DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ….. THE GAME

Mind against mind, the battle rages on with only the sharpest and fastest thinkers going out ahead of the pack of hungry and fighting players as each scheme and plot against the other to survive.

The “War Room” is in the mind of each player as the make-believe battles and struggles pit player against player; against the elements; against the environment; against creatures from this world and from other worlds; against lords – gods – demons – devils – curses – witchcraft – every known power of warfare that the mind can conjure up.

“Only the strong survive” doesn’t apply here. The limitation of the mind determines the outcome. Rules and regulations, limits and players tools governing the “Game” are contained in the different manuals and volumes of books containing hundreds of pages. It isn’t easy reading much less an easy game.

It is a challenge not only to win, but to stay alive. The sharper the mind, the better the memory, the longer the player will stay alive in the game.

Dungeons and Dragons (commonly known as D & D) is an elaborate fantasy game which evolved from the war games popular in the late 1950’s. The DM (dungeon master, or god) sets the stage in the fantasy world. Each player assumes the identity of the character he creates. Their creatures are based on a chance roll of the dice. Each character will have six basic abilities: strength, intelligence, wisdom, constitution, dexterity, and charisma. The manual guidelines will determine whether the character will be “good” or “evil”.

The object of the game is to maneuver these characters through a maze of dungeons (tunnels) filled with monsters, magic, ambushes, and adventures in search of treasures. To survive, each character is equipped with special aids – such as magical weapons, potions, spells, and magical trinkets (holy water, garlic, wolves-bane, etc.) They are also given more conventional weapons: daggers, hand axes, swords and battle axes.

Each player can stay in the game as long as his character is not killed – from hours to years. If it continues long, most players identify themselves with their character, and the line between fantasy
and reality tends to grow fuzzy. One authority concerning this “game” said: “The stuff that makes me nervous is over-identification with characters. I’ve seen people have fits, yell for fifteen minutes, hurl dice at a grand piano when their character dies.”

Fantasy Role Playing (FRP) is promoted by many schools in “gifted and talented” programs as a means of challenging and developing the mind of a “bright” child.

The Fantasy Role Playing in D & D has come under fire by different individuals and groups claiming that the player may align himself to “God”; promoting violence, teaching religion, encouraging
sexual perversion, indoctrinating in witchcraft, and even leading to death.

Lets look at some facts.

CONCERNING VIOLENCE – The following occurred to D & D players as an apparent result of the game. In November a 12 year old boy shot his brother. In January a 14 year old boy walked into school and killed a teacher. Psychiatrist Laurence Johnson cautions, “If I had a child who tended toward schizophrenia, I’d never let him near D & D.

There’s a danger that it would reinforce feelings of grandiosity, of omnipotence. Reality and fantasy are hard enough for schizophrenics to differentiate.”

CONCERNING BECOMING GODLIKE – “This game lets all your fantasies come true. This is a world where monsters, dragons, good and evil; high priests, fierce demons; and even the gods themselves may enter your character’s life”. *

“Changing Alignment: Whether or not the character actively professes some deity, he or she will have an alignment and serve one or more deities of this general alignment indirectly or unbeknownst to the character” (Dungeons Masters Guide, p. 25). You serve a deity or deities whether you want to or not.

CONCERNING WITCHCRAFT / DEMONOLOGY – Swords and sorcery (witchcraft) best describes what this game is all about…. *

“Magic users draw upon arcane powers in order to exercise their profession… He or she must memorize and prepare for the use of each spell, and its casting makes it necessary to reabsorb the incantation by consulting the proper book of spells…” *

George Marsh, member of the Cardova Park School Board (California) stated in a letter, why he voted to remove D & D from the school district’s summer program: “The Supreme Court has already barred religious activity from public facilities. D & D is clearly religious in content.”

CONCERNING DEATH – “If the Assassination is being attempted by or in behalf of a player character, a complete plan of how the deed is to be done should be prepared by the player involved, and the precautions, if any, of the target character should be compared against the plan. Weapon damage always occurs and may kill the victim even though ‘assassination’ failed.” (Dungeon Masters Guide, p. 75).

CONCERNING SEXUAL PERVERSION – “… These evil creatures will certainly expect to loot, pillage, and rape freely at every chance, and kill (and probably eat) captives” (Players Handbook, p. 31). The game may be just a game. However, it has become much more to many people. – In Seattle a father is under treatment because his son used his service revolver to kill himself after being involved in D & D for only 2 years. – In January a 17 year old walked onto a school stage, pointed a sawed off shotgun to his head and fired. Many – many cases are on public record of involvement in D & D leading to violence – murder – suicide.

Yes, it’s only a game. But it contains the spiritual teachings of witchcraft. “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” (Prov. 23:7). “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” (Prov. 4:23)

We become what we think. If we dwell on murder, rape, demonology, sadism, prostitution, witchcraft, etc. we absorb that knowledge and the thin line between fantasy and reality is removed and
may leave no way out but death.

If you are involved – even a little bit with any fantasy role playing, stop and ask yourself of its influence on your mind and life.

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things.”

Paul the Apostle wrote these words. You can read them for yourself in Philippians chapter 4 and verse 8.

* D & D Handbook

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Gospel Tract Society, Inc.
P. O. Box 1118
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