Last night I dreamt about a series of children’s books in which a girl fights monsters with the aid of a suspiciously accurate D&D Monster Manual. I think they were mostly paranormal mystery stories, but there was always a monster, and she could find useful information about that monster in this battered old game book.

I remember reading an interview with the author who said she’d come up with the character and basic premise way back in 1968, before D&D existed, but could never really get the stories to come together until many years later when she saw the Monster Manual and flipped through it. Can’t recall the author’s name.

What’s really driving me crazy though is that I can’t remember the character’s name. It was an interesting name, the kind that belongs in a book title. I think her first and last names together made five syllables. Bah, just driving myself crazy trying to think of it.

I suppose this premise would fit into the whole “D&D is a trick to make kids into witches and slaves of Satan” bullshit, but it felt more like the other way around. Like, “This is a way to get this information widely published so that people can use it to protect themselves”. A warning and a weapon, instead of a trap. Could actually get some deep mythology in there about how the anti-D&D movement was just right enough to get it horribly wrong, interesting.

Anyway, that’s the dream that I remember. I’m vaguely aware of having others, but they didn’t stick around. Have a great day!