Other A Message to D&D Haters:

[Spoodermanultra]

Before I begin, I must say: I know that people that think this game is evil probably won't see this, considering that this is a ROLEPLAYING site, but I need to express my opinion somewhere.


I've been playing RPGs and D&D for a long time, ever since I was 10. My dad and I were big nerds, for sci-fi, fantasy, and the like. We still are. My dad... was not the best dad at first. he divorced my mom when I was very young, and I still hated him deep down. until he noticed I LOVED roleplaying games. as it turned out, he had a old game called Dungeons & Dragons in the basement, and he loved it very much. His mom was hate-filled about this game, and I didn't know why until I was 16. People thought it was a cult, and they still do. We, however, bonded over the game, laughing and laughing over the hilarious stories we created. my problem with my dad was finally solved. I showed it to my friends, and they liked it too. while some people could use this to argue about the whole 'cult' thing, we actually gained more friends from this. every now and then, during hang-outs, my dad would bring up D&D from the basement and exclaim, "Who wants to play some old-fashioned D&D?" every time a new friend came over, they stuck as long as my dad played it with us. we ALL could not get enough of it. sure, we got bullied for being big nerds, but we didn't care. To me, nerd was a compliment. But we're here to talk about the HATERS, aren't we? Here are some CRAZY reasons my grandma hated me just for playing a harmless game:


she thought it was a Cult.


She also hated my friends and thought I was in 'the wrong crowd'.


She thought it taught you how to cast magic.


She thought it contained... sexual stuff.


She thought it made you a indoor-dwelling, fat, greasy, walking cliché.


and finally, She thought all characters had to be DEMONS.


All of those were false, needless to say. she was crazy.


If you're a D&D hater, open your eyes and realize how absolutely harmless it is. it's just a game, you don't have to go insane over it.

 

[Randomfella]

Ive never heard of it being called a cult, and im quite sure the majority of people who dont play it, dont care.


Its best to remember your grandmother is from a different time, so her opinion will obviously be squwed.

 

[Neon Valkyrie]

It's actually kind of an interesting history. James Dallas Egbert the Third was a 16-year-old prodigy attending Michigan State University in the late seventies. Suffering from depression and a drug problem, Egbert took solace in the few social interactions he had with a campus D&D group. Anyway, in 1979 he disappeared from his dorm room. Most people claimed that, through the use of street drugs, or newly developed SSRI antidepressants, he suffered a psychotic break, and fled to the utility tunnels below the university, going into hiding and eventually killing himself. The private investigator that Egbert's mother hired ignored his drug problem, and mental health issues, and decided that his involvement with a relatively anti-social group playing weird games in dark rooms was to blame for the young man's breakdown.


A year or so later, another teen who happened to play D&D committed suicide, adding fuel to a small fire of like-minded religious individuals who formed, get this, BADD, the Brotherhood Against Dungeons and Dragons. The group, backed by local religious organizations who saw the game as the antithesis of their doctrines in a time when church attendance was waning, produced commercials, a comic book, and even a film. The comic is called "Dark Dungeons," and tells the story of a young woman who discovers that her D&D group is actually the recruiting ground for a coven of witches. The party's rogue dies at one point, and the character's player hangs herself, showing the protagonist her evil ways. Best part is when she burns her D&D paraphernalia in a bonfire with the church group, her hair turns blonde and her bust grows.


Anyway, stupid as it sounds, that anti-catholic rhetoric is all people really know about D&D, so most people think of it as being akin to Ouija, or tarot cards. Generally if you explain to them that it's basically a computer game without the computer, and that you can totally explore christian ideals in the game itself, they'll let their dander down and leave you be. You can even lie a bit and tell them you play Christian D&D, where the spells are actually miracles, and every one of them comes for Jesus, can I get an Amen! Holy Momma Rita!

 

[billthesomething]

She thought it contained... sexual stuff.

She wasn't technically wrong, Their did indeed exist a licensed expansion book that revolved around how to portray sex, romance and all that icky sticky stuff, It was called book of erotic fantasy. However it's quite conservative and mature (to a reasonable degree), so it's unlikely that this book was what she thought of when she thought DnD involved sex 

 

[Spoodermanultra]

She wasn't technically wrong, Their did indeed exist a licensed expansion book that revolved around how to portray sex, romance and all that icky sticky stuff, It was called book of erotic fantasy. However it's quite conservative and mature (to a reasonable degree), so it's unlikely that this book was what she thought of when she thought DnD involved sex 

Yeah, that's true... but my Grandma never knew about that stuff, she pretty much only knew a little bit about the main game. plus we never had that extension. and I was talking about something else. something that begins with p-o-r (Not gonna finish that) and the game gave you, as a player, not the character, the option to f-a (Also not going to finish that) at those moments.


If she did her research, she would've unfortunately found that book. so maybe it isn't so good for her to look around the internet for facts...

Ive never heard of it being called a cult

Oh, you have nooooo idea. most people were told by their parents that the game was an evil cult, and then they spread that onto their offspring, and then those offspring spread it to theirs, etc. it's just not as common as it was when it first happened. in fact, I found a very recent article that said something like this: "My child was hanging from a noose when I found him, and he had used D&D books to reach the rope and hang himself. it's obvious, the cult convinced him to sacrifice himself..." the author was obviously sad, and I feel for them- but blaming it on D&D just because he had used those books to set up and use the noose? NO! Where's the logic in that? this could've been a CRAZY mother for all we know, and wasn't willing to blame it on herself...


Sorry, I can get a little aggressive/defensive when it comes to this game, mainly because it brought me and my dad together.

 

[Windsock]

But D&D is heretical.


Hereticaly fun!


Edit: If I were you, I'd just make a joke out of it every time it seems appropriate.

 

[Count Gensokyo]

Text wall.

 

[kibou]

lmao my mom used to think pokemon was witchcraft


some people are like that, and just parrot ideas from people who are parroting ideas theyve heard from people who are parroting ideas from people


and you get the idea


the only knowledge they have on it was either mistakenly or purposefully twisted to suit an agenda 


at this point im so used to that type of thing (hating d&d, harry potter, pokemon, technology, pop music, etc) that im unfazed.


some people will be intolerant to shit for no reason and you wont be able to convince them otherwise easily or at all and it sucks, but it's how it is. id give you advice on how to deal with it but honestly i just try to avoid people and conversations like that, its not worth the energy and frustration.

 

[Spoodermanultra]

lmao my mom used to think pokemon was witchcraft


some people are like that, and just parrot ideas from people who are parroting ideas theyve heard from people who are parroting ideas from people


and you get the idea


the only knowledge they have on it was either mistakenly or purposefully twisted to suit an agenda 


at this point im so used to that type of thing (hating d&d, harry potter, pokemon, technology, pop music, etc) that im unfazed.


some people will be intolerant to shit for no reason and you wont be able to convince them otherwise easily or at all and it sucks, but it's how it is. id give you advice on how to deal with it but honestly i just try to avoid people and conversations like that, its not worth the energy and frustration.

I know, I just needed to share my opinion...


I have lots of them.

 

[Midnightchan123]

didn't get to play pokemon till x and y, I love the game now! mom thought we would get into dog fighting, DnD was considered evil by her aswell....same for anime and video games

 

[Shireling]

As a fairly conservative Christian, I can say that the anti-D&D backlash is just histrionics from overzealous fundies who have a knee-jerk reaction to everything. It's pretty silly to be upset about a fantasy game mostly inspired by the Lord of the Rings anyways. It's a much more productive and wholesome activity for teenagers than drinking and taking illicit drugs. 

 

[Coin]

I've been playing and DMing quite for a while now and I have yet to encounter anyone personally that has labeled me a heretic for my hobby. However, I know exactly what kind of people you're talking about, OP. I learned to play DnD through my friend and his dad, who belong to a very Christian household. My friend's father faced a lot of scrutiny growing up from his religious community, but none at all from his family and close friends, so he continued playing.


I predict the stigma for DnD players will fade into near non-existence in the next few years. Yes, people still think the DnD community is a bit...strange, and to some extent that's justified. However, I don't think very many people share the opinion that the community is a bunch of Satan-summoning, virgin sacrificing bloodsuckers anymore. That, I believe, is a cultural relic from the 80s Satanist scare. 


I'm pretty confident expressing my hobby to new people because I've yet to really encounter someone who has gone out of their way to persecute me for it. I even have something along the lines of, "I am a classically trained DM" in my work portfolio (I am looking to become a video game journalist after I graduate this year). 

 

[crumbelivable]

This deserves saying
B.I.H. JACK CHICK
1924-2016
Good fucking riddance

 

[Communist]

>D&D
>a cult

Whoever said humans are evolving, they're wrong.

 

[N0b0dy]

I love this post D&D is the shit and my mom hates it for similar reasons

 

[Eivonroth]

This deserves saying
B.I.H. JACK CHICK
1924-2016
Good fucking riddance

I had no idea he lived so long. I used to collect the crap out of those things. The little suckers were hilarious. I still find copies laying around at county fairs, convenience stores, and tucked into books at the Goodwill. Never did find a copy of Dark Dungeons, though. Shame.

 

[Thatoneflawedhero]

I just want to play as a chaotic good half-orc paladin without getting judged by normies.

Pls leave me alone and let me enjoy DND.

 

[Eivonroth]

I just want to play as a chaotic good half-orc paladin without getting judged by normies.

Pls leave me alone and let me enjoy DND.

Aren't Paladins Lawful Good only?

 

[Thatoneflawedhero]

Aren't Paladins Lawful Good only?

5e rules are different.

 

[Eivonroth]

5e rules are different.

I was kidding. I haven't had anyone to play D&D with in three years.

 

[Thatoneflawedhero]

I was kidding. I haven't had anyone to play D&D with in three years.

R.I.P

 

[ChenZen]

haha yeah a cult of fun maybe

ammirite

 

[Axel The Englishman]

Alright, friends. Time to don our cultist hoodies. Brother Spoodermanultra , will you fetch us the Die of the Basement Dwellers?