D&D Opinions

[stonetoflesh]

Vocabulary. The vocabulary of the average D&D game is a grade level or two above the norm. Okay, so a lot of those words are the names of weapons and stuff, but still ...

Even if the words aren't used much outside of the game context, the activity is still helping to build vocabulary and research skills-- getting kids to look stuff up in dictionaries, encyclopedias, websites, and whatnot. D&D is also great for helping kids learn to articulate ideas and develop good communication skills, teamwork, etc.-- kinda funny that this is the stereotypical game for geeks and social outcasts, huh? Not bad for a game that's about "killing monsters and taking their stuff"!

 

[Lithium Hobo]

http://www.cybermoonstudios.com/8bitDandD.html

One of my favorite flash movies. ^.^ Is it sad if that's exactly how me and my friends act, minus the game itself? Lol, we started talking like we're playing D&D all the time today. For example, my friend Mike tries to open a door, and it's locked. I stepped in and said "Mike, you didn't roll for a saving throw against Lockor, the Locked Door. Now you have been cursed with embarassmentitus."

 

[Alarum]

What do I think of D&D? I like Mage's magic system better, but in terms of balance within the game without DM work, D&D is probably the best. It's relatively hard to imbalance it, unlike many other systems where you can pull the rug out from under the DM if he's not looking.

 

[Psalms34]

I am looking for intelligent opinions on Dungeons & Dragons. This is not topic for debate. I am only asking you give your thoughts and reasons to back them up. Also state if you have played the game before, or if you are not comfortable with this, PM me about it. Thank you.

So what do you think of D&D?

Played it a lot in the early-mid 80's. We wound up throwing out the rule book with all its pagan and demonic influences and created our own version. We had some problems while playing the pagan version, there were serious spiritual attacks being conducted on our group. D&D can be vary dangerous in many ways. Currently there are Christian based P&P D&D games on the market. I have no exp with the Christian P&P games but I would guess they are far safer to play.

 

[Kelly]

We had some problems while playing the pagan version, there were serious spiritual attacks being conducted on our group.

Please share some of your experiences with us. I have never experienced such (or don't know if I have).

 

[Dennis Moore]

We had some problems while playing the pagan version, there were serious spiritual attacks being conducted on our group. D&D can be vary dangerous in many ways.

Forgive me, but I'm very skeptical of your claim. I have nearly 20 years of role-playing experience, including sixteen years of D&D playing, as well as freelance game design experience (D&D 2.0 and 3.0), and I've never ecnountered anything even remotely like what you are describing and implying. What is "spiritual attack," anyway? How did you know you were "under attack"? How did you know the game was at fault? Do you have any proof?

Frankly, this reeks of the sort of misinformation spread in the early 1980s, and not of factual experiences with the game.

 

[Psalms34]

Please share some of your experiences with us. I have never experienced such (or don't know if I have).

Well for one such event, my friend was often followed by a dark shadowy figure. Once he said he nearly had a heart attack when he woke up and saw this entity hovering at the foot of his bed. This often happened during our campaigns.

I too was attacked in my house. The entity was residing near my D&D books, notes and music tapes. It lunged at me and tried to take my body, but to no avail because I was already possessed by God and the Holy Spirit is mightier. Though my experience was not an Entity that had taken form but did poses the sounds of breathing and movement. Movement that at a point tried to take a hold of me and left me bone cold from its touch. Not faint sounds mind you, but bright distinct sounds just as if someone was in a quiet room with you doing their business.

 

[Psalms34]

I have nearly 20 years of role-playing experience, including sixteen years of D&D playing, as well as freelance game design experience (D&D 2.0 and 3.0), and I've never ecnountered anything even remotely like what you are describing and implying.

Maybe you have not encountered such a thing (if you were lucky) but then again maybe you did but the event was wiped from your mind at the conclusion of your defeat. Not saying that this was the case for you, but it is possible. It could have shaped your life and the things that you have done ever since.

 

[stonetoflesh]

Most of the problems I've heard about that have been "traced" to D&D, etc. really should be traced to other aspects of individual participants' personalities or life circumstances. I'm honestly not trying to belittle or rebuke what you said, Faith_Warrior-- what you describe does sound like something from the '80s, but I'll take it at face value; the Enemy will use everything in his arsenal to defeat us... With that said, I wouldn't necessarily blame the D&D game specifically-- a "spiritual attack" could just as easily have happened while playing Runequest, Tunnels & Trolls, Traveller, Rolemaster, etc. Maybe I'm completely off base-- I don't know anything about the circumstances of your gaming history-- but I've always felt that the game system is irrelevant when it comes to positive/negative gaming experiences; it's all about the "set and setting" in which those experiences occur.

I haven't played any of the Christian games, but then again I don't really have any issues with D&D-- it's just another ruleset. I've been a big fan of Castles & Crusades lately; it's got sort of an "updated old-school" feel but designed with houseruling in mind, so if there's something you don't like just toss it out and make up something else!

Faith_Warrior, I'm sorry to hear about your struggles in the past, and I hope your present/future gaming experiences are better!

edit: missed posts #27, 28 while typing this one...

 

[Psalms34]

Faith_Warrior, I'm sorry to hear about your struggles in the past, and I hope your present/future gaming experiences are better!

Struggle? We had victory. Well... most of us did. One of my friends that loved to play a thief became a thief (prov 23:7) For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he
He was never like that before we started to play the game. But that's what he thought about, that's what he became. And if you say well he was just weak or what not I'd... wont say it. He was one of my best friends, A+ honor student, loyal and seriously bright. I see this happening a lot more now in our society, seems like many of the kids are changing. Standards have been lost and anything done in the reason of "harmless fun" is acceptable. I see the world differently, it's a spiritual battlefield.

 

[Kelly]

Well for one such event, my friend was often followed by a dark shadowy figure. Once he said he nearly had a heart attack when he woke up and saw this entity hovering at the foot of his bed. This often happened during our campaigns.

I too was attacked in my house. The entity was residing near my D&D books, notes and music tapes. It lunged at me and tried to take my body, but to no avail because I was already possessed by God and the Holy Spirit is mightier. Though my experience was not an Entity that had taken form but did poses the sounds of breathing and movement. Movement that at a point tried to take a hold of me and left me bone cold from its touch. Not faint sounds mind you, but bright distinct sounds just as if someone was in a quiet room with you doing their business.

Interesting. If something is sinful, does it 'need' to have supernatural demonic stuff around it? If D&D is wrong, isn't playing it enough and Satan has achieved his end? In scaring you and your friends with those experiences, he exposed himself and lost, right? Why attack you if he had you?

Have you ever had these experiences centered around things such as pornography (not saying you look at porn, but you get my drift).

In the Bible there are demonic possessions, but I don't know of any instances where someone sees/feels entities of the Devil surrounding items perceived as 'sinful'.

 

[Alarum]

Maybe you have not encountered such a thing (if you were lucky) but then again maybe you did but the event was wiped from your mind at the conclusion of your defeat. Not saying that this was the case for you, but it is possible. It could have shaped your life and the things that you have done ever since.

I'll be brutally honest: I don't buy it. At all. Sorry, it just sounds way too much like a B-Grade horror movie. If a demon really did want to possess me or something I truly doubt it would have to tail me around to figure out where I live.

 

[Dennis Moore]

Well for one such event, my friend was often followed by a dark shadowy figure. Once he said he nearly had a heart attack when he woke up and saw this entity hovering at the foot of his bed. This often happened during our campaigns.

I too was attacked in my house. The entity was residing near my D&D books, notes and music tapes. It lunged at me and tried to take my body, but to no avail because I was already possessed by God and the Holy Spirit is mightier.

My skepticism has blossomed into full-blown disbelief of your claim. Sorry, but I don't buy a word of it. And of course, such "spiritual" confrontations don't leave a shred of proof, so your anecdote is the only evidence you'll ever have. The phenomena you are describe are themselves ridiculous and without evidential support, never mind their connection to D&D.

Though my experience was not an Entity that had taken form but did poses the sounds of breathing and movement. Movement that at a point tried to take a hold of me and left me bone cold from its touch. Not faint sounds mind you, but bright distinct sounds just as if someone was in a quiet room with you doing their business.

And what a vivid memory you have of it, twenty years later. or is it a highly embelleshed memory? At best, I'd count on the latter.

Maybe you have not encountered such a thing (if you were lucky) but then again maybe you did but the event was wiped from your mind at the conclusion of your defeat.

How utterly convenient. 20 years of exposure, and I've either (a) gotten lucky, cuz Satan doesn't need me yet, or (b) I'm already conquered but conveniently memory-wiped (are these demons or abducting aliens?).

I have never experienced this sort of thing, and I've never made the acquaintance of a role-player who, at the time I played with him/her or later on in life, ever reported such drivel. This is the product of a bad slandar campaign of the early 1980s, and I suspect you are either mistaken in your recollections, are suffering from fale memories, or are intentionally continuing the slandar of D&D. I do not know you well enough to say which, but those are my suspicions.

If you have not done so, I highly suggest you read the essay I linked to some posts above. It's very enlightening concerning D&D and the early 1980s "Satanic panic" that gripped America.

 

[Billnew]

I believe if you had these "events" with D&D
then it would happen with any game with evil or
opponents.

I have played marathon games of upto 26 hours of gaming.(while the Peace testers
were active in Germany[I think most people call them protestors, sorry.])If I were to have anything weird happening it would have been during these long sessions.

As far as living the game,
If you play any life similar game you can decide to or allow yourself to become your
Character.

As far as Satan or Demons spiritually attacking
I was reunited with Jesus 2 years ago, Satan and any other evil beings have lost. I was not enlightened to any special events.

Maybe your house was haunted by a dead gamer? Or some other spirit that happened to like the books?

I might stay away from the game too, if I had these events. Real or unreal
the game was not good for you.

 

[Abbadon]

Well for one such event, my friend was often followed by a dark shadowy figure. Once he said he nearly had a heart attack when he woke up and saw this entity hovering at the foot of his bed. This often happened during our campaigns.

I too was attacked in my house. The entity was residing near my D&D books, notes and music tapes. It lunged at me and tried to take my body, but to no avail because I was already possessed by God and the Holy Spirit is mightier. Though my experience was not an Entity that had taken form but did poses the sounds of breathing and movement. Movement that at a point tried to take a hold of me and left me bone cold from its touch. Not faint sounds mind you, but bright distinct sounds just as if someone was in a quiet room with you doing their business.

I keep telling people that that stuff works only as much as a person believes in it. You believed deeply in possession before? That might be why the "Pagan" version of D&D caused that "attack." I've had no such experiances.

I seriously doubt this had to do with D&D. I've played for quite a long time, and have studied the supernatural.

Different people can handle different things. If you belief deeply that magic is everywhere, and that spirits can harm you, games like D&D and movies like Constantine probably aren't for you.

Also, I've never heard of D&D music tapes.

Also, there isn't a "Pagan" or "Christian" D&D. D&D is more or less secular.

Oh, boy, I'm going to have to define secular. Secular is not anti-Christian, Atheistic, Agnostic, or Satanic. Secular is letting everybody practice their own religions in peace, not enforcing one over the other.

 

[the Colonel]

Vocabulary. The vocabulary of the average D&D game is a grade level or two above the norm. Okay, so a lot of those words are the names of weapons and stuff, but still ...

D&D is how I learned what Charisma and Constitution meant.

 

[Abbadon]

D&D is how I learned what Charisma and Constitution meant.

istz allso haoo Eye lurned too tipe!

(Just joking)

 

[stonetoflesh]

D&D is how I learned what Charisma and Constitution meant.

Don't forget about bec de corbin, voulge, and glaive-guisarme!

 

[Bushido216]

Maybe you have not encountered such a thing (if you were lucky) but then again maybe you did but the event was wiped from your mind at the conclusion of your defeat. Not saying that this was the case for you, but it is possible. It could have shaped your life and the things that you have done ever since.

So... everyone who played D&D who hasn't been attacked were actually defeated by evil spirits because they weren't Christian enough and so their defeat was wiped from their memory.

However, you on the other hand, the might Christian Defender, managed to defeat these spirits?

Help me here.

 

[Psalms34]

Let me remind you of something:

I am looking for intelligent opinions on Dungeons & Dragons. This is not topic for debate. I am only asking you give your thoughts and reasons to back them up. Also state if you have played the game before, or if you are not comfortable with this, PM me about it. Thank you.

So what do you think of D&D?

I gave honest answers to the OP. I don't mind being asked to amplify my first post because I mostly capsulate my posts anyway. But you guys have gone overboard in trying to turn this into a heated debate with hints of slander. In this case I don't give a rats behind about your opinions or disbelief to my accounts. Infact I only touched on a couple small matters surrounding these events and the rest would obviously only cause more ridicule. I'll keep you guys in my prayers for you need it. And BTW no I was not involved in porn at the time. This has gotta be the darkest forum in cf