Eric and the Dread Gazebo

Quiet! It's sleeping!

The Tale of Eric and The Dread Gazebo is an old legend of tabletop gamer lore, passed down from the early days of Dungeons & Dragons.

The story goes: At one point, our faithful heroes stand before a white gazebo. After dealing with monsters called fantastic names like githyanki and rakshasa, Eric thought he had the gazebo monster's number. Hilarity Ensues.

The original short story can be read here or here. However, the proper way to learn of the Dread Gazebo is through Oral Tradition, as each retelling of the story is becomes more embellished.

Tropes used in Eric and the Dread Gazebo include:

• An Aesop: Yes, it is possible for an RPG player to have too much paranoia.
• Attack of the Killer Whatever: The eponymous Dread Gazebo.
• I Thought It Meant: The gazebo isn't a monster?
• Oral Tradition: One of those stories passed from gamer to gamer.
• Shout Out: The Gazebo is referenced in Knights of the Dinner Table, Nodwick, Munchkin (see image links), and others.
• Tall Tale: 15 ft tall. And growing taller with each retelling.
• Too Dumb to Live: "It's too late. You've awakened the gazebo. It catches you and eats you."
• Very Loosely Based on a True Story: IRL, it only took a minute to ask Eric the obvious, "you don't know what a gazebo is, do you."