Should TTRPG titles be italicized?
January 29, 2025 6:42 AM Subscribe
Should TTRPG titles be italicized?
Are those kids playing Dungeons & Dragons? Or are they playing Dungeons & Dragons?
Ideally, the answer will have some institutional (i.e. The Chicago Manual of Style) heft behind it.
Are those kids playing Dungeons & Dragons? Or are they playing Dungeons & Dragons?
Ideally, the answer will have some institutional (i.e. The Chicago Manual of Style) heft behind it.
I'm not sure if it's still current, but the WotC House Style Guide used to be
In print, set the name of our brand in small caps: DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. The ampersand should be the same size as the capital letters. If the font you are using makes the ampersand smaller, don’t set the ampersand in small caps.posted by zamboni at 7:08 AM on January 29 [1 favorite]
On the web and in any other context where small caps are unavailable, just capitalize the brand name: Dungeons & Dragons.
The abbreviation, D&D, is neither set in small caps nor italicized.
You've got it in your question: it's a style issue and comes down to "what the house style guide says " if you are writing for a venue, and "what your personal style (guide) says" if you aren't.
CMOS says smaller works like articles get quotes, larger works like movies or books get italics. Things like newspapers also get italics. Clearly DND is a large work, not a small one. I think it's more like a newspaper than a board game, because of all the extended stuff that doesn't come in a box like Monopoly does. Thinks like DnD or pathfinder are more like a journal series.
Imo you're fine to italicize Dungeons & Dragons as well as Monster Manual and be in accordance with CMOS, but you're also fine to follow other guides.
(On preview: lol ofc WoTC wants you do do their own nonstandard special thing to help them feel more special.)
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:08 AM on January 29 [6 favorites]
CMOS says smaller works like articles get quotes, larger works like movies or books get italics. Things like newspapers also get italics. Clearly DND is a large work, not a small one. I think it's more like a newspaper than a board game, because of all the extended stuff that doesn't come in a box like Monopoly does. Thinks like DnD or pathfinder are more like a journal series.
Imo you're fine to italicize Dungeons & Dragons as well as Monster Manual and be in accordance with CMOS, but you're also fine to follow other guides.
(On preview: lol ofc WoTC wants you do do their own nonstandard special thing to help them feel more special.)
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:08 AM on January 29 [6 favorites]
I think the actual books would be italicized because they're books and unless the rules changed APA says books are italicized. Nothing about games, etc there tho.
posted by fiercekitten at 8:32 AM on January 29 [1 favorite]
posted by fiercekitten at 8:32 AM on January 29 [1 favorite]
Best answer: It's tricky because D&D feels more like a system than a work --- it's made up of rulebooks and modules and campaigns which are themselves works, so there's plenty of argument for italicizing actual individual works within the D&D framework like The Dungeons and Dragons Player's Handbook or Tomb of Horrors, but italicizing the name of the system feels like italicizing the phrase "Marvel Cinematic Universe", which I don't think is typically done.
posted by jackbishop at 9:57 AM on January 29 [5 favorites]
posted by jackbishop at 9:57 AM on January 29 [5 favorites]
Are you watching Star Wars or Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope? I know what I think, and I not only used to run the largest RPG publisher in the UK, I also used to proofread on the Sunday Times. Show the artform some respect: italicise it.
posted by Hogshead at 1:53 PM on January 29 [5 favorites]
posted by Hogshead at 1:53 PM on January 29 [5 favorites]
« Older Any thoughts on this critique of therapy? | Can you copy and paste value labels from spss? Newer »
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
8.192: Titles of Video Games So, according to CMOS, video games are italicized, but other games are set in roman, and capitalized if trademarked, so, the Chicago answer is probably that they're playing Dungeons & Dragons.
posted by zamboni at 7:02 AM on January 29 [4 favorites]