Well well. Isn’t this a novelty? Another post in a short period of time… something must be afoot! Seriously, though, my iMac appears to be in love with the Internet at the modem - at least, it’s maintaining a connection, and as such it counts for me. At any rate, I’m more or less done with my various homework-type-stuff for the night, and felt like posting.

I’ve been doing a bit of D&D related browsing in the recent past (say, week or so) and have been looking, primarily, at viewpoints which say, when it’s all boiled down, “D&D is teh evil spawn of Satan! Save us!”

For the interested, I’ve read a few articles hosted at http://www.chick.com, on D&D, Christianity, and their relatedness, etc. There’s also a comic strip hosted as well which points out the satanic and evil vices of D&D, and how only God can save you from the pit of hell that it opens beneath you.

Here, here’s some links:

Straight Talk on Dungeons and Dragons Should a Christian Play D&D? (followup from previous article) Comic Strip

Now, as everyone knows (well, everyone who has business reading this journal!) I am a rather interested party in this, being a fan of a) fantasy fiction/worlds in general, b) the concept of RPGs, LA & C/C, c) an enthusiastic D&D player and d) a D&D Game Master. As such, I’ve decided to rant a bit about D&D, the articles, etc, etc. Then I might do some life stuff. We’ll see. :)

rnNow, first off, let me state that D&D is, first, foremost and entirely, a game. It is no more real than Poker or Monopoly, it is just another hobby that people entertain themselves with. Yes, D&D can be quite an involving game. So, for that matter, can be many computer games, books, music, television series… etc, etc.

Now, the major objections that the articles previously linked to mention is the complete lack of Biblical references, and the obvious Occultism that prevail within D&D, and other RPG publications. Now, the intent of D&D is to entertain people, to provide a medium within which they can ‘pretend’ to be people they aren’t, whilst remaining grounded in reality and have a good time doing it. Most escapism, whether it be inclusive or passive, uses motifs and themes that aren’t part of everyday life, or are slightly out of the ordinary, in order to make the activity more interesting, or exciting.

Dungeons and Dragons is a game in which you play a character in an artificially created world, performing actions that, although independent, usually follow a loosely-held structure governed by the Dungeon Master. You are, in effect, acting out a book or story with your imagination, and the application of mathematical rules that define how the world works. To me, that doesn’t sound very Satanic. Rolling a dice, exploring ancient ruins, haggling with merchants… sounds like pretty normal stuff, albeit a bit beyond the reach of many people - hence the game.

But then, of course, there is the ‘dark side’ - combat, magic, demons, religion, etc, etc. Combat… now, combat is, I suppose, Fairly Naughty™. Or is it? The most common reaction between human cultures and groups throughout history has been to fight each other… irrespective of faith or creed, combat is something that just happens. Fighting doesn’t make you evil… it makes you human. (think about it quickly, I’m too tired to go into further detail ^_^)

Magic, now. Magic is, at least within the confines of Biblical wisdom, not so good. But there’s a few things to be mentioned here… first off, the Bible does indeed include some acts of magic… although they’re called ‘Miracles’ so as to denote their not-so-evil nature. And, perhaps more importantly… the Bible only applies to those who believe in it. And, in terms of numbers, there’s a lot more people who don’t follow the path laid down in the Bible (and it’s predecessors - Torah) than those who do. If the world is to be democratic, and democracy rules, then I’m afraid that calling something evil because it violates a belief held by less than half of the population doesn’t quite work…

I’m not beating on Christians here, or for that matter, religiously inclined people at all. I am rather voicing my discontent at those who use their beliefs as a sledgehammer to try to force people to comply with their World View. And, one of the most important beliefs I hold is the relative freedom of the individual - something which much of the fundamentalist world seems to ignore.

Back on track.. demons. Yep. They’re pretty scary, pretty nasty. And, in terms of physical evidence, have not the slightest shred of proof to say that they even exist. Personally, I definitely don’t believe in demons… there’s enough that’s weird and wonderful in the world around us without fleeing to the supernatural. However, a lot of people, primarily those who look at the world through a fundamentalist filter, believe in the literal existence, or at least the spiritual existence of such beings, and many people believe that demons do in fact control people, force them to perform actions against their natural will, etc. Demon possession has long been accounted real and provable… except I can’t recall ever reading or seeing an account that was definitively, and absolutely demon possession, or anything of the kind. Drop back in time a few centuries, and if you’ve god epilepsy, man, are you in trouble. And those strange diseases you keep on getting? Them pesky demons are at it again.

Religion… a big sticker here, since a lot of the creation of a fantasy world, to be credible, includes the creation of religion. Hmm. In a D&D game I’ve been playing for over a year now, I’m in fact the High Priest of a God. But wait… no I’m not. It’s my character who is the high priest. Do I really believe that I am the Kha’lon de’Asriel, that I am the personal channel for a divine will, and that I am the powerful leader of a growing religion that has roots thousands of years ago from before the first invasion of the Shan’tieth (see demons)… Well, that depends how much sugar and caffeine I’ve had… ~_^

Seriously though, magic, combat, demonology, religion, all are used in role playing games for the purpose of giving the game more depth. The more depth you add, the more enjoyable the experience becomes. And, to anyone with any sense at all, there’s quite a difference between reality and the gameworld. And to those without sense at all… how do they manage to find their way to a meeting anyway?

The major problem with becoming involved with a gameworld, or so we’re told, is that it’s seductive, easy to sink too far, becoming too involved with a character… uh. Hello. Repeating my initial point. This is just a game. Sure, people become involved in games. But people become involved in books. People become involved in craft groups. People become involved in almost every activity that they enjoy. True, the game can involve you at a ‘deeper’ level, in terms of emotional links to a character and whatnot. But then, it ultimately boils down to people sitting around a table, rolling dice, looking up rules, joking around, and pretending to be a character for the purpose of entertainment - usually with pizza and Coke involved somewhere too…

rn… And I’m too tired to continue now. Have to go read Chem prac for tomorrow. And, need to reedit all of the above as I’m sure it’s full of mistakes… ah well. Too tired to care. Fix later.

-Andiyar