Dungeons and Dragons and Philosophy: Read and Gain Advantage on All Wisdom Checks

241 Pages·2014·2.25 MB·English

by  Christopher Robichaud

Dungeons &
Dragons and
PhilosoPhy
The Blackwell Philosophy and PopCulture Series
Series editor William Irwin
A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, and a healthy helping of popular culture clears the cobwebs from Kant.
Philosophy has had a public relations problem for a few centuries now. This series aims to change that, showing that
philosophy is relevant to your life – and not just for answering the big questions like “To be or not to be?” but for answering
the little questions: “To watch or not to watch South Park?” Thinking deeply about TV, movies, and music doesn’t make you
a “complete idiot.” In fact it might make you a philosopher, someone who believes the unexamined life is not worth living
and the unexamined cartoon is not worth watching.
Already published in the series:
24 and Philosophy: The World According to Jack The Hunger Games and Philosophy: A Critique of Pure
Edited by Jennifer Hart Weed, Richard Brian Davis, and Treason
Ronald Weed Edited by George Dunn and Nicolas Michaud
30 Rock and Philosophy: We Want to Go to There Inception and Philosophy: Because It’s Never Just a Dream
Edited by J. Jeremy Wisnewski Edited by David Johnson
Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy: Curiouser and Iron Man and Philosophy: Facing the Stark Reality
Curiouser Edited by Mark D. White
Edited by Richard Brian Davis Lost and Philosophy: The Island Has Its Reasons
Arrested Development and Philosophy: They’ve Made a Edited by Sharon M. Kaye
Huge Mistake Mad Men and Philosophy: Nothing Is as It Seems
Edited by Kristopher Phillips and J. Jeremy Wisnewski Edited by James South and Rod Carveth
The Avengers and Philosophy: Earth’s Mightiest Thinkers Metallica and Philosophy: A Crash Course in Brain Surgery
Edited by Mark D. White Edited by William Irwin
Batman and Philosophy: The Dark Knight of the Soul The Office and Philosophy: Scenes from the Unfinished Life
Edited by Mark D. White and Robert Arp Edited by J. Jeremy Wisnewski
Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Knowledge Here Sons of Anarchy and Philosophy: Brains Before Bullets
Begins Out There Edited by George A. Dunn and Jason T. Eberl
Edited by Jason T. Eberl
South Park and Philosophy: You Know, I Learned
The Big Bang Theory and Philosophy: Rock, Paper, Something Today
Scissors, Aristotle, Locke Edited by Robert Arp
Edited by Dean Kowalski
Spider-Man and Philosophy: The Web of Inquiry
The Big Lebowski and Philosophy: Keeping Your Mind Edited by Jonathan Sanford
Limber with Abiding Wisdom
Superman and Philosophy: What Would the Man of
Edited by Peter S. Fosl
Steel Do?
Black Sabbath and Philosophy: Mastering Reality Edited by Mark D. White
Edited by William Irwin
Supernatural and Philosophy: Metaphysics and Monsters…
The Daily Show and Philosophy: Moments of Zen in the for Idjits
Art of Fake News Edited by Galen Foresman
Edited by Jason Holt
Terminator and Philosophy: I’ll Be Back, Therefore I Am
Downton Abbey and Philosophy: The Truth Is Neither Edited by Richard Brown and Kevin Decker
Here Nor There
True Blood and Philosophy: We Wanna Think Bad Things
Edited by Mark D. White
with You
Dungeons & Dragons and Philosophy: Read and Gain Edited by George Dunn and Rebecca Housel
Advantage on All Wisdom Checks
Twilight and Philosophy: Vampires, Vegetarians, and the
Edited by Christopher Robichaud
Pursuit of Immortality
Ender’s Game and Philosophy: The Logic Gate is Down Edited by Rebecca Housel and J. Jeremy Wisnewski
Edited by Kevin S. Decker
The Ultimate Daily Show and Philosophy: More Moments
Family Guy and Philosophy: A Cure for the Petarded of Zen, More Moments of Indecision Theory
Edited by J. Jeremy Wisnewski Edited by Jason Holt
Final Fantasy and Philosophy: The Ultimate Walkthrough The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy: Hogwarts for
Edited by Jason P. Blahuta and Michel S. Beaulieu Muggles
Game of Thrones and Philosophy: Logic Cuts Deeper Edited by Gregory Bassham
Than Swords The Ultimate Lost and Philosophy: Think Together, Die Alone
Edited by Henry Jacoby Edited by Sharon Kaye
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and Philosophy: The Ultimate South Park and Philosophy: Respect My
Everything is Fire Philosophah!
Edited by Eric Bronson Edited by Robert Arp and Kevin S. Decker
Green Lantern and Philosophy: No Evil Shall Escape The Walking Dead and Philosophy: Shotgun. Machete.
this Book Reason.
Edited by Jane Dryden and Mark D. White Edited by Christopher Robichaud
Heroes and Philosophy: Buy the Book, Save the World Watchmen and Philosophy: A Rorschach Test
Edited by David Kyle Johnson Edited by Mark D. White
The Hobbit and Philosophy: For When You’ve Lost Your Veronica Mars and Philosophy
Dwarves, Your Wizard, and Your Way Edited by George A. Dunn
Edited by Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson
X-Men and Philosophy: Astonishing Insight and Uncanny
House and Philosophy: Everybody Lies Argument in the Mutant X-Verse
Edited by Henry Jacoby Edited by Rebecca Housel and J. Jeremy Wisnewski
Dungeons &
Dragons and
PhilosoPhy
Read and Gain
advantaGe on all
Wisdom CheCks
Edited by
Christopher Robichaud
This edition first published 2014
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Paperback ISBN: 978-1-118-39762-6
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Cover image: Illustration by Severino Baraldi (b.1930). Private Collection /
© Look and Learn / The Bridgeman Art Library.
Set in 11/14pt Sabon by SPi Publisher Services, Pondicherry, India
1 2014
Contents
Abbreviations Used in the Text viii
Introduction: A Game Like No Other 1
Part I Lawful Good vs. Chaotic Evil 5
1 Sympathy for the Devils: Free Will and
Dungeons & Dragons 7
Greg Littmann
2 Paragons and Knaves: Does Good Character
Make for a Good Character? 23
J.K. Miles and Karington Hess
3 Is Anyone Actually Chaotic Evil?: A Playable
Theory of Willful Wrongdoing 35
Neil Mussett
Part II So Did You Win? Philosophy
and D&D Gameplay 61
4 Save vs. Death: Some Reflections on the
Lifecycle of PCs 63
Christopher Robichaud
5 To My Other Self: Reflection and Existentialism
in Dungeons & Dragons 72
Rob Crandall and Charles Taliaferro
vi contents
6 Player-Character Is What You Are in the Dark:
The Phenomenology of Immersion in 
Dungeons & Dragons 82
William J. White
Part III Crafting Worlds 93
7 Imagination and Creation: The Morality
of Fiction in Dungeons & Dragons 95
Robert A. Delfino and Jerome C. Hillock
8 Dungeonmastery as Soulcraft 106
Ben Dyer
Part IV Foray into the Forgotten Realms
and Dragonlance 119
9 Menzoberranzan: A Perfect Unjust State 121
Matt Hummel
10 Who Is Raistlin Majere? 132
Kevin McCain
Part V The Ethics of Spellcasting 145
11 Expediency and Expendability: An Exhumation
of the Morality of Necromancy 147
Matthew Jones and Ashley Brown
12 By Friendship or Force: Is it Ethical to
Summon Animals to Fight by Your Side in
Dungeons & Dragons? 163
Samantha Noll
Part VI Dungeons & Dragons out in the
Real World 173
13 “Kill her, kill her! Oh God, I’m sorry!”:
Spectating Dungeons & Dragons 175
Esther MacCallum-Stewart
contents vii
14 Berserker in a Skirt: Sex and Gender
in Dungeons & Dragons 189
Shannon M. Mussett
15 “Others play at dice”: Friendship and
Dungeons & Dragons 202
Jeffery L. Nicholas
Contributors 217
Index 223
Abbreviations Used
in the Text
D&D Dungeons & Dragons
DM Dungeon Master
LARP live action role-playing
MMORPG massively multiplayer online role-playing game
NPC non-player-character
PC player-character
RPG role-playing game