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Archived Dissection
Originally published at SpaceBattles Forums. May 14th, 2017. Dark Dungeons. Tract #061. Art by Fred Carter - © 1984 Chick Publications

Originally published at SpaceBattles Forums
May 14th, 2017


 
Cover / Page 1

Dark Dungeons - Tract #061 (DARK)
Art by Fred Carter- © 1984 Chick Publications


Debbie thought playing Dungeons and Dragons was fun...until it destroyed her friend.

CommentatorsCommentators

Slick146

Slick146

 
Page Index
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

o Introduction collapse_button

Slick146Slick146 So, this is it! Dark Dungeons! The most famous of Chick Tracts, and the only one to be made into a movie! So, let's get started!

 

o Cover / Page 1 collapse_button

Cover / Page 1
 
Slick146Slick146 Normally, I don't post the cover, but this is easily the best part of the tract. A red moon behind a lonely castle, with a figure in a white sheet with red eyes staring at you. It's eerie. Too bad it doesn't really factor into the tract itself. It's pointless.

 

o Page 2 collapse_button

Page 2
 
Slick146Slick146 Hey, that wizard is meta gaming! Kick her from the group!

 

o Page 3 collapse_button

Page 3
 
Slick146Slick146 .....there is so much wrong here. Let us count the ways.

1. You name's their thief Black Leaf? It sounds like a basic Mary Sue character.
2. Marcie is taking this way too badly. The only person I know of who might take their D&D character this seriously is Vin Diesel.
3. Wow, rude much? Telling someone they don't exist to their face is uncalled for.
4. The DM probably pulled that out her ass. We've all heard of one GM who pulls stuff out their ass for whatever self serving reason.

 

o Page 4 collapse_button

Page 4
 
Slick146Slick146 You want real power, Debbie?

EMBRACE THE DARK SIDE OF THE FORCE, AND RECEIVE UNLIMITED POWAH!

Wait, what personality does Debbie have? All I've seen is that she's a complete brat to her fellow roleplayer.

Oh, that makes sense.

 

o Page 5 collapse_button

Page 5
 
Slick146Slick146 D&D? I thought they were playing Dark Dungeons. I don't play myself, so if any D&D players are reading this, how much of the occult is involved in D&D? I'm going to make a wild guess and say none.

So, now she's using her RP character's name for her initiation into the priesthood of Satan? By this point, any rational person would be pinching themselves. But then again, Debbie doesn't seem the rational type.

Temple of Diana? The Roman goddess of the hunt and the moon? I thought they worshipped the Devil, not Roman gods. If they do worship Roman gods, then they shouldn't be dressed as druids. Druids were deemed anti-Roman and suppressed. Is this supposed to be some way to drawn a connection between Satanism, Druidism, and Roman religion?

It's impossible to make sense of this is what I'm saying.

 

o Page 6 collapse_button

Page 6
 
Slick146Slick146 Ah, kids! They grow up so fast! One moment, they're playing Dark Dungeons, the next,

 

o Page 7 collapse_button

Page 7
 
Slick146Slick146 They're twisting their face into that of some demented lunatic and using a mind control spell to put you in bondage if you get in the way of their roleplay like a reasonable parent


 

o Page 8 collapse_button

Page 8
 
Slick146Slick146 And not forcing you into disgusting sex dungeons. No, they make you squander your money on cheap ass figures and manuals.

 

o Page 9 collapse_button

Page 9
 
Slick146Slick146 Because nothing is more important then fighting a fictional zombie while also learning how to use mind bondage spells to make people do things against their will in what can be considered mind rape. Sure, Marcie will be fine....

 

o Page 10 collapse_button

Page 10
 
Slick146Slick146 No prizes for guessing Marcie won't be in a talking mood. Her throat may soon hurt....

 

o Page 11 collapse_button

Page 11
 
Slick146Slick146 ...........*Gets up from computer, leaves room and slams door behind myself. The sound of stuff breaking can be heard. Slick comes back in carrying a five iron.*

NOPE! NOPE! NOPE, NOPE, NOPETY NO! WHAT THE HELL KIND OF DEMENTED LOGIC IS THIS? YOUR D&D CHARACTER DIES SO YOU KILL YOURSELF!

HOLY SHIT, THE CHAIR IS STILL MOVING! MARCIE MIGHT STILL BE ALIVE! DEBBIE COULD SAVE HER FRIEND RIGHT NOW! IT ISN'T HOPELESS! BUT SHE'S JUST STANDING THERE, JUST....IN SHOCK! DOESN'T EVEN TELL MARCIE'S MOM! SHE IS WATCHING MARCIE KILL HERSELF! IN A NOOSE! A FUCKING NOOSE!

TIME TO PUSH THE BUTTON!
Instant No Button! Star Wars funnies FTW!

......Okay, now I'm calm.

Oh look, Marcie left a suicide note.

 

o Page 12 collapse_button

Page 12
 
Slick146Slick146 "Wait, this is Ms. Frost's hand writing!"

 

o Page 13 collapse_button

Page 13
 
Slick146Slick146 "I can't believe what a stupid, mean old jerkass I've been! Hopefully, no one else will ever take a game this seriously again!"

"Debbie, South Korea and StarCraft beg to differ. Now stop whining about the friend who slowly and pointlessly died right in front of you!"

 

o Page 14 collapse_button

Page 14
 
Slick146Slick146 Your faith has a law against harming others? Violating your father's free will is harming someone else!

Debbie, you got yourself into a little something called.....

Witchcraft!

It's really obvious, you bitch! It's witchcraft! With the robes and pentagrams and Temple to a Roman god which has nothing to do with witchcraft!

 

o Page 15 collapse_button

Page 15
 
Slick146Slick146 Oh look, the witch has shown her true colours now. Sure, the fact she dressed in black, had black hair, was involved in witchcraft, was named Ms Frost and was a cheating GM wasn't a complete tip off. Never would have guessed it.

Debbie, let me whisper into your ear what we all want you to do.

GO FUCK YOURSELF!

 

o Page 16 collapse_button

Page 16
 
Slick146Slick146 Oh, here we go. Debbie's sobbing, like we couldn't tell, and Mike is here to tell her she needs Jesus. Where was he earlier? Seriously, is he only intervening now, and not when he could have saved Marcie?

I just realised something. How do we know Marcie wasn't delusional?

Wait, Mike, Debbie? This is giving me some flashbacks to MST3K.....

 

o Page 17 collapse_button

Page 17
 
Slick146Slick146 Mike said:
"It's a spiritual warfare that you can't win without the Lord Jesus."

Another heavy dose of "You need Jesus!" But this time, it's given to us by Mike, a good christian jock who totally isn't trying to get in her pants.

So, we got a dude who just came out of witchcraft now? Love to hear his story.

 

o Page 18 collapse_button

Page 18
 
Slick146Slick146 Speaker said:
"But you have been trapped in a dungeon of bondage."

Ah, gross! Seriously, did he have to go there? This is bad enough without Christian Grey getting involved.

Although, he does resemble a certain someone. I think....did the Master from Manos, Hands of Fate convert?

I swear, if Jesus is mentioned in one more Chick Tract, I shall move the speaker closer to him.

 

o Page 19 collapse_button

Page 19
 
Slick146Slick146 What he's thinking: Oh Manos, thou God of primal darkness, I shall offer you the damsel as your virgin bride.....

 

o Page 20 collapse_button

Page 20
 
Slick146Slick146 I get this is supposed to show Debbie is now a good Christian, but her clothes are rather revealing, don't you think? Before, she was wearing something which covered her arms and neck, making her look like your average school kid. Now? Well, see for yourself.

Holy shit, is that D. B. Cooper behind Debbie? It is! Guys, we've finally found D. B. Cooper! The woman next to him seems to have dozed off. Wonder why?

 

o Page 21 collapse_button

Page 21
 
Slick146Slick146 Please, please, please, please don't do that. I refer to this exorcism. This guys just came out of witchcraft, so how in the world his he qualified to be an exorcist? Do you know how common exorcism is? Not very common! The Catholic Church only recognizes demonic possession according to some important circumstances. They have a checklist for this kind of thing, and trained professionals! This speaker shouldn't be doing this, a professional with actual experience should.

And what evidence was thee she had spirits harassing her? She played D&D? No crawling on the walls, no vomiting buckets of pus and green sick, no turning the head a full 180 degrees?
 

o Page 22 collapse_button

Page 22
 
Slick146Slick146 Burn, baby, burn! Burn, baby, burn!

Now, the Master shall claim Debbie as his bride!

 

o Conclusion collapse_button

Slick146Slick146 Okay, I'm going to be real here.

That isn't how you get saved by God! You don't sign a pamphlet to get to Heaven! The Catholic Church outright banned that practice for a reason! A very important one! You can't sign a pamphlet to get to Heaven, you have to actually follow Jesus's teachings! You have to believe it and do it with all your heart! Words are empty if you don't act upon them!

At the least, I can safely say the Master got himself a new wife. Wonder if he's burning Torgo....

 

o Further Reading collapse_button


 

o Other Reviews & Commentaries collapse_button

 

o Parodies collapse_button

  • 3rd Edition: Tool of Satan? - Will it take some controversial changes in the newest edition of the Master's Guide to show these foolish players just how much danger they're in?
    "We're just unwinding with a little live-action Call of Cthulhu... want to touch my octopus?"
    (foo.ca via The Wayback Machine)

  • Christians and Crusades - What if it were the Christians themselves who got carried away with fantasy role playing?
    "A flick of Hellfire can make anyone a unprincipaled coward!"
    (The Bronze Blog)

  • Dark Dungeons: The Animated Movie (2010) - Computer animated film made by yours truly, covering the plot of the tract... with a few minor embellishments.
    "The Lord shall provide! Now who brought the gasoline?"
    (Boolean Union Studios) [Video]

  • Dark Dungeons: The Movie (2014) - A live-action film with impressive production values. Produced with the expressed approval of Chick himself.
    "If they want to be a couple of chickens who go their entire lives without experiencing the unrivaled thrill of an RPG, that's their business."
    (Zombie Orpheus Entertainment) [Video]

  • Dark Dungeons: Between the Panels - A mock-u-mentary that posits to catch up with the characters of the tract 25 years after it's publication.
    "Oh, and the fumes from the bonfire scene were heinous. All that burning lead, plastic, and ink... I passed out for a little while, and when I woke up, I couldn't remember my own name."
    (The Escapist)

  • Darque Dungeons - The dangers of Dungeons and Dragons extrapolated through a thinly-veiled pastiche of Vampire: The Masquerade as well as Gothic metal music.
    "I'll fucking kill anyone who opposes the countercultural assault of noise music WITH MY BARE FUCKING HANDS!"
    (foo.ca via The Wayback Machine)

  • Demonic Deviltry - White Wolf released their tabletop game Demon: The Fallen in 2002, and since that means this old tract was due for a bit of an update, they released their own take on it.
    "Do you do that after every game? Not all the time. Sometimes we have sex instead of doing drugs."
    (White Wolf via Scribd - .pdf)

  • Dork Dungeons - If you thought basic D&D was geeky, it gets worse... soooo much worse.
    "Sometimes I think about him and, you know, touch myself in the bath... condoms, I'm thinking we'll need a twelve pack."
    (Unhelpful.org via The Wayback Machine)

  • GURPS Fourth Edition - Dark Dungeons - A new gaming paradigm causes dissention in the ranks.
    "Afraid I'll steal all the hot guys? I am totally ready. I even started my period."
    (GameGroup.org)

  • Mystery Science Theater Meets Dark Dungeons - What if the crew of the Satellite of Love took a stab at riffing on a Chick tract?
    "You know this reminds me so much of High School. Two women conspiring to manipulate the men in their lives? No. The Members Only jacket."
    (Fecundity.com)