Jamie Douglas

If you’ve never played a pen and paper role-playing game like Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), you might envision their players as isolated nerds huddled in their mother’s basement, clutching bagfuls of dice and declaring, “I cast my magic missile at the darkness.” And you’d be partly right.

Michael Goldfarb, John McCain’s official campaign blogger, may have had this in mind when he said: “It may be typical of the pro-Obama Dungeons & Dragons crowd to disparage a fellow countryman’s memory of war from the comfort of mom’s basement, but most Americans have the humility and gratitude to respect and learn from the memories of men who suffered on behalf of others.”

Irrespective of this particular political volley, this was not the first time Goldfarb had leveled the accusation that playing D&D is a diversion enjoyed only by overweight deadbeats too cowardly to enlist. Observers mired in the ‘80s stereotype of the Mountain Dew-swilling geek might be surprised to learn that many soldiers are D&D enthusiasts. In their rebuttal, Hasbro stated, “For fans, the game is essentially about heroism and therefore it is not surprising to us that thousands of military personnel play and enjoy the game.”

In fact, Wizards of the Coast, makers of D&D, has sent countless care packages containing free gaming supplies to troops stationed overseas as a motion to help relieve stress. “McCain’s people should really check their facts before they spout off. Does John McCain have no idea how many GIs play D&D?” commented a solider in a Wizards of the Coast press release.

However, the Army isn’t the only place to find players who might defy the stereotype. Given the increased popularity of once-marginalized tropes like the epic Lord of the Rings films and online fantasy games like Age of Conan, some of the more impenetrable concepts from pen and paper role-playing games (RPGs) are no longer considered strange.

Barring deployment, why would anyone actually spend their time rolling dice, making up stories, and filling out sheets of paper that too closely resemble a 1040EZ tax form? Unlike a weekly raid in World of Warcraft, a session of D&D is essentially a social function. You’re face-to-face with people you know, telling highly creative (if amateur) stories of your own devising. Like a board game during a blackout, the unexpected turns of chance make things interesting. Like a trip to Vegas, you risk everything on the toss of a die. Fortunately, the money and accomplishments at risk aren’t real, but they do last for months, or even years — as long as you care to invest.

If you’ve played video games at all in the last decade, chances are you’ve played something called an RPG (Role Playing Game), and the allure of the “experience point” is not unknown — even if the computer was secretly rolling the dice for you. To avoid confusion, the “old school” RPGamers have appended the prefix “pen and paper” to their game, meaning they still like to do things by hand.

There isn’t that much difference between taking the role of an elf-slaying monster on your computer for $15 a month and portraying an elf amongst friends over a few beers for free — less the price of the beers. Soldiers, police officers, and restaurateurs roll twenty-sided dice. You wouldn’t know at first glance, but all it takes is that oblique comment about a “missed saving throw” or “rolling a 20.” Then you know their secret: They are card-carrying members of this secret order of pen and paper geekdom.

The creative element is an enduring appeal that these games offer over their digital counterparts. In a computer game, one’s choice of persona is limited to the game’s production values. The quests you undertake are limited by the game developer’s staff writers. You only exist in a world where you compete with thousands of other nameless heroes and leave no lasting mark. In a good pen and paper RPG, the players are able to fashion a story where they are front and center; they determine the course that matters to them.

You don’t have to go to Barnes and Noble at Park Point and pick up the new player’s manual, but if you were harboring notions that pen and paper gamers were subhumans of a sort, you might revise your stereotypes and recognize the creativity that this hobby requires, as well as the immense diversity of its players. Take a lesson from McCain’s blogger: Don’t insult the geeks. You never know who you might be talking to.

In response to Hasbro’s strongly worded letter to the McCain campaign, Michael Goldfarb wisely recanted his gaffe against the unrecognized gamer demographic, saying: “If my comments caused any harm or hurt to the hard-working Americans who play Dungeons & Dragons, I apologize. This campaign is committed to increasing the strength, constitution, dexterity, intelligence, wisdom, and charisma scores of every American.”