Plot[]
| An oddly altruistic Jeff befriends a depressed student named Neil by pretending to like the role playing games his classmate enjoys. When Neil suddenly gives him all his RPG gaming materials Annie suggests to Jeff this may indicate suicidal tendencies. To avert a tragedy, Jeff plans for the study group to help cheer Neil up by playing a game of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Jeff is accidentally forced to include Chang but purposefully excludes Pierce believing him too insensitive for this endeavor. However, Pierce learns of their plans believing it to be another group activity he has been excluded from.
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| Despite his suspicions, Neil is convinced to join Jeff and his friends for the game in the study room. Acting in the role of the Dungeon Master is Abed who presents the adventure they will be participating in called "The Cavern of Draconis". Since Neil already has his own character Duquesne, Abed provides character sheets for everyone else who randomly choose the pages he provides. Early in the game, Neil starts to enjoy himself when he saves the group from a horde of goblins. He used a powerful magical item called the Sword of Duquesne which he acquired over many previous campaigns. |
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| Pierce then spoils the good mood by making an appearance and is reluctantly allowed to join the game. Since he has no character, he has to play as himself with no in-game equipment or clothes. Neil uses his turn to give his magical cloak to Pierce only to have his generosity backfire. Pierce steals his Duquesne sword killing Chang’s character in the process. After Chang leaves the game Pierce taunts Neil by defiling his cherished sword. Before the study group can apprehend him, Pierce escapes with the magical speed granted by Duquesne's cloak.
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| Jeff meets with Abed and Pierce outside the room and tries to explain the delicate situation with Neil. Pierce refuses to listen and since he is working against the group, Abed sends him elsewhere to await his turn. As the game resumes Neil and the study group decide to retrieve the sword. They go on a quest for a Pegasus after learning that it's fast enough to catch up with Pierce. While stopping at a village inn Britta's character learns from a gnome waiter about an elf maiden with a flock of pegasi. They go there but Jeff is uncomfortable when he learns he must seduce the elf maiden who is played by Abed. Annie takes over and graphically narrates a sexual encounter between her character and the maiden to seal the deal. |
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| Elsewhere, Pierce bribes Garrett to bring him Dungeons & Dragons books which includes a copy of the "The Cavern of Draconis". Meanwhile, the other players use the pegasi and find a body in a field draped in Duquesne's sword and cloak. It is not Pierce, however, but the gnome Britta questioned in the village. Using information he acquired from the books, Pierce located an amulet that grants him control of the dragon Draconis with access to all the monsters spells. He returns to the study room and uses his turn to cast a spell to stop time on the other players and then uses a shape changing spell to transform Duquesne to become "as fat as Neil." Pierce then reveals the real reason Jeff is so keen to save Neil: it was Jeff who coined his nickname "Fat Neil".
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| The group admonishes Jeff while Pierce continues to taunt Neil. Unable to move thanks to the time stop spell, Neil has Duquesne pity Pierce with the rest of the party following suit. Angered, Pierce unfreezes time so he can attack, but this uses up his turn; given a chance to act, Neil throws the Sword of Duquesne at the amulet Pierce is wearing. It is a difficult shot, but the dice roll is high enough, and he succeeds. With the amulet destroyed, Draconis is freed and eats Pierce. He gives his treasure hoard to the players as thanks for his freedom; the group has succeeded in the quest. The group leaves triumphant, and Neil tells Pierce it was the best game of Dungeons & Dragons he's ever played and asks him to play again next week.
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End tag[]
| Troy and Abed arrive in the study room, arguing about whether it is better to have big ears or a tail, but suddenly realize they are early; another study group made up of older Asian women is currently using the study room. The strangers join in on the discussion; the majority votes for ears over the tail.
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Recurring themes[]
Continuity[]
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Running gags[]
| List of Running gags |
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Recurring or debuting running gags in this episode:
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Pop culture references[]
| List of Pop culture references |
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References to popular culture in this episode:
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Meta references[]
| List of Meta references |
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Meta references in this episode:
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Trivia[]
Streaming Service controversy[]
| In June 2020, both Netflix and Hulu removed the episode "Advanced Dungeons & Dragon" from their respective streaming services. Earlier that year Tina Fey and NBC Universal requested that a episode of "30 Rock" be removed from circulation which had the controversial use of blackface. Several online news sites believed as a direct result of this the Community episode was also removed since it featured Ben Chang (played by Ken Jeong) in blackface. However, as of April 2024, NBC's streaming service "Peacock" offers the episode uncensored.
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Additional Notes[]
- Frequent background extra Long haired guy makes another of over 65 episode appearances. He's the person that Jeff tells that the bathrooms are by "Fat Neil".
- While the characters ostensibly choose character sheets randomly, Jeff's D&D name Marrrrrrr is what Jeff said as a zombie in "Epidemiology", and Troy's D&D name Bing-Bong the Archer recalls Troy singing "Bing, bong, sing along! Your team's Al Gore 'cuz your views are wrong" to Annie in "Football, Feminism and You".
- Although Abed claims to be completely impartial, he allows Pierce to make use of information that is obviously obtained from reading the adventure.
- In the original concept, Pierce turns out to be an expert D&D player due to hanging out with Gary Gygax, co-creator of D&D, in the '70s. The concept also had Pierce sealing the others in a cube instead of freezing time, thus causing everyone to start a new game of D&D within the cube (a game within a game) that Pierce could not join as he was outside of the cube.
Quotes[]
- “I'd like to introduce myself to the group. Hello, I am a dwarf named Zippideedoo...”— Shirley
- “Okay, I'm not the best at making up names.”— Abed
- “Oh, hey, I'm Marrrrrr. Boy, you weren't kidding.”— Jeff
- “I'm – ew. "Hector the Well-Endowed?" Abed.”— Annie
- “I didn't know you'd grab one at random. I made that one with Troy in mind.”— Abed
- “Yeah, I bet you did.”— Shirley
- “Why are these goblins attacking us? Maybe these woods are their rightful land and from their perspective...”— Britta
- “Ugh! You're the AT&T of people.”— Troy
- “Look at that. What am I not good at?”— Jeff
- “Sex.”— Britta
- “And so it was that the group began to describe themselves walking. And as they described themselves walking, so did Abed confirm they had walked.”— Narrator
- “In about 13 turns, he will die of exposure. Jeff?”— Abed
- “I wait 14 turns.”— Jeff
- “I'm sick of you threatening me and talking to me like a kid, and giving me that look you give like I can't get erections!”— Pierce
- “What?”— Jeff
- “I won Dungeons and Dragons! And it was advanced!”— Pierce Hawthorne
- “You made up Fat Neil?”— Neil
- “Someone asked where the restrooms were. You were standing by them, but you were also standing kind of near, uh, other Neil.”— Jeff
- “So call him Skinny Neil.”— Neil
- “He's not that skinny.”— Jeff
- “He's bald! He's black!”— Neil
- “I don't look at the world through that lens.”— Jeff
| Season Two Episodes | ||
|---|---|---|
|
1. "Anthropology 101" |
13. "Celebrity Pharmacology 212" |
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| Season One • Season Two • Season Three • Season Four • Season Five • Season Six | ||
