Thirty-something Dungeons and Dragons addict Simon Lemish unwittingly manipulates another man to behave like the character from his fantasy game.
Character DrivenFantasyHigh ConceptMythical
Time Period: PresentStory Location: USASpecial Effects: No SFXTarget Audience: Young Adult30-something Simon Lemish lives with his parents, plays Dungeons and Dragons all the time, and can't find the nerve to say 'Hello' to a girl he eyes every day. When he realizes that he's been in the same dead end job for ten years, he decides that he needs to make a change. However, his idea of 'change' is attempting to make his D & D game come to life. He hunts down an obscure store that sells magical things. Simon is bewildered when the owner sells him a box of parchment. Simon is stumped as to how he should use this strange paper. When playing the game, players invent fantasy characters and write down every detail on character sheets. Simon opts to use the parchment to create a new character, 'John the Strong', for his fantasy game. He plays the game that night with his friends, hoping that he will transform into the character or perhaps a dimensional portal will open up a fantasy world. However, nothing happens. Dejected, he drags on with his daily doldrums and playing D& D all the time.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to him, there is a REAL guy - a straight-laced businessman named John Strong, who is obeying every little command that Simon gives to his character. John brandishes a butter knife like a sword at a business dinner and attacks home appliances like they are terrible monsters. After totally screwing with John's life, a turn in their game directs the imaginary characters to John Strong's castle. So, Simon's mom putters in the kitchen when John Strong bursts in demanding mead and rations. The nerds enter the kitchen to find John referencing explicit details from the game. Simon realizes that he is controlling John Strong. The nerd crew takes no responsibility for the mess that they made of his life. They salivate over new ways to use the sheets. After allowing his friend Russell to borrow John's sheet and amplifying John's woes, Simon sees the error of his ways and tries to fix John's life.
Simon uses the sheets to control John's work-mates in an effort to win John's job back, only to make matters worse. When the remainder of the parchment goes missing, Simon tracks it back to Alan, the geekiest nerd of the D&D gang. Alan has stolen the sheets and transformed his parent's house into a fantasy haven, filled with people he's controlling to play characters. In order to stop Alan, Simon uses the John's work-mates to battle Alan's manipulated crew. Simon triumphs, saves John's career and walks away with newfound confidence.