why do some people say that games like Dungeons and dragons...?

Question

are evil? How are they evil?

Answer 1

There was a big christian push in the early 1980's to say that D&D is evil. Their reasoning was because it's a role playing game (that is, you design a character and then make decisions based on how your character would act, as if a character in a novel) and by roleplaying, you inevitably become the thing you are playing. The "proof" they gave of this is an urban legend about how some sailors in the navy played the game one night, were possessed by the devil, and killed themselves by throwing their bodies overboard...a legend more notorious by an interview Oprah Winfrey did on her show back in 80's, when it was very trashy. There is some truth to the story...a sailor did commit suicide after playing D&D in the navy around that time...but they neglect to mention he was stoned and on LSD at the time he saw the things and fled into the water.

I don't personally believe the game is evil. If you're a sane, stable person (ie, don't have a personality disassociative disorder, such as schizophrenia) role playing games are a fun and creative diversion that can be enjoyed in large and small groups. The games roleplaying can be as little as making the character and saying what you think they'd do to being as advanced as dressing up and acting out their actions at Live-action roleplay events. It's fun, but it's not singing to Jesus, so it's not something a lot of christians could consider a virtuous use of time.

Answer 2

You can do some research. If you use the search function and plug in D&D and Evil you'll see that this question gets asked once a month for some reason. I've already answered it 6 times.
But one more won't hurt.

Why would people think D&D is evil? Because....
a "perfect" character stat is an 18 (6+6+6, number of the beast)
it has demons, devils, and necromancy
it has poison, assassins, and murder
it has violence and the occult
you can play an evil character
your fictional cleric can perform the miracles of Jesus Christ- curing disease, curing the blind, creating food, resurrecting the dead
check out supplements like the Book of Vile Darkness, the Book of Erotic Fantasy, and a lot of stuff from White Wolf games.
Gee, why could people get the impression that its evil?

But, that's all surface. The people who think its evil have never played the game, or never listened when it was explained to them. People can play evil monsters or assassins, but that doesn't make them evil monsters and assassins. Most people play good heroes and use the same moral judgements that they do in real life. Weak people will always be lead by weakness, most people don't. The few who do get all depressed or suicidal when their fictional character dies...would get depressed or suicidal losing a chess match or a football game. Some people want to confuse cause with effect, and the media LOVES to do this, especially when its ratings sweeps month, and they need something lurid and sensationalistic to draw viewers. Few people understand D&D, so there's your convenient target. Got it?

The real evil of D&D is how much of your time it can suck away, time where you could be doing something productive or important. Also, money. It can eat up a lot of money. But then, so can everything.
99% of people play D&D and never turn evil.
1% were evil before they ever got near D&D.
Who's the media going to focus on? Now you got it.

Answer 3

I am a Christian and I also play D&D. D&D has a bad reputation because of the moral panic it caused several years ago. Currently, there is less worry and publicity about how "evil" it is, as the trend has moved to more recent media like Harry Potter.

I think people must keep in mind that inanimate things can not be "good" or "evil". If you are playing a game and your character does something evil, does that mean you will do the same thing? For some, the answer is yes, and it is best they not play. For others, the answer is absolutely not, and so it may be permissible for them.

If you are concerned about the possibility of D&D leading to evil behavior, it is best to only get involved with groups like the RPGA where evil behavior by characters is actively discouraged and punished in the context of the game.

Answer 4

Some players have issues distinguishing between reality and games. When a game is released that is a little too close to the edge some fool will harm someone and be acting out their fantasy from within a game. This has happened to a lot of shoot em up and fantasy games and even the WWF.

Answer 5

They've been saying this since the early 70's, for reasons including but limited to the following:

occult or fantasy themes, characters
intelligent kids interested (a lot of geeks interested in the same thing scares the crap out of a lot of people)
addictive aspect, inability of some kids to disengage
plain ignorance

Answer 6

This has been an issue on and off for 30 years....

The reasons given are usually based around the promotion of magic, inclusion of demons in story-lines, inclusions of pantheons that are not mono-theistic, etc.

The games are not evil, the majority of people who play them are not evil.
Usually it is promoted by people that are weak themselves in their beliefs are are afraid of the smallest thing that is outside of the world they wish to make.

Answer 7

Well some people become obsessive with things like that, and that can be indicative of certain problems that they are causing/suffering from. The game itself is not the problem, it's the way some people don't draw the line between what's real and what's not.

Answer 8

They never played them, and ooh it sounds mysterious, that's why.
Those games might be silly or a waste of time, but I don't see how they could be considered evil.

Answer 9

Pure propoganda. Games like that are created using your imagination, that's it. Saying they're evil is like saying writing fiction or screenplays is evil.

Answer 10

who said that? lol. sorry.

maybe because it has fictional magic and stuff in it. so it was probably the same people that said harry potter is evil. i just ignore them.