Students who are adventurous, full of creativity and love a good story plot now have a way to gather together when Pleasant Valley’s newest club meets after school. Thanks to Stephanie Mellecker and David Jager, the Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) club was organized for the first time in December.
They gathered in Kevin Gaffney’s English classroom. Even though Gaffney is providing a regular meeting place for this club, Mellecker and Jager are the people running the show. They helped put together the character sheets and set the scene for the players as they got started in their adventure. The club’s first meeting resulted in a packed classroom filled with enthusiastic students who were thrilled to have such a group at the school.
Since there were 28 attendees at the club’s first meeting, Mellecker organized the students into smaller groups so the game stayed comfortable and more engaging for everyone.
Mellecker is a Dungeon Master (DM) for D&D club. She wanted an opportunity for students to enjoy the thrill of taking adventures to another level. She explained, “It is very fun because it’s all about your imagination and there really aren’t as many rules as people think. It’s a creative game and I love both playing it and DMing it.”
As the Dungeon Master, Mellecker creates the world the players are encountering. She also has control over the monsters and non-player character the members encounter on their journey. Everyone else who comes to the club formulates their own characters to participate in a multiplayer role-playing game with the use of pens, paper, and dice.
Dungeons & Dragons club member Avery Lanning enjoyed his first experience with the game. He said, “ I wanted to join this club because I got to hang out with my friends.” He had never been introduced to D&D before, so he went to the meeting without knowing what he needed to do. Alongside Mellecker and Jager, Lanning quickly learned to play and enjoy the game and quickly went from beginner to fan.
Lanning wasn’t the only student who came to the club without knowing how the game worked, but the organizers welcomed all skill levels. Mellecker said, “It’s not just a bunch of nerds! So many people play!” D&D is for a wide variety of players and, when played, the game can change the player. Mellacker and Jager say the game can strengthen an imagination, increase teamwork and test problem solving skills while also giving students a better understanding of statistics and probability.
The club members looks forward to future meetings where they hope to continue packing the classroom with students who can appreciate a good old fashioned game.
