Dungeons and Dragons, or otherwise known as DnD or D&D, has been around since 1974 and opened doors for modern gaming. It was first published by Wizards of the Coast and TSR, and the game itself was designated by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. It is a familiar fantasy tabletop role playing game that is still widespread even after 41 years. At CHS, there are several groups on campus who meet regularly to participate in these fantastical adventures.

The game normally has five players, but can contain more. All players are actively participating in one game. The more characters involved, the more complicated the adventure becomes. The game is usually played indoors around a table. Each game requires polyhedral dice for each player, a rule book, and their respective character sheets. Characters have different races, weapons, classes and more that make each character entirely unique. The game play is organized by the Dungeon Master (DM).

One of the oldest D&D groups on campus consists of seniors Owen Wagner, Jacob Dvorak, Tobias Banks, Joseph Ngechu, Domenic Avilez, Byron Brown, Samantha Hengesbach, and junior Jonathan Kula. Wagner is the DM for their D&D club and has the most experience with the game in the group. Anything (almost) can happen in a game. The diversity of character attributes and the uniqueness of players allow for infinite possibilities in terms of where the story can go.

“Owen has the most experience in our D&D group. We just all branch out in the game, playing different characters whose abilities compliment each other, and it’s also a way to hang out with friends and have fun. For the most part, we are ‘democratic’,” Kula said.

This D&D group has been through many adventures and campaigns, and they have played as several characters throughout the game.

 “When the dice rolls, there are random chances and outcomes,” Wagner said. “In the stories, you get to get your friends all together and create different stories and scenarios. Even if you’re playing the same campaign as another group, it’s very unlikely that the same things will happen just because of how the players direct the game.”

With many anecdotes, antics, and stories, this group has accumulated several inside jokes over the years. Dvorak recalls a story about mushrooms that he encountered during one of their campaigns.

“There were mushrooms making weird noises, and my character was terrified of them, as he ended up hiding in a cart and crying just because there were mushrooms in the game making eccentric sounds,” Dvorak said.

D&D is nonetheless a widely popular game that is still loved by fans today. As the most popular fantasy role-playing game even after 41 years, the players from around the world and at CHS love the game for its uniqueness, openness, and originality as it is one of the first games to break away from more traditional gaming. It allows players to create unique characters and be directly involved in the game, and this opened doors to a new way of gaming. As the creators of the game

continue to set new rules, settings, and formats, D&D will continue to prosper well into to 21st century as fans at CHS and around the world continue to play