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i would point out that the game is in no way based on reality, and then (politely) point out that many of the "christian" traditions were in fact borrowed and given their own spin from earlier "pagan" religions. the best example of this is of course All Saints/souls day, which follows immediately after All Hallow's eve: the night of the dead. So, while i can certainly respect people's wishing not to play, I would remind them that christianity has it's roots fairly deeply seeded in occultish things, and that a game, played for fun and enjoyment and to get away from the real world should not be branded with labels like "occult" or "satanic", which i've heard more than once.

That depends, what urban legend type myth are you referring to?

Also, keep in mind that generally speaking, the player characters in these games are the heroes, triumphing over orcs, dragons, or even the powers of Hell. That's why there are paladins, in my opinion an underplayed and underappreciated class.

One has to keep in mind that most people who play these games fully realize that none of it is real, nor or the characters necissarily a reflection of the one who plays them. I am not Fiver, I am not Oril, I am not Zack. I have no stats. I don't know what I'd be by the game's standards and I don't particularly care.

It's just a game. In fact, it's a role-playing game. It's like a more advanced, thought-out version of what a six-year-old might do, pretending to be a superhero or a doggy or a dinosaur or something. That's right: every small child I have ever known LARPs.

But still: what urban legend are you referring to?

So he has two completely unrelated interests. Nothing there says that one caused the other. However, D&D is a nerd game generally played by smart people, and one could not be a serial killer if one was not smart enough to get away with the first few murders long enough to commit some more. One needs to be smart for a lot of other things, too. Do you look at a computer programmer and say "Ohmygod he's gonna kill people!"? How about a doctor? A lawyer? These are professions that nerds excell at, and quite frankly, D&D is a big nerd game.

By the way, I'm a Christian. More specifically, a Roman Catholic. Always have been, and probably always will be. biggrin I find the idea of worshipping Satan (a being who hates humans as a general rule) completely stupid. I see no reason to become pegan, even though I play D&D. I know a few wiccans, and see nothing wrong with them. They're just people. They don't worship Satan. There's nothing dark or evil about them.

Also, amongst the D&D players I know, the tendancy is toward atheism. Not Satanism, not Wicca. However, even that is not rooted in D&D. It's a nerd thing. It's that whole "unquestioning faith" thing that turns most of them off to religion. Nerds question everything, and will not believe unless you can explain logically.

Yes, I'm a Roman Catholic nerd who plays D&D and goes to church every week. According to fundamentalists, isn't that impossible? xp

oh, it gets better--that's what i am as well. whee so now there's two!-what'd you give up for lent? lol.

make that 3 of us. though i missed last week's mass because i just moved to a new area and couldn't find the church. all set for palm sunday and onward into the triduum

i'm certainly not opposed to it. just tell me when and or where.