Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer’s Guild at a local USO serves as more than just a game to service members at Camp Humphreys

Supporting service members in faraway lands sometimes requires slaying dragons, fighting off hordes of enemies and conquests that require teamwork and imagination. Such is a tale that began many months ago in the land of the morning calm…

United States Army Garrison (USAG) Humphreys, also known as Camp Humphreys, is the largest overseas U. S. military installation in the world. Located along the western coast of South Korea, service members stationed and deployed at the “Army’s Home in Korea” find themselves in a foreign culture, far from home. Whether there with a family or solo and living in the barracks, the challenges of the duty station can take a strain on one’s mental headspace. USO Humphreys Maude Hall is one of two USO centers on Camp Humphreys, providing programming and support to ease the struggles of the job while living in South Korea.

In an effort to assist, Petty Officer 2nd Class Wayne Hoffman, a volunteer at USO Humphreys Maude Hall, presented an idea to the center staff that has quickly developed into one of the center’s most successful programs. A program that is accessible to all and helps service members escape the pressures and monotony of day-to-day life, while building connections and a sense of family during deployments and overseas assignments.

Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) gaming sessions may have started as an idea, but with a modest investment in supplies and a little time from willing volunteers that have experience with tabletop role playing games (RPG), it has become a weekly program with a healthy following. Held every Saturday at USO Humphreys Maude Hall, the sessions include a variety of short adventures for beginners and veteran players alike. These “one-shot” campaigns are designed to introduce new players to the world of tabletop gaming and build experience in the systems in an easy environment of short sessions. Within the last couple months, the program has even expanded to Sundays for veteran and seasoned gamers, offering detailed advanced-level campaigns which can last four to eight weeks to complete.

There are many benefits to tabletop RPGs, but specifically for service members who are stationed at Camp Humphreys, D&D nights offer a chance to make friends in a new community and continue to improve mental health. As one patron commented on the program, “I like making new friends. The USO has helped me cope with my anxiety.”

Players are able to escape into a world of fantasy and adventure that has been weaved by the Dungeon Masters (DM), offering a break from the day-to-day grind – something that has also become important to the volunteer DMs.

“Being a Game Master, especially at the USO, allows me to facilitate a place where people can enjoy themselves through interactive storytelling and fun encounters. The variety of people in ranges of ages, experience, playstyle and personality are an amazing sight to see and that I look forward to every week,” states Army Spc. Caleb Kangas, a volunteer DM. “Some of the people, me included, use tabletop games as a way to get through stress, grief, trauma and all sorts of other mental issues that they may have.”

Other volunteers and program participants echo the same sentiment, crediting the healthy outlet for keeping them from seeking less desirable activities that can cost money and lead to poor decisions.

As the holiday season approaches, building these friendships within the community is even more important. Service members, who would typically be surrounded by family during the colder months, are now thousands of miles away in an unfamiliar land. Having a place to go, surrounded by players with similar interests and situations, can sometimes offer a sense of home and family to those deployed. With the program continuing to grow, there are more opportunities to foster these relationships. As Robert Vose, one of the center’s first volunteer DMs relates, “It has been a pleasure to watch the program grow from the four players who showed up on the first day to the dozens of players who show up regularly to join one of the tables. I now run an enduring campaign for our experienced players, with some of our team playing in the game for over a year.”

The USO Humphreys Maude Hall team continues to develop the program, looking for ways to expand. In June of this year, the center held its first ever Tabletop Role Playing Game Fair, where a dozen different RPGs were ran simultaneously. With games like Arzium, Dragonbane, Werewolf and Starfinder, players had the opportunity to expand their horizons and experience different worlds and systems in a variety of short two-hour quests. Due to the event’s resounding success, USO Humphreys Maude Hall is hoping to host similar fairs in the future.

“With the USO D&D program, anyone arriving in Korea can easily find a group of players to join and start rolling dice their very first weekend in country,” expressed Rob.

“We hope that with the popularity and growth of this program, more players and volunteers will continue to seek out their next USO to inquire about similar programs, and maybe even volunteer to start one at the center of their next duty station” expressed USO Humphreys Maude Hall Center Operations Manager Danny Morris.