Before I say anything else, let me get this out of the way:

If you don't know what you're talking about, shut your festering gob!

Over the years, I can't count the number of times I have said something about Dungeons and Dragons or fantasy role playing games in general and had a violent reaction. Everything from "Oh, so you're one of those Satan worshippers" to "You'll go to hell for doing that stuff" (yes, I actually had that said to me). Well, this is my opportunity to have the floor without some rabid member of the religious right talking over my voice and drowning me out. I realize that the purpose of this speech is moot; anyone who needs to read this has already stopped and gone back a page or two, if they haven't completely left the site. But if you admit that your opinion is based merely on what you've been told and not what you've experienced: Welcome! Hopefully, I will present you with some first-hand insight which will prove this particular hobby is not only safe, but fun as well.

What is Fantasy Role Playing?

For most people, role playing is not something they consider evil. Every time an actor performs, a role is being played. Psychologists and psychiatrists alike use role playing as a form of therapy, to allow their patients to see life from another person's point of view. And some people play bedroom games, like the English teacher and the naughty cheerleader. Regardless, none of these forms are seen by the public as "evil". (except possibly the last one, by the religious fanatics. Definition of puritanism: the terrible fear that someone, somewhere is happy)

When the gaming aspect is brought into it however, people lose their sense of objectivity and blindly follow what the media leads them to believe. "Six people were killed today by a teenage boy who played Dungeons and Dragons..." Yeah, and everyone who ate carrots in 1804 is dead today. Are carrots bad for your health? I have demonstrated a 100% mortality rate among carrot-eaters. You can make information behave any way you want it to, depending on how you dress it up. If you take a look at any number of murderers, I'm sure you'll find as many who went to church on a regular basis as those who played role playing games.

"But these games promote Satanism..." Sure. That's why players are encouraged by the rules to have good characters like paladins: knights of the church, who fight for good, must aid any who ask, pray daily for the strength to defeat their opponents. Yes, statistics are given for devils and demons - in the same manner they are given for characters and bunny rabbits. They are present in a rules guideline so that interaction can occur with a semblance of realism. Otherwise, everyone would role play a super character with no faults who defeats opponents by looking at them. What is more satisfying than slaying the demon by the narrowest margin just as it is about to choke the life out of you? The rules of the games are nothing more than frameworks for you to weave the pictures of your imagination upon. If it did not exist in your own mind, it would not exist in the game. Don't blame your poor parenting on my hobby.

Basically, it comes down to this: role playing is what the person makes of it. If they want to spend the entire day having a character lay next to a pond under a tree, fishing, that is what happens. If the sicko wants an evil character who robs graves, murders wantonly, and steals from everyone around him, that is the player's choice. It is not the game's fault that the evil influence has come in; that was done by the imagination of the player. Nor is it a fault of the game that the rules allow for it to happen; stifling expression of the imagination is the worst form of denial of freedom. It is the fault of the people around the player for not noticing the tendency toward this behavior, just as it is the fault of the friends and family members not associated with the gaming.

Anyway, that's my rant. Thanks for reading it, and I hope we can agree that it's the sick little monkeys like you responsible for the evil in the world and not some $20 book.

For myself, I have tried just about every gaming system and genre, from Marvel Superheroes to Star Fleet Battles (more of a strategy game, there) to the traditional Dungeons & Dragons and Rolemaster systems. I have tried the card games, the dice games, the board (bored) games, the computer games... You get the picture. I have done a mini-review of what I think of each gaming system; whether or not you agree with my opinion on each is up to you, but if you disagree I will dismiss you as one of the unwashed heathen.