Roleplaying Tips Weekly Supplemental #21 "RPG Advocacy" This file was created from reader submissions responding to a Brief Word request in Issue #292. Your response was incredible - thanks to everyone who wrote in! Please note, while we tried to include all entries received, we omitted entries that contained only duplicate links. Thanks to Leslie Holm for organising and editing! Cheers, Johnn Four johnn@roleplayingtips.com http://www.roleplayingtips.com @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ 0. Original Request From: Brief Word, Issue #292 http://www.roleplayingtips.com/readissue.php?number=292#brief_word ============================================================ I received a tricky help request from a young reader. His parents won't let him play D&D because they feel it is evil and he wants to know what he can do to convince them otherwise. First off, I think it's great that the reader's parents are taking interest in his life and hobbies, and that they're setting boundaries they feel are in his best interests. Without having met or chatted with the parents, my best guess is they're basing their decision on misinformation. There's a well-known webcomic, for example, that outright says D&D is evil. And there are numerous personal websites and press sites that call RPGs various names. I'd like to supply our fellow gamer with links to websites and articles he can forward to his parents so they can learn more and make the best-informed decision as possible concerning their son's request. If you have any good advocacy or informational links, please forward them to me. Also, if you have any tips or advice for young people whose parents won't let them game because of possible misconceptions about our hobby, I'd love to hear those as well. Thanks! 1. RPG Advocacy Links & Resources From: Chris Dyszelski ============================================================ Here is a list of advocacy resources that I have: * CAR-PGa: http://members.aol.com/waltonwj/carpga.htm * Role-playing Defense http://www.hoboes.com/html/RPG/Defense.html * Studies on Role-Playing Games: http://www.rpgstudies.net/ * Source About Role-Playing Games: http://www.rpg.net/sites/252/quellen/sources.html * Ontario Religious Tolerance Group - useful for those attacking from religious grounds: http://www.religioustolerance.org/d_a_d.htm Books: * 'Shared Fantasy: Role-playing Games as Social Worlds', by Gary Alan Fine (1983) - while out of date (and out of print), it does show how gamers form communities and presents a wide perspective on helping to understand what roleplaying is. You might be able to track a copy down through academic libraries. * 'The Fantasy Roleplaying Gamers Bible 2nd Edition', by Sean Fannon (2000). It explains the games, their history, and has a bit of an outdated list of different games to help parents choose games for their kids. * 'The Fantasy Role-playing Game: A New Performing Art', by Danile Mackay (2001) - A really dense book that looks at games as a performing art. Definitely scholarly, but there are parts in here that would help parents to understand games, their history, and why they can be good. Any teen that could read this book, and understand even some of it, would show his parents that gaming isn't for the ignoramus. Not to be self promoting, but if you have access to university interlibrary loan...my Master's thesis is held at Miami University. It's titled 'Re-visioning Role-Playing Games: A Narrative Exploration of the Experiences of Role- Playing Gamers', by Christopher Justin Dyszelski, Imprint 1998. If you can't access it that way, I can e-mail you a copy of the documents...anything to help a fellow gamer. I think the best thing young people can do is to TALK with their parents, explain why they want to play, and provide evidence that the hype saying all games are bad is bunk. If they can, they should go together to a game store and watch games being played. Most parents are just freaked out by the "unknown factor." Once they see it's a just a bunch of people having fun, they usually relax a bit. Often, even if they don't understand the games or even are a little concerned about the content, realizing their kid is somewhere safe with people and not running the streets committing real crimes, doing drugs, etc. is enough for them to say "OK." Another faction is the "games make people crazy" camp. While there are some very poorly conducted and yet published studies, the bulk of the decent research shows that games don't do those things. There are also lots of good articles (see those study links above) that debunk the myths or that show the positives of games. There are certainly factions of anti-gaming that are based on religious convictions, and the chances of changing their beliefs are often slim to none. They believe that anything not of their doctrine is "Evil" or "wrong" or "from the Devil." Changing the convictions of these parents will be challenging. The best thing young people can do here is to try to remain respectful and explain their viewpoints to their parents in the hope that they will change their minds. When they reach adulthood, they can do what as adults is their right to do...play! Sometimes, depending on one's political views, the anti- censorship argument might come in handy, though that one can be tough for youngsters to muster against parents, who have the right to censor what their children see and have contact with. 2. GAMA for RPG Advocacy From: Jay A. Johnson ============================================================ As a former RPG retailer, I can tell you that some of the best resources for fighting this sort of prejudice are published by GAMA (the GAme Manufacturers Association). You can find some of them at the GAMA website (see link above). I believe they are now available in PDF as well as print form. * GAMA's Games in Education Program: http://www.gama.org/programs/gie * GAMA's Industry Watch- a direct contact to one of the most knowledgeable sources of game advocacy Mike Stackpole: http://www.gama.org/committees/industry_watch I have used both the "Dealing with Parents" and the "Games in Education" pieces and found them to be very effective. 3. Caution Is The Key Word From: Mike ============================================================ I've got some serious... (reservations is too strong a term) hesitations concerning the issue you raise in your editorial concerning the young guy whose parents won't let him roleplay. Specifically, we (the readers) don't know anywhere near enough about the situation to judge it. We don't know the reasons for the parent's refusal. While one possible reason is because of mis-information, there are a number of others: * The boy might be psychologically fragile. * Religious beliefs. * The prohibition might be in response to discipline problems. * The parents might simply disapprove of roleplaying without being misinformed as to the nature of the activity. For example, they may disapprove of the violence (however virtual) that is part and parcel of most games. The only advice I would happily recommend in this situation is to locate some articulate, educated, and employed role- player living somewhere near the wants-to-be-a-roleplayer. He can show the parents that the players are not harmed by the activity and can directly assess any concerns. Above all, remember that parents have the responsibility and the right to restrict their son's activities until he is legally adult, and to some extent these powers could even extend beyond that date if the son continues to live under their roof. 4. The Pulling Report From: Dan "Ducky" Howard ============================================================ I know how the player feels - my parents bought into the D&D is from the devil line too. I found a well written paper on the subject not too long ago that helped. It was written by Mike Stackpole, a well known author and a key writer for many storylines, most notably Battletech and Star Wars novels. He was commissioned to write a detailed defense of gaming against an organization known as BADD (Bothered about Dungeons and Dragons) That paper exposes the media lies and the statistical twisting done to make us all look like devil worshipers. The Pulling Report - Mike Stackpole's rebuttal of the whole anti-game nonsense from the 80's: http://www.rpgstudies.net/stackpole/pulling_report.html This report helped me, but even if it doesn't help this player, it's a very interesting piece of gamer history. 5. 5 Reasons Your Kids Should Play Dungeons and Dragons From: The Duelist ============================================================ Here is an article from PVP Online titled, "5 Reasons Your Kids Should Play Dungeons and Dragons." http://www.pvponline.com/rants_dd.php3 6. Point To Childrens Books From: Chris S. ============================================================ Hi there. You will probably get a lot of emails like this, but I wanted to make sure my viewpoint was heard. My family was exactly the same as you described. I was raised in a very strict religious home, with Sunday School from early memory until I moved out for college, and I attended devotions almost daily. In fact, I wasn't able to start playing until I went to college, but once I got to play it I was able to explain it to them. The real reason that parents are worried about this is because they don't understand the idea behind it. D&D and most other games have the players playing characters who are fighting the forces of evil. But with titles like Dungeons and Dragons or Vampire it is very easy to judge a book by its cover. The biggest problem for my family was magic. They had the idea that magic is 'from the devil' or just not right. I find that the most interesting way to talk to parents about that is to refer them to works like The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe, Lord of the Rings, or even Harry Potter, though he last one is a little more controversial. In all of these books there are instances of magic and all kinds of characters fighting evil. My parents were big fans of C.S. Lewis and my mother had read the books of Narnia and made me read them as well. I think the point is really just helping parents understand that roleplaying isn't intrinsically evil. Most people simply don't know what goes on in roleplaying games. Since there really is no screaming advocacy for it, they only hear the negative, and most of that is made up. 7. Read the Players Handbook From: Janis Maggs ============================================================ Perhaps the simplest way for the parents of that young reader to get over their misconceptions about D&D is for them to actually sit down and read the Player's Handbook. If they truly want to parent in an informed and not knee-jerk manner, they will at least give it a try. Perhaps the reader could borrow a copy of the PHB from a friend, or perhaps it is worth a $30 investment on the part of the parents to buy one. My mother never really liked me playing D&D when I was growing up. It would have meant a lot if she would have educated herself about it instead of relying on hearsay. 8. Read Uncle Figgy From: Joseph R. ============================================================ The absolute best site I have ever seen regarding the "truth" about D&D is Uncle Figgy's Guide to Roleplaying for Non-Roleplayers: A Manual for Parents, Friends and Gamers at: http://www.dragondogpress.com/unclefiggy/rp4nrp/ My parents had seen (I believe it was) a Dateline: NBC expose about D&D and were absolutely freaked out when I told them that my friend showed me this great new game. (Ed. note: see the article from AP regarding this report at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7857016/ ). Fortunately, my dad was level-headed enough to do a little research and take a look at the books before coming to a judgment, and he gave me the green-light to play. The mother of a fellow gamer still doesn't like his playing because she believes the game is related to satanic practices (though he's now 20, so he's allowed to do his own thing), but she took him to his church leader when he first got into the game. The pastor sat down with all three core books for a week, studied them, and was actually able to tell my friend's mom that the game, as presented in the literature, did not appear to be detrimental to the Christian lifestyle in its own right (her main concern). The article explains the game beautifully. The thing that helped me most in convincing my mother was being completely open. I offered her the books to read and even suggested that my friends come to my house to play a game that she could sit in on. After about 30 minutes of watching she got bored and decided that we weren't doing anything harmful. Another good source for information is the owners of gaming stores that specialize in RPGs and wargaming. Parents just worry their children are going to get hurt and, just like everyone else, the less they know the worse the things they imagine. Accurate information is often the best cure against paranoia and fear of the unknown. 9. Wizards Of The Coast Provides Links From: Howard Coons ============================================================ Here are links from Wizard's own website that might come in handy (although, depending on what the kid's parents think; perhaps Vin Diesel isn't exactly a role model). * Fantasy: The Thirty Years War http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6471868/site/newsweek * How 'Dungeons' changed the world http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/11/15/dungeons_and_dragons_we_love_you/ * D&D lives on, after all these years. http://www.nationalreview.com/miller/miller200410151029.asp * D&D History series part II: http://pc.gamespy.com/articles/539/539197p1.html (pg. 3 is especially interesting) 10. Parental Misconceptions From: Breanna Nichole ============================================================ * Emphasize the Tolkien connection. Beliefs that fantasy is evil often stem from the supernatural stuff that fantasy includes, spells most particularly. Certain people have made a crusade of convincing parents fantasy leads children to Satanism and the occult, which in turn will destroy their children's souls. However, D&D in particular and fantasy in general owe a great deal to JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis, who both used the fantasy medium to communicate moral, and indeed specifically Christian, values and lessons. * Related to the above, people who hold these beliefs are typically politically conservative, so they are likely to appreciate this analogy: Fantasy doesn't lead people to Satan, Satan leads people to Satan! As in, guns don't kill people, people kill people. It's not the medium that is at fault, it's what people do with it. Just as weapons can be used for good or evil purposes, so can virtually everything else in the world. So the stories you hear from people like Jack Chick are not relevant. * An excellent resource: The Christian Gamer's Guild. (Ed. See link in Christian Gamers Responses). This series of articles explores various theological aspects of gaming, coming to the conclusion that, if done properly, gaming can be quite a pious activity and, like Tolkien and Lewis, lead to promotion of Christian values. Most gaming, unlike most of the rest of the culture, emphasizes a battle between good and evil, rather than the "shades of grey" relativism that is so prominent in music, television, and movies. * If parents are still nervous about the fantasy aspect of gaming, try a non-fantasy RPG. Options have increased dramatically since the first big D&D controversies. Try the Star Wars RPG, D20 Modern, D20 Future, a superhero type game (Heroes Unlimited is one). Check out 3rd party publishers and other genres. Things like superheroes and Star Wars have a great deal of popular acceptance, so parents may be more comfortable with them - the parents were likely fans when they were younger. * Compare gaming to other leisure activities. Gaming is active, social, creative, an intellectual challenge, and can be a forum for moral development. Television is passive, solitary, provides no opportunity for creative or intellectual contribution, and is often saturated with violent, sexual, and morally relativistic images and lessons. Would you rather have your child suddenly develop a burning curiosity about medieval armors, or sit in his room singing along with the latest rap lyrics? If your kid is gaming with a group of friends in the basement of your house, he's not out partying and experimenting with who knows what substance. Gaming is the pinnacle of "good clean fun" for those with the intellectual capacity to enjoy it. 11. Roleplaying Has Benefits From: Kasper van den Berg ============================================================ * It is important to listen to the parents and find out their concerns about roleplaying. When you know their objections, it is easier to provide information countering them. * Roleplaying (and especially being a game master) is closely related to creative writing. You can find many articles about this on websites about roleplaying, including roleplayingtips.com. Most people have a positive attitude towards creative writing. (Even when you do not aspire to become a professional writer, creative writing is a good skill to have.) * Search for information about how teachers use roleplaying games and what benefits they have found. * Roleplaying teaches you to cooperate with other people. * Roleplaying, especially being a game master, teaches you to notice and respond to other people's emotions and attitude. * You probably know about Google's directory about roleplaying in society: http://www.google.com/Top/Games/Roleplaying/Roleplaying_in_Society/ This contains some advocacy articles and some opposing articles. * The parents can become more familiar with roleplaying by playing it with their son or by game mastering the game. * Many roleplayers I know are computer scientists and none of them is a Satanist (including the roleplayers who are not computer scientists). 12. D&D Is "Evil" From: Zelly ============================================================ I don't know if you, or your young reader have seen the article about this on Planet ADnD, but here's a link: http://www.planetadnd.com/dndsatan.php I went through this a bit in my youth, and I know it can be a very difficult situation. The best advice I can think of would be for this person to collect as much information as they can and sit and talk with their parents. If they can avoid argument and listen to each other's sides without passing immediate judgment, then perhaps they can come to an understanding. A lot of parents just worry about their children, and if they hear that something is bad and could harm their child, the quickest solution seems to be to forbid it. I've learned from experience that it's better to research some of these things a bit more deeply. Do you know if their parents read or go to movies? I have family that is against D&D, but loved The Lord of the Rings movies. If they could get their parents to understand that D&D is just a creative form of expression similar to those books and films, maybe there would be a better chance of them coming to some sort of understanding. 13. A Parent's Point of View From: Christopher ============================================================ Speaking from a parent's point of view, you'll be hard pressed to convince any adult otherwise who already has their mind made up that D&D, or roleplaying games in general, are evil and who isn't open to hearing opposing arguments. However, if a parent is open to hearing arguments to the contrary, often the best measure is a direct and open line of communication with others in the same position. Being a parent myself, I would be hesitant, if not completely skeptical, to hear arguments from some other teen on the merits of any particular game. However, hearing the same arguments, intelligently and coherently displayed from another parent, would have much more weight and may convince me to re-evaluate my views. Granted, in this day and age, it's very easy to have ones friends pose as concerned parents, thus invalidating any points made by an e-mail, but that addresses a whole other issue of trust and communication between the player and parent. 14. Parents - Join Kids-RPG and Chat with Parents of Gaming Kids From: Johnn Four ============================================================ If you're a parent and are curious about RPGs, check out the kids-rpg Yahoo! Group where real parents discuss why and how to game with kids. Several games are chatted about, including Dungeons & Dragons. The people on the list are kind and generous and always willing to help. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kids-rpg/ 15. Consider The Hasbro Factor From: Colin Walmsley ============================================================ Parents worried about D&D being appropriate for kids might consider that Hasbro owns D&D and publishes all the official Dungeons & Dragons books. Hasbro is known around the world as a children's game and entertainment company, and they have an international reputation to maintain. If D&D were "evil," rest assured that Hasbro would have nothing to do with it, nor would the corporation's legion of voting shareholders! 16. Article Of Note: Die-Cast Ignorance From: Johnn Four ============================================================ Here's an interesting article about RPGs: "Die-Cast Ignorance - Having Fun Never Hurt Anyone" by Isaac Calon: http://www.roleplayingtips.com/articles/die-cast-ignorance.php 17. A Request For RPG Advocacy Resources From: G.D. ============================================================ All kinds of people have criticized role-playing games and gamers on all kinds of grounds, including (alleged) sheer dorkishness, and encouragement of real-life violence, traffic with evil spirits (occultism and witchcraft, if not outright Satanism), and other irresponsibilities, to the extent of publishing condemnations, and (at one point) forming associations like Bothered About Dungeons & Dragons (B.A.D.D.) To refute them, see: * Ubyssey Magazine's article, "Dungeons, dragons and...dorks? A look at what lies beneath the stigma": http://www.ubyssey.bc.ca/20040924/article.shtml?%3C!--2--%3Efeature/untitled.html * Some gamers have replied with mockery (well, admittedly sometimes this has been pretty easy: see Jack Chick's Dark Dungeons: http://www.humpin.org/mst3kdd/ ) * Others have responded to these concerns in informed and considerate fashion, and a comprehensive collection of "apologetics" on the subject (particularly from a Christian perspective; but much discussion of the ethical aspects of RPGs, both in-game and out-of-game, would be of interest to non-Christians too) may be found at the Christian Gamer's Guild (Ed. see link below in Christian Gamers Response) and the references therein, such as "Confessions of a Dungeons & Dragons Addict.". * Another good article: "The Great Roleplaying Myths" http://www.tabularasa.info/Roleplaying/RoleplayingMyths.html 18. Respect Each Other From: Dave Lowry ============================================================ When I was younger, my parents were very cautious about AD&D (2nd ed. back then!) and I've got some thoughts I'd like to share, perhaps for the benefit of both parties. I've been roleplaying for almost 15 years now. As you know, roleplaying does occasionally get bad press, from the story of a serial killer in the UK who murdered a mother and child because a PBM game told him he had to before he could advance to the next level. (Ed. Note: extensive searching of the internet did not turn up any links to this event) I forget the details, but it was an event that sent shockwaves through the country. Parents, perhaps justifiably, knee-jerked a reaction and labeled anything roleplaying as evil. It's understandable in that regard. However, kids playing 'Doctors & Nurses' is roleplaying. Playing 'Cops & Robbers' or 'Cowboys & Indians' is roleplaying too. Even some business training courses recommend 'playing a role' to experience a customer's point of view for service matters. I think some parents may misunderstand the greater aspect of it. What I would recommend to the young reader is, if he feels brave enough, ask one of his parents to sit in or listen to a game in progress. The key is twofold: the parents to agree to be open minded about what they see and hear, and the child to respect their parents' wishes after they've made their decision. Quite often, seeing it in motion is probably a big relief to parents, as they can understand for themselves what's going on. If the game is usually at a friend's house, see if a special one-off session can be held at his house. Parents can make some food and have videos/DVDs on standby. 19. Communication Is The Key From: Glen McNamara ============================================================ I have a couple of stories that come with tips for your young gamer whose parents are concerned about D&D. When I very first started gaming, we had a pretty big group of enthusiastic kids, all of whom were excited about starting to play D&D. We talked about it all the time, and I developed a detailed campaign, and we finally came to the day where we were to have our first session. One person didn't show up. We called his house, and he said that he wasn't allowed to play because his parents were worried we might be starting a cult. So, we had our first session without him and had a blast, but since he was my brother's best friend, we really wanted him to come play next time. As the DM (and the eldest), the responsibility fell to me. The solution turned out to be surprisingly simple. I went and talked to his parents. I listened to their concerns, and at the end, responded to them. Basically, all I had to do was explain that it's really just a combination of collective story-telling and Risk, that we weren't going out into the woods with bows to shoot at each other, and that as a twelve year old I wasn't ready to start a cult yet. They were very nice about it, despite their concern, and I was nice back, and in the end they trusted me enough to let the kid come play with us. Problem solved. The only other instance where I've heard of parents not wanting a child to play was a girlfriend's dad not wanting her little brother to do it because of religious concerns. I heard this, felt I should intervene, and simply mentioned to him that I had played in and run games for almost ten years. He was interested and he trusted me, so I answered a couple of simple questions and that was that. Finally, I noticed that once the local gaming shop started displaying D&D stuff in the front window (this was years ago), it became more widely accepted around here. Even the people who thought all D&D players had to be total weirdoes played a few games. There's safety in numbers. So, in summary: * Solution 1: Get someone from the gaming group (usually the DM) to talk to the kid's parents. Listen to their concerns, and answer any questions honestly. * Solution 2: Get someone older who's been playing for a while and has some credibility to answer questions for the parents. One of the local librarians here is an avid gamer, and he's someone that any parent would trust. * Solution 3: Let the kid himself point out that there is a huge and diverse community of gamers. There are even some famous people playing: http://www.enworld.org/printthread.php?t=9632 RPGs are often depicted in popular culture as harmless (and really fun) games. 20. Christian Gamers Responses ============================================================ Ed Note: We received so many responses relating to religion and roleplaying, we put all the response together as follows: A. Christian Gamers Guild from Jon Thompson * The Christian Gamers Guild, in their own words, "seek to reclaim the imagination to be conformed to the image of Christ through the use of gaming as a creative art form. You can find the Index of Articles here: http://www.geocities.com/christian_gamers_guild/chaplain/index.html * Some of their best articles: o Christians Playing D&D: http://www.fansforchrist.org/phpBB2/articles/article03.htm (make sure you click on the links to the next section at the bottom of the page) o Confessions of a D&D Addict: http://www.mjyoung.net/dungeon/confess.html * Magic in RPGs: http://claymore.50megs.com/gamemagic.html * And there are lots more on the index page. Most of them are roleplaying based with the occasional Harry Potter or Pokemon reference thrown in for flavor. * And I can't resist posting a link to this. Every gamer who thinks that Christians are narrow minded should read this. It does a good job to point out that people are people, and people make decisions based on ignorance and assumptions - be they gamers, Christians or neither. http://www.mysticages.com/christiangamer.html B. A Christian Gamer's Perspective. From Lorele * For a Christian gamer, here is a good resource: http://www.compineduc.com/ryan/faith.html I found it quite an interesting site, as the "Why Play?" link matches up to his Faith Cheat Sheet. C. 5 Tips for Explaining Roleplay from the Christian point of view. From John Gallagher Sigh. I've been gaming for 25 years, and I can't believe we're still dealing with this issue. I went to Christian schools all my life, including college, where several of my friends were pre-seminary students. I have been gaming since I was about 16 or so. And all along the way, I've had to debate people who had the perception that gaming, DnD in particular, was evil. Indeed, most of these people have ONLY ever heard of DnD. 1) I've debated this issue with theology professors, students, misinformed parents, and family. The single constant throughout was this: not one had *ever* seen an RPG played or even looked at the rules, beyond the book covers. So the first thing I always do is invite them to come to a game and watch it. 2) Most of them, as I said, can only point to one game, DnD, which as we know, has demons, devils, magic, pagan priests, etc., as part of the game. Somehow, these inclusions became twisted to the common belief that we actually cast spells, call on demons, etc. So, the second thing I do is point out that early Christians were often perceived as evil, and their worship was considered to contain unsavory and horrific acts. Had anyone bothered to attend a service to check it out, they could have discovered the truth. 3) The next thing I do is ask them if they ever played Cowboys and Indians as a child, or cops and robbers, or any of the hundreds of variants of "let's pretend" that we all played as kids. If so, then they've played role playing games themselves. Because RPGs are nothing more than codified versions of Let's Pretend, with dice, maps, and other props to fill in the blanks of our imaginations. 4) Then, I point out that there are other RPGs out there. Boot Hill, Star Wars, Star Trek, Paranoia, Champions, and my favorite myth buster, Pandemonium. None of these games deal with those issues that parents fear. And how can anyone take Pandemonium as anything but pure farce? It's a game about reporters chasing Bigfoot, alien abduction and Elvis sighting stories for a tabloid. 5) My last argument is what I call the Monopoly test. Any game is a competition, at least any game non-RPG'ers are familiar with. In chess, the idea is to defeat an opposing army by destroying its soldiers and capturing its king. In Monopoly, the idea is to drive everyone else bankrupt, etc.. Are ANY of these games displaying a healthy morality? No. So let's ban them too. It's about at this point that the non- gamer starts to get fidgety, and sometimes defensive. "Those games are different", they say. And I ask "How are they different?" And they usually have no answer but to fall all the way back to point one: demons and devils. So I again invite them to a game. But this time, it's more of a challenge. D. Meet a Model Roleplayer From: Greg Schwall I saw your article on the young gamer whose parents have problems with RPGs. The parents are likely most concerned about the types of people their son would run into, since everyone knows D&D is only played by druggies, psychos, and Satanists. :) Probably the most reassuring thing for them would be to meet a clean-cut and well adjusted roleplayer to answer their questions face to face. If they happen to be near Richmond, VA, I would gladly volunteer. Their heads might spin when they meet a roleplayer who likes classical music and was vice president of the Baptist Student Union. I love your newsletter. Thanks for all the effort you put forth. E. Look to Tolkien and C.S. Lewis From: Alex Taylor I noticed your request for RPG advocacy resources in the latest Roleplaying Tips newsletter, and immediately started trying to think of whatever helpful tidbits I could offer. I never really had to deal personally with parental mistrust of roleplaying and fantasy, but I've known others who have. So I sympathize. Although you didn't explicitly mention religion as a factor in the attitude of your young reader's parents, I think it's fairly safe to say that it often is, so my advice will all be made with that assumption in mind. I'm a born-again Christian myself, as well as a great lover of all things mythopoeic, legendary, and folkloric (and, as one might expect, of roleplaying and the fantasy genre in general). I will say - most emphatically - that the two are *not* mutually exclusive. In fact, since I feel so very passionately about my faith *and* my fantasy, this issue is extremely dear to my heart. Get ready for a soap-box rant.:- ) I have a couple of things to say which might prove useful, but I'll start with these links: 1) Religion and Roleplaying: http://www.aquela.com/roleplaying/r&r/ written by James Wyatt, a game-designer and former pastor. From what I remember, some of his other writings are actually a bit liberal for my own personal taste, but what he has to say on that page is quite good. He offers a link to this book, which I highly recommend. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0940895315/104-1223872-9599969\?n=283155> 2) Better still is this next link: http://www.trhickman.com/essay.html It's an essay by Tracy Hickman (Yes, /that/ Tracy Hickman), who is (as you may or may not know), a Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). It's very in-depth, and covers a lot of ground while remaining interesting to read. I would *highly* recommend your young reader's parents read the essay in its entirety. I really can't stress that enough - Mr. Hickman says everything that needs to be said, and he says it well. 3) Anyone struggling with the issue of the fantastic as it relates to their faith could do no better than to look to the works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and George MacDonald. The works of these literary titans continues to inspire countless legions of imitators in the fantasy genre. All three writers worked in different ways, but with the same purpose in mind. They did *not*, as so many now erroneously and pretentiously assume, strive to create allegorical embodiments of Christian doctrines. What they did do was to *tell stories*, and they did a darned good job of it. The Christian themes that may be found in their works are simply a natural outgrowth of their personal beliefs. In other words, they didn't set to create Christian Fantasy, but their stories had elements of Christianity woven into their fabric at a very deep level because it was, impossible for them to do otherwise. George Lucas has described himself as a Buddhist Methodist. He was raised in a conservative Methodist home and assimilated bits and pieces of Buddhist philosophy later in life. Naturally, the Star Wars films - and the rest of Lucas' body of work -reflect that unique worldview. He's not setting out to create "Buddhist Methodist" cinema. It just happens because that's who he is. Tolkien's seminal essay On Fairy Stories is readily available in a number of published sources, and I could recommend no better single source of information to anyone asking the question "What good is fantasy?" It really is definitive. George MacDonald's much shorter essay, "The Fantastic Imagination" is also well worth reading - it's included in the Penguin Classics edition of his Complete Fairy Tales: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140437371/ As for Lewis, most of his relevant works written in the defense and explanation of fantasy and his own very particular brand of fiction writing may be found in the anthology C.S. Lewis On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature. Particularly good are the titular On Stories, and the much shorter Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What's To Be Said. In closing, I might add the final argument that roleplaying and the fantasy genre as a whole do not create degenerate social misfits; they simply attract them. On the other side of the coin, they also attract a good many clean-cut, mentally stable, morally upstanding people who simply enjoy using their God-given sense of imagination - a pursuit for which roleplaying is tailor-made. F. Christian article. From: Charles This is an article written by a D&D player who happens to be a Christian. Perhaps it would help with the young man whose parents won't let him play. http://www.mjyoung.net/dungeon/confess.html 21. A Site Devoted To RPG Advocacy From: Leslie Holm ============================================================ Created by William Walton over 10 years ago, The Escapist is, in his own words, "a web page devoted to the betterment of role-playing games and the education of the public and media of their benefits to society." In it you will find links to advocacy articles, descriptions of what roleplaying is - and isn't, articles debunking the mythos of 'evil' in roleplaying, and forums for discussion. Visit it at: http://www.theescapist.com/ 22. Defending DnD From: Galen Ciscell ============================================================ There's a great article at: http://www.ntskeptics.org/1995/1995may/may1995.htm 23. Roleplaying as a Teaching Tool From: Nicholas Bannister ============================================================ I am an English Teacher in Russia, and roleplaying is my primary tool to teach my students to practice and use their skills in speaking. For over 6 years I have been researching and formulating systems and 'Concepts of the Roleplay Environment' as a training and teaching tool for modern Human Resources and business management. This technique is growing and gaining popularity within business environments. Training CEOs to 'think outside the box' is important to their companies and has a relatively unknown solution to the problem. There are of course, weekend retreats, training seminars, and sessions that brush the surface of CEO and staff training, yet in-depth mental training is still an untouched sphere. If parents of a roleplaying gamer wish to ban such Activities, they should first read some articles by psychologists and teachers who explain in detail how beneficial roleplay is. Some even cite increased mental aptitude within scholastic environments, though if, like any activity, it interferes or takes over the majority of the participant's life, then like drugs, alcohol and gambling, an 'evil' perception can be seen by outside watchers. Sorry that I cannot reference my materials, as all my notes and references are back in Australia, where I am not. Be not dismayed, but do a web search on Roleplay+Psychology+Teaching and you will come across many citable instances. (Note from Ed.: Out of curiosity, I did run a dogpile search on the above, and came up with 73 links, but they were to the form of roleplay that teaches you behavioral patterns in the business world. Changing your search to roleplaying games+psychology+teaching nets you 25 links such as: * An article on Gaming and Education at: http://www.rpg.net/sites/edu/3-1.html * A reference to some psychological studies that have been done on the effects of role-playing at: http://www.darkshire.net/~jhkim/rpg/whatis/psychology.html Note - not all of the articles listed here advocate roleplaying. * An essay entitled 'Playing Being Human' at: http://www.sendcoffee.com/dog-o-matic/dogboard/barks/92.html 24. Educational Brochures From: David Millians ============================================================ Good afternoon, Johnn. I always enjoy Roleplaying Tips Weekly, and I thought I should write to you in response to your request in the latest issue. Probably people have already written to you about CAR-PGa and The Game Advocate (http://www.theescapist.com/). Bill has put my GAMA games and education brochures online: http://www.gama.org/programs/gie * Games In Education, Pamphlet 1 - Introduction, Nuts & Bolts (pdf) http://www.gama.org/uploads/nS/XX/nSXX7lbqv9r-V1glq3UvQg/GinEBrochure1.pdf * Games In Education, Pamphlet 2 - Language Arts & Literature (pdf) http://www.gama.org/uploads/6G/uc/6GucakYBGXEzuTJ0krOLoA/GinEBrochure2.pdf * Games In Education, Pamphlet 3 - History & Social Studies (pdf) http://www.gama.org/uploads/7o/QK/7oQK4Kpo-3orVG2vivTWuA/GinEBrochure3.pdf * Games In Education, Pamphlet 4 - Math (pdf) http://www.gama.org/uploads/Nl/Xm/NlXm4un99OfTqFG-C_BFrw/GinEBrochure4.pdf 25. Research Papers On Roleplaying From: Auke ============================================================ Johnn, Unfortunately I don't have Internet links to the papers below. The citations (to the paper version) are: Carroll, J. & Carolin, P. (1989) Relationship Between Game Playing and Personality. Psychological Reports, volume 64, pp.705-706. Carter, R. & Lester, D. (1998) Personalities of Players of Dungeons and Dragons. Psychological Reports, volume 82, p.182. Dayan, D. (1986) Book Review: "Shared Fantasy: Role-Playing Games As Social Worlds" American Journal of Sociology, 91(5), 1219-1228. Derenard, La & Kline, Lm (1990) Alienation and the game Dungeons and Dragons, Psychological Reports, volume 66, pp.1219-1222. Lancaster, K. (n.d.) Do Role-Playing Games Promote Crime, Satanism and Suicide Among Players As Critics Claim? Journal of Popular Culture, volume x , 67-79. Rosenthal, G., Soper, B., Folse, E. & Whipple, G. (1998) Role-Play Gamers and National Guardsmen Compared. Psychological Reports, volume 82, 169-170. Simon, A. (1987) Emotional Stability Pertaining to the Game of Dungeons and Dragons. Psychology in the Schools, volume 24, pp. 329-332. The journals "Psy Rep", "Am J Soc" and "Psy in the Schools" are main-stream publications that should be available at any university. The "Journal of Popular Culture" is a bit more obscure, at least here in South Africa, presumably because it deals mostly with American popular culture. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ End of Supplemental #21 Have more fun at every game! johnn@roleplayingtips.com @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@