You Play WHAT?! - Part 4: Practical Concerns of Dungeons and Dragons

Originally written in 2016

There are a lot of unfounded fears regarding Dungeons and Dragons, are there any real or practical concerns that I think a Christian should be aware of? Yes.

Time Management

Dungeons and Dragons is very big and you can get lost in it. If we're not careful with our time or are not spiritually / mentally mature we can get lost in our work, our hobbies, and our selves. Dungeons and Dragons is deep and wide with lots and lots of room for players to explore and find what they like. If you enjoy role playing then DnD is the avenue to do precisely that. If you enjoy the mechanical mathematics side then there are hundreds of millions of combinations of traits, skills, feats, and abilities to mix and match incredible or specialized characters. If you enjoy fantasy then Dungeons and Dragons has tons of lore to read about and there is a very large community of writers and an enormous selection of published books. If you enjoy the social aspect of Dungeons and Dragons then you will potentially become part of a close-nit group of friends.

The danger I have seen is that some players treat Dungeons and Dragons like they would treat a new video game they can't put down; they put in more and more time into the game and begin shirking their responsibilities. If you are prone to getting overly involved in things you like to the detriment of others or yourself then stop and make a plan to keep yourself in check. If you are a student then use diving into DnD as a reward for completing your homework and not as a procrastination tool.

Another danger closely associated with this is a potential strain on friendships. DnD sessions are a huge chunk of time and if you enjoy preparing your character or building your own campaigns like I do then you'll be spending even more time on DnD outside of regular sessions. Your friends and family may start to worry if you disappear on them for hours, days, or weeks at a time without an explanation. Avoiding this is simple, don't shirk your friendships and relational responsibilities in favor of a game. If you plan on spending lots of time building stuff for Dungeons and Dragons then communicate with family and friends to let them know what you're doing and be responsible with your time. Basically don't be immature about your relationships or how you spend your time.

Becoming too Attached to your Character

Some players get too attached to their characters and this can cause problems. I'm not talking about committing suicide if their character dies, that's just crazy. I'm talking about players getting upset at other players instead of having fun playing a game together

Take the following scenario: Joe's character "Yorik the Barbarian" smashed "The Gem of Mcguffin" that Mike's character "Derk the Rogue" wanted to keep.

In an ideal situation the characters "Derk the Rogue" may be upset at "Yorik the Barbarian" for smashing his gem but the players Joe and Mike laugh about it together because they had lots of fun playing their characters.

What can often happens is that one or both of the players get too attached to their characters.

Suppose Joe had become too attached to "Yorik the Barbarian" and smashes "The Gem of Mcguffin" because "that's what my character would do," without a thought for Mike who wanted to keep it for his character or the rest of the party who could have benefited from Mike's character having it. Everyone may still have fun but Joe is being a jerk to Mike and everyone else. If this becomes a pattern it will ruin the fun for everyone at the table.

Suppose Mike had become too attached to "Derk the Rogue" and equates "Yorik the Barbian" smashing "The Gem of Mcguffin" to Joe being mean to him personally. Mike isn't having any fun, there's tension at the table, and Mike stays upset at Joe after the session is over. Mike and Joe's friendship experiences tension and Joe may not even know why. Friendships have ended over what one imaginary character does to another imaginary character.

How do you avoid becoming too attached to your character? Take a step back every once and a while and remember that it's not all about you.

Role playing a character is fun, but it's not all about you. There are other people at the table and if your role playing affects them negatively then consider curbing your character's actions to be more in line with what the group is doing. Characters are supposed to work together as a team, never sabotage what the other characters are trying to do. If you as a player oppose the actions of the other players or characters then pause the game and discuss the situation with them and the DM. If your character (not you personally) opposes the actions of another character then role play the opposition as your character but go along with the flow of things as a player.

Role Playing

Role playing, the mysterious blending of real life and imagination. All of the dangers BADD and CHIC Publications associate with DnD can be reached through this gateway. Sorcery. Demonic activity. Sexual Immorality. Suicide. Human Sacrifice. Cannibalism. All of it and more can happen through role playing.

How do you avoid these dangers? It's really easy: use common sense when role playing. Don't do anything you wouldn't normally do in real life.

Don't practice sorcery, don't try to summon demons, don't molest other players or engage in sexual immorality, don't attempt suicide, and don't sacrifice people or eat them. If you notice any of the other players attempting any of these things then do not join in with them, leave the table, and call the police.

I have never EVER encountered a situation where players were trying to do something illegal, immoral, or spiritually damaging in the name of 'role playing their character.' The common understanding is that 'role playing' is restricted to speaking as your character, using hand gestures while speaking as your character, separating character knowledge from player knowledge, and in extreme cases acting out what your character is attempting to do so that you can convince the DM to allow your character to do it or to make your friends laugh at you. The idea that role playing involves acting and thinking as your character to the extent that you can not distinguish reality from unreality was a ridiculous fable broadcasted as fact by news outlets in regards to the disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III in 1979 which ended up having nothing to do with Dungeons and Dragons (see Part 2).

Here is a breakdown of what role playing is so that there is no confusion about it.

• Speaking as your Character - A player who gets into role playing their character will speak as their character is speaking. So instead of saying "my Paladin challenges the orc chieftain," a player might say "Your rain of terror is at an end! Come face me!" Depending on the character being played a player may adopt an accent or a catch phrase or some other way of speaking so that other players know that it is the character talking.
• Using Hand Gestures - If a player is speaking as their character then it is most likely that they will also start using hand gestures. Most people do this subconsciously when speaking to others. (watch other people try to explain things to each other and you will see this) Depending on the person and the situation being role played this could be anything from subtle hand gestures that normally accompany regular speech to dramatic gestures one may expect of an exciting occurrence or stage actor. In the example above, the player role playing the paladin may shake his fist at an imaginary orc chieftain while delivering the challenge.
• Separating Character Knowledge from Player Knowledge - Part of good role playing means deciding how much your character could reasonably know and then play the character according to his / her knowledge even though you the player will know all sorts of things the character wouldn't know. Here is an example. Bob, the player, knows that the orc chieftain probably has 56 hit points while Sir Arthur Lightbringer (the character) does not. Bob may have overheard the DM say that the orc chieftain has a special magic sword, but until that fact is revealed in the game world Sir Arthur Lightbringer doesn't know about it. If you do not separate character knowledge from player knowledge then your characters are kind of lame because they're no longer characters in a story, just you working the mechanics to beat a math challenge. There is just so much more interaction and the fun that other players can have playing with you and your character if you maintain the boundary between character knowledge and player knowledge.
• Acting out what your Character is Attempting to do - In rare situations of either very animated role playing or at the DM's request a player may act out what his or her character is attempting to do. An animated player may swish an imaginary sword back and forth if his character is trying to defend against many foes. A charismatic player stand to speak has her character and so adding body language to her character's speech. An imaginative player may concoct an elaborate explanation for how their character escapes danger to which the DM may request that he show them how exactly the character does it (usually because the explanation is complicated / unbelievable and physically showing may make it understandable / more believable to those around the table). An expressive player may twirl her fingers or make throwing motions if her character is casting spells. 

There have only been two times that I have experienced role playing get out of hand. The first was when one player smacked another player upside the head for something stupid his character did. The second was when a player went into gruesome detail about how their character was slowly killing one of the enemies. In both instances we simply paused the game, established that the smacking upside the head and gruesome description were outside of acceptable role play, and then continued playing without further incident.

Now there is a step beyond normal role playing where players dress up as their characters and act out what their characters are trying to do. This is called LARPing (Live Action Role Playing). This is beyond the scope of what I intended to cover. Be aware that it exists and that it is different than regular Dungeons and Dragons.

Potential Exposure and Reinforcement of NonChristian Values / Worldviews

I have never found the fantasy setting of the game to be a problem as I have never encountered anyone who actually takes it seriously. Nobody thinks that since there are a multitude of gods, magics, and monsters in Dungeons and Dragons that there must also be such things in real life. I have also never encountered anyone who, for whatever reason, decided that they wanted to learn authentic sorcery and thought that a fictional game manual was a better source than say a Satanic Bible or a Practitioner's Introduction to Wicca, or any number of resources that one can easily find online.

The problem lies with what the players already bring with them. Every player brings their values and worldviews to the table. If you are playing with nonChristians (or immature Christians) then their beliefs and philosophies will come through their characters and you will be interacting with them on a regular basis. Depending on the situation this may be no problem at all or it might be a really big problem. If you play with people who already have an interest in the occult or who fantasize about sex and violence then that will spill over into how they play Dungeons and Dragons and spending too much time with that sort of company will be spiritually corrosive.

Who you play with really determines the experience you're going to get while playing. The best experience I've had was playing with mature Christians. Things just flow better and you don't need to keep your anti-Christian worldview filters up while playing. For this reason it is my conviction that weak or struggling Christians should not play with nonChristians.

Here are six examples that illustrate what I'm talking about.

1. I ran my own campaign with a group of friends that I hand picked to play with. They were all Christians and we set up some good house rules for good play and out of bounds play. Everyone had a lot of fun, we bonded as friends, it lead to some great conversations about God, faith, life, that lead to spiritual and personal growth. It has been years later and all of my players still connect with each other to reminisce about their adventures. This was an ideal DnD experience.
   
2. One of my first experiences with DnD was playing with an otherwise Christian group who decided to allow a nonChristian friend join in. He was crude, lewd, and always on a different page from everyone else in the group. He didn't understand why we wouldn't let him create a demonic monster for a character or why he couldn't go around raping and pillaging. He was an immature nonChristian but we made it work. We weren't negatively affected by the experience but it often felt strange to have him play with us.
   
3. A Christian friend of mine joined a group of mature nonChristians and she was always uncomfortable playing. They encouraged her and a struggling Catholic to explore their sexuality and gloried in the spiritual refreshment of Wicca. While the game itself was 'safe' the interaction with the players left her drained. She eventually left but the struggling Catholic embraced the free sexuality of paganism, left the church, joined up with some other NonChristian groups and entered into a homosexual relationship.
   
4. I was part of a Christian only DnD campaign and we invited an immature Christian to join us. He was cool and really excited to play with us but he didn't care how his actions affected the story or other characters and ended up using his character to blow up an entire monastery full of monks because he was bored. The entire party had to pay for his crimes and after messing up a few more sessions he lost interest and just stopped coming.
   
5. A group of Christian friends joined up with a mature nonChristian DM who promised to keep things comfortable and safe for the group. The campaign started out alright but all of them got a heavy feeling when the DM got psychological while trying to adapt his material to make it more 'Christian'. The group ended the campaign early having enjoyed themselves but needed to take a break from the DM's psychological games. The DM learned a lot about Christianity from this group, and was amazed at how often their characters prayed when faced with difficult decisions.
   
6. A mixed group of weak / immature Christians and immature NonChristians played DnD together and it was a disaster. Their characters basically became excuses to fantasize about murder, sex, and drugs. Everything they were not allowed to do in real life they had their characters doing in game and because they were mentally and spiritually immature the evil desires of their hearts spilled into the game as well as their behavior. I was asked several times to join but stayed far away. This was an abuse of fantasy and I would recommend that Christians stay away from gaming groups like that.

My first suggestion for a Christian newcomer to DnD is to check out an online game like Critical Role and then either join an existing group of other Christians and test the waters before committing to play long term or do what I did and create your own session, lay down some solid house rules, and grab some good Christian friends / family members to come play with you.

My second suggestion for any Christian who gets involved in fantasy is what I suggest to all Christians, namely study your Bible and regularly attend a good church. Ensure that you are getting a healthy diet of Christian teaching and that your relationship with Christ is strong.