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The Dungeon Master | The New Yorker

newyorker.com · 5,139 words · saved by 1 readers

Short story about a group of teen-age boys who play Dungeons & Dragons.

Illustration by Steve Powers The Dungeon Master has detention. We wait at his house by the county road. The Dungeon Master’s little brother Marco puts out corn chips and orange soda. Marco is a paladin. He fights for the glory of Christ. Marco has been many paladins since winter break. They are all named Valentine, and the Dungeon Master makes certain they die with the least possible amount of dignity. It’s painful enough when he rolls the dice, announces that a drunken orc has unspooled some Valentine’s guts for sport. Worse are the silly accidents. One Valentine tripped on a floor plank…

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