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

Discusses the philosophical issues that underlie role-playing tactics, including free-will, the ethics of spellcasting, and the fluidity of gender.

List of 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
 
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
 
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

Product details

• Authors: Robichaud, Christoph Robichaud, Christopher Robichaud, W Robichaud
• Assisted by: Irwin (Editor), Irwin (Editor), William Irwin (Editor), Christophe Robichaud (Editor), Christopher Robichaud (Editor), Robichaud Christopher (Editor), Irwin William (Editor of the series)
• Publisher: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 02.09.2014
• EAN: 9781118397626
• ISBN: 978-1-118-39762-6
• No. of pages: 240
• Series: The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series; Blackwell Philosophy & Pop Cul; The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Philosophy > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: general, reference works; Philosophie, Wissenschaft, Philosophy, Allg. Philosophie