Florida Polytechnic University students Brandon Camacho (left), John Demonbrun, and Jack Rodriguez play Warhammer 40,000 during a recent meeting of the Tabletop Club.
In a world of magic, dragons, and giants, students at Florida Polytechnic University immerse themselves in a fantasy adventure and band together to reach a common goal. The Tabletop Club invites all Phoenixes with a taste for fun, storytelling, battle, and friendship to join them.
“Anyone who is interested in making friends and learning more about a cool way to tell stories and play games on a regular basis should totally join,” said Elijah Garmon, a sophomore majoring in computer science and president of the club.
Garmon was only in elementary school in his hometown of Orlando, Florida, when he discovered a love for conjuring adventures in his mind.
“My closest friends and I would sit in the lunchroom and create adventures to go on,” Garmon said. “It would be like, ‘There’s a rickety bridge in front of you. How do you cross it?’”
This unwavering interest exploded once he learned about Dungeons & Dragons, a fantasy tabletop role-playing game. Garmon said he wants to share the experience of losing yourself in a game for hours at a time with everyone at Florida Poly.
At the club’s weekly Monday meeting, as many as 20 students gather to play Dungeons & Dragons or Warhammer 40,000, a tabletop battle game set in a detailed magical world. The club also hosts gatherings to paint Warhammer miniatures, and board game nights, with players bringing their own favorite games to share with friends.
Matt Klotz, a sophomore majoring in computer engineering, tries to never miss a club meeting. He also has a long-running Dungeons & Dragons campaign that takes place on Thursday nights.
“Stress relief is one of the main benefits of doing it,” said Klotz, from Palm Bay, Florida. “It’s just fun and you get to tell an interactive story. I like writing stories with twists and turns in them.”
Garmon said there’s room for anyone who wants to play, regardless of their experience level. They just need to show up at IST1045 at 7 p.m. on Mondays. Sessions range from short, one-evening campaigns to others that can take years to resolve. He said that for a person’s first time, they likely will concentrate on learning the basics and getting exposed to the games.
“My favorite thing is getting to tell a story and getting to go from one thing to the next to the next and feel like there’s something important that happens,” Garmon said.
Florida Polytechnic University students Tom Neudek (left), Roberto Marini, Yariel
Tolosa, Charles Eldredge, John Paul Sonza, and Riley Kuiper play Dungeons & Dragons
during a recent meeting of the Tabletop Club.
Contact:
Lydia Guzmán
Director of Communications
863-874-8557
