Here is a rough draft of an Essay I'm writing for school. Feel free to make any comments you feel that should be made. Be happy, this is about D&D's/D20's future. Plus, it will boost adventure sales 150%. 
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Roleplaying games, games in which your imagination play a great part, are an untapped source of teaching various subjects. The most notable subject that can benefit greatly from the playing of a roleplaying game is the study of mythology; or the world’s great classical stories. The Dungeons and Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the most popular and well known of such games, can be used as an effective tool in teaching mythology and the classics in the classroom. For years, roleplaying games have been maligned and treated as a cult activity. Perhaps now is the time to use roleplaying games to reinforce the lessons of mythology in our high and junior high schools.
The tools that English teachers use to teach mythology are varied and draw on various resources. These tools are drawn from Hollywood and the stage. They are also drawn from Joseph Campbell, the great analyzer of the classic myths of our time. Many teachers comment on how they use such made for T.V. movies such as the Odyssey and Jason and the Argonauts and how they are effective to illustrate the classic myths. They also turn to plays. Shakespeare has written a number of plays that deal with Celtic myth. One of these plays, King Lear, deals with the story of an actual Celtic king that ruled London some time before the Christian era. Finally, the teacher introduces Joseph Campbell’s method of teaching Mythology through analysis. These are effective tools, no doubt about that. However, there is a tool for teaching the lessons of mythology that is quite untapped. Maybe its because it is not politically correct to use it, but it is there nonetheless. This tool is the roleplaying game.
So, what is a roleplaying game? Is it a tool for diabolism and paganism? Is it a tool for Christianity? Is it a tool for secularism? In actuality, the roleplaying game is an ambiguous game that defies all association with any one religion. Roleplaying games are just a form of improvised theater. The players are like Thespian actors, acting out their own play or motion picture. To them, a roleplaying game allows the ultimate freedom in artistic expression. They can be like Moses and part the Red Sea. They can be like the Argonauts and sail the Argo in the Argonautica. The players can also act out the part of Gandalf, Aragorn, and Frodo if they so desire. But this doesn’t happen on stage with a director directing the action. In any game, a roleplaying game needs rules.
A game like a roleplaying game needs rules. And often there are more rules than you can imagine. The rules in a roleplaying game govern the creation of your characters, how they adventure, and how combat, if any in the game, is resolved. Because of the complexity of the rules, most player troupes require another player to act as a referee. The referee, or more commonly the Game Master, often is responsible for the world the troupe of players plays in. He acts as producer, director, and actor all together in a stage play or film. The players act out their parts and the Game Master plays the parts of all the other characters. And these games require an active imagination to play.
So effective is this style of play that the player troupe are effective in teaching each other lessons of ethical and moral value. Many players of Dungeons and Dragons and the host of other games like it often use the pronoun “I” when talking about their characters. “I ran down the corridor and I took my sword and killed the gorgon,” may be typical when a player is talking about his play. It’s as if he was actually there. This is just like Malcolm McDowell saying, “I kill Kirk” when he was talking about his role in Star Trek: Generations. So the Dungeons and Dragons game has some impact on the players. Also, in playing together to solve common problems, the players learn to rely on each other. They learn to value each other’s input and opinions. Thus, a troupe learns the value of teamwork and cooperation. These qualities are often the qualities that today’s businesses are actually looking for. Another benifet is the exercise of Mathematics. Many games like this require the players to practice their skills in basic math, algebra, and sometimes other higher mathematics. Young children playing the games will learn the practical value of using mathematics in every day applications.
The appreciation of mythology is also a factor. The player troupe who acts through their story arew playing archetypes of the heroes that are ingrained into our consciousness. Our world’s mythology is chock full of stories that have these archetypical characters. Acting out these parts teaches a vital appreciation of the stories of our mythology. This is to the critics’ detriment of course, since they believe that such stories have no redeeming value. I believe that the exact opposite is true.
The final reason for which these games can be of use is that they make learning fun and interactive. Everyone participates in a roleplaying game, everyone gets enjoyment and strong lessons from participation. And, in this day and age when Hollywood is outputting poisoned fantasies, a roleplaying game is a form of entertainment that can be controlled by the players themselves. They control the content of their own game. After all, a roleplaying game is a game where anything you can possibly imagine can happen.
So, roleplaying games are unfairly looked over as an effective teaching tool by Educators. Maybe it is not politically correct but the advantages outweigh the disadvantages for the roleplaying game not be used or at least acknowledged. Educators and parents should embrace roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons. As a writer of published adventures and sourcebooks for these games, I will be very happy if a teacher said that playing Dungeons and Dragons would give a child extra credit. It would be a wonderful use for such a wonderful tool of learning and imagination.
======================================
Roleplaying games, games in which your imagination play a great part, are an untapped source of teaching various subjects. The most notable subject that can benefit greatly from the playing of a roleplaying game is the study of mythology; or the world’s great classical stories. The Dungeons and Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the most popular and well known of such games, can be used as an effective tool in teaching mythology and the classics in the classroom. For years, roleplaying games have been maligned and treated as a cult activity. Perhaps now is the time to use roleplaying games to reinforce the lessons of mythology in our high and junior high schools.
The tools that English teachers use to teach mythology are varied and draw on various resources. These tools are drawn from Hollywood and the stage. They are also drawn from Joseph Campbell, the great analyzer of the classic myths of our time. Many teachers comment on how they use such made for T.V. movies such as the Odyssey and Jason and the Argonauts and how they are effective to illustrate the classic myths. They also turn to plays. Shakespeare has written a number of plays that deal with Celtic myth. One of these plays, King Lear, deals with the story of an actual Celtic king that ruled London some time before the Christian era. Finally, the teacher introduces Joseph Campbell’s method of teaching Mythology through analysis. These are effective tools, no doubt about that. However, there is a tool for teaching the lessons of mythology that is quite untapped. Maybe its because it is not politically correct to use it, but it is there nonetheless. This tool is the roleplaying game.
So, what is a roleplaying game? Is it a tool for diabolism and paganism? Is it a tool for Christianity? Is it a tool for secularism? In actuality, the roleplaying game is an ambiguous game that defies all association with any one religion. Roleplaying games are just a form of improvised theater. The players are like Thespian actors, acting out their own play or motion picture. To them, a roleplaying game allows the ultimate freedom in artistic expression. They can be like Moses and part the Red Sea. They can be like the Argonauts and sail the Argo in the Argonautica. The players can also act out the part of Gandalf, Aragorn, and Frodo if they so desire. But this doesn’t happen on stage with a director directing the action. In any game, a roleplaying game needs rules.
A game like a roleplaying game needs rules. And often there are more rules than you can imagine. The rules in a roleplaying game govern the creation of your characters, how they adventure, and how combat, if any in the game, is resolved. Because of the complexity of the rules, most player troupes require another player to act as a referee. The referee, or more commonly the Game Master, often is responsible for the world the troupe of players plays in. He acts as producer, director, and actor all together in a stage play or film. The players act out their parts and the Game Master plays the parts of all the other characters. And these games require an active imagination to play.
So effective is this style of play that the player troupe are effective in teaching each other lessons of ethical and moral value. Many players of Dungeons and Dragons and the host of other games like it often use the pronoun “I” when talking about their characters. “I ran down the corridor and I took my sword and killed the gorgon,” may be typical when a player is talking about his play. It’s as if he was actually there. This is just like Malcolm McDowell saying, “I kill Kirk” when he was talking about his role in Star Trek: Generations. So the Dungeons and Dragons game has some impact on the players. Also, in playing together to solve common problems, the players learn to rely on each other. They learn to value each other’s input and opinions. Thus, a troupe learns the value of teamwork and cooperation. These qualities are often the qualities that today’s businesses are actually looking for. Another benifet is the exercise of Mathematics. Many games like this require the players to practice their skills in basic math, algebra, and sometimes other higher mathematics. Young children playing the games will learn the practical value of using mathematics in every day applications.
The appreciation of mythology is also a factor. The player troupe who acts through their story arew playing archetypes of the heroes that are ingrained into our consciousness. Our world’s mythology is chock full of stories that have these archetypical characters. Acting out these parts teaches a vital appreciation of the stories of our mythology. This is to the critics’ detriment of course, since they believe that such stories have no redeeming value. I believe that the exact opposite is true.
The final reason for which these games can be of use is that they make learning fun and interactive. Everyone participates in a roleplaying game, everyone gets enjoyment and strong lessons from participation. And, in this day and age when Hollywood is outputting poisoned fantasies, a roleplaying game is a form of entertainment that can be controlled by the players themselves. They control the content of their own game. After all, a roleplaying game is a game where anything you can possibly imagine can happen.
So, roleplaying games are unfairly looked over as an effective teaching tool by Educators. Maybe it is not politically correct but the advantages outweigh the disadvantages for the roleplaying game not be used or at least acknowledged. Educators and parents should embrace roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons. As a writer of published adventures and sourcebooks for these games, I will be very happy if a teacher said that playing Dungeons and Dragons would give a child extra credit. It would be a wonderful use for such a wonderful tool of learning and imagination.
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
