“Ghouls, Monsters Find New Life In Newest Game Craze” in 1980

Fans of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game (find at Amazon.com*) won’t want to miss this Spartanburg Herald newspaper article from December 16, 1980. Written by Joe W. Dickson, the short article introduces the Dungeons & Dragons game to a mainstream audience and does an excellent job of making the game sound fun. Of course there’s a touch of the “evil game” in the article, but I’m sure that’s mostly to make it sound a little edgy; a bunch of people sitting around rolling dice and roleplaying isn’t exactly edge-of-your-seat newspaper reading.

“Worship of gods and deities often come into play when battles are in danger of being lost, says Perry Morgan, another player. ‘I was in a dungeon once where I saw a ring in a pile of bones,’ he says’ ‘It tingled so I thought it was magical. If it had been, I might have gotten three wishes. But it was cursed. Then the monster Cthulhu appeared. There was no way I could beat him, so I got down and prayed to my god.'”

Okay, I can see where someone talking about Dungeons & Dragons in that way could confuse people who are unfamiliar with the game.

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