Huge thanks to +David Przybyla for supplying me with a copy of this gem - let alone holding on to it since 1983.
I think the above piece speaks for itself...
Tower in the Wasteland v2
-
I recently asked my patrons what posts deserved a sequel and Tower in the
Wasteland was one of the first replies. So here's an updated version of
that d...
4 hours ago
I actually have something pretty relevant to this, I think:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.paperspencils.com/2012/07/08/dungeons-dragons-small-towns-zealots/
Huge collection of similar newspaper clippings; all from the same small town.
"If its only a game, why do players worship Tiazolteotl"
ReplyDeleteBecause the Christians who wrote the book were too worried about making a mockery of their own religion to include stats for Jesus and Jehovah?
Hahaha, that seems to be from the South Sac, Fruitridge, or Florin area. The Assembly of Wicca ran a feed store/antique store/occult book store in that area. They were a controversial group even among Wiccans, but never did anything reprehensible that I'm aware of...
ReplyDeleteI would pay good monies to get a hand on the book they write about in the introduction. Anyone has access to this book?
ReplyDeleteAlso, they worship Azatoth? The fictional creation oc H.P Lovecraft? Yes, real people have a lot to fear from him, as much as from cthulhu and yog-sothoth!
"... why do they devote so much space to talking about the soul, the spirit, punishment, eternity...?"
ReplyDeleteYeah, any books discussing such topics must be evil and should be burned! Wait...
I have to admit, as ludicrous as this sort of thing was, that was part of the appeal for me. I didn't get into D&D until around 1999/2000, so I'd heard of the scare but didn't see any reason for it in the newer books. It made a lot more sense when I read the 1E DMG, though. For a God-fearing Catholic boy, that book was actually kinda scary; it seemed to exude a mysterious power. How cool is that?!
Oh man ... I just wrote the Satanic Panic section in the book I'm writing ...
ReplyDeleteA simple reading shows the demons and devils are there to be opposed and defeated by the good guys. It always boggled me when folks saw otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI really wanted this author to show how d&d fosters homosexuality with the same "attention" he gives to blasphemy?
ReplyDeleteIt's was certainly a surprise to me to read that claim but one groundless claim among many is no surprise. The author of the piece knew 99% of the audience it was written for were never going to bother actually reading any of the D&D books for themselves.
DeleteI grew up in a smallish-town, fundamentalist church, and responses like this were pretty common, partly because general art and culture are mostly frowned upon in such circles, and partly because answers to big or important questions are assumed to be pretty simple to work out. Thus the shallowness of pamphlets like this; you get lots of knee-jerk reaction with very little attempt to look beyond the first thing that comes to the writer's mind. I was fortunate enough to be introduced to gaming by a bunch of guys at my church, and we gamed regularly in the home of one of our elders/bishops, who was a highly educated guy and fully supported the hobby. Not everybody's experience, I know.
ReplyDeleteD&D is a threat to this nation's youth: players end up as nerds, who debate game issues well into adulthood when it's no longer cute. If players didn't get started with D&D, they wouldn't end up as power gamers, marshmallow DM's, killer DM's, and aspiring thespians. Let's not even get into the Munckin problem. Don't let your kids play. Don't let them end up like you.
ReplyDeleteI still get knee jerk reactions like this at my church, but only with the older set. I'm 33, so the older set would be twice that number, age-wise. I just don't even bring it up, because it's a fight I cannot win. I let them think whatever they want. Most times they don't say a thing to me when they find out I play "that game," because I've taught Sunday School for so long now that my discernment and judgment is pretty much trusted, at least amongst those that know me. The fact remains, though - it's still a problem for those of us who are Christian and play.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't realized words lime "healing", "soul", and "worship" were Christian-only. Huh.
ReplyDeleteLearn something new every day.
*like
DeleteHail Stan the Dork Lord!
ReplyDelete