Review: Book - They Came to Slay: The Queer Culture of D&D

"Queer nerds have always played at D&D tables and also worked in a professional capacity on and around the game."

So begins Thom James Carter's dive into the Queer Culture of Dungeons and Dragons.

Thom takes the role of Dungeon Master (DM) to take us through this brief history of D&D and the impact the game and queer culture have had on each other. It is a short read at just over 100 pages, but it is concise and contains some fascinating insights from queer D&D players and content creators. 

The book starts with a much needed potted history of Dungeons and Dragons, from it's inception by Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax, and Gygax and Don Kaye's creation of Tactical Studies Rules (TSR) in order to get its first iteration published, to the purchase of D&D by Wizards of the Coast, who retain ownership of the IP to this day. 

Thom moves on to take a look at D&D 5th Edition, commonly referred to as D&D 5e, and explores how the renewed accessibility of the streamlined rules made for an inclusive and nurturing space for players to explore things such as gender identity and sexuality. Thom focuses on the development of the game away from outdated concepts such as the strength penalty players would face if they chose to play as female. In the early editions it didn't matter what species or class you played as, if you chose to play as a female character you would automatically have a lower strength than male counterparts. This is not to mention the complete absence of the ability to play as non-binary or a-gender characters.

In 5e, Thom highlights, "the Player's Handbook and Basic Rules prompts the reader to acknowledge" that their characters can be queer. "The text asks the reader to interrogate who exactly they want their character to be".

Thom also draws on the inclusion of queer NPCs in official D&D texts such as The Curse of Strahd in making the case that the game in its current state is an inclusive and safe space for queer players and characters. 

"From a gameplay perspective, having queer NPCs can also help queer players feel more comfortable leaning into their queerness at the table - if there are others like them, even if they're NPCs played by the DM, they're no longer 'the only one'."

The character sheet alone, Thom asserts, can be a powerful, yet low-risk, tool in helping players explore queerness before any commitments are made in real life. Experimenting in such a way in the real world can be "outright dangerous or unpredictable in many places and spaces". Furthermore, Thom states that roleplay can provide players with a safeguarded way to dig deeper into who they are. He talks frequently about how the player can become the character, and in a similar fashion, the character can become the player. Through roleplay the lines between two people are blurred and it can increase our understanding of how it feels to be someone else. Perhaps someone we truly are or want to be.

Throughout the book, Thom writes in celebration of the queer joy that D&D, its content creators, and its homebrewers can bring to the world. His passion for the subject matter shines through and with it so does this joy. His writing is accessible and friendly, and the book hits all the right beats with impeccable pacing. The world could do with more writing of this quality about such an important topic. As Thom himself points out, "homophobia and transphobia are on the rise in the real world".

They Came to Slay does more than just extol the virtues of Dungeons & Dragons, however. Thom takes time to delve into the problematic elements of the official source material, new and old.

"We cannot talk about Dungeons & Dragons' incredible potential and myriad positives without talking about it in its entirety, warts and all... In any consideration of the queer culture of D&D, it's important to look at... how certain aspects of the official materials have been problematic for LGBTQIA+ D&D lovers".

Thom draws on examples such as the 1e (First Edition) "cursed" item, the "Girdle of Femininity/Masculinity" and the 5e adaptation of the "Tomb of Horrors", which both contain problematic themes of unconsensual gender/sex changes to characters (compounding the issue, gender and sex are used interchangeable in the core material).

This book is a must read for any fan of D&D, regardless of whether they are themselves a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. It is written with insight and passion, and manages to get into surprising depth within a very small page count. The use of interviews with queer content creators shows a strong level of research into the subject matter. I have now read this book twice and would happily read a longer book on the same subject.