Sometimes the best way to make real friends is though the world of fantasy.
The fantasy tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules Inc., and Chris Lumley, who is originally from West Shore, has been prudent with his playing since his high school days. The restrictions of the pandemic reminded us all how important social connections are. While it was a difficult time for most, Lumley came out of COVID with a few silver linings — his wife Becca who he met online, and the start of a new club and community.
"Becca and I met during the beginning of COVID when everything was still shut down," said club founder Lumley. "During COVID, I really missed rolling dice with friends around a table. We tried doing D&D online, but it just never quite scratched that itch as when you are surrounded by people and laughing your butts off. There are always different plot lines and cliffhangers going on. It's just a really special thing to be present in person for this type of game and to be surrounded by so many wonderful like-minded people."
It was Becca who brought Lumley out to the Cowichan Valley in 2022. Soon after settling into his new digs the Cobble Hill/Shawnigan Lake Dungeons and Dragons Club was born. Once COVID restrictions began to relax, Lumley put out a feeler on Facebook to create a community of like-minded gamers, and ended up with a dozen D&D devotees.
"Dungeons and Dragons is essentially a game of on your feet improv, that is dictated by a roll of the dice," said Lumley. "It's you and a group of your favourite people. You have a person who narrates your story as you bumble your way through your own adventure either to save the world or to be as evil as you want to be."
"I have never had a session where nobody has laughed," said Lumley. "Everyone is always howling or sometimes even cry laughing when we play. It is those moments that make going on an adventure with members over the period of months sometimes that make it such a wonderful experience."
The club had its humble beginnings in Shawnigan Lake when Lumley connected with Kim Bernard of the Shawnigan Basin Society who was kind enough to give the new start up group use of their lengthy table that looked like it belonged in Batman's dining room that sat in their Shawnigan Lake meeting space.
"We started renting out the space once every two weeks," said Lumley. "As we continued to grow and grow, we went from once every two weeks, to once a week, and sometimes even twice a weekend."
Lumley said he is truly humbled that the non-profit club he started now boasts 55 members. The club that prides itself on being a safe and inclusive space for all has had quite the milestone year. They moved into their new space in Cobble Hill, which was originally offered up as a new home for Chris and Becca's growing family. After the Lumleys found the ideal condo in Duncan, the space became the perfect home for their second family.
"This club feels like a second home in a way, there is a real sense of family among us, it's just wonderful," said Lumley. "We are all on a first name basis, and many members socialize with each other outside of the club. Having this new space has just been a wonderful opportunity for us to keep growing. We are running roughly 14-16 events a month out of this space alone. I will have everything set up for a game a half-hour early and just seeing everyone walk in one by one is always so exciting for me, it's just a really cool feeling like seeing one of your siblings after a while."
"I have a wonderful time with it, perhaps too wonderful if you ask my wife sometimes," laughs Lumley. "It's easy to get hooked when you see the community that is being formed. For me, seeing that as well as the friendships that have been built around this table it's really special and rewarding to me."
Over the last few months the club has been broadening its horizons and began hosting other board game nights including Magic the Gathering, and Warhammer which inspired re-branding the growing club's name to Cowichan Valley Tabletop Gaming Club which became official on June 7 of this year.
"Dungeons and Dragons is our bread and butter, but since we have began to broaden what we do it was time to change the name," said Lumley.
The biggest milestone for CVTGC was celebrating the club's second birthday bash at the Mill Bay Community Centre on Sept. 14, where both veteran members and newbies ranging in age fro 13 to 60 and of all abilities took part in the festivities. Some of the original members include present treasurer Chad Bowman and vice-president Mark Chabot. Bowman, who said large groups felt foreign to him after the pandemic, was one of the first to respond to Lumley's Facebook post and quickly recruited his brother-in-law Chabot who said while it was never something he considered he admitted it did sound fun.
"My favourite part of this club has been hands down the friends I've made," said Bowman. "Since joining I've met people of all ages and from all walks of life and it's just been great."
"It's come a long way, I honestly never thought it would ever get to this," said Chabot. "We first started off with just 12 around the table and now there is 55 so that's pretty cool. Having the opportunity to be Dungeon Master has been my absolute favourite, it has been a lot of fun trying out new monsters you can find online and see how they react to the players."
A couple of more recent members include valley newcomer Ayla Gauthier who said it was a friend from back home who first piqued her interest in watching D&D online, and Ryan Hatt, who much like Lumley missed the D&D bonds he had in his younger days and is once again enjoying being a part of an organized group.
"It's been great and everyone has been really welcoming," said Gauthier. "With work I never really had the time to join any clubs before but I realized I really wanted a community here. It's been great to meet so many people and to know that there is always something fun coming up and that there is a sense of community around it."
"I moved away from where I lived as a teenager and since I really haven't been able to find an in-person group to be a part of," said Hatt. "There is just something missing when you play online, I missed the camaraderie you feel when you are sitting around the table, it's really nice to have that back again."
The club's second birthday was a gathering to celebrate its growth. Aside from having quite the spread of food, attendees had the chance to partake in a 50/50 draw and raffle. Prior to the party members were sent a link to a survey where they were able to vote or submit stories on things such as their favourite character, best Dungeon Master or even funniest moment. A ceremony of honours was held which Lumley described as the Oscars, with each winner being presented with mini trophies.
"I really wanted to bring everyone together and celebrate the two-year milestone," said Lumley. "When we first started out with 12 players I don't think I ever could have imagined that we would be up to 55 active members in our own space. It's nutty, when you look around our space and see all the work that everyone has put into this. For me it's about celebrating everyone coming together and working together to build something beautiful."
It take a village to raise a club. Several members have put their talents to use building models and miniatures for the game. The table that members all sit around when in the lair was custom built by club vice-president Chabot using free pallets, $30 worth of lumber and second-hand TVs.
"We display the game maps on the TV screens that are built into our custom tables which allows me to control a fog of war, or to block out certain maps that players have not been to yet, or even change them on the fly depending on what the players are doing," said Lumley.
According to Lumley, members meet up almost every day for some D&D role playing fun, while regular board game nights, which are growing in popularity, will be offered bi-weekly. A board game publisher recently reached out to CVTGC with a copy of their new game called Weirdwood Manor.
"We haven't cracked it just yet but will soon be planning a big night for it and are hoping that some of the guys who developed it will will also join us," said Lumley.
Club members come in all ages from 13 to 60, and Lumley said they are open to all experience levels ranging from newbie to rusty to veteran. The fee to play for all members or those just looking to give it a try is $15 per person per session.
"Everything we make goes right back into the club," said Lumley. "The fees go towards rent, and then whatever is left over goes towards stocking the fridge, as well as coffee, chips, and other snacks."
Dungeons and Dragons has best been described by its hard core fans as a free-wheeling game, only loosely bound by the parameters of rules that allows players to externalize their own feelings and struggles onto their characters. Lumley said his favourite part of this journey since first embarking on the adventure of this new club is seeing it grow into the wonderfully weird family that it has become with members connecting in a myriad of ways outside of it, like helping someone move, while other members have come together for an emerging curling team.
Those interested in joining or just coming out for one of the club's game nights can either reach out on the club's social media pages, or contact Chris directly at cvtabletopgamingclub@gmail.com
"It has been such a wonderful feeling and so very rewarding to me to have been the spearhead for this," said Lumley. "There is so much passion here, I look around the room and I see it. I have known of a lot of D&D clubs that have crashed and burned, and in some cases have even ripped friendships apart. I'm very pleased to say that since starting this club, that has never happened here under my watch. My hope is that we will never see that happen at all, and that everybody comes here to have a positive and good time, and that they leave with a smile on their face."
