Senior Thesis Proposal
Nearly reaching its 45th anniversary since its inception and having released its 5th Edition in 2014, Dungeons and Dragons has prominently established itself as the “world’s greatest roleplaying game,” which can be clearly seen on many of its published materials. With the introduction of the internet, the accessibility of D&D content has skyrocketed, introducing new players through online streams of celebrity and amateur players, along with audio podcasts. The game has now reached new audiences and has become more and more prevalent in today’s popular culture landscape with the help of technology.
This game has gone through many different changes before it got to the point where it is today. It began to undergo a change 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).
In my thesis, I will be using the lenses of systematic racism and essentialism that is present in the lore of D&D in order to analyze the game itself. These concepts ultimately affect both the playable races themselves, as well as the way that players participate in and experience the game. I will also examine how, through popular culture and media, the lore of the game was influenced by well-known fantastical works such as the Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R Tolkien. Second, I will be using game theory to discuss how the role of narratives help to accomplish tasks and overcome obstacles more easily. Furthermore, in narratives in which avatar-type characters are involved, connections are established between player and character and there is the potential for a deep emotional bond to be formed. Because of this bond, players are usually more inclined to experience the same emotional reactions that their characters do, especially when they are placed in potentially immoral or life-threateningly dangerous situations. Due to the fact that not much academia specifically addresses Dungeons and Dragons, I have had to find articles that focus on the concepts that I wish to use to analyze D&D and find ways to incorporate them into my thesis.
First, I will discuss my literature review. I will mention the sources that I have found and how they relate to my thesis. Some of them are a bit more relative than others. Second, I will discuss my method, why I chose the book that I picked my data from, as well as other potential sources to use as evidence for my thesis. Finally, I will share a few pages of data that I presented in my Advanced Professional Speaking class, and give a short commentary on some of the observations and elaborations that I made in the margins of the pages themselves.
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 settle for a little less. To supplement those, I decided to use the 5th Edition Player’s Handbook to, in a way, provide the most direct result of the systematic racism that I argue is present in the lore of the game, based on the in-game descriptions of the playable races, such as half-orcs and half-elves, the two races that I have analyzed up to this point.
Continuing from my last point, studies suggest that players of role-playing video games experience strong emotional reactions when exposed to morally ambiguous narrative scenarios that end in violence. In fact, unjustified violence triggered even stronger feelings of guilt. This all stems from the emotional attachments that players have with their characters the longer a game goes on (Hanus and Mahood 61). Even though these studies were conducted in response to video games, the same reactions can still be found in tabletop role-playing games. In fact, the emotional reactions can even more visceral, due to the fact that the consequences of the player’s actions are not given to them visually, but is rather something that their minds envision on their own. This could be even more terrifying and graphic than anything that man could produce. Also, the unpredictability of the results of a player’s actions based on the roll of the dice is terrifying because the player is never certain of the outcome. It is always left to chance. It is not just the player’s actions, however. The idea of experiencing, or in game terms, living through their character’s backstory, especially if it is more complex, also leads to a greater impact emotionally on the player (Mahood and Hanus 64). However, sometimes, to some players, this connection between player and character is not as on-the-surface as it may appear, as sometimes the connection “is unknown even to the player, until he or she is pressed” (Underwood).
Along with developing intense emotional connections, this type of game, in particular, stands out drastically from the regular board and card games. It affects the brain differently, it engages the players in very unique ways, both individually and as a group, and it provides completely different and unexpected results.
As stated before, tabletop RPGs allow certain personalities to explore and engage with others in ways that wouldn’t be as possible in real life scenarios. Specifically looking at Machiavellianism in terms of moral and ethical behavior, there are certain narrative situations that arise that allow specific personalities of people to shine more than others. This would include people who would be more assertive, dominant, or even more “power-hungry” than others. They have the ability to manipulate the group, as well as the game to a certain extent, in order to achieve their own goals and better themselves in the game world. An important question to be asked is how well this type of personality would work in certain social circles, depending on how well the other members of the group know this particular individual, vice versa, and even what all of their relationships are with each other.
The role of stories in this type of game system allows players to act out and engage overcoming obstacles with better accuracy than they would or could in real life (Grüne-Yanoff et al 139). Being able to visualize these scenarios in one’s head, as it is almost expected, allows for better teamwork in coming up with ways to solve the problem or with handling a particularly delicate situation. The act of participating in storytelling, whether doing the actual telling of the story or being a listener, establishes a unique connection that is not normally present in card games and other board games (Grüne-Yanoff et al 141). As this type of game is also known for occasional collaborating storytelling by all members of the group, all of the members become even more invested when they have to put even more effort into the story and the world as a whole rather than simply reacting to situations that are put in front of them.
Also, when players are not as directly engaged in the storytelling process, they could be engaged in planning a short or long-term strategy. Some players prefer to take action immediately upon being given a challenge or obstacle to overcome. Other players choose to wait and listen to the decisions of the rest of the group, choosing to either change their action completely or base off a group consensus. Sometimes certain decisions even need to be put to a vote, in which case certain players, depending on the number of the group, may or may not have to be the tie-breaker vote.
These guidelines, those aspects of tabletop RPG culture as a whole, affect how the game is played. Applying game theory using said guidelines, there are many different aspects of gameplay that emerge. Such as how certain personalities affect group dynamics and the importance of narration in being able to overcome particularly difficult social and moral scenarios.
In applying game theory to D&D, there is the opportunity to observe the different types of personalities that can manipulate and influence the game. Also, the importance of narratives in tabletop role-playing games in teaching players about game construction, interpretation and solution of game structures.
A common stereotype amongst the white, male-dominated player is the Machiavellian tactics used in the game. The idea is that this type of personality, also known as a “murder-hobo” in game terms, does not take into account the consequences of their actions, and therefore kills without honor and decency, having no moral qualms with the actions that they take in the game. However, this type of player is not completely based off of their personality. In fact, D&D “encourages its players to use racial stereotypes as justification for genocide, and to profit from ethnic cleansing” (Clements 48).
Clempner breaks down the aspect of Machiavellian tactics even further, identifying two different types. The first type is players with high Machiavellianism, those that are known for the use of rational indirect tactics, and the second type are those with low Machiavellianism or those that use rational direct tactics (Clempner). This type of player, as it is clear, is only concerned with achieving and holding the most power in the game, using manipulation and manipulation tactics to achieve their goals.
By adding race theory to the other aspects of the game, the question can be raised, how is game theory affected by the selection of playable races, and how does that affect the overall game dynamic?
First and foremost, the majority of the racism that is commonplace in the lore of D&D can be attributed to Tolkien and his “standardization of fantastic creatures,” which doesn’t specifically apply to this game, but has branches that reach out to many other types of popular culture (Clements 39). This is something that has changed going all the way back to the first edition of D&D back in the 1980s. In fact, the first edition was one of the first games where players knew that at least half, if not more, of the rules, would be seriously altered or even discarded, mainly due to the fact that so many aspects of gameplay were seriously flawed (Mason).
One of these pervasive effects that plagued the first edition was that fact that many of the playable races, at least, those that are considered “non-human,” are portrayed as “‘limited sets of human personalities,’” in that this particular set of races were only broadly described in such a way as to set them apart from the “human” races (Clements 43). How this ultimately plays out, is that these, what is considered “monstrous” races in game terms, are not given the “cultural construction” that they deserve, and are therefore simply left to be “painted in broad strokes,” leaving players with only their human experiences to guess as to play these non-human races (Clements 32-44).
I also want to explore in this section a big part of race theory that I hadn’t thought about which really describes a lot of the ways in which D&D is set up: essentialism. This belief that certain categories that separate people from each other, in which they each have their unique characteristics, dispositions, behaviors, and traditions in order to identify them, is literally how the core of the game is described to its players. I want to explore this concept in particular because it represents a large part of my argument. In certain ways, without these recognizable tags and labels, certain races begin to crumble, in a way. Some players don’t know how to handle NPCs, or Non-Playable Characters that they encounter, that deviate from how the said player had come to assume that they would act.
For game theory, there was not a lot of material that related to tabletop gaming in general. Instead, it focused more on video games. However, my argument was that many of the concepts that applied to those aspects of game theory also applied to D&D. I wanted to find articles that showed how games, both electronic and tabletop, could have a strong effect on the players both mentally and emotionally.
Early on while working on my thesis, I picked Half-Orcs to analyze because they are one of the most recognizable, and most widely hated, by consumers of the fantasy genre of popular culture. As they are almost completely depicted as being aggressive, brutish and dim-witted, it only made sense to me that I would want to dive deeper into how they are fit into D&D. However, I was a little surprised with the almost benevolence with which they were described. The Player’s Handbook stated that Half-Orcs normally formed tribes with humans and that more often than not they were fairly diplomatic, at least with each other, not so much with enemy tribes and factions. They did make sure to mention, however, the inherent violent temper that exists within every Half-Orc, and how each one must either fight against their nature to be good or lean into it and become exactly what everyone says and thinks about their race.
I chose Elves for nearly the same reason. They are recognized with the same notoriety as Half-Orcs, just on the other side of the spectrum. They are the most recognizable race, specifically just plain/high elves when it comes to popular culture in the fantasy genre. Known as the original arcane users, other than humans, it was also fairly obvious here that I chose to analyze them as well. Most people only really know of High Elves - similar to those seen in Lord of the Rings – who, in-game, inhabit tall, glittering spires and find themselves in a sprawling metropolis and booming economy thanks to advanced technology combined with magic.
Lastly, next semester I hope to choose a bit more audience-centric content related to Dungeons and Dragons to focus on for my thesis. I want to analyze one of the more influential types of media when it came to spreading the word about D&D: podcasts. Specifically, I want to analyze a podcast called The Adventure Zone, in which three brothers, Justin, Travis and Griffin, along with their father Clint McElroy, sit down for about an hour every two weeks to play Dungeons and Dragons. What makes this podcast special is that it shows how much more potential this game has than just about having fun. It was about telling a story and, to quote from the podcast itself, it is described as “three brothers and their dad who played D&D so hard they made themselves cry.” This is only a small piece of what this particular type of media brings to the table in terms of my thesis, but it talks about many, if not more, of the lenses that I will use in analyzing the game.
Dungeons and Dragons is more than the stereotypical image of sitting around a table, rolling dice and scribbling notes; it has the potential to grow beyond a few hours of collaborative storytelling. This game is an opportunity to be a part of something bigger than oneself; Not in the way of making a difference in the world, as important as that may be, but as a way to engage in teamwork and cooperation where, hopefully, each player’s individual choices and actions lead to consequences that affect the team as a whole. In a way, this concept both encourages people who are more individualistic and proactive to take a step back and learn to rely on others and share the burden a bit. On the other hand, it also teaches those who take advantage of working in large groups where other people do all the hard work, that complacency and inaction could lead to injury and even death, depending on the situation.
This next section will consist of the five pages of data that I have elaborated up to this point. These images are the racial descriptions for two of the playable races that can be found in the 5th Edition Player’s Handbook, which is one of the core books for character creation in Dungeons and Dragons. The two races presented here are Half-Orcs and Elves. I will later discuss my reasoning for picking these two races, and the lenses I am using to analyze them will come into play. First, I will transcribe the elaborations that I made in the margins of the pages that I had printed out. Then, I will discuss the observations that I made and further delve into how the descriptions of these races not only affects what type of mindset players get into when choosing these races but how that can affect gameplay and group dynamics.
“When these alliances are sealed by marriages, half-orcs are born.” – Written in such a way as to avoid the harsh reality of the more common answer as to how half-orcs came to be. As someone who has played this for over a year now, even I was not aware of this piece of lore (Interracial Marriage)
“Orcs regard battle scars as tokens of pride and ornamental scars as things of beauty. Other scars though, mark an orc or half-orc as a former slave or a disgraced exile.” – A symbol of the commonly brutal and unforgiving orcish lifestyle.
“Barbaric customs and savage fury…grayish pigmentation, sloping foreheads, jutting jaws, prominent teeth, and towering builds.” – African American Description
“Half-orcs are not evil by nature, but evil does lurk within them, whether they embrace it or rebel against it.” – Interesting choice of an adjective, using “evil” instead of simply “brutish” or “aggressive”.
“Evil…rage…burn…enough self-control to get by in a civilized land.” – Violent/Uncivilized
“Each half-orc finds a way to gain acceptance from those who hate orcs. Some are reserved, trying not to draw attention to themselves. A few demonstrate piety and goodheartedness as publicly as they can (whether or not such demonstrations are genuine). And some simply try to be so tough that others just avoid them. – This is a much different description than I saw at the beginning of this section. Here, it almost seems like half-orcs are meek and soft-hearted, as opposed to the savage brutes they were described as earlier. Clearly an attempt to make the races appear “equal”.
As can be seen from these descriptions, orcs and half-orcs are considered to be barbaric, uncivilized and overtly aggressive. As far as the game is concerned, half-orcs are more well-known for being classified as some of the melee classes in D&D, such as Barbarians, Fighters, and Paladins.
When it comes to the way that half-orcs are described physically on this page, it appears to be using similar figurative language to how Africans were first described upon discovery by the Europeans. This is true even with some of the traditions and culture that half-orcs have also share similarities with African culture as it was first discovered in the 1700s and 1800s, such as how orcs live in tribes, having “barbaric customs and savage fury”
“Beauty…Magical, Slender and Graceful…bluish white (in reference to skin color)…They favor elegant clothing in bright colors, and they enjoy simple yet lovely jewelry.” – Many of the adjectives used are popular cultural references to elves in other types of media.
As can be seen later in this section on elves, this isn’t exactly the most accurate descriptions of every type of elf that exists in this game. However, there is plenty of language here that can be called back to Tolkien and other types of media that represent elves in one way or another.
“Hidden Woodland Realms” – Different from how elves are normally depicted in other popular culture (i.e. living in a glowing, bustling metropolis with shining skyscrapers).
“Some might join with rebels fighting against oppression, and others might become champions of moral causes.” – This is an interesting note. Normally, elves are depicted as stubborn and selfish, only getting involved in political conflict when their reputation is at stake or their territory is threatened.
“Haughty but Gracious…Still, they can find good in just about anyone.” – As I’ve said before, depicts all races as “equal,” even though in the real world, these opinions are not very realistic.
“…is haughty and reclusive, believing themselves to be superior to non-elves and even other elves.” – The most common depiction of elves in popular culture.
Dungeons and Dragons, despite its popularity and notoriety amongst nearly all tabletop gamers, is not devoid of flaws. The play material is rife with racism, despite the good intentions of the past and current publishing companies. The fault is not all on them, though. Popular culture, mythology, and media have all contributed to the entanglement of social and racial issues that players of D&D subject themselves to. The game itself is unique in the way it influences and manipulates its players, leaving every action, every choice and sometimes entire conversations to chance and the role of the dice. Even with all of these issues, it still brings people together of all ages, races, shapes, and sizes. The unique opportunities provided by this game are unlike any other. It gives players the abilities to play out different social scenarios, learning that there are real and, sometimes permanent, consequences for their actions, many of which are not reversible by simply clicking a button on a screen. It is for this reason, among many others, that the tabletop game Dungeons and Dragons has lasted for so long.
Works Cited
Chad, Mahood, and Hanus Michael. “Role-Playing Video Games and Emotion: How Transportation Into the Narrative Mediates the Relationship Between Immoral Actions and Feelings of Guilt.” Psychology of Popular Media Culture, no. 1, 2017, p. 61. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1037/ppm0000084.
Clements, Philip. "Roll to Save vs. Prejudice: The Phenomenology of Race in Dungeons & Dragons." Electronic Thesis or Dissertation. Bowling Green State University, 2015. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. 16 Oct 2018.
Clempner, Julio B. “A Game Theory Model for Manipulation Based on Machiavellianism: Moral and Ethical Behavior.” Journal of Artificial Societies & Social Simulation, vol. 20, no. 2, Mar. 2017, p. 4. EBSCOhost, bulldogs.tlu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edo&AN=122781758&site=eds-live&scope=site
Grüne-Yanoff, Till, and Paul Schweinzer. “The Roles of Stories in Applying Game Theory.” Journal of Economic Methodology, vol. 15, no. 2, June 2008, pp. 131–146. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/13501780802115075.
Mason, Paul. “A History of RPGs: Made by Fans; Played by Fans.” Transformative Works and Cultures , Vol 11 (2012), 2012. EBSCOhost, doi:10.3983/twc.2012.0444.
Turnwald, Annemarie, et al. “Understanding Human Avoidance Behavior: Interaction-Aware Decision Making Based on Game Theory.” International Journal of Social Robotics, vol. 8, no. 2, Apr. 2016, pp. 331–351. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s12369-016-0342-2.
Underwood, Michael Robert. “The Friends That Game Together: A Folkloric Expansion of Textual Poaching to Genre Farming for Socialization in Tabletop Role-Playing Games.” Transformative Works and Cultures , Vol 2 (2009), 2009. EBSCOhost, doi:10.3983/twc.2009.0087.
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