ROLEPLAYING SPOTLIGHT:
Knights of the Dinner Table
By Anthony Frevele
Roleplaying as a pastime has generally been overlooked by much of popular culture, or dismissed simply as “geeks playing D&D” and used as joke fodder. One brilliant exception is the gamers’ comic Knights of the Dinner Table, the story of a less-than-typical roleplaying group and the foibles of their players. Knights (KODT for short) began in 1990 as comic strip shorts which appeared in the roleplaying magazine Shadis. The strips became very popular among readers and later moved to Dragon Magazine before becoming its own monthly comic book.
KODT recounts the adventures of beleaguered gamemaster B.A. Felton and players Bob Herzog (the cutthroat power-gamer, whose catchphrase is “I waste him with my crossbow!”), Dave Bozwell (the fighter-playing hack-and-slasher), Sara Felton, B.A.’s cousin (who favors female barbarians and prefers to roleplay her way out of a situation), and Brian VanHoose (the munchkin rules-lawyer, known for his mages’ line: “Fireballs comin’ online…”). The comic portrays the group as they play, squabble, and generally wreak chaos out of B.A.’s carefully-crafted campaigns.
The Knights’ adventures also feature an extensive cast of supporting characters, which includes rival gaming groups (the cutthroat Black Hands, for instance, who have been rejected from every other roleplaying group in the city), all of them populating the Knights’ hometown of Muncie, Indiana. Among the more unusual characters are “Weird” Pete, owner of the overpriced local Games Pit, and his surprisingly intelligent pet monkey, Squirelly.
In the sixteen years since the comic was introduced, the Knights have endured a succession of increasingly funnier adventures, including such classic moments as the players attacking a gazebo (under the mistaken impression that a ‘gazebo’ was a kind of monster), an incident involving an epic battle between two intelligent swords, Tremble (Dave’s Hackmaster +12) and Carvin’ Marvin (an evil sword which drives its wielders to their doom), and Weird Pete’s recent incarceration over a misunderstanding (his faithful pet Squirelly was sent to get bail money but was sidetracked by pizza).
In addition to the comics, the Knights are also featured in a series of short Flash cartoons on the web, found at www.hoodyhoo.com. These cartoons recount some of the Knights’ most famous adventures from the comics as well as some original stories, all of them hilariously voiced by a small, dedicated group. Elsewhere on the net can be found KenzerCo (www.kenzerco.com), the publishing company which releases KODT (and for which Jolly Blackburne, the comics’ creator, designed a roleplaying game system called Hackmaster based on the game which the Knights play). Aside from offering back issues and subscriptions to the magazine, readers can also find KODT merchandise and even free web-strips.
The Knights of the Dinner Table and Black Hands comic strips aren’t the only appeal the magazine has to offer, though. Each month the magazine features a multitude of gaming-related articles which includes game materials (for Hackmaster, D&D 3e and also Generic materials); reviews of roleplaying and board games, fantasy novels, video and computer games, and roleplaying-related websites; the popular Gamer’s Pulpit, which features advice and musings from a long-time roleplayer; updates about conventions; and even other monthly comics. The magazine also prints stories from fans about their favorite PCs and roleplaying moments.
Knights of the Dinner Table has been entertaining gamers for close to two decades now. Aside from its hilarious storylines, it has become a means for former gamers and those who have little time to play to stay in touch with the roleplaying subculture, sometimes bringing players back to the table after years away. Last year the magazine passed its’ hundredth issue – hopefully it will continue to entertain us for years to come.
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