Close Topic Options

Role-playing Games

Role Playing Games involve people coming together and using an imaginary world created by a GM or game master / DM or Dungeon Master based on a set scenario, they invent a character, and then portray an equally imaginary role within the story the GM/DM tells. There is nothing magical or mystical about it. It is sort of like reading a good fantasy book, but you get to decide what you want the main characters to do rather than wait for the book to tell you.

Then it happened. In the course of the game, I made a wrong move. One of the players asked me the question all gamers dread: "How much vitality does your character have left?" "Not enough," I replied, trying to keep my composure.

"The monster snaps his neck with one strike," my fellow gamer replied. "You're dead."

The game continued without me. For the rest of the evening, I displayed the façade most gamers do when a beloved character dies-I acted as though losing "Darathorn" meant nothing. But driving home alone later that night, I sobbed so hard I barely could see the road.

Ref. https://www.christianitytoday.com/tcw/2001/006/1.37.html

What does your religion say about it? Some say it is of the devil.

Games Role-playing

From a personal perspective playing RPGs has developed my ability to be both imaginative and a good planner. It has also helped me to gain a better perspective of what battles and missions might have been like during the Old Testament times, etc. However, like everything else, there will be some who get carried away. I believe that the dark forces can use anything to bring you down, even if it is just a game, and many lost teens and even some adults get caught up in the game to the point they think they are the character. Interestingly enough many use RPGs as a means to get their inner expressions out, if so, you may be very afraid at how some carry out the daily tasks of their character. With regards to a religious stand point I think it is once again important to understand that it is only a game and do not make it out to be anymore than that. However I am sure that others will say that it deals with dark things and has an aura of darkness associated with it.

Role-playing Games Beliefs Religious General

Some people just have too little time on their hands, in my opinion. As long as participating in an RPG is not causing a person to stumble in his/her faith, I don't see a problem with it. It's a hobby to escape the pressures and stresses of life and to have fun. Being a part of text based RPG's has helped my writing to be continually pushed into a whole different level, and it's also helped me make teaching children much more interesting.

A lot of very conservative Christians, particularly Southern Baptists, are against fantasy type movies, books, RPG's, etc. What frustrates me is that most of them pick and choose what is and is not all right. For instance, they are fine with watching the Little Mermaid, which has a witch in it, but if you play a Harry Potter game, you're going to Hades.

Now, I can understand some concern is a child or even an adult is losing the concept between what is real and what is fake. If we lose ourselves in something as eternally meaningless as an RPG, then we are allowing something else to become the object of our worship. But participating in an RPG as a hobby that doesn't become the eye of worship, I don't find anything wrong with it. I attend a very INCREDIBLY Southern Baptist church, and most of them, particularly the older ones, are against anything that is not wholly realistic. I don't see the point in that.

Games Role-playing

I see nothing wrong with role playing games, but I know that pleny of conservatively religious people do. I don't think it is so much because it is imaginary role playing as it is the topics that are usually covered. Probably, it wouldn't be a problem to play a role game that don't have such characters as wizards, witches, warlords, sorcerers, etc. I think it is the magic and evil spirit side of the many role playing games that are the problem for them.

I am not sure how I feel about it personally. On the one hand, it is simply make believe, but on the other hand, you are kind of glorifying such things.

Games Role-playing

As a Christian I personally find absolutely nothing wrong with RPG's even though there are many that are against them. I also agree that many of the problems people have are the contexts in which the games are set. I look at things a little bit backwards from where many people do. As far as a religious point of view of any particular RPG setting, since many games are based on a mid-evil times, or D&D era, how many of these same games also have characters such as a priest, cleric. On more of the historical look on the era how much literature on the earlier years of nights, dragons, ect. did their lives revolve around the church? Many actually the Catholic church, but a church regardless.

Role-playing Games

First off, I am relived to find so many postings expressing openness with gaming. I grew up with D&D and the time of the religious backlash. Demons and Devils became Tan'ari and Batezu in the next gaming release because the religious intolerants made a stink about a few (who could not distinguish reality from gaming) would become the many.


Well, that didn't happen, and the names Demon and Devil were reintroduced in that game years back.


I've played for 28 and a third years, and still don't practice the dark arts. Nor do thousands and thousands of devotees of the game.

The problem with certain fundamentalists, is (most of the time) they narrowly and literately look at one aspect, yet hypocritically ignore any proof to the contrary of their dogma.


The example of ignoring the stoning for adultry, yet bringing up sexual preferences beyond heterosexual as intolerable as it is stated literally in the bible still makes me think there are better ways of expressing readings of the bible. Why people cannot remember to hate the sin yet love the sinner puzzles me. "Turn the other cheek" has fallen upon their deaf ears. We'll skip the details of lynching, thank you.


But I just wanted to make an example, not condemn anybody's personal decisions.


My decision is to accept what you do in life as fair as long as nobody else is harmed by it.

So hating people (while narrow-minded) would be somebody's choice we must accept as their choice. You may try to change somebody's mind, but understand it's still their mind. What's right to you is not right to everything in existence, no matter how certain you are.


But lynching people who are an abomination is never acceptable to me.

My understanding is if god judges all who do wrong, then you'd better not commit sins against god to stop "witnessed" sins against god's name!


This position for me makes it hard to accept things like the death penalty or bombing abortion clinics, yet I can still empathize the stopping of heinous acts, but cannot condone committing them to stop them.

But that's my take on existence, not necessarily yours.


So let me live, learn, error, sin, and be forgiven.

And let me game. Escape for me to play how somebody would be. Yes, even commit heinous acts while in fantasy if I want to try that type of character.

And I can look in the mirror knowing I'm not holding these things in my heart for real, and know my playing a role is better than some person who isn't playing.


So god or goddess bless, or Allah, or Jesus, Mary or another aspect of the way, or the solstice and equinox be celebrated, or believe in you and not a higher power.
Or something I missed.
Just be happy and let other gamers be happy too.

We'll sort it out somehow when we die (even if you just cease,) so let us live to game.


Phew, haven't gotten that bullypulpit since I met some fundamental in eastern Washington in the early nineties (cough cough malitia? cough cough.)


Nice to be around the fellow faith-gamers.
Bless your hearts
(from as Jew-Christian-Bhuddist-Extensitential)