Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site hcrvax.UUCP Path: utzoo!hcrvax!jims From: jims@hcrvax.UUCP (Jim Sullivan) Newsgroups: net.games.frp Subject: Re: D & D : 60 Minutes 9/15 Message-ID: <1972@hcrvax.UUCP> Date: Thu, 26-Sep-85 09:39:57 EDT Article-I.D.: hcrvax.1972 Posted: Thu Sep 26 09:39:57 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 27-Sep-85 01:22:21 EDT References: <271@pedsgd.UUCP> <535@tymix.UUCP> Distribution: net.games.frp Organization: Human Computing Resources, Toronto Lines: 30 All this talk about D&D, teenage suicide, and fundamentalists brings to mind a book I read over the summer (well over two days, over the summer :-). The book is called _The_Dungeon_Master, by William Dear, and is about the disappearance of one James Dallas Eggert (could have spelt that wrong). JDE, you may remember, was the University of Michigan student who went missing back in the late '70's. He was an avid AD&D player, and many people blamed AD&D for his disappearance. William Dear was a private investigator hired to find young Dallas. I'm sure we all remember the details, since JDE has gone down into the annals of D&D lore. But the book (which TSR would have no part of), shows that although JDE played D&D, it was not a factor in his disappearance. JDE was depressed, a genius without someone to love, and was also heavily into drugs. He originally disappeared to kill himself, failed, and then was 'rescued' by some gay friends (refered to in the book as a chicken hawk) Dear eventually finds JDE (read the book, or mail me if you what to know), although a year or so later, Dallas tries to kill himself again, and this time succedes. I mention all this because not enough people know the real story. JDE is a legend in D&D, a person who actually played the game, or so we thought. When he disappeared, the D&D angle was heavily boosted, and everyone thought the JDE disappeared due to D&D. According to the book, not so. This is the best example of D&D taking the fall when parents, teachers, and friends fail. Jim Sullivan p.s. anyone out there that actually played in the tunnels beneath UofM ? care to tell us about those games ? - jrs