Imagine a place where you could escape from the everyday stress and tedium of college life and enter a world full of magic, warfare and friendship. For the members of the LMC Role Players Club, this is their reality.
Members meet almost every day to engage with friends and play traditional role-playing games, like the tabletop mainstay Dungeons and Dragons. Role-playing games are unique in that participants actually assume the role of the characters they are playing. They choose their character’s skills, personality traits, and decisions throughout the game.
“In RPGs, you can become the hero you’ve always wanted to be,” explained Noe Iniguez, president and founder of the RPG club.
Iniguez founded the club about three years ago when he arrived at LMC, inspired from his experience in high school RPG clubs.
The club offers a sort of escape for the stress and workload of a busy college schedule. Students can attend a game, engage with other game lovers, and essentially become another person for a few hours.
“A lot of our members have really stressful majors or lives outside of school,” said Iniguez, adding that “the games offer a chance to relax and escape.”
Each game is run by an official Dungeon Master or Game Master, usually an experienced member of the club, who acts as the narrator and organizer for the game. Game play on campus can last anywhere from two to five hours.
“I once played a game that lasted for three days,” said Dungeon Grand Master, Demetrius Berry. Berry, a long-time club member, is titled “Grand Master” because of his expertise in organizing role-playing games.
Gameplay for tabletops can seem a little overwhelming for the inexperienced gamer, however Iniguez and Berry both add that newcomers are always welcome and many members are happy to help explain the rules. Club members also engage in play, outside of RPGs, such as video games like Call of Duty and the popular card game Magic.
“To open up” the club to the rest of the LMC community, Iniguez said the members plan to hold a Jeopardy style game show — Nerd Quiz — in late March. Pending Inter Club Counsel approval, the game show will take place in the indoor quad where RPG Club members will quiz participating students on gamer-related trivia.
The winner of the game show will receive a ticket to Fanime, the annual anime convention club members plan to attend in May.
According to Iniguez, the club tries to promote a feeling of camaraderie and friendship. Members make up a tight-knit group who bond over their love for gaming.
At club meetings members greet each other like family, and several members have joined because of their friends. “I don’t really even play the games,” said club member Cindy King, “I was just always around and they said why don’t you join?”
Thinking about joining the club? Iniguez invites all students to “join the RPG Club, and be prepared to immerse yourself in friendship and [the] glory you’ll remember for years to come.”
Official club meetings are held every Tuesday and Thursday in Room C3-336 from 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and gameplay takes place almost every school day in various places around campus.
For more information on RPG contact, Noe Iniguez at 642-5797.
