The Christian Sentinel

February 1999 issue

Dungeons and Dragons Bad?

An apologist and hang gliding enthusiast from Oaks, Pa. tells us why Christians should avoid it.

By Jim Carroll

ã 1999 Christian Sentinel

"Swords and sorcery best describes what the game is all about, for those are the two key fantasy ingredients. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy game of role playing which relies upon the imagination of the participants, for it is certainly make-believe, yet it is so interesting, so challenging, so mind-unleashing that it comes near reality."1 To those unfamiliar with role playing games in general and D&D in particular, the preceding quote may seem like a neat sales pitch. It is however, not far from the mark. The quote is from the Introduction to Advanced D&D Players Handbook.

In their article, "Fantasy Games People Play,"2 John Weldon and James Bjornstad define four criteria for critical evaluation of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (D&D for short). (1) the role of fantasy, (2) escapism, (3) morality, (4) occultism. Their article primarily deals with the first category. To summarize their conclusions, "fantasy," as such, is not inherently abhorrent. The "imagination" is a God given gift important for creativity and development, and as such, is not inherently wrong. As they point out: "Who can doubt that a child’s imagination in play, even in role playing, is a positive component of his social and intellectual development."3 There are also great Christian fantasies such as the C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia. The authors of D&D claim that "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons is first and foremost a game for the fun and enjoyment of those who seek to use imagination and creativity. ... For fun, excitement, and captivating fantasy, AD&D is unsurpassed."4

However, while fantasy is not inherently wrong, it is also not inherently good or right either. It is the application, or "role" of "fantasy" that is right or wrong. In a critical evaluation, the question that must be asked is "What is the ‘world view’ being promulgated via any particular application of fantasy in general?" For the case of D&D in particular, this article will attempt to answer that question as well as the other criteria. To fully appreciate the power of D&D as a tool in selling a particular worldview, and to understand the potent effect it can have on its adherents, it is important to understand how the game is played.

It is difficult to describe the game and its play to someone unfamiliar with the style of gaming (i.e. Fantasy Role-Playing) because it is not what usually comes to mind when someone thinks of a "game." In the words of Gary Gygax, (author of the games)" .... Advanced Dungeons and Dragons is, as are most role playing games, "open-ended." There is no "winner," no final objective, and the campaign grows and changes as it matures."5

The "game board" is primarily the minds of the gaming participants where you "act out" the part of a character in a fantasy fiction. You create a gaming persona, commonly referred to as a "character," that you will "act out" the part of in the game. There is a set of rules and guidelines for creation of characters that yield a wide variety of attributes that your character will be made up of. While most of the character creation is simply selection of these attributes by the player, there are certain attributes, referred to as "character abilities," that are determined by the roll of the dice. You "act out the game as this character, staying within your ‘god-given abilities,’ and as molded by your philosophical and moral ethics (called alignment). You interact with your fellow role players, not as Jim and Bob and Mary who work at the office together, but as Falstaff the Fighter, Angore the cleric, and Filmar, the mistress of magic!"6

One of the gamers must act as the "god" of the world that the players will be acting out their roles in. This "referee" is usually referred to as the "Dungeon Master" or DM. The DM is actually the creator of the "adventure" that the players partake in. The DM is the absolute sovereign in the adventure world which is the fantasy land that the players experience; he controls the situations via a complex set of rules and probability tables for various occurrences. The DM provides the ‘glue’ that holds the fantasy world together by providing a reference for the experiences of the characters traveling through the adventure. He basically provides for them all of the experiences of the fantasy through vivid descriptions, i.e. he provides the feedback for the characters of the fantasy world as they proceed through it, just as the real world provides the feedback to us as we proceed through it. Because of this, enjoyment of the game is directly related to the skill, imagination, eloquence, and preparation of the DM and the "world" that he has created. If the DM can provide ‘real enough’ feedback, vivid enough experiences, surpassing challenges, etc., the game can become quite enjoyable for the players as they travel through this world acting out whatever parts and actions they choose to.

What the game becomes to those who get deeply into it, and what it became for me at disparate times throughout junior high school through early college, is a vehicle of total escapism. Escapism is what the game is all about which is in essence what Gary Gygax claims in the introduction to the "Players Handbook." As Gary Gygax writes: "The game lets all of your fantasies come true. ...Enjoy, for this game is what dreams are made of."7 Because, for many players he is not stretching the truth in the previous statements, the game can become very seductive. Once seduced by the escapism aspect it allows you to live out actions and experiment with behaviors that you would normally never even consider. Since the game includes: the casting of spells or sorcery, complete with ingredients and incantations, the worship of various deities (or devils if you’re so inclined and your "alignment" permits), communication with spirits, the undead, telepathic abilities (referred to as "psionics"), it can become a full color advertisement for the occult. Many cases of individuals being introduced to the occult via D&D, where much deeper involvement ensued, have been documented in a number of other places.

At this point an objection may be raised because the same claims can be made of Hollywood entertainment. Many movies and TV programs are nothing more than escapism for people "addicted" to them. Movie entertainment allows the viewer to "live out" the experiences that they would never normally be able to. However, the absolute freedom of choice in D&D can never be replicated through a Hollywood movie. The player can do and experiment with WHATEVER they want to in D&D, and not simply what the writers of a particular movie have scripted.

A determination of the "morality" of D&D can only be made via the examination of the worldview embraced by the game. Does the game espouse a Christian morality, that is, does it advocate a Biblical worldview with respect to a system of right and wrong? The answer to the question is a resounding "NO!" As far as the game is concerned there is no right or wrong.

While the view that "there is no absolute right or wrong" is a popular (if not almost ubiquitous) view in today’s secular society, the Bible declares that there is a transcendent personal God that has set up an absolute standard of right and wrong. In the alternate universe of the D&D game, there is no transcendent God, only a pantheon of mythical, capricious gods that whimsically influence reality. As a result the universe within the game is devoid of any kind of absolute moral standard.

In the game manual of the new computer fantasy roll playing game called "The Elder Scrolls: Arena" by "Bethesda Softworks," the chief designer indicates that he is an avid old fashioned "pen-and-pencil" fantasy role playing game aficionado. He states that one of his main objectives in "The Elder Scrolls" is to make a computer version of a fantasy role playing game that is as limitless and open as its original non computer counterparts. In that manual the chief designer writes: "In The Elder Scrolls there is no absolute right or wrong. We have always held that the idea of ‘good vs. Evil’ is a bit cliché, however effective it may be for running a story."8 Besides the fact that this statement is logically self refuting, he goes on to say, "If you wish to be a thief who robs innocent nobles, fine. If you wish to play a warrior who makes it his mission in life to kill these thieves, that’s fine too."9 His commitment to the escapism aspects of the game becomes obvious as he writes that a large effort was made so that the player "would get to journey within the most realistic fantasy environment possible without being forced into yet another boring world (any of us can do that by just looking out the window)."10

The authors of D&D present an array of what they call "Alignments" to be selected from. Alignment is a dual range of Lawful-Neutral-Chaotic and Good-Neutral-Evil. In other words a character can be: Lawful Good, Lawful Neutral, Lawful Evil, Chaotic Good, Chaotic Neutral, Chaotic Evil, Neutral Good, Neutral Neutral (referred to as "True Neutral"), and Neutral Evil. Since there is no absolute standard of right and wrong, each of these alignments are equally "valid." The authors do not define "Good" as "right" but they define it as "human rights" and "life, relative freedom, and prospect of happiness"11 and therefore a person that holds any of these as a valuable ethos, is defined as "Good." Not that these things are not "good," but are they what "Good" or "Right" IS? Certain characters can obtain certain advantages by being of a particular alignment but none is "correct." And the character’s alignment is usually chosen on the basis of pure pragmatism. Alignment is important to a character because of the particular deity that that character may worship. Lawful-Evil deity would not look sympathetically on "Good" acts by one of its patrons and in turn may not grant answers to prayer, etc.

The occultic aspects of the game are manifold. The casting of spells and the tapping into unseen forces give the game an animistic flavor. The spell casting can be accompanied by various symbols and practices that are straight out of occultic literature and expressly forbidden by scripture. The standard objection to these claims is usually along the lines of "Oh, It’s just a game!," and while that may be true, it does not change the fact that the game mimics actual occultic practices often VERY closely providing the player an ample introduction to occult practices.

As previously mentioned, the alternate world where D&D is played is a polytheistic world where the worship of various deities is not just an option, but a requirement of continued successful game play. The player, through their imagination, partakes of a world where various gods govern and paganism is the rule; it’s the "truth" of the D&D world. The desensitizing of the player to a neopagan worldview could have catastrophic effects. The connection with Satanism has been thoroughly documented in many other places and an obsession with D&D is quoted repeatedly by cult experts as one of the signs that someone is involved with a satanic or neopagan cult. NOT to say that everyone that plays D&D is in a satanic cult, but the reverse (i.e. those in satanic and neopagan cults are very often D&D aficionados) is very often the case.

In the well known Sean Sellers case in the mid 1980s D&D was certainly one of the catalysts for propelling a youth into satanic occultism and eventually to murder. After discovering the occult and Satanism, Sean Seller’s "as a 12-year-old ... discovered the role playing game Dungeons and Dragons, it fueled his darkening fantasies."12 He went deeper and deeper into the occult and his passion for D&D grew until he killed a convenience store clerk, and his mother and stepfather as they slept while he was "paying homage to Satan."

There is much controversy in the church as to a position on D&D. Some think it’s harmless fun, others equate playing D&D with Satanism. The effects of the game vary from participant to participant and I can’t say that there are not people out there that it is harmless fun for. Then again I can’t say that for others, it’s not experimentation with Satanism. This leaves me in a precarious position. I gave the game up because I felt convicted about playing it; I can’t imagine that it would be God’s will to involve any of his children in the kind of seductive escapism, with blatant anti-biblical themes, provided by D&D. Remember, we are to "bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:15).

1 "Advanced D&D Players Handbook" – by Gary Gygax, 1978, Introduction, page 7

2 "Fantasy Games People Play" – John Weldon and James Bjornstad, Dec. 1984, Contemporary Christian Magazine.

3 ibid

4 "Advanced D&D, Dungeon Masters Guide" – Gary Gygax, 1979, page 9

5 Advanced D&D Players Handbook by Gary Gygax

6 ibid

7 ibid

8 "The Elder Scrolls: Arena, Players Guide" – Bethesda Softworks, Media Technologies Limited, 1993

10 ibid

11 "Advanced D&D Dungeon Masters Guide" – by Gary Gygax, 1979

12 "People" 12/1/86, Vol. 26, No. 22, pg. 154-161