Nifft
Penguin Herder
Or even non-evil PCs. I seem to recall The Seventh Seal casting its protagonist in a non-evil light.
"Mac-GUF-fin?", -- N
D&D accused of being satans game.
"Mac-GUF-fin?", -- N
Can I get a gnome toss with that pitcher of ale?
I am a Christian that has been playing D&D for some 30 years. My mother ruled that it was a harmless game as long as it was kept in context.
D&D is what you make of it.
Gygax and company did have some jokes they wove into the system. For instance, the bigest desire when creating your character is to role 6 6 6 = 18 for ability scores. Yes 6 sided dice are common, but whose to say it shouldn't have been two dice or four dice.
Secondly, the cover of the AD&D First edition players handbook showed an idol. The idol was made to resemble a real life god of the BC era, whose name escapes me. One of the beliefs of the religion was to sacrifice your children to the god.
I believe both were simply pranks by the designers, that ultimately nearly backfired. But then again controversy = attention = publicity = sales.
Who remembers Ozzy thumping his chest over satan worship? Upside down crosses and the likes. Somehow it was all a strange marketing idea from the late 70s and 80s.
Feeding the homeless can glorify satan, if you want it to.
Maybe they should have checked the picture of a "Paladin in Hell" from AD&D. D&D was about fighting evil.
Unless of course you party is evil.
Unaligned the new Neutral evil/Chaotic neutral.
Make mine frothy.
I am a Christian that has been playing D&D for some 30 years. My mother ruled that it was a harmless game as long as it was kept in context.
D&D is what you make of it.
Gygax and company did have some jokes they wove into the system. For instance, the bigest desire when creating your character is to role 6 6 6 = 18 for ability scores. Yes 6 sided dice are common, but whose to say it shouldn't have been two dice or four dice.
Secondly, the cover of the AD&D First edition players handbook showed an idol. The idol was made to resemble a real life god of the BC era, whose name escapes me. One of the beliefs of the religion was to sacrifice your children to the god.
I believe both were simply pranks by the designers, that ultimately nearly backfired. But then again controversy = attention = publicity = sales.
Who remembers Ozzy thumping his chest over satan worship? Upside down crosses and the likes. Somehow it was all a strange marketing idea from the late 70s and 80s.
Feeding the homeless can glorify satan, if you want it to.
Maybe they should have checked the picture of a "Paladin in Hell" from AD&D. D&D was about fighting evil.
Unless of course you party is evil.
Unaligned the new Neutral evil/Chaotic neutral.
Make mine frothy.
I'm a black Roman Catholic, and I've also been playing D&D and other RPGs for 30+ years...solidly putting me in the middle of the Satanic Panic of the 1980s. In a private Catholic HS.
Mom didn't mind at first, but coupled with my growing love for metal, she became concerned, as did my Godmother and my "born again" HS art teacher (Mr. Roberto Munguia: Roberto Munguia- Dallas Artist- Oils, Encaustics, Gouaches, Prints, Clay). Oddly enough, none of the priests I know ever said diddley about it, even when I started up a RPG club at school.
My Mom I was able to eventually mollify by talking with her. My Godmother, unfortunately, had a trip to the rubber room and is still on meds to this day. We don't talk about my gaming hobby with her too much. Mr. M still talks to me- I think he thinks my faith is strong enough to shield me from the game's "negative influence," and hasn't changed his opinion of the game.
As others have pointed out, though, there are still some today who are vocally anti-D&D. Some of them I engage in debate. Others I just ignore. It depends on the situation and my mood.
Mom didn't mind at first, but coupled with my growing love for metal, she became concerned, as did my Godmother and my "born again" HS art teacher (Mr. Roberto Munguia: Roberto Munguia- Dallas Artist- Oils, Encaustics, Gouaches, Prints, Clay). Oddly enough, none of the priests I know ever said diddley about it, even when I started up a RPG club at school.
My Mom I was able to eventually mollify by talking with her. My Godmother, unfortunately, had a trip to the rubber room and is still on meds to this day. We don't talk about my gaming hobby with her too much. Mr. M still talks to me- I think he thinks my faith is strong enough to shield me from the game's "negative influence," and hasn't changed his opinion of the game.
As others have pointed out, though, there are still some today who are vocally anti-D&D. Some of them I engage in debate. Others I just ignore. It depends on the situation and my mood.
Orius
Legend
Nah, not content with corrupting souls, he wants to screw up some kick-ass campaigns out there, too. What a rat bastard.
Hairfoot
First Post
It wasn't arbitrary. It's about bell curves and probabilities.
ElectricDragon
Explorer
I've been playing D&D since 1978 and have had almost no negative reactions during my whole "career."
I say almost, because there was one time in the 90's where the group I DM invited several new players to join. We actually had 4 girls want to learn to play! We always played at my house because I had a huge dining room table where we could all have plenty of room to game.
Two of them ended up just wanting to be close to boys they wanted to date; but we did eventually gain two good gamers.
I say girls and boys because my groups at that time run the gamont of ages from 15 to 35, and most of these were high schoolers.
One girl (one of the gamers-to-be) lied to her parents about what she was doing (spending the night with one of her girlfriends or some-such). On about her third session, her parents showed up alarmed and outraged. That is when I found out about the lies.
I told her right then, "You are underage, and if your parents do not know where you are, you are not welcome here."
Her parents told her to get in the car and that she would never come back to play this evil game again.
I tried to explain that the game was for socializing and entertainment, not evil as they had heard; but I was the instigator of satanic worshiping, et al. My mother, entered the conversation at this point (she always made it a point to come over when we played to "chaperone and keep us out of trouble" though she actually never inteferred at all, I think it was because she liked being around our large groups with so many interesting people to talk to) "There is nothing wrong with the game and I am always here," she said. "My son has been playing this game for years and has invested a lot of money into it; but it is not evil and has led to no evil acts. In fact, they seem to have a lot of fun and they are not out on the streets causing trouble or drinking or having sex or doing drugs. I think that is a good thing."
This convinced the parents and they actually became good friends with my mom. They even allowed this 16 year old girl to stay for all-nighters because they knew she was safe and not getting into trouble. My mom let them know that they could call at anytime to check up on her if they wanted (they actually did this at 3 and 4 AM the first few times).
Anyway, that is my whole experience with the evils of gaming in 31 years.
Alas, I am again without girl (or women) gamers, but I keep my fingers crossed that in this wondrous universe, lightning can strike twice.
Ciao,
Dave
I say almost, because there was one time in the 90's where the group I DM invited several new players to join. We actually had 4 girls want to learn to play! We always played at my house because I had a huge dining room table where we could all have plenty of room to game.
Two of them ended up just wanting to be close to boys they wanted to date; but we did eventually gain two good gamers.
I say girls and boys because my groups at that time run the gamont of ages from 15 to 35, and most of these were high schoolers.
One girl (one of the gamers-to-be) lied to her parents about what she was doing (spending the night with one of her girlfriends or some-such). On about her third session, her parents showed up alarmed and outraged. That is when I found out about the lies.
I told her right then, "You are underage, and if your parents do not know where you are, you are not welcome here."
Her parents told her to get in the car and that she would never come back to play this evil game again.
I tried to explain that the game was for socializing and entertainment, not evil as they had heard; but I was the instigator of satanic worshiping, et al. My mother, entered the conversation at this point (she always made it a point to come over when we played to "chaperone and keep us out of trouble" though she actually never inteferred at all, I think it was because she liked being around our large groups with so many interesting people to talk to) "There is nothing wrong with the game and I am always here," she said. "My son has been playing this game for years and has invested a lot of money into it; but it is not evil and has led to no evil acts. In fact, they seem to have a lot of fun and they are not out on the streets causing trouble or drinking or having sex or doing drugs. I think that is a good thing."
This convinced the parents and they actually became good friends with my mom. They even allowed this 16 year old girl to stay for all-nighters because they knew she was safe and not getting into trouble. My mom let them know that they could call at anytime to check up on her if they wanted (they actually did this at 3 and 4 AM the first few times).
Anyway, that is my whole experience with the evils of gaming in 31 years.
Alas, I am again without girl (or women) gamers, but I keep my fingers crossed that in this wondrous universe, lightning can strike twice.
Ciao,
Dave
Charwoman Gene
Adventurer
The head pastor of my church used to play D&D and basically laughed that I was at all concerned when I asked him about it.
Of course he is not your typical pastor. Preached in a strongbad t-shirt once.
There are a couple of legitimate anti-D&D arguments in a Bible-based worldview. But most of them they apply equally well to any hobbies.
Of course he is not your typical pastor. Preached in a strongbad t-shirt once.
There are a couple of legitimate anti-D&D arguments in a Bible-based worldview. But most of them they apply equally well to any hobbies.
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