Dungeons and Dragons Book Tag

I found this D&D book tag at Peat Long’s Blog, originally from Witty and Sarcastic Book Club. It’s been a while since I’ve had time to play D&D, but I have had some good times and grown to love some memorable characters in the past. This book tag uses the character classes from D&D as a prompt. Even if you aren’t familiar with the game, you may be familiar with the archetypes used.

Cats getting in the way of D&D…

Barbarian – Barbarians are fighters whose anger can give them a berserker state of mind: think an overdose of adrenalin allowing someone to do the nigh impossible. Name a character with a temper: Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë – Heathcliff and Cathy are deeply unhappy people, failing to escape the shackles of a rigid social class. Heathcliff’s anger at everyone around him for his mistreatment on account of his station haunts multiple generations.

Bard – Bards use music and song to either help or hinder. Music is massively important to them, and can give them power. Name a book/character for which music is important: Katrina Nguyen in Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki – Katrina’s relationship with her violin was my favorite part of this book.

Cleric – from the D&D Players Handbook: “A priestly champion who wields divine magic in service of a higher power”. Name a book/character for which religion plays a large role: Tenar in The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. LeGuin – Tenar was taken from her parents at the age of 5 to be dedicated to the Nameless Ones and become One Priestess of the Tombs. Her life is shaped by her role as priestess, even after the arrival of a certain Wizard of Earthsea…

Druid – Druids are representative of nature. They get their power- healing, magical spells, etc.- from either the land itself or from a nature deity. Name a Book where nature plays an important role: Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer – Kimmerer is a botanist and member of the Potowatomi who discusses the vital importance of plant life and her deep connection with the plant world in this collection of essays. It is among my all-time favorite books.

Fighter – Fighters rely on physical skill. They are often good with a weapon and can function as a pretty good meat shield. Name a book with great fight scenes: The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay – I am really not one for fight scenes, but there is one particular fight scene in this book that stands out to me over the years. If you know, you know. “And so, at the last, from far away, against the red and failing light, she saw a good man raise his sword and she saw a good man fall.”

Magic users – Dungeons and Dragons features Warlocks, Wizards, and Sorcerers. Each is different, but here they’re lumped together for the purposes of this tag. Each class uses magic in a unique way. Name a book or character with cool magic: Uprooted by Naomi Novik – I don’t usually care much about magic systems, preferring them to be a little vague and mystical rather than laboriously over explained… but I greatly enjoyed the description of magic in Uprooted. It has a fairy-tale-like quality that I found enchanting.

Paladin – A holy warrior. Name a character with strong convictions: Tetley Abednego in The Past is Red by Catherynne Valente – Tetley is universally hated for destroying the hope of the inhabitants of Garbagetown in an action which she refuses to regret…

Ranger – Hunters, wilderness survivors, and protectors, rangers are often what stand between civilization and the monsters that live in the wild. Name a character that is in tune with the wild. Liet Kynes in Dune by Frank Herbert – Kynes is an imperial planetologist “gone native” among the Fremen of the desert planet Arrakis. Really, I could name any Fremen here for their lifestyle which is intimately bound up in the ecology of Dune.

Rogue – Rogues use stealth and cunning to defeat their foes or prevail in a situation. Name a book or character with cunning: Zhu Chongba in She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan – Zhu Chongba must be tireless and ongoing with their cunning in order to escape her fate, take her brother’s fate, and summon the Mandate of Heaven…