6/Wednesday, December 12,1984/THE BLUE BANNER
Dungeons and Dragons:
A dangerous diversion?
By Caroline Brown
How would you like to
use lnag^rAl powers to
turn that exrboyfriend or
girlfriend who dumped you
last month into a toad?
Or, would you like to
throw that thoughtful
roomnate, who every morn
ing during the entire
fall semester turned on
the radio at 8 a.m. into
a pit of starving ants?
Acting out fantasies of
fun or revenge is a big
part of the appeal of the
game Doogeaas and Dra
gons. But for some peo
ple, this seemingly inno
cent escape from reality
can turn threatening.
Take the exaiq>le of a
highly intelligent, but
emotionally unstable col
lege student who lost
himself in the DS) world.
According to a Nov. 5,
1984 College Press Ser
vice article, James
Dallas Egbert III, a 16-
year^ld freshman student
at Michigan State Ifciiver-
sity may have played the
DSD fantasy too far and
comnitted suicide.
Even though Egbert's
suicide was probably
influenced by other
factors such as "his
intelligence, difficulty
in relating to older
classmates, and sexual
prefer^ces," William
Dear, the detective whom
the boy*s parent's hired
to find him when he
disappeared, thinks DfiD
influenced his suicide.
Dear explained in his
book, Daqgeon Master,
"Egbert was very involved
in OdQgeoos and Dragons.
Many of the kids who play
this game don't realize
it's a fantasy and beccwne
so involved.
"I've heard since this
case from two other women
who say their children,
who were involved with
the game, committed sui
cide," saLd Dear.
"I'm not saying the
game is inherently dan
gerous , but kids with
emotional problems should
not play it," said Dear.
And, Magoon feels the
same way about D6D.
"I see where it's pos
sible for him to be so
wrapped up in a character
that it would filter into
reality," Magoon said.
"Sometimes, you can get
real involved and that's
where the real problems
occur," he said.
DSD consists of books
such as the Dtmgeoa Ifur-
ter's Gblde, dice, and a
dungeon master.
Magoon suggested that a
group of four or six peo
ple makes the game more
fun.
Pete Hammet, another
UNGA student, plays Dun
geon Master for the
group. Magoon called the
dungeon master the "omin
ous" character.
Magoon e^lained a roll
of the dice determines
each character's make-up.
Magoon said the group
tries to get a variety of
qualities such as: wis
dom, strength, dexterity,
intelligence, and charis
ma.
The D6D books describe
what characters to
choose.
For exaiq>le, the group
playing may consist of a
human, a gnome, a dwarf,
an elf, etc.
The character may also
be a fighter, a magic
user, or a cleric.
Magoon e^lained that
DfiD then sends the char
acter off for an adven
ture. The character
should e3q>ect to meet
dangers during the jour
ney.
The dungeon master
isn't the only eleiaent
which sounds "ominous" in
the game.
"You may run into dan
gerous creatures. You
have to fight to get out
of that, or use your
brains," said Magoon.
That's why it's so inr-
portant to have a variety
of characters in DSD. For
instance, a magic user
casts magic spells, a
cleric uses his brains,
and a fighter uses his
physical abilities to
ward off dangerous crea
tures .
But, even if the fight
er has to use his phys
ical power, it is only in
the character's mind. The
players use no physical
force.
According to Magoon,
the characters in the
gproup move through "cer
tain levels of eaqperi-
ences," and the object of
DSD is to "live."
"The game takes a long
time. It can never end as
long as the character
doesn't die. Then if the
character does die, you
can always get reincar
nated. We stay up until
all hours of the night,"
said Magoon.
"I don't think DSD
causes psychological pro
blems. But, if you
already have psychologi
cal problems, then you
could go off into a tan
gent," said Magoon.
In fact, Magoon said he
heard one story in which
DSD supposedly influenced
a high-school student's
suicide.
"A couple of high
school kids played DSD
and a very high leveled
magic user got a curse
cast on him by a more pow-
In hot pursuit of trivial amusement
By Anna Wilson
Trivia fans unite! This
Christmas is a trivia
buff's fantasy.
Manufacturers have
flooded the market with
all kinds of trivia games.
And the most wonderful
thing of all is with the
flood came lower prices.
The first Trivial Ptar-
snlt games sold anywhere
from $30-$40 and now Sears
offers them for $22,991
This may be the lowest
price in town. Even K-Mart
sells theirs for $24.77.
But K-Mart has a variety
of games available—^and
what an array. The days of
the one and only TrLvlal
TGNT USDBERm., Jackie YouqgUood, Cliezyl McDails, Tim
Riddle, and Susan Benfleld relax before exams with a
TOnslllg g”"** of Trivial Fursultl* Staff photo by Anna Wilson
Barsult game is over.
First is the Vlev^^fuiter
3-D Trivia Quiz. This
little gem is only $14.96
and it has two skill
levels for younger and
older kids (ages 4-9), The
good news is the 3-D
viewer is included. (Will
wonders never cease?)
And speaking of wonders,
the legend lives on—in a
trivia game. Yes, folks
Elvis Presley has his own
trivia game called The
Golden Illustrated Trea
sury: 1935-1985. Too bad
the box had plastic wrap
around it—to keep the
cvirlous fan from ripping
it open.
But let's not forget
about another legend. The
Beatles have their own
game also—^Elvis can't get
anything on these limeys.
Beatleaaiila: The lUastrar-
ted Tceasuy is put out
the same manufacturer as
the Elvis game and K-Mart
sells both for $24.96.
Another game dealing
with rock and roll has the
original title of Bock
Trivia.
Making the transition to
television, K-Mart has the
GdUen Trivia Cane: MASE
Edition. The game's des
cription reads; "A madcap
marathon of MASH memora
bilia." Isn't that a great
line?
By the way, who gave
Ha^^ye his nickname? How
old was Radar when he
enlisted? For the answers,
buy the game.
Entertainment Tonight
didn't get left out of
this lucrative business
either. Their game Enter-
taiiM«nt Toolkit: The
Trivia Goae grades their
questions on levels of
difficulty—-the higher the
difficulty the faster the
win.
Brendles has some dif
ferent games. Two of the
most interesting are
People Ifeekly: The Trivia
Geae with Personality and
and the TV Guide Trivia
Gane.
People's game reads:
"The rich. The famous. The
powerful. They're today's
people—making today's
news." And it's only
$19.99. However, the
National Enquirer is much
less.
TV Guide's game says:
"Nothing mirrors our life
and times like the elec
tronic eye of TV. For over
30 years TV Guide has been
wriitng the book on TV
every week." Doesn't some
one wish they had used
this on a recent research
paper?
Ripley's Believe It or
Sot Trivia Gense looks like
a lot of fun and no one
has to put up with Jack
Palance either! The zebra
has a black body with