RPGs & the Armed Forces - a liability?

Hairfoot

Hairfoot

First Post
I'm sure this has cropped up on ENworld before, but old threads are the new black since crash-time, so here we go.

Have a look at www.techworld.com/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=3306

The Israeli Defence Force specifically discriminates against D&D players.

It seems to me that wargames and RPGs are very popular with military personnel. I can think of few groups I've played with that didn't include at least one serviceman/servicewoman, except for a couple in which I was the only civilian.

It doesn't surprise me. Wargames have their origin in military strategy, so it makes sense that those who deal with conflict professionally would have an interest in it recreationally.

My question is: does participation in RPGs make less reliable combatants?

See also www.escapistmagazine.com/issue/42/13 for some history on games and war-planning. Thanks to Garnfellow for the link.

EDIT: I tried to attach a "yes/no/don't know" poll, but clicked too soon.
EDIT: Argh! The hyperlink above may be subscriber-only. If so, try this: www.itworld.com/Tech/2987/050311dandd/index.html
 
Last edited:

log in or register to remove this ad


IIRC the last time that article came up someone pointed out that that story was partially a mistranslation. The story referred to a specific, especially-shady LARP, not RPGs in general.
 

I do not believe there is anything inherent in RPG's that would signify or result in any unreliabilty or whatever. The only thing that I can think of is that an overimaginative (or whatever) mind is not wanted on the battlefield, and maybe overimaginative minds are more likely than the 'average joe' to play RPG's. The correlation effect would then lie the other way around.

IMHO someone with a lot of RPG and Wargaming experience would rather be better at strategy etc. then worse....
 

While I don't think RPGs make anyone a better or worse serviceman/woman, in my own experience, it sure made map-reading a heck of a lot easier.

Any potential for it to aid in strategy would probably only benefit those of the higher ranks instead of those at the low end of the totem pole as they are not usually in on the "big picture". Heck, as a Captain, sometimes all I knew was my little piece, not the grand scheme.

Of course the Colonel looks at you funny when you mention your "favored enemy" . . .
 

We've only had one guy from the armed forces (army, in particular) in our groups, and he still plays RPGs (mainly D&D). It has apparently even been *encouraged* in the forces at times, albeit to a small degree, because of the tactical and strategic elements involved, lateral thinking , and just general use and exercise of the mind.

Makes sense to me, but then I'm not military, so what do I know. :confused:
 

Aus_Snow said:
...It has apparently even been *encouraged* in the forces at times, albeit to a small degree, because of the tactical and strategic elements involved, lateral thinking , and just general use and exercise of the mind.
Click to expand...

Quoted for verification. Having known several participants in the Career Army and the Reserves, in the past RPGs and Tactical Wargames have both been both widely popular and even "unofficially endorsed" by many in the lower-level officer ranks. I don't know about today, but as early as ten years ago, many companies had their own "wargame setups", including some RPGs. It gets passed around a lot now in almost mythic tones, but Dave Arneson (co-author, D&D) said it was reported to him by a naval officer that at one point in the 1980's, almost EVERY nuclear sub had its own D&D group on board. :)
 

Henry said:
Quoted for verification. Having known several participants in the Career Army and the Reserves, in the past RPGs and Tactical Wargames have both been both widely popular and even "unofficially endorsed" by many in the lower-level officer ranks. I don't know about today, but as early as ten years ago, many companies had their own "wargame setups", including some RPGs. It gets passed around a lot now in almost mythic tones, but Dave Arneson (co-author, D&D) said it was reported to him by a naval officer that at one point in the 1980's, almost EVERY nuclear sub had its own D&D group on board. :)
Click to expand...

For the anecdote, there was one on the USS Florida when I was aboard.

Of course, since I worked in nuclear power, I never had time to participate outside of once in a blue moon.

However, I live near a naval base and in recent years, a majority of my gaming group has been military members and their families. (Sadly, this leads to a quick turnover as they get restationed every few years.)
 

Well, as said in the old thread, this is just the media trying to get headlines.
in my combat unit we had an active D&D group. in non-combat units, including high-profile units, there are a lot of RPG/miniatures/ etc.. players.
 

the whole story about the israeli defence force is a media cockup. all they said was that people who went out to the woods to dress up in cardboard armour and pretend to beat each other with wooden swords may be suffering from a problem with accepting reality... to be honest i have to say they have a point. anything beyond that was media bohaha as the reporter had no idea what RPG was. i'm from israel, played through my entire army service and many of my friends do too including brigade platoon and betallion commanders.
Z
 

Remove ads

Top