Title: Roll for InitiativeAuthor: Lesley A. Camphouse
First Published: May 25, 2025
Publisher: Independently Published
Pages: 84
Genre: Extreme Horror, Horror
Format: Ebook
Source: Free Promotion
Rating:
Synopsis:
When Gemma moves across the country, she’s thrilled to be accepted in a group to play her favorite TTRPG. The group is excited, too.
Then, in one session, one of the members takes it too far, becoming that guy. However, the game master silences Gemma when she stops the game, telling her not to ruin the fun for everyone.
Unbeknownst to Gemma, the group's behavior spirals after this incident to a point where Gemma has no choice but to play their game, but Gemma is determined not to roll a natural one…
This is an Extreme Horror, consider this a warning for all TW. 18+.
Get the Book: AmazonReview
Roll for Initiative is an extreme horror story about a table top game gone wrong and a young woman that finds herself the target of sexual harassment. I had heard a few stories about sexual harassment occurring during games of Dungeons & Dragons, with DMs leading scenarios in bad faith at the expense of a female player. Misogyny in nerd spaces is fertile ground for a female rage and revenge story, so there was definitely potential with this concept.
Where the book lost me was in how the plot was sequenced and weak writing. I had a hard time believing that anyone, when pressured into playing a gang rape scenario, would keep playing and continue to show up to game nights for weeks after. The narration lacked any emotional impact, even with the escalation in conflict. From there it was a standard revenge story, with little struggle and the bad guys rolling over like wet paper bags. It all just felt so bland to me. I did like that a some TTRPG references tossed in at the end, at least.
Developmental editing to improve pacing and work on tightening up the plot would do wonders. If this story was isolated to a single nightmare evening with more struggle it would have elevated this story from okay to great.
Quote
“It’s just a fucking game, remember?”
Content Warnings
View Spoiler »About the Author
About Lesley A. Camphouse
Lesley lives secluded in the Netherlands with her husband and five cats. She enjoys writing Extreme Horror, Splatterpunk, and Dark Romantasy.
Besides writing, she likes to read, and those exact categories are the ones she devours.
She’s also a hoarder of trinkets and cool things and collects a lot of stuff, from oddities and curiosities to manga, comics, and figurines.
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