AD&D Essay
By Troy Bowman @1997 Micheal Dempsey, age 15, shoots himself after an argument with his father; Steven Loyacano, age 16, kills himself with carbon monoxide from his family's car (Adler 93). Irving Pulling shoots himself in the chest with his father's gun (Dee 60-63). Normally, most people would find these deaths unrelated and incidental. However, the cause of the deaths is attributed to one thing: the game Dungeons and Dragons. Each of the cases listed above is said to have been ultimately caused by an addiction to role- playing games. However, what the adversaries of role-playing games do not say is that prior to these deaths the teens showed signs of depression and emotional disturbance, including drug use (Nathan 12-13). Moreover, these people, who are blaming Dungeons and Dragons for the kids deaths, are calling for a ban of the game (Nathan 12-13). However, Dungeons and Dragons, also called D&D, has no adverse effects on a person and should not be banned. D&D is a role-playing game where players take on "roles" of characters and play them as they would in real-life. The game uses dice and several hundred pages of rules. Sometimes, maps and figurines are used (Alder 93). However, the game is unlike others in the fact that it does not end. There are neither winners nor losers and the players can keep spinning out more elaborate "fantasies" (Alder 93). In fact, the game is more like storytelling than your normal boardgame. Players take roles and the game plays very much as a play or a book. Where as the players tell the Dungeon Master, or the referee, what their character wants to do and the Dungeon Master tells the player what really happened, usually based on a dice roll. The reason people are mad at the game is its subject, magic. The fact that it deals with ancient religions and the "occult" has set many religious people on fire. In fact, so much so, that it has been banned from at least one Catholic school (Adler 93). Even now, people are traveling across the nation in a pull to ban the game from public schools. At the head of this movement is Pat Pullings. Pat Pullings claims her son shot himself after a D&D curse was placed on him (Nathan 12-13). She started Bothered About Dungeons and Dragons or B.A.D.D. (Nathan 12-13). She claims that fantasy role-playing games, especially Dungeons and Dragons lead bright teenagers into obsession with Satan and suicide (Nathan 12-13). Yet, the main opposition comes from the religious front. They claim D&D opens children to satanic influence through "actual occult spell-casting" (Black 32). Religious officials, along with B.A.D.D., claim D&D is responsible for no less than 125 deaths (Black 32). However, what these people do not say is that their claims are false. They know little of the technical aspects of the game (Black 33). "Fantasy 'magic' has very little in common with meditation and 'real' magicians" says Christian gamer Andrew Rilstone (Black 33). In fact, "actual occult spell-casting" is neither mentioned nor endorsed in the rule book. The rules involve telling which spell the player wants to cast and rolling some dice. There is no ritual involved. Moreover, as far as religion is concerned, when a Catholic priest, and Islamic priest, and a Jewish rabbi were questioned they said there was nothing in their respective religions which forbade the game (Black 33). As for the deaths attributed to the game, only one has withheld the investigation of the Committee for the Advancement of Role- playing Games, and that case is still pending (Black 32). The real reason for this uprising against the game is that parents are looking for a scapegoat (Adler 93). "Games are just games if you have fun," says Dr. Joyce Brothers, who finds no harm in D&D (Adler 93). "Rumors of American satanism were very much in the air in the early 1980's ... Historians have pointed out the Satanic rumors have cropped up periodically ... and tend to resurface in times of economic or social stress" (Ross, 86+). The early 80's and even today in the 90's have been times of severe economic and social stress. So, it is not unusual for a game that involves something somewhat occultic to be hit very hard in these times. The truth is that D&D can not be held responsible for teenage suicide. Patricia Pullings and her group have only claimed that D&D has caused 125 deaths. However, if one compares the amount of D&D players, a little over 1,250,000, and use the average teenage suicide rate, then multiply them together there should be about 7,500 deaths over a fifteen year period (Black 32). The statistics seem to say the those 125 deaths were unrelated to D&D. However, contrary to Pat Pullings and allies beliefs, D&D does have a good side. It can be used successfully in psychotherapy for schizoid patients (Blackmon 624-632). Even the Association for Gift-Creative Children endorses the game as it encourages reading of Shakespeare, Tolkien, and Asimov (Adler 93). Also, during a study of 35 players and 35 non- players, it was found that fewer players have feelings of meaninglessness (DeRenard 1219-1222). This contradicts Pat Pullings claims that D&D caused children to want to kill themselves. Still, despite of all of this, TSR, the manufacturer of the game, had issued the following changes for the game of Dungeons and Dragons : 1.) Evil shall never be shown in an attractive light. 2.) There will be no more demons or devils. 3.) Human shall not be shown to be morally inferior to other races or creatures. 4.) Players can not play evil characters in the "toy store" copy of the game. The changes took effect during the early 1980's (Black 34). These changes have made the game even stronger as the occultic element has been lessened dramatically. Maybe in the future, when people realize that it is not the game that is the cause of the suicide that their attitudes will change. D&D has withstood over fifteen long years because it is not a bad influence. It has never and will never be the cause of deaths and it should not be banned. People need to look deeper into lives of their children and at the heart of the problems; depression and drug use. "Just because people who have problems play games does not mean the game cause psychosis" (Black 32). The suicides and deaths would stop if people left D&D alone and focused on the real problems. Works Cited Adler, Jerry. "Kids: the deadliest game?" Newsweek, Sept. 9. 1985: 93. Black, Eric "Does God Cry When You Play Dungeons and Dragons." InQuest, Aug. 1995: 31-34.
Blackmon, Wayne D. "Dungeons and Dragons : The use of a fantasy game in the psychotherapuetic treatment of a young adult." American Journal of Psychotherapy, Fall 1994: 624-632. Dee, Juliet. "Heavy Metal, Hitmen, Dial-A-Porn, and the First Amendment." USA Today, Sept. 1991: 60-63. DeRenard, Lisa A. "Alienation and the game Dungeons and Dragons." Psychologic Reports, June 1990: 1219-1222. Nathan, Debbie. "The Devil Makes Them Do It." In These Times, July 24-Aug 6, 1991: 12-13. Ross, A. S. "Blame It On the Devil." Redbook, June 1994: 86+.