Introducing role-playing to people from other cultures and religions

[FCWesel]

If I might take you off the beaten path, try looking at these games:

http://www.wicked-dead.com/catalog.html

Specifically look at "CAT," "Schauermärchen," and "The Secret Lives of Gingerbread Men."

These books are really rules light and the GM'ng advice and ideas are just ROCK solid. Also, your gonna find them really friendly for many age ranges and for all kinds of cultures.

I especially like CAT because everyone can relate to them, they know them. As per the description, "The premise is simple, based on the pets found in more than a quarter of American households. Cats protect people from things they can't see. Boggins, specifically. Boggins, like the Man Under the Bed. Players fight to protect humans from the creatures that feed on children's fears and rejoice in men's shortcomings. Cats also venture to the Kingdom of Dreams where the surreal is common place, and anythings is possible."

The game costs you 8.00 for a printable PDF or 17.00 for a PDF & Print copy mailed to you (that includes shipping).

I really can't give this nice, fun little game enough recommendations. Check it out, I don;t think you will be dissapointed.

 

[mythusmage]

Forgotten Realms Theology: Ao delegates.

 

[Turanil]

Forgotten Realms? You could have them play in Zakhara / Al'Qadim. I always loved this setting, even if I never got the opportunity to play in it.

 

[shilsen]

Don't make any assumptions, they can often come across as patronising or downright insulting.

Broach it lightly in-game and see how he reacts, then go from there. I'd like to think he can differentiate between reality and fiction.

That's my opinion anyway, I don't know all the details as well as you do.

This is the best advice yet. Don't assume that the player will have problems due to his religion/ethnicity/whatever. Just introduce him to the game concepts as you would anyone else who is completely new to the genre, and see if he brings up anything himself.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Global culture, dude. Everyone's seen Lord of the Rings. They get it, OK?

 

[Sanguinemetaldawn]

FR setting suggestion

Oh, and I'll probably use the setting of the Forgotten Realms, since it is probably the most accessible D&D setting to people who know the "Lord of the Rings" movies and it isn't necessary to use any extra rules from new sourcebooks. Still, I'm not sure which starting region I should pick. I'm not interested in the Dalelands and I am already running another campaign set in the North - so if anyone has a good idea for a starting region...

I'd wholeheartedly recommend the Unapproachable East Supplement.
Ran a game in that setting recently...it is great.
Very frontier/wild feeling, abundant ruins, intrigue, ancient cities...it has it all.
Not in the same place of course


Thay, Thesk, Great Dale, Rashemen are a great combination and create all kinds of possibilities.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

Maybe it helps if I mention Ao, the overdeity of the Forgotten Realms who put the gods in place but doesn't answer prayers himself...

That might be problematic in that the name Ao is an oblique christian reference. :\

It's been my experience that most people of faith have no problem with the proposition that the real world is the province of God and fiction is the province of man. It's only when the two are carelessly comingled, that they are likely to take offence. For example, if Allah has a presence on Toril why hasn't he provided a prophet?

 

[johnsemlak]

I'n my group I've played with Russians, English speakers of various types, a Turk, a Brazilian, a Chilean, and perhaps others.

We've had representitives of various faiths, including Islam. However, everyone was able to treat D&D as just a game.

I would not make any presumptions that a person's faith will interfere, but be prepared for the possibility. Plently of practicing Christians and other worhipppers are capable of separating a game from real life.

 

[fusangite]

I'm with shilsen here. Respond to problems as they arise. Don't create problems that might otherwise not be there. Some Muslims, just like some Christians, might object to some D&D content. But the chances of a Muslim who might object deciding to join a game in the first place are about the same as a Christian who might object doing so... not big.

 

[kirinke]

Good luck to you. Before I joined my current gaming group (on hiatus a bit now), they had a guy that was gaming with them that eventually ended up becoming some sort of Christian minister or monk or something along those lines. Needless to say, he was already devoutly religious and had no problems playing a fantasy game. You can probably tell your Moroccan friend that many of the D&D religions are based on cultures (Greece, Rome, Norse) that pre-date both Christianity and Islam and that it is a fantasy game, first and foremost.

I would love to introduce my wife to D&D as well... however, she was born in mainland China and spent the first 29 years of her life there. Despite having 2 undergraduate and 2 master's degrees and speaking 3 languages, she has very little concept of Western fantasy and many of the things we take for granted are unknown to her (vampires, for one, I had a tough time explaining Buffy to her...)

Edited to add - saw the end of your post. If you have a friend from Morocco, Calimport/Calimsham could be interesting.

hmm. If your wife has a problem understanding vampires, try researching gaki. From what I understand, certain types of gaki resemble vampires to a great degree and work from there.