By the third chapter of The Sleeping Dragon, the characters are sucked into their D&D campaign. That chapter is appropriately named “This Isn’t a Game Anymore” as the group wakes up and discovers what happened to them. They have taken on the bodies of their characters, the body housing the mind of both the character and the player. Some of them like James and Karl take it much better than others. Andy-Andy and Riccetti have minor or major freak outs. This is partly due to how there are spells bouncing around in their minds, adding a third voice to their minds.
You can begin to learn even more about the character’s based on their reactions and how they lean on the “whose at the helm” spectrum.
“They haven’t woken Riccetti yet?”
“They’re trying. Jimmy– Make that Ahira; he likes it better– Ahira thinks we should have a full conscious wizard on hand before we try to open any of the rest. And no offense Lotana–”
“Andrea.”
“Andrea, then–” (Rosenburg, 42)
Here we begin to see who has taken to the world more and whose clinging to their old selves. James Michael has completely let the Ahira part of himself take over and lead, the book calling him Ahira as well. The few times he’s referred to as James or Jimmy is by the other players. James also only refers to the others by their character names, which they often correct. Andy is on the opposite side of the spectrum. She clings to who she was, correcting people when they call her by her character’s name. Everyone else has a bit more push and pull on who is in the driver’s seat.
This sets up an interesting question as the group begins the journey try and return to their world. Will everyone want to return? Does existing in this new world for too long have the potential for them to forget their old selves? In gaining these new abilities and bodies, they’ve lost their old selves. Identities, homes, family, etc. Will some of them still feel like it was worth it?