Hmm,
As an active Christian I can understand why certain highly conservative or
"fundamentalist" folk might be unhappy at some elements of the D&D system.
I play a local variation of D&D on occasion and most of the time it does not
trouble my concience at all. On the other hand if the GM takes the setting
near the real world I start getting unhappy.
Many of the D&D clerical spells are game simulations of things which I
believe can and do happen in the real world, but they don't happen according
to anything like the way D&D game mechanics might imply.
I am unhappy when asked to play in any RPG which uses a Christian frame of
reference but places Divine powers in the hands of the players' characters.
I much prefer to have an obviously fictional polytheistic frame of
reference.
Were I the minister in question I suspect I too would be obliged to forbid
my child to play D&D, both because too many folk get the wrong idea about
RPGs and will not listen to reason on the subject, and because, if
uncontrolled, D&D can so easilly move into frames of reference which are
very dubious theologically speaking.
RuneQuest set in a Glorantha without the monotheist cult would be fine,
likewise Traveller. The first obviously has no relevance with the real
world, the second is ScFi and has no significant theological bias.
Rgds,
Michael.
-----Original Message-----
From: genericjoe@vnet.net
To: gmast@phoenyx.net
Date: 11 June 2001 18:31
Subject: Re: GM: Gaming in the dark
>*LAUGH*
>
>It was the youth co-ordinator at the local Southern Baptist chuch that
>introduced us to gaming, once or twice at the church proper.
>Interestingly, within a year, the minister forbade his son to play D&D with
>us, but he could still play Traveller. He didn't say anything about his
>son playing Ultima, however.
>
>GenericJoe
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