It’s almost midnight. You and your friends are huddled around a table in one of the old lab rooms on campus after hours. You are up to your ankles in sheets of paper, calculations and logs of items, tallying up numbers from dice rolls. But you’re not here because of a project or a mathematics test you haven’t studied for. You’re here because within these sheets of paper and dice rolls is the highlight of your week, the chance to unwind with your buds and make it big in a fantasy world of your own design.
Dungeons and Dragons (or D&D, as it is colloquially referred to) is a roleplaying game developed in the late 1970s where a group of players follow along a hand-created narrative orchestrated by another member in a fantasy setting. Recently, however, D&D has taken on new life among young adults, and the students of Elizabethtown College are no exception.
D&D as a hobby has taken off from its humble roots and from under the scrutiny of contemporary media, which was supposedly concerned about it being a source of demonic influence among the youth. Such fellow subversive elements also included rock-and-roll and video games, but D&D took its time in becoming labeled as being somewhat niche among the masses and not just belonging in the domain of severe geekdom.
While it doesn’t have an official club dedicated to it, there is a noticeable presence on-campus of students interested in role playing games, with various clubs like the Gamer’s Guild, Chemistry Club and even the Spanish Club organizing informal sessions with their fellow members. Senior Charlie Carberry, who is currently trying their hand at managing a campaign for the first time, had this to say about the underground interest in the game here at Etown.
“I would say that D&D is popular, but it’s more of a subculture on campus rather than a super popular like Bingo is,” Carberry said. “There are a lot of people who love D&D, but it’s also a little scary to get into if you don’t really know anyone who’s into it already.”
According to former student senator Francesco Mancini-Menditto ‘26, the COVID-19 pandemic was a key factor in garnering a great deal of student investment in the game, as online avenues of playing the game became more available using video-messaging apps and online tools like D&D Beyond to still conduct sessions while the world went into lockdown.
“We were all isolated and had no idea when things would get back to normal,” Mancini said. “We started with three people and quickly became seven, and we did it as a way to maintain a sense of socialization and normalcy in a hectic time.”
Even if public opinion on the game hadn’t taken a complete reversal from the 1970s, there are other reasons to warrant a great deal of interest in the game nowadays. Students on campus have found that the level of immersion and escapism is a massive draw, and the flexibility in gameplay structure and rules allows for a great deal of player freedom.
“The appeal? Giving people a chance to escape day to day life and being able to just have fun,” second-yearAmelia Ingersol said when asked about the game’s appeal. “There’s no real constrictions because it’s all imagination.”
It’s clear to see that, whether it’s through the use of random-number-generated dice simulation or over laminated maps in Nicarry Hall, students here at Etown are finding enjoyment with each other in the rolling of dice and the developing of characters.
