# Really? We're still playing the "Dungeons and Dragons made him do it" card? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 21, 2009, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-were-still-playing-the-dungeons-and-dragons-made-him-do-it-card/507184 "2009-08-21T09:02:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-were-still-playing-the-dungeons-and-dragons-made-him-do-it-card/507184/1 "2009-08-21T09:02:06Z")
[Linky](http://www.sltrib.com/justice/ci_13146563) I may be slightly overreacting here, but it certainly reads like they’re trying to pin it on D&D in some way. It “may have stemmed from the trio playing Dungeons and Dragons.” I’m not sure about that, I think it may have been someone slightly unhinged doing it in rage because of a girl. You know why? _Because that’s what he fucking said his motive was._ I can’t condemn mentioning D&D entirely because it gives a time frame, but it really seems odd citing it as a reason. It’s 2009, couldn’t we at least get with the times and pretend he stood next to someone whose best friend picked up a copy of Grant Theft Auto IV for his roommate once? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-were-still-playing-the-dungeons-and-dragons-made-him-do-it-card/507184/2 "2009-08-21T09:46:32Z")
Frankly, I wish I could find a local group. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-were-still-playing-the-dungeons-and-dragons-made-him-do-it-card/507184/3 "2009-08-21T14:03:10Z")
To be fair, they don’t say D&D made him do it. If anything, it sounds like the guy might be thinking about a defense of “Ambien made me do it.” > [@](#): > > Detective Michael Bleak testified that during an interview at the police station, King told him he went home after playing the game at Shokrian’s house, took an over-the-counter sleeping pill and went to bed. He awakened angry, found a hammer in a tool shed and drove to Shokrian’s house, entering through an open window. They say the attack may have been motivated in part by things that happened during the game, although on the list of things that caused this, I’d say it’s second or third, behind “The guy is a psycho” and possibly “He took my girl.” ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-were-still-playing-the-dungeons-and-dragons-made-him-do-it-card/507184/4 "2009-08-21T14:24:16Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > [Linky](http://www.sltrib.com/justice/ci_13146563) > > I may be slightly overreacting here, but it certainly reads like they’re trying to pin it on D&D in some way. It “may have stemmed from the trio playing Dungeons and Dragons.” I’m not sure about that, I think it may have been someone slightly unhinged doing it in rage because of a girl. You know why? _Because that’s what he fucking said his motive was._ I can’t condemn mentioning D&D entirely because it gives a time frame, but it really seems odd citing it as a reason. Well, it _could_ have been about D&D. Lord knows some of the modules can spawn some stress and anger at the DM. I’m looking at you, Tomb of Horrors. Or it could have been the two best friends in love with the same girl thing. You know, the situation at the heart of HALF THE FUCKING TRAGEDIES EVER FUCKING WRITTEN. Really, who’s to tell, right ? ---
**Author:** ![Erasmus\_Darwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@Erasmus\_Darwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erasmus_Darwin)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-were-still-playing-the-dungeons-and-dragons-made-him-do-it-card/507184/5 "2009-08-21T15:19:24Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > I may be slightly overreacting here, You are. Even if we focus just on the D&D aspect as presented in the article, they do a pretty good job at making it sound like just normal interpersonal drama and not the result of an evil devil game: > [@](#): > > Bryson and King knew each other at school and had spent time the previous day playing “Dungeons and Dragons” with Shokrian, who was acting cocky during the game, according to Detective Nathan Williams. Shokrian was directing the game as Dungeon Master, and King didn’t like what he was doing with King’s character, Williams said. That seems pretty straight-forward to me. King was pissed at Shokrian, who may or may not have been acting like a dick. No horrible misrepresentation by the reporter that I can see. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-were-still-playing-the-dungeons-and-dragons-made-him-do-it-card/507184/6 "2009-08-21T15:23:25Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > To be fair, they don’t say D&D made him do it. If anything, it sounds like the guy might be thinking about a defense of “Ambien made me do it.” > They say the attack may have been motivated in part by things that happened during the game, although on the list of things that caused this, I’d say it’s second or third, behind “The guy is a psycho” and possibly “He took my girl.” People who have never played table-top RPGs don’t understand how real life drama bleeds into the game. They think it’s different from any other game. People probably get bashed on basketball courts an order of magnitude more often than RPGamers but no one blames basketball even though sports and adrenaline are a far more credible reason. Odds are part of the psychodrama bled into the game, and yeah the dude is a psycho. When I was a kid lots of psychodrama played out through the games. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-were-still-playing-the-dungeons-and-dragons-made-him-do-it-card/507184/7 "2009-08-21T15:32:24Z")
> [@Erasmus\_Darwin](#): > > You are. Even if we focus just on the D&D aspect as presented in the article, they do a pretty good job at making it sound like just normal interpersonal drama and not the result of an evil devil game: > > That seems pretty straight-forward to me. King was pissed at Shokrian, who may or may not have been acting like a dick. No horrible misrepresentation by the reporter that I can see. Indeed. Substitute “poker” and “accused him of cheating” and no one would have blinked at the story. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-were-still-playing-the-dungeons-and-dragons-made-him-do-it-card/507184/8 "2009-08-21T15:54:11Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Well, it _could_ have been about D&D. Lord knows some of the modules can spawn some stress and anger at the DM. I’m looking at you, Tomb of Horrors. If they had been playing Tomb of Horrors, or Return to the Tomb of Horrors, I’d write this off as understandable. ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-were-still-playing-the-dungeons-and-dragons-made-him-do-it-card/507184/9 "2009-08-21T16:08:04Z")
Has everyone seen [Penny Arcade’s comedic take on the situation](http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/8/19/)? And from the accompanying [“news” segment](http://www.penny-arcade.com/2009/8/19/): > [@](#): > > […]We can envision scenarios at the gaming table that might culminate in multiple hammer assaults, but the journalism on display here is utterly concussed. There are manifold unanswered questions: for example, was defendant Zachary King playing a class that can even wield hammers?[…] ---
**Author:** ![SleepyDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@SleepyDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SleepyDuck)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-were-still-playing-the-dungeons-and-dragons-made-him-do-it-card/507184/10 "2009-08-22T04:51:32Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > To be fair, they don’t say D&D made him do it. If anything, it sounds like the guy might be thinking about a defense of “Ambien made me do it.” > > Detective Michael Bleak testified that during an interview at the police station, King told him he went home after playing the game at Shokrian’s house, took an \*\*over-the-counter sleeping pill \*\*and went to bed. He awakened angry, found a hammer in a tool shed and drove to Shokrian’s house, entering through an open window. Bolding mine