#RPGaDay2015 Day 8 - Favorite Appearances of RPGs in the Media




When I was in middle school I saw the movie E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial. One neat scene was a bunch of the older kids playing a D&D game (or something a whole lot like D&D). Though in my neck of the world (Connecticut) didn't have the massive "D&D is satanic" scare that other parts of the country did, it was really neat seeing a D&D game presented as something a bunch of people did to have a good time - unlike Mazes & Monsters which seemed to posit you'd lose your mind, go exploring in the caves or steam tunnels and finally try to jump off one of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.



Tom Hanks making the mistake that clerics get flying spells....




I've grown to enjoy some more tongue and cheek gaming references. My favorite is probably the reference to Trogdor the Burninator in "Chosen", the series finale to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I can't find any video of it online but I did find the script:
GILES: I'm — I'm — I'm all turned around. You're here?
XANDER: By the pillar, yeah. I'm protecting this area.
GILES: That puts me over by the door. Demons around the perimeter. Right! I open the door.
{Pan over to show Andrew is also at the table, but he's wearing a red hooded cloak.}
ANDREW: {reading from a book} You go through the door and are confronted by Trogdor the Burninator.
GILES: Oh, bugger it. Fight. {rolls dice, sips wine}


ANDREW: Adios to 5 hit points. Trogdor has badly wounded you.

A close second on Buffy is a scene where Xander, researching a demon, accidentally refers to a D&D book in the episode "Smashed".



Finally, while it isn't a single moment, I really enjoy the fact that in the Dresden Files series of novels, Harry Dresden games with a pack of werewolves and takes great enjoyment in playing a barbarians.

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