Unicorn City Blog

The Ultimate History of Dungeons & Dragons

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 08:18:00 -0500

Bet you didn’t know all this history existed behind Dungeons & Dragons- and I also bet you didn’t know there was a TV show for it on CBS. Check it-

click to enlarge

If you like this, reblog away- especially if you have some friends who are D&D lovers.

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Dungeons & Dragons: A Threat to Prison Security

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 16:00:06 -0500

Dungeons & Dragons: A Threat to Prison Security:

wvred03:

No? Really?

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Tue, 08 Feb 2011 08:00:07 -0500

fix-chan: ARMOUR!!

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 16:46:06 -0500

fix-chan:

ARMOUR!!

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Mon, 07 Feb 2011 08:00:07 -0500

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Sun, 06 Feb 2011 16:00:06 -0500

twistedmindedguy: Entenda os alinhamentos do D&D com The...

Sun, 06 Feb 2011 08:00:06 -0500

twistedmindedguy:

Entenda os alinhamentos do D&D com The Big Band Theory.

drake-abscond: It’s funny because it’s true…

Sat, 05 Feb 2011 16:00:07 -0500

drake-abscond:

It’s funny because it’s true…

ventredasolidao: Isso é Fato! =D

Sat, 05 Feb 2011 08:00:07 -0500

ventredasolidao:

Isso é Fato! =D

monstrousparty: D&D has a long tradition of cribbing its...

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 16:00:06 -0500

monstrousparty:

D&D has a long tradition of cribbing its monsters from other sources; Greek myth, classic horror films, and weird rubber toys alike were seen as fair game from which to poach a fantastical menagerie. Today’s monster is the Basilisk, and it comes to us from medieval legend. The Basilisk is an eight-legged reptile with the power to turn people to stone with its gaze. I quite like the illustration of the basilisk in the Monstrous Manual: I appreciate the subtle coloring, the return of Tim Burton-esque stripes on its tail, and the fact that it seems to be munching on something.

Unfortunately, the Monstrous Manual gives very little actual habitat or ecology notes for this monster, which is a bit of a let down. It does note that Black Dragons will sometimes mate with a basilisk to make a Dracolisk, but that is kind of disturbing when you think about it.

awesomecobbles: Yeah I’m a nerd/geek, I saw the d20 first. ...

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 08:00:07 -0500

awesomecobbles:

Yeah I’m a nerd/geek, I saw the d20 first. Dungeons and Dragons is what gave me the name Cobbles. Miss playing it every Friday.

stevesanders: Greetings, Princess. It is I, Carlos the Dwarf....

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 17:06:11 -0500

stevesanders:

Greetings, Princess. It is I, Carlos the Dwarf. The dragon has been slain and you’re free to rule your kingdom.

extrafuckyeah: 8-Bit reenactment of Dungeons and Dragons this...

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 17:05:15 -0500

extrafuckyeah:

8-Bit reenactment of Dungeons and Dragons

this is spot on and exactly how it plays out every game.

An amazing 8-bit reenactment of Dungeons and Dragons. I like the...

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 21:01:00 -0500

An amazing 8-bit reenactment of Dungeons and Dragons. I like the guy who randomly yells things from other rooms. He’d be fun in Unicorn City.

“I wanna cast a spell!”

“I want a Mountain Dew!”

“I can cast any of these, right? On the list?”

“….I’m attacking the Darkness!”

Pretty awesome LARP costume- that weapon would do damage in...

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 16:30:01 -0500

Pretty awesome LARP costume- that weapon would do damage in Unicorn City. Via: losemylif

Craziest Moral Panics Sparked by D&D

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 05:05:40 -0500

Authority figures have always hated any form of “youth entertainment”, citing it as a symptom of “moral decay.” From rock and roll music to video games, whatever trends the younger generation enjoyed have panicked older generations.

But while rock and roll and video games may have become mainstream enough that most people simply accept them as facts of life, Dungeons & Dragons has remained just outside that border of full societal acceptance. And perhaps that lack of acceptance is why the characters in Unicorn City are so drawn to the idea of creating an isolated gaming utopia, far from the prying eyes of non-D&D players.

Perhaps because of this, there have been a number of moral panics caused by Dungeons & Dragons. These reactions go far beyond an irritated parent telling their children, “Stop wasting your time with that new-fangled nonsense!” These are the top overreactions to D&D, and you won’t believe some of the wacko things people used to believe about the game…

1. THE CHICK TRACT

WHO IS PANICKING: Christian Evangelist Jack Chick

OUTRAGEOUS CLAIM: D&D leads to Satanism!

RESULT: Unintentionally hilarious comic

To be fair, there are few things that Jack Chick hasn’t published a comic-book tract against, claiming something turns good Christians into devil-worshipers. Still, the “Dark Dungeons” tract published in 1984 is probably one of the most entertaining examples of anti-D&D propaganda. In the comic, a beautiful woman serves as the Dungeon Master to a child who kills herself when her character dies.

The most hilarious part of the comic is the idea that playing D&D teaches you real magic. Alas, in spite of what all fantasy fans may wish for, there is no actual power conferred upon you simply for imagining that you can cast spells like “mind bondage.”

2. THE LIETH VON STEIN MURDER

WHO IS PANICKING: Crime novelists Joe McGinnis and Jerry Bledsoe

OUTRAGEOUS CLAIM: D&D prints murder manuals!

RESULT: 2 books, a miniseries, and a TV movie

In 1988, Chris Pritchard murdered his stepfather Lieth Von Stein, in order to gain his $2 million fortune. When the fact was revealed that Pritchard was a Dungeons & Dragons player, this piqued the interest of two crime authors. Joe McGinnis’s book, “Cruel Doubt,” was transformed into an NBC miniseries that featured an AD&D Players Handbook that had been altered to look more vicious.

Jerry Bledsoe’s book “Blood Games” was turned into a movie called Honor Thy Mother, and it likewise featured a heavily altered AD&D manual as a key prop driving the desire for murder. In this case, the cover bore no resemblance to an actual AD&D manual, but the result was still a large public relations issue for D&D.

3. THE STEAM TUNNEL INCIDENT

WHO IS PANICKING: William Dear, P.I.

OUTRAGEOUS CLAIM: D&D players play in steam and sewage tunnels!

RESULT: Urban legends, movie with Tom Hanks, widespread panic

James Dallas Egbert was in college at the young age of 16. His life was filled with stress, not only with the pressure to achieve academically, but the terrible weight of keeping two great secrets. Egbert was attempting to hide his homosexuality and his drug use. When Egbert finally ran away, his uncle hired a private investigator to track him down. The P.I., William Dear, found out about Egbert’s affinity for D&D.

William Dear perhaps spawned more fantasy than any D&D player ever could. He announced that Egbert was likely playing in the steam tunnels beneath the dormitories, and the media picked up on the idea. When Egbert was eventually found and the truth came out, this rumor still persisted. Rona Jaffe wrote a book perpetuating the rumor named “Monsters and Mazes,” eventually made into a TV movie starring Tom Hanks.

4. THE PULLING SUICIDE

WHO IS PANICKING: Outraged mother Patricia Pulling

OUTRAGEOUS CLAIM: See list below!

RESULT: Formation of B.A.D.D., banned from schools

In 1982, Irving Pulling committed suicide with his mother’s handgun. His mother, Patricia Pulling, became convinced a D&D curse was a cause of the suicide after talking with a police investigator. Prior to this, she admits in her own book “The Devil’s Web,” she believed devil worship only existed in the movies. Pulling filed a lawsuit against TSR for producing the game.

After losing the lawsuit, Pulling founded Bothered About Dungeons & Dragons (B.A.D.D.), an anti-D&D group. BADD’s description of D&D is “a fantasy role-playing game which uses Demonology, Wicca, Voodoo, murder, rape, blasphemy, child molestation, suicide, assassination, insanity, sexual perversion, sodomy, prostitution, Satanism, gambling, barbarism, cannibalism, sadomasochism, desecration of Christianity, summoning malevolent spirits, necromancy, satanic divination, and other strange immoral teachings.”

5. THE D&D INSANITY DEFENSE

WHO IS PANICKING: Sean Sellers, pretending

OUTRAGEOUS CLAIM: D&D made me commit murder!

RESULT: Defense unsuccessful

Sean Sellers was not a good kid. In 1985, at the age of 16, he shot a convenience store clerk in Oklahoma City, telling his friend, “I want to see what it feels like to kill somebody.” A few months later, in 1986, he killed his mother and stepfather. When it came time for his defense at trial, the attorneys brought up his age, and his multiple personality disorder. But there was one card left to play.

During the trial, the defense tried to blame D&D for the murders. Although he had converted to Christianity from his death row cell, Sellers was formerly a worshiper of the occult. The defense seized on this, saying that Sellers was completely addicted to Dungeons & Dragons, and that it in turn dictated his actions. The judge was unconvinced, and Sellers was finally executed in 1999.

6. PRISON BANS D&D

WHO IS PANICKING: Prison Employee Bruce Muraski

OUTRAGEOUS CLAIM: D&D causes gang activity!

RESULT: D&D banned in Waupun Prison

Prison officials enacted the ban in 2004 after an inmate sent an anonymous letter expressing concern about Singer and three other inmates forming a “gang” focused around playing the game. They confiscated a bunch of Singer’s D&D books, and even a 96-page scenario manuscript he had written.

Prison employee Bruce Muraski has gone on record claiming that D&D “promotes fantasy role playing, competitive hostility, violence, addictive escape behaviors, and possible gambling.” He believed that D&D would make inmates obsessed with escaping from real life. But then again, in a prison, what wouldn’t?

7. ISRAELI ARMY

WHO IS PANICKING: IDF Authorities

OUTRAGEOUS CLAIM: D&D players have weak personalities

RESULT: D&D players receive low security clearance

The Israeli Defense Force has confirmed that teens who play D&D are considered problematic and automatically given low security clearance. “They’re detached from reality and susceptible to influence,” the army says. “These people have a tendency to be influenced by external factors which could cloud their judgment.”

The Israeli army maintains a strong line against recruits who play D&D – a popular pastime especially among those of Russian descent. “They may be detached from reality or have a weak personality - elements which lower a person’s security clearance, allowing them to serve in the army, but not in sensitive positions.”

CONCLUSION

D&D may not be considered a “cool” pastime by some people, but playing the game definitely does not cause mental illness or violent tendencies. These stupid moral panics would be funny, except for the fact that way too many people got taken in by them. Here’s hoping that we’ve seen the last of these insane reactions to harmless D&D games.

Like what you read? Reblog away.

Dungeons and Dragons minis! via chrisdwoo

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 10:20:18 -0500

Dungeons and Dragons minis!

via chrisdwoo

He has a ton of lightening bolts in his arsenal- that’s...

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 20:05:44 -0500

He has a ton of lightening bolts in his arsenal- that’s for sure.

amazing illustrations, and music to boot.

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:16:16 -0500

amazing illustrations, and music to boot.

He would certainly kick butt in Unicorn City. Who could contend...

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 10:21:32 -0500

He would certainly kick butt in Unicorn City. Who could contend with him?