Welcome to Student Group Spotlight! Every month, we will feature a different student group to demonstrate the many diverse groups we have at MacEwan and how they all contribute to a vibrant, thriving community on our campus.
Meet the Tabletop RPG Club! We sat down with their President, Jay, Treasurer, Paige and Vice President, External Stacy, to discuss their core group values, upcoming events and what to expect when joining their club.
SAMU: Hi, thank you for joining us! Can you introduce yourselves to our readers?
Jay: Hi, my name is Jay. I’m the TTRPG Club President, and I’m in the second year of my Social Work diploma.
Paige: I’m Paige. I’m the TTRPG Club Treasurer, and I’m in my fifth year of my Anthropology degree.
Stacy: I’m Stacy. I’m Vice President External of the TTRPG Club. I am in my second year in the Psychology program.
SAMU: Could you tell us about the Tabletop RPG Club and what you do?
Jay: The soul of this club is all about connecting people, Dungeon Masters and players to create a community! On paper, we provide resources, books, support and lots of other things in the background, but this club is a lot more than that. In my first year at University, this club was how I found and made my friends.
Paige: The social aspect is integral to the club. We want to help people fresh out of high school or who are looking for friends with similar interests. We want to get them involved and help guide them through this process to take the stress off of planning your own campaign and organizing players so we can lead them into this stress-free environment where they can make social connections that last for life! This club is also very creative, and we love facilitating the relationship between creativity and community.
Jay: We also host one big event every semester to help people learn about the club and get to know each other without the commitment of actually joining the club. Most of our events are open invitations. We want people to come and meet us and realize this is a community they want to join and participate in!
Stacy: Events are a great way to test the waters and check out beginner campaigns and one-shots. It is also a great way to meet other clubs since we often collaborate with GAMU (Gamer’s Association of MacEwan University).
TTRPG: The core of what we do is facilitation. We help book rooms, send emails, and organize Game Masters and their campaigns. A lot of what we do is behind the scenes. Still, we also put a lot of effort into hosting big events every semester, so we get to do a bit of both as Executives.
SAMU: Why did you all decide to join the Tabletop RPG Club?
Stacy: I played in my high school’s club, and when I came to MacEwan, I wanted to start a campaign, but I didn’t know how to do it alone. The TTRPG was a great place to start. They hooked me up with booked rooms, supplies and lots of support!
Jay: I have a similar story. I came from a small town and wanted to play this game as I did back home, but I didn’t know anyone at MacEwan. So, this was an excellent opportunity to meet friends who also wanted to play the game and get to run my own campaigns! This club is how I’ve met some of my closest friends.
Paige: Yeah, my story is similar too. Back when I started at MacEwan, I’d been out of the country for a while, so this allowed me to dip my toes in and test out the waters of the club, where I started meeting new people and making friends. This club allowed me to meet new people in a stress-free environment since you can choose how many people to be in a campaign with!
TTRPG: We all started as players and built our way up to running the club!
SAMU: Wow, that sounds like it has worked out well! Could you tell us about RPG for those unfamiliar with it?
TTRPG: At its core, it’s a tabletop game. Your Dungeon Master or Game Master creates a story and helps to guide your characters through it using dice rolls. You get to make a character sheet, act as your character, and make decisions. The challenging part is the dice roll; it’s like a choose-your-own-adventure story, but the dice decide if you’re successful or not.
Jay: It is also about world-building. You get to create different characters and their world and get involved in their universe.
Paige: There is also a strategic portion with combat, which many people really like. The game is played on a grid map, so you get to move around, and the dice determine your actions and how much you can move or if you win a battle or not.
Jay: Yeah, there’s a significant element of chance, so learning to embrace failures is essential. It’s one of the best ways to develop exciting stories.
Paige: There is also a lot of collaborative storytelling. Other player’s moves and decisions affect your story, and you get to bounce off each other and create new stories.
SAMU: Tell us about your upcoming Fall Festival Event. What are you most excited about?
Jay: This is our most ambitious event to date. With Dungeons and Dragons-related media coming out, we have been getting more popular, so we need ample space for people to hang out and meet.
TTRPG: This event will be like a “grab bag” of everything tabletop. We will have stations for people to paint miniatures, play in one-shot campaigns and board game tables. We are also hosting a Cosplay contest with a face-painting station supplied so people can go all out. This event is all about dipping your toes into the nerdy side of things. We have done a lot of promotion for this event through socials, TV slides and tabling. It’s a group effort; we’ve had a lot of help!
Stacy: I’m the stage manager for this event, so I’m looking forward to telling cheesy DnD jokes and seeing how people use the face paint!
Paige: I’m most excited to see who shows up so we can see the community we have worked hard to foster!
Jay: I’m looking forward to our game dice giveaway! We are giving away a few sets of dice, which people get excited about. I love seeing the winner’s reactions.
SAMU: This sounds like it is going to be amazing! What is your favourite part about being a member of the TTRPG Club?
Jay: Being the President, I enjoy leading and doing things like designing t-shirts and business cards. I also love helping to create friendships. Some of the groups I put together pre-pandemic are still friends and play in campaigns together. Overall, I love getting to manage and lead people and foster relationships.
Stacy: My favourite part is the community and getting to know new people. This club does an outstanding job of connecting people. They work to help you solve any problems that might arise and always have your back. They are in your corner, creating, working to create a safe space for all.
Paige: I like to give back to this community after all it’s given me and how it welcomed us with open arms. I want to do that for other students. We see many people come out of their shells, which makes me really happy.
SAMU: What should students expect when they join your club?
TTRPG: Expect a lot of nerds. You will see a lot of incredible cosplays and meet so many lovely, friendly people. When you join the club and say you’re new, everyone scrambles to help you and teach you everything you need to know. Our members truly love helping out newcomers and accommodating everyone. We value everyone’s comfort and want everyone to know this is a safe space for people of all kinds, and it’s a place where you are free to be who you are with zero judgment. We want people to know we have your back and will fight for you. Also, expect many campaigns. Instead of weekly meetings, we have weekly or bi-weekly campaigns that our members run. We are always looking for more Game/Dungeon Masters since we have so many members! Suppose you are nervous about being a Game Master. In that case, we have many opportunities for students to try out that role through our events.
SAMU: What would you say to someone considering joining a Student Group?
TTRPG: Join! Go for it. Many people are nervous about joining a group, but the best thing to do is to do it and join. Groups will welcome you with open arms. They want to meet people who are interested in their groups! If you find out later that you aren’t interested anymore, it’s no big deal; you can leave, and you won’t hurt anyone’s feelings. Getting involved with clubs is rewarding. It connects you to your community and makes you excited to come to school and see your friends.
SAMU: Wonderful advice. Thank you so much for joining us today to talk about your group! Anything you’d like to plug for students?
TTRPG: Join the GAMU Discord if you are interested in our group, and follow us on our social media to stay up-to-date with events! We plan to host some workshops in the winter to teach students everything they need to know about TTRPG, so keep an eye out for that. If you are nervous about hosting a campaign, we host mini one-shot campaigns to let new students try out hosting during our events! Also, join Student Groups on Campus Labs. It’s the best way to know what we are up to and to see what’s going on with other groups.
You can connect with the Tabletop RPG Club on Instagram (@tabletoprpgmacewan) or by searching for them on Student Groups Connect.
Follow SAMU on social media through Instagram (@sa_macewan), X, formerly known as Twitter (@SAMacEwan), and Facebook (Students’ Association of MacEwan University) to stay up to date on the latest events, programs, and services from your students’ association.
