Product Description
Most
Dungeons & Dragons game players are men, yet storytelling and roleplaying come so naturally to women. So where are all the female gamers? The answer is – everywhere!
Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress is a smart, humorous examination of the
Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game from a female gamer’s point of view. The book delves into the myths and realities of gamer stereotypes. It explains how to build a character for a
D&D game, how to shop for gear, how to play, and how to find the perfect gaming group, all the while exploring the things that make the
D&D game a rewarding and recurring social experience for both men and women.
M. Cloutier @ 5:25 pm
Are you a woman who’s never played Dungeons & Dragons but has always been curious about it? Do you have a friend/husband/boyfriend who plays, and who has maybe invited you to play, but you were intimidated by the stereotypes about nerds and geeks, or thought it would to be too hard, or have too many rules, or take too much time? Well if so, Confessions of a Part-Time Sorceress is the book for you.
Author Shelly Mazzanoble writes from the point of view of an extremely (even hyper-) girly young woman who loves to shop, watch soaps and get mani-pedis- and who also loves participating in the ongoing campaigns of Astrid the elf and her band of adventurers. She wants to convince women that D&D isn’t all about smelly geeks in a basement casting arcane spells and speaking with cheesy British accents while dressed in chainmaille and Ren Faire outfits. Her thesis is that it’s just about groups of friends coming together on a regular basis for a fun, wholesome activity that fires the imagination, fosters social skills and helps participants gain confidence.
Okay.
Let me just say up front that I am exactly the sort of person towards whom this book is aimed. My husband is an avid D&D player, as have been many of my male friends throughout my life. I always thought it was a boy thing- a little seedy, a little smelly, and just a little weird. I was in college before I knew any women who played, and they weren’t, uhm, people I could relate to. So I just thought, this isn’t for me, and put it aside. So when this book came along I thought, okay, let’s see if this woman can sell me on D&D. Cause if she can sell me, she can sell anyone.
Most of the book consists of a girly primer on the basics of D&D. She writes about spells, points, character sheets and dice; she includes cute illustrations and quizzes, and even some recipes of suggested appetizers to serve at your own D&D party. The tone is light and breezy, and peppered with pop-culture and fashion references, and the dominant color is pink. It’s cute. It’s informative. I liked it when she talked about her own story of how she came to play and how she seems like someone I can relate to. Even though the stereotypes aren’t the whole story, there is still a lot of truth to them and they do put people like me off the game. I mean, most of the reason I’ve rejected the idea of playing is that I think I just wouldn’t fit in in most groups. But maybe I’m wrong.
As far as actual game-play, the rules and regs aren’t as intimidating or as difficult as I thought. And I like the idea that it’s not competitive. I like Mazzanoble’s tone and style, and I think the information is presented in a way that’s easy to understand. Her “I’m an outsider who became an insider” approach helps, too. And there’s lots of humor and silliness, too. I love the little features like “Top Ten Spells Every Woman Should Know”, quizzes, cute recipes and the appendix with a sample character sheet. All in all a fun little read. Did she sell me on playing D&D? Well, let’s just say I’m not as hostile to the idea as I used to be. And every once in a while I catch myself checking out dice…
J. Huss @ 8:03 pm
I suggested that my girlfriend check read this book after she went kinda cross-eyed when I was trying to explain D&D to her. She read through the whole thing and now has a much better understanding of the game, and that is the basic point – Guys, if you are having trouble explaining D&D to your wife/girlfriend etc. this is a really nice book to have them read. It might not get them to play, but at least they will better understand your hobby afterward.
The book is written in a light-hearted tone that really carries the reader along. There is a lot of humor and it is interesting to see a “girly-girl’s” take on the game. There are plenty of stereotypes in the book that make it easy to draw analogies between a girl’s world and D&D. And while most girls are not likely chic as this one is, most could likely understand the world that she is describing.
Also, this book is also for women who have never played the game before and really don’t have much of a clue as to what it is about. If you already play the game, then this book is not going to be much more than a quick, fun, light-hearted read that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Shana Rosenberg @ 10:35 pm
I felt the need to put up a defense for this book after reading the multiple 1 and 2 star reviews. Sure, it stereotypes a certain kind of shopaholic girly-girl that would watch E! television as though it was CNN. The pages do have massive amounts of pink ink. And yes, the author does espouse often that math is hard.
But that is all part of a carefully crafted strategy to create a mind-bend for all the women who believe in the “Gamers are all nerdy men who still live in their parents’ basement and eat doritos for dinner” stereotype.
She NEVER says that all women are shallow and only think of shoes. She says that SHE is a shallow girly-girl who would rather pick out a handbag than do any math. She is describing entering the world of gaming from HER point of view. You may not be the same type of person the author is, but you do not have to take on the holier than thou feminist attitude that all depictions of girly-girl are creating a world of unempowered women. I will grant that if you do not find it humorous to read page after page of shopping and pop-culture analogies as they apply to D&D, this is not the book for you.
I thought this book did a good job at what it set out to do: break the stereotypes regarding gamers and gaming while providing a breezy and entertaining read. You do not receive any but the most basic of basics regarding the game of D&D, so do not read this book with learning the game as an expectation. But you do receive lots of information about the benefits of gaming as far as social interaction, confidence building, and creativity. And if that’s not important to impart to those with a negative view of gaming, I’m not sure what is.
I might have considered giving this book 5 stars, but I couldn’t believe the author, as a girly-girl, didn’t place more emphasis on the dice! What gamer doesn’t realize the importance of accessorizing with dice? Many years ago I purchased a set to wear in an amulet bag at my wedding.
And they were pink
khayankh @ 1:10 am
As other reviewers have said, this book plays to the stereotype that most women are shopaholic airheads. Personally, I couldn’t care less whether the narrative persona is faked or real: it’s disgusting either way. My biggest problem is not that she’s “reaching out” to very feminine, conventionally ladylike would-be gamers, but the ways in which that goal is attempted.
I am friends with several intelligent women who happen to like designer clothes/bags, mani-pedis, and other stereotypically girlie stuff. I don’t believe this makes them so stupid that they need a special, pink, drooling-moron’s version of the PHB…some of these people are actually Physics majors, etc. and can hack the math quite well, thanks. So giving this to a girlie-girl under the assumption that she’d be intimidated or confused by actual D&D simply says to her “I think you’re weak, stupid, timid, or all of the above.”
I also happen to be a rather geeky, bookish, fashion-missing D&D player. The woman is fairly mild in her criticism of her male co-workers/fellow players, but it is in her treatment of female WotC employees and fellow female gamers that she really sparked my wrath. Yes, there are women out there who don’t use makeup or define themselves by their handbags. Attacking those women, particularly when they are attempting to include you in their subculture and their game, is out-of-line. WotC publishing this was probably a bad idea, given the amount of time the author spends bashing unladylike or non-stereotypical women. Geek girls who aren’t hyper-femme may walk away from this book feeling personally insulted for their lack of cute heels and earrings that coordinate flawlessly with every outfit. I know several of this woman’s jabs at people like me hit home.
Debra Lieven @ 2:49 am
This book is written for the non-gaming girlfriend. You know her. She rolls her eyes when you start your tale of grand adventure. She gazes longingly for the nearest exit as you excitedly (and somewhat loudly) enact that moment of derring-do. I know her. I know that Shelly has met her too. This is not the gamer girlfriend, the one who digs your dice and promises to watch your back. This is the one who wishes you’d shut up so you can go to the mall. And this book proves that even she can ultimately become a gamer too (with a little help).
This is exactly what makes this book such a joy to read. This is a book for HER. Yes, it has sidebars in bubblegum pink. It also takes that sneaky shopper gene that women have, particularly non-gaming women, and turns its sights from Prada to the Holy Grail. Sure, there are shopping comments scattered throughout the book. It’s an analogy and one I found humorous and refreshing.
The estrogen level is sky-high and it probably offends a lot of gamer girls who have better things to do than search out the most fashionable handbag. Nevertheless, the author manages to use those tropes effectively and with humor. She is also very kind to those women who get their nails done and pick up after their kids and spouses. Why? Because secretly the author is one of THOSE women too. She gets it down to her painted toenails that gaming is not just a hobby but an investment. It’s time consuming and addictive and not for the faint-hearted.
This book isn’t really a handbook on how to play even though it ultimately walks through character generation. It is a book on how to get the non-gaming woman to play by appealing to her sensibilities. Its light-hearted approach to gaming may grate on the nerves of serious gamers but this book wasn’t written for them. It’s not a standard approach to gaming 101, but it is clever and witty.