D&D promoting gang activity in prisons?

[Relique du Madde]

You DO KNOW that there is one way to take advantage of first amendment in order to get the inmates to play DnD...

That is to pull out several Jehovah Witness anti-Dungeons and Dragon's propagandom the 1980s then use that propoganda against the system itself! All they need to do is have the "game master" proclaim:

THIS FRIDAY CELL BLOCK THREE WILL HOLD THE FIRST MEETING OF CHINO STATE PEN's


FIRST CHURCH OF DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS!

This week We Will:
Roll 1d20 to SAVE your character's soul and defeat your inner-most daemons.
Earn your character's freedom from the pit of ardent dispair.
Slay the warden Overseer of the Black Abyss.
Escape Venture from the Cage Sigil.

​

Then have some one call the ALCU when the warden closes down the game.

I mean hell, since the United States recognizes that there is a Church of Body Modification, and are now obliged to allow the religious observance of body modifications and the creativity they inspire, then they surely have to recognize the religious observance of a DnD session and the creativity it inspires.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I mean hell, since the United States recognizes that there is a Church of Body Modification, and are now obliged to allow the religious observance of body modifications and the creativity they inspire, then they surely have to recognize the religious observance of a DnD session and the creativity it inspires.

And even with that, prisons can still limit the way you practice observance in said church if what you're trying to do is linkable to illegal activity...just because you're a Native American, for instance, doesn't mean the prison has to let you have peyote.

 

[Relique du Madde]

True. So why not make sure that a member of the prison staff becomes "the dungeon master?" Or at least require each session to be recorded and entered into prison record to ensure that there is no "funny buisness" going on?

 

[Diamond Cross]

I can just see a DM being shanked because he didn't allow Psionic characters.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Any formal, structured extracurricular activity would have to be supervised by staff, a civilian volunteer or a trustee, and a staff member would DEFINITELY want to be paid for that time (and extra risk of injury). And how do you decide who does and does not get to play? How many per group? Where and when do they play? How long is a session.

(One thing is for sure, though- unexplained absences would be rare.)

I just don't see a budget entry for a DM (or multiples) appearing on a prison accountant's ledger anytime soon.

 

[Innocent Bystander]

One would think that as the human race has evolved and with all the technological advancements we've made it would mean people as a whole are getting smarter. But it's things like this that make me wonder if it's only a very small percentage that are getting smarter and the rest of society is getting dumber.

Maybe there's only so much intelligence available in the world, and for someone to get smarter, one or more people have to get dumber?

 

[Relique du Madde]

But it's things like this that make me wonder if it's only a very small percentage that are getting smarter and the rest of society is getting dumber.

This.


See every news story about people getting caught for a crime because they:
1) Used Myspace, Twitter or Facebook at the scene of the crime (and left their account on)
2) Posted about the crime on Myspace, Twitter, Facebook.
3) Posted a video or picture of them doing the crime on myspace, twitter, Facebook, or Youtube.
4) Did the crime and then hours later realized they left their house or car keys at the scene of the crime AND THEN RETURNED and asked for the keys back.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Personally, I think the ruling makes perfect sense, as I argued in this thread:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/genera...-dungeons-dragons-threat-prison-security.html

YMMV, of course.


RC

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

This.


See every news story about people getting caught for a crime because they:
1) Used Myspace, Twitter or Facebook at the scene of the crime (and left their account on)
2) Posted about the crime on Myspace, Twitter, Facebook.
3) Posted a video or picture of them doing the crime on myspace, twitter, Facebook, or Youtube.
4) Did the crime and then hours later realized they left their house or car keys at the scene of the crime AND THEN RETURNED and asked for the keys back.

We ARE talking about criminals. If you pick some criminals at random and look at their histories, you'd probably find a long history of poor decision making.

Sure, you're also going to find things outside of their control that influenced them, like poverty, learning disorders and possibly even genetic disorders, but considering that many people with the same problems have spotless criminal records...

Its not IQs, its what you do with what you got.

 

[Mort]

In case anyone's interested here's a link to the oral argument. I found it a fascinating look into how non-gamers look at gaming (then again I'm an attorney so YMMV).

Something to be said btw, oral arguments rarely actually influence the eventual decision, but they can give some insight into the ruling. There are actually some funny moments here, particularly when the defendant's attorney tries to argue that there is a lack of written rules for the game, and just get's smacked down by the judge who's clearly done his homework. Also I'm not sure if it's sad or hilarious how seriously worried the judges are that D&D may help groups of prisoners plan effective prison escapes (if you listen, the judges seem downright paranoid about it!)