[Hated Trope] Nerdy characters who don’t understand nerdy things

[u/BlackHandKUR]

There are too many examples of movies and tv fumbling basic nerd knowledge but the one that particularly bugs me is whenever we have nerdy characters not understanding basic DnD lore or mechanics.

Big bang theory is probably one of the worst offenders when it comes to not understanding nerdom but how they do dnd is especially insulting. They don’t understand any of the basic concepts, lore, mechanics or even how races look. Theres a scene where they do a steamy dnd thing and they describe an orc with multiple arms and breasts. Not a single part of that was even remotely close to correct and Sheldon being the atypical rule lawyer type should know that.

Abed from community isn’t much better. Either he doesn’t know the rules or fragrantly allows his players to ruin a session. There is never a mention of initiative, contesting rolls, or scaling. Pierce, a naked hermit of a character, over powers a high level fighter then charms a high level creature to pose this great threat to the party. What?

Stranger things, and possibly the one the gets me the most, off the rip we have a character who misses a fireball attack by rolling low. That’s not how fireball works, that not how fireball has ever worked. Fireball is an AoE spell where everyone in its radius has to have a save to have the damage halved. These are kids that name the monsters after DnD creatures yet they don’t know the difference between fire bolt and fire ball?

[u/ThatInAHat]

They said JASON TODD?!? Like? The actual least appropriate choice?

This reminds me of the Halloween party where they were all dressed as the Flash (in lousy store-bought costumes, no less), and had a big hissy fit over it as if there weren’t at least four flashes who wore some variation of the generic store costume they could claim to be.

[u/TheOncomimgHoop → u/ThatInAHat]

That episode annoyed me because they won the group costume contest at the comic book store with their bought costumes, when there was another group that had clearly put effort into making them. Like yeah, I don't expect the comic book store to have the same regulations as a convention where you have to make x percent of your cosplay or anything, but if you can win with generic and cheap looking store bought stuff then what's even the point? Anyone can buy those.

[u/CaptainCha0s570 → u/ThatInAHat]

Yep. And it was fully treated as like, a correction to the idea that Dick Grayson would be best candidate for the Batman mantle.

The flash thing I get. Like even if that's the case it would still suck to all be the same.

Also obligatory "fuck this show for perpetuating the Aquaman slander"

[u/LiamTime → u/ThatInAHat]

Right, Todd is the least appropriate in at least two glaring ways: the characters would've known that Todd became a murderous anti-hero (or might've even just been a villain at this time), the old people watching who theoretically could have followed comics in the '80s would've known him as the Robin who was brutally beaten to death. So they're either arguing that the next Batman should be a dead kid or a gun-toting lunatic.

[u/TheOncomimgHoop → u/ThatInAHat]

That episode annoyed me because they won the group costume contest at the comic book store with their bought costumes, when there was another group that had clearly put effort into making them. Like yeah, I don't expect the comic book store to have the same regulations as a convention where you have to make x percent of your cosplay or anything, but if you can win with generic and cheap looking store bought stuff then what's even the point? Anyone can buy those.

[u/SkyfallRainwing → u/TheOncomimgHoop]

Comment mitosis

[u/VenusAmari → u/ThatInAHat]

It aired during Battle for the Cowl. It was probably corporate synergy.

[u/dantevonlocke → u/ThatInAHat]

Ehhhh Carrie Kelley might edge Jason out... barely...