they go off track. Players are faced with many difficult decisions that could save or end another character’s life,” Kirk said.

DnD club members pursue their interests as character players or dungeon masters in one of the club’s several ongoing campaigns. Participants are not required to have any exposure to the game to join.

“Join the club. It’s an opportunity to learn DnD, and if you end up being interested, it’s great to continue playing for years to come,” Kirk said. “I know there is a group of (older people) who still play the game, and I definitely hope that I’ll still be able to play when I’ve reached that point.”

Shrija Krishnan can be reached at [email protected].