According to police, Dungeons & Dragons has long been suspected of fostering violent or suicidal behavior in teens and young adults, especially among fans of early eighties musical groups such as Judas Priest and Dokken. Prosecutors will attempt to prove that spoiled and pampered professional athletes such as Simpson are similarly vulnerable to D&D's dark urges. According the expert prosecution witnesses, Simpson's career on and off the field made him particularly susceptible. "Besides being a vicious football player, Simpson doubled as a spokesman for Hertz car rentals," psychologist Helen Hoff noted. "Not only does the name, Hertz, sound like the painful effects of violence, but like football and D&D, cars themselves are well-known chariots of death."

According to Hoff, Simpson's behavior had become increasing bizarre in the months before the murder as his ability to distinguish between reality and fantasy rapidly diminished. Simpson grew erratic during Monday Night Football telecasts, repeatedly referring to color-man Dan Dierdorf as "Brave Knight," and peppering his commentary with phrases like "high dexterity makes a running back's armor class lower" and "he needs to gain more strength points in the off-season."

Simpson's attorneys acknowledge O.J.'s involvement with AD&D, but deny charges that the violent and occult nature of the game clouded Simpson's judgment. "O.J. may not possess a very high intelligence, but his wisdom score is at least a 16," attorney Robert Shapiro pointed out. "Which means he has like a +2 advantage when deciding what is right and wrong."

More damaging is a player character sheet recovered from Simpson's waste basket. The sheet outlines Simpson's favorite character, a 33rd level half-elven fighter/paladin named "Drawmij the Beautiful," and contains detailed descriptions of Drawmij's alignment, armor class, hit points and inventory in a clean, neat script. Under the heading, "Personal Quest" Simpson had listed "avenging my father's death, stomping thieves and killing my ex-wife." Attorneys for Simpson, however, dismiss the evidence as circumstantial and potentially misleading, pointing out that detailed character histories and motivations are essential to character development and solid role-playing skills.

Despite the startling new evidence, police still lack a murder weapon to tie Simpson to the crime, a fact that may still result in acquittal. Although discovery of a two-handed sword (1-10 hp damage, 10% chance of beheading opponent) behind a wall map of Middle Earth led many to speculate that the weapon had finally been found, police remain convinced that a much smaller weapon was involved. "We believe that the murders were committed with a dagger, shortsword or possibly a scimitar," Forensics expert Marshall Cramer stated. "Of course, we can't be entirely sure until we determine exactly how many hit points of damage were done and how many rounds of combat took place."