Of Heroes and Happenings

Discussion Question 1

I know, I know! The story hasn't even started yet, and here I am, posing a moral dilemma. I'm sorry, but please bear with me, I promise the next section will be better!

A Little History of the Game

When Dungeons & Dragons first got started in the late 1970's and early 80's, it was released exclusively in the United States. At that time, drug use was rampant and there was a culture of rebellion amongst the young adults in this country. This is important for context.

Part of the game is creating your character. Another part is the real possibility that your character may end up dying during the game, forcing the player to create a new one. Remember the context of the drugs? Well . . . in the early 1980's, there were several instances where, under the influence of narcotics, players actually committed suicide over the deaths of their characters. Yikes. Anyway, this sparked what is referred to as the 'satanic panic' among the charismatic Christians in this country. I was a kid, in the type of church to fall into this category, so I was raised under this assumption as well. Once my kids were teens asking to play, I actually did what my parents and their peers should have done from the beginning; actually look into it for myself (not going to lie; this was after I had already given my panic 'no', but that's another story.) As it turns out, the game is heavily based on writings by Christian authors! The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R.Tolkien, The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis are two of the main sources that the game was based on.

The hardest thing for me about playing Dungeons & Dragons is the existence of the polytheistic culture inherent to D&D. The pantheons exist because of the vast number of different cultures within the multiverse. The same is true of our world. There are probably as many gods as there are cultures, both now and forgotten by time. Most of the belief systems in-game are actually inspired by actual history, some by other authors, the rest by the creative talent at Wizards of the Coast and their predecessors. When I first started playing, I had the worst sensation that I was cheating on my Savior, on God, so of course, I did what I always do in cases like this. I went to Him with the question:

Discussion Question

How do I, as a committed Christian, deal with this aspect of the game? I certainly don't want my God to be just another Character in a cast of literal hundreds!

My answer:

As a player, I treat the pantheons as I do other religions in real life. They exist, so I have to respect that culture and the beliefs of the character that holds them, the way I would treat a person on the street who holds a different faith than mine. As a Christian, it's my job to be the light, to shine truth and God's love on those around me. I must not treat that Light as an interrogation tool or a weapon with which to attack others, either on the street or in the game. Instead, it's to be a magnet of attraction, drawing in those who would wish to come. When others ask me, I may share my faith or offer it as the occasion warrants without beating anyone over the head (as it were) with Scripture. How I create and play my characters is up to me (within certain guidelines) so my faith is free to show!

As a Dungeon Master (DM,) I get to treat this issue very differently because of the nature of the game. In D&D, the DM has total control of worldbuilding as well as acting as judge or umpire with regard to the rules of gameplay. Because of this, the pantheon exists at my table, but those deities on the side of good rule under the authority of the all-powerful Nameless One and serve as subcontractors of sorts for the administration of mortals. The rest (neutral or evil deities) would have mortals believe that the deities they worship are truly all-powerful. Therefore, the 'god of the dead' is merely something along the lines of an archangel in charge of sorting souls, at my table. The same might not be true for other DMs, but using this system allows everyone to play at my table and also allows me to sneak in spiritual truths when necessary.

Okay, on with the story!