Zach's Blog

As my topic is so specific, there is not a lot of literature out there that directly addresses the topics that I am going to discuss for my thesis. As such, I have had to find articles that mention what I am going to discuss, and then have to work with it so that it applies to the world of Dungeons and Dragons. It was also difficult trying to figure out exactly what I want to say, because the topics that I am addressing are so general and wide-ranging, that it’s not very easy to narrow it down without acknowledging everything that I am not directly including in my thesis.             Race theory was the concept with the most specific literature relative to my topic. There were two very informative articles that specifically focused on the social structures and racial hierarchies built into D&D. That’s basically what I was looking for. I didn’t think that I would be able to find anything that specific, and would have to settl...

Race Theory, Game Theory and Tabletop Role-Playing Game Culture in Dungeons and Dragons The widely-acclaimed tabletop RPG game Dungeons and Dragons, affectionately known by its followers of D&D, has come a long way since the 1980’s, where it was first published by war-gaming company. That changed, however, when players became more focused on the aspect of play : the unpredictability, the cooperation, and the goal of working together to overcome a common goal, rather than simply “winning the game” (Mason). Here, I will be analyzing the systematic racism that is present in the lore and the gameplay of D&D, such as how, through popular culture, the game was influenced in such a way as to pick up on some of the racial stereotypes that accompany the playable races in the game itself. This, in turn, ultimately affect the players interact with the game, the Dungeon Master, and each other. Second, I will also be using game theory to justify how the role ...