History Literature / UserUnfriendly

* SchmuckBait: [[spoiler:When they come upon signs that say "Beware of [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Sand Hands]]," Robin thinks the warning is too ridiculous to take seriously, and ends up getting himself dragged down into the sand by the "hands" as a direct result of his impudently flouting the warnings.]]

* SchmuckBait: [[spoiler:When they come upon signs that say "Beware of [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Sand Hands]]," Robin thinks the warning is too ridiculous to take seriously, and ends up getting himself dragged down into the sand by the "hands" as a direct result of his impudence.]]

* ExactWords: [[spoiler:The boots they acquire feature the inscription: "Northward, Southward, Eastward, Westward, / Inward, Outward. / Always Homeward, / That is the Magic Word." It takes the players several tries before they figure out by accident that the magic word is "that."]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Early on Nocona's leg gets injured by an arrow. The wound heals quickly, a sign that the game doesn't allow players' injuries to languish. [[spoiler:Not only is this an early clue that Arvin's mom's headache (which isn't going away) isn't part of the game, it foreshadows Nocona's werewolf bite later on, which he hides by telling the group it's a sprained ankle, an excuse that looks increasingly suspect because they know game injuries aren't normally supposed to last that long.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Early on Nocona's leg gets injured by an arrow. The wound heals quickly, a sign that the game doesn't allow player injuries to languish. [[spoiler:Not only is this an early clue that Arvin's mom's headache (which isn't going away) isn't coming from the game, it foreshadows Nocona's werewolf bite later on, which he hides by telling the group it's a sprained ankle, an excuse that looks increasingly suspect because they know game injuries aren't supposed to last that long.]]

* ArtificialIntelligence: Especially from the perspective of when the book was first published (1991), the [=NPCs=] display a highly sophisticated ability to interact with the human players in a natural-seeming way. They engage in naturalistic conversation, pick up subtle cues in body language, adapt to unexpected narrative shifts from the players' choices[[note]]most of the time: see Artistic License below[[/note]], and show apparent understanding of new concepts as they arise.

** After Abbot Simon becomes nonfunctional due to a software bug early in the game, the [=NPCs=] keep telling the group they'd be better off if they had a cleric with them, much to the group's increasing annoyance because they're unable to explain to the [=NPCs=] why they lost their cleric, and they know it isn't even their fault.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Early on Nocona's leg gets injured by an arrow. The wound heals quickly, a sign that the game doesn't allow player injuries to languish. [[spoiler:Not only is this an early clue that Arvin's mom's headache (which isn't going away) isn't coming from the game, it foreshadows Nocona's werewolf bite later on, which he hides by telling the group it's a sprained ankle, an excuse that looks increasingly suspicious because they know game injuries aren't supposed to last that long.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Early on Nocona gets injured by an arrow. The wound heals quickly, a sign that the game doesn't allow player injuries to languish. [[spoiler:Not only is this an early clue that Arvin's mom's headache (which isn't going away) isn't coming from the game, it foreshadows Nocona's werewolf bite later on, which he hides by telling the group it's a sprained ankle, an excuse that looks increasingly suspicious because they know game injuries aren't supposed to last that long.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Early on Nocona gets injured by an arrow. The wound heals quickly, a sign that the game doesn't allow player injuries to languish. [[spoiler:Not only is this an early clue that Arvin's mom's headache isn't coming from the game, it foreshadows Nocona's werewolf bite later on, which he hides by telling the group it's a sprained ankle, an excuse that looks increasingly suspicious because they know game wounds aren't supposed to last that long.]]

* ArtificialIntelligence: Especially from the perspective of when the book was first published (1991), the [=NPCs=] display a highly sophisticated ability to interact with the human players in a natural-seeming way. They engage in naturalistic conversation, pick up subtle cues in body language, adapt to unexpected narrative shifts from the players' choices, and show apparent understanding of new concepts as they arise.

* ArtificialIntelligence: Especially from the perspective of when the book was first published (1991), the [=NPCs=] display a highly sophisticated ability to interact with the human players in a natural-seeming way.

* TomatoSurprise: [[spoiler:Shelton has cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair.]] The main characters know it the whole time, but it isn’t mentioned to the reader until the final chapter after the game ends and they return to the real world. [[spoiler:It is perhaps hinted at in the opening chapter when it notes that Shelton is "parked" in front of the computer.]]

* SchmuckBait: [[spoiler:When they come upon signs that say "Beware of [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Sand Hands]]," Robin thinks the warning is too laughable to be taken seriously, and ends up getting himself dragged down into the sand by the "hands" as a direct result of his impudence.]]

** The key Nocona receives from a dragon after he requests “whatever we’ll need to complete our quest” [[spoiler:later enables them to enter the place where Dorinda is staying.]]

* TokenMinority: Arvin correctly guesses that Feordin is his friend Cleveland due to the game character being black, seemingly implying that Cleveland is the only black player. Also, Arvin's comment that Nocona "looked like a native American Indian" suggests not only that Nocona's player Dominic isn't Native American, but that none of the other characters in either the game or the outside world are.

* SchmuckBait: [[spoiler:How Robin reacts to the sign "Beware of [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Sand Hands]]." He thinks the warning is too laughable to be taken seriously, and ends up getting himself dragged down into the sand by the "hands" as a direct result of his impudence.]]

* SchmuckBait: [[spoiler:How Robin reacts to the sign "Beware of [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Sand Hands]]." He thinks the warning is too laughable to be taken seriously, and ends up getting himself dragged down into the sand by the "hands" as a direct result of his careless attitude.]]

* SchmuckBait: [[spoiler:How Robin reacts to the sign "Beware of [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Sand Hands]]."]]

* GoodLuckCharm: When several of the characters encounter an old man who directs them to a troll statue, he tells them people rub the statue for good luck. They're skeptical and don't bother. [[spoiler:They later find out that the other players who reach the statue later did heed the old man's advice, and wind up having much greater fortune thereafter.]]

** The key Nocona receives from a dragon after he requests “whatever we’ll need to complete the quest” [[spoiler:later enables them to enter the place where Dorinda is staying.]]

* UnconventionalFoodUsage: The farmer uses overbaked bread as doorstops. [[spoiler:The party is so famished they convince the farmer to give it to them as food, though they need to soak it in water before they can eat it.]]