Tap. Tap. Tap.
A 20-sided die lands on the collaboration space tabletop, determining the fate of three young Dungeons and Dragons enthusiasts. The number rolled will either amplify the bards’ spellcasting power or send certain doom their way. Realizing their attack has hit, the bards plot their next move in a world of endless possibilities, with the magic of the immersive tabletop game that is Dungeons and Dragons (D&D).
D&D is a subset of tabletop games that involves navigating carefully curated adventures made by the Dungeon Master (DM). Each storyline is known as a campaign, and all players create characters with which they embark on each respective campaign’s journey. D&D is a game that involves imagination and logic, however, it is quite time-consuming.

(Akshaya Ashokanand)
To routinely enjoy these campaigns, Coppell High School had a D&D Tabletop Games Club sponsored by CHS engineering teacher Grant Garner and former English teacher Alex Holmes. That was, until Mr. Holmes left the school.
“When Mr. Holmes left, the club kind of disintegrated and everybody broke apart, and they didn’t have anything in place for it at that time,” said club sponsor Lauren Rasca, an English teacher. “So, I had a student last year as a sophomore who asked if I would be willing to sponsor. I told her I’d give them a room where they could meet, but I was going to let them run it – this was their club.”
Initially, the club comprised a group of 13 friends looking to play D&D at scheduled times. However, this year, the club expanded to having 50 members, being more than thrice its original size. The sudden growth brought many new members to the community, many of whom were not familiar with the game.
“The original club members suddenly found themselves in this unique situation of, ‘oh my gosh, we need to figure out how to do this now,” Rasca said. “They created official club officers for the first time, and the first couple meetings we had this year were about providing instruction, which is really a teaching thing and a great skill for those leaders to learn.”
Not only did the club’s growth nurture teaching skills, but the nature of D&D involves collaboration and organization skills that inadvertently translate to real life and academics.
“There’s a lot of team management and collaboration,” said junior Claire Hua, a Thursday campaign regular. “The game helps you learn about collaboration rather than competition. In academics, there might be a lot of competition whereas in D&D, it helps you learn where your strengths are and how to work as part of a group.”

(Akshaya Ashokanand)
The community D&D fosters is extensive, especially since the club is not centered on an academic premise, a variety of students in different niches can come together to play.
“We had some football players show interest, and we’ve got some interested band students,” Rasca said. “We’ve had students that might be special needs students who ordinarily might not be in some of the same classes as IB diploma students.”
Bonds formed through D&D hold strong during and outside of campaign times.
“It’s a strong friend group because you’re working through these adventures and solving problems in the game,” junior D&D Club secretary Neel Hammers said. “Within the club, we meet outside of school just to go hang out. You build even stronger relationships outside of the campaign, so it’s something special.”
Since campaigns are centered on player interactions, participants gradually get to know one another and their camaraderie is what makes the game fun.
“The goal is to play a story, so you don’t have to win the fights to have a good game,” Hua said. “You don’t have to be a nerd about it or know all the rules to enjoy it.”
In a high school environment of intense academia, the D&D Club offers a creative respite and solace from the pressures of acting mature and adult.
“We forget that you are still teenagers,” Rasca said. “You still have a lot of life left, and the fact that you guys want to sit and enjoy doing something that’s not academically motivated, I think it’s something that should be honored.”
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Nrithya Mahesh • Feb 3, 2025 at 9:16 pm
I love everything about this story! Great work :))