Dungeons & Dragons

A game of D&D. From left to right: Chinese Boy, Cubert, Indian Boy, Bender, Dwight. Dwight is the Dungeon Master, i. e. game leader.

Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated D&D) is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson in 1974. The game is set in an everchanging fantasy world where the Dungeon Master (the game leader) creates the world and the events around it, either entirely through imagination or with a storybook. The players all play one specific character in a group, that goes off for various different adventures. A game can go on either for just a few hours, or for many years, with the characters developing until death.

The game has been referenced on multiple occassions in the Futurama universe, most prominently in Bender's Game, and to the degree that late D&D creator Gary Gygax himself has guest starred in the show (2ACV16).

Dungeons & Dragons in Futurama

Gary Gygax makes an appearance in "Anthology of Interest I", and Bender's Game is dedicated to his memory.

The gargoyle Pazuzu is inspired by D&D lore.

• "I Second that Emotion" (2ACV01)
  
  • A robot is seen with a pet rust monster in the animal clinic.
• "A Clone of My Own" (2ACV10)
  
  • The Professor is seen wearing a Dungeon Master t-shirt in an old photo, prompting Fry to shout "dork alert!"
• "How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back" (2ACV11)
  
  • The Central Bureaucracy is guarded by a Beholder, a monster in D&D lore.
• "Anthology of Interest I" (2ACV16)
  
  • Gary Gygax, the creator of D&D, appears in the episode as a guest, and makes multiple references to the game, including asking "Anyone want to play Dungeons & Dragons for the next quadrillion years?" after the universe is destroyed.
• "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles" (4ACV09)
  
  • The Professor's gargoyle friend Pazuzu is a reference to a monster in D&D lore.
• The Beast with a Billion Backs
  
  • Pazuzu makes another appearance.
• Bender's Game
  
  • Cubert, Dwight, Chinese Boy and Indian Boy teach Bender how to play D&D.
  • Bender becomes obsessed with the game, going insane, a reference to the 1980s criticism of the game, claiming it encouraged Satanism and violence.
  • Cornwood, the kingdom built from Bender's imagination, holds references to D&D, including the Geysers of Gygax, an obvious reference to Gary Gygax.
  • In the climax, Fry says "So it has all come down to this... a dungeon, and dragons", upon which Dr. Zoidberg exclaims "I didn't see it coming!"
  • The film is dedicated to Gary Gygax, who passed on prior to its release, and the film list him as a special guest, featuring a clip from his appearance in "Anthology of Interest I" post credits.
• "Lethal Inspection" (6ACV06)
  
  • The Beholder from "How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back" makes a cameo in the Central Bureaucracy.

Image gallery

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  The Beholder is a monster from the D&D lore.

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  Cornwood includes several references to D&D, including the Geysers of Gygax.

Additional information

Quotes

Gary Gygax: Greetings! It's a... [He rolls his dice.] Pleasure to meet you!

Stephen Hawking: Great, the entire universe was destroyed!
Fry: Destroyed? Then where are we now?
Al Gore: I don't know, but I can darn well tell you where we're not. The universe.
Nichelle Nichols: Eternity with nerds. It's the Pasadena Star Trek convention all over again.
Gary Gygax: Anyone want to play Dungeons & Dragons for the next quadrillion years?

Chinese Boy: [After defeating a monster.] Who needs girls?!

Fry: [After Bender has gone insane.] When will young people learn that Dungeons & Dragons won't make you cool?

Appearances

• "How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back" (2ACV11)
  
• "Anthology of Interest I" (2ACV16)
  
• "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles" (4ACV09)
  
• The Beast with a Billion Backs
  
• Bender's Game
  
• "Lethal Inspection" (6ACV06)
  

See also

• Dungeons & Dragons at Wikipedia