Local High School Students "Gain the Initiative" in Building Skills at Dungeons and Dragons Camp
"The camp is a great way to express creativity and make friends in a way that you may not have thought possible."
Among the sizzle of spells and the slashing of swords, high school students could be heard laughing and making battle-earned friends at the annual Dungeons and Dragons camp at Point Park University.
Taking over the university's Maker Space Labs for two weeks during the summer, the Dungeons and Dragons camp is designed for players of all experience levels to learn about tabletop gaming and collective storytelling. The schedule is split into two sessions: the first week focuses on the basics of the game, while the second week teaches aspiring "Dungeon Masters" how to run their own games.
"I've always enjoyed this camp because you get a lot of freedom with how you play," said Walter Starz, a student from Fox Chapel Area High School. "The people here are very understanding, patient and very experienced."
Campers make friends, get creative and grow their confidence
The camp is led by Phill Harrity, who serves as the Point Park Library's manager of access services, archival coordinator and digital image manager; Fred Angiolieri, Senior Director of Media Services; and Ember Schworn, a manager with the Help Desk. With decades of experience in tabletop gaming, their guidance throughout the week helps campers find their voice and learn to work together through the popular game.
"The camp is a great way to express creativity and make friends in a way that you may not have thought possible," Harrity said. "In either camp, students create characters with rich creative backstories, act and learn to make third-person decisions as the character through roleplay activities and learn to work as a team, all while playing a game throughout either week. In the second week, students don’t just create characters but get to create entire worlds with their own set of rules and learn how to balance the rules to make a fun experience for everyone at the table."
The game can be a great way to make new friends, bringing people together over a shared love of stories. Jay Saladino, a camper from North Allegheny Senior High School, first learned of the game from their dad, and that interest brought them to the camp to make friends over their shared interest in the tabletop game.
"I have played before this camp, a little bit with my friends," they said. "It didn't last very long, but this really helped me understand Dungeons and Dragons more. Things like what to do in-game, how to roll, how to make a good storyline and how to make it interesting for other people."
Ivy Michaux-Smith, a student from Shaler Area High School, shared similar enthusiasm for the bonding experience of these games. While playing as her wizard, Max, is a fun summer activity, the camp is a good way to build confidence in finding a group of similar players and potential friends.
"My biggest takeaways from the camp have just been the rules, how to play, and just the confidence that gives me to actually play with people," she said.
For experienced Dungeons and Dragons players like Starz, these lessons can truly help expand their skills in storytelling and worldbuilding. While several years of playing the game have helped him, the camp's leadership, with decades of experience, is a good source for new tips and tricks.
"I've played it for now two years, and I've been a dungeon master for one whole year," he said. "This camp has taught me a lot and reminded me a lot about niche details and mechanics, and what I should do in the future as well. It helps me understand what a good dungeon master is, how I should be acting, and how I should be trying to be, so that I'm fairer to players and can just make everyone have a more enjoyable time."
Lessons go beyond the tabletop
While making friends and learning a popular game are always fun, the secret behind the Dungeons and Dragons Camp is that these lessons can also translate into academic and professional skills.
By being a player, students can learn to work together, role-play, and develop creative strategies through problem-solving. At the same time, those running the game are learning to improvise, manage numbers, flex their creative writing muscles and even resolve conflicts between friends.
Playing the game is more than just rolling dice and shouting fun spells: it's a collaboration of disciplines that many of these students may see across campus at Point Park.
"The key lessons that you get from the game of Dungeons and Dragons and many other role-playing games are reflected widely across our campus," Harrity said. "In our camp, students experience role-playing games to enhance their improvisation, role-playing and storytelling skills. The lessons and activities we use for this are similar to those used in the Conservatory of Performing Arts. In addition to storytelling, our students weave rich tapestries of creativity in their writing. Between character creation and world building, the sky doesn’t have to be the limit."