Which of these role playing games do you currently play?

FOUND IT!

Dungeons & Dragons: Not A Satanic Game

by The_Spider

It all began in August of 1979 at Michigan State University. A student called James Dallas Egbert III (called Dallas Egbert) ran away from the college, with the intention of killing himself. He left a confused note that mentioned the steam tunnells under the university, and the game Dungeons and Dragons, of which James was an avid and obsessive player. James, however, did not kill himself at this time, and was later tracked down by a private detective.

During the investigation of this case, however there occurred a tragic mistake. Through irresponsible journalism, and a confusion by the authorities, it was publicised that D&D was responsible for Dallas' disappearance. When Dallas killed himself the next year, this gave birth to the first "D&D suicide". This was despite the facts that Egbert was facing extreme pressure as a child prodigy (he was 16), was an alleged drug addict, and was highly mentally unstable.

With reports that the steam tunnels - which for years were the basis of countless urban myths, including that they housed a serial rapist - were the site of "live" D&D games, the story rapidly grew out of hand. At the time, role-playing was very much a marginal leisure activity; its recent growth had brought the existence of the hobby to the attention of many, but any knowledge of the game was still very rare. Thus D&D was the perfect straw dog for the media, easily presented as a dangerous, cult-like obsession that was a "threat to your children". Various heavyweights of the industry were interviewed about the game, and they were quick to dispell the claims. As a result, the story died down fairly quickly, but the myth had been born.

In June 1982, another tragic suicide occurred, which would have even more damaging effects on the hobby. Irving "Bink" Pulling, suffering from chronic depression, isolation and mental instability, took his own life with the loaded pistol his mother kept in the house. Again, though the problems of the victim were obvious - with both friends and family reporting anti-social, irrational and highly delusional behaviour - the blame for his death was placed on D&D. In particular, this scapegoating came from his mother, Patricia, or Pat.

The classic example of the kind of ignorant propaganda which was produced at this time is Dark Dungeons, by fundamentalist cartooner Jack Chick.

Pat Pulling first accused a teacher at Irving's school of killing her son, by placing a "curse" on him during the course of playing the game. No other participants in the game recalled this event ever happening, but this did not stop Pulling from taking her case to court. The case was quickly thrown out. After this, Pulling formed the society Bothered About Dungeons and Dragons (BADD). With this society, she began a war of propoganda against role-playing games, which included mass distribution of flyers and pamphlets, appearances on radio and TV programs (including the infamous talk-show "Geraldo") and live protests.

In 1984, Pulling involved BADD in the trial of Darren Molitor. Darren was being tried for the murder of a young girl which allegedly occurred while he was acting out a Halloween joke. Pulling convinced the defence to argue on Molitor's lack of culpability due to the influence of D&D, presenting many so-called "D&D-experts" as witnesses. This evidence was dismissed as irrelevant, but this did not deter BADD from intervening in other trials.

What was most frightening about this incident was that BADD was also able to convince Molitor of the game's control over his actions. Under this belief, Molitor penned a damning essay blaming D&D for his crime, which was then widely disseminated by BADD. Later, Molitor stated that he was under a lot of stress and "completely in confusion" when he wrote the essay, and hence "may have gone overboard". He added "I no longer feel the game is dangerous for everyone". This brainwashing of a person under great stress for their own propaganda purposes demonstrates the dangerous extent of BADD's tactics.

BADD also campaigned to the Consumer Product and Safety Commision to have warning labels placed on RPGs, a case that was also rejected. Meanwhile, Pulling continually tried to make herself more credible, by acquiring a private investigation licence and attracting the support of psychologist Dr Thomas Radecki. Pulling also wrote a book on the subject, entitled "The Devil's Web", and Rona Jaffe penned "Mazes and Monsters", a fictional work about a teenager being lured into the occult through role-playing. These publications and credentials added much to the apparent plausability of their claims. However, the gaming community was beginning to strike back. (Mazes and Monsters was made into a movie. It was released in 1983 and starred Tom Hanks.)

BADD's propoganda had raised the interest of many. After BADD petitioned the Safety Commision, the Game Manufacturing Association (GAMA) carried out their own studies, as did many independent researchers. In 1987, Armando Simo'n published the first paper on the psychological status of role-players, and many more followed. Every case of D&D-inspired crime or suicide that BADD listed were thoroughly investigated and no culpability of the game was found.

GAMA also commissioned Michael Stackpole to investigate BADD and Pulling. In 1990, he released his now-famous Pulling Report, which exposed the spurious and manipulative methods used by BADD. This led to the discrediting of BADD, and the group dissappeared. The Comittee for the Advancement of RPGs (CAR-PGa) was formed to work against the defamation of the hobby.

It is often difficult for gamers of today to realise the extent of the threat BADD presented to RPGs. Despite its lack of legitimate authority, BADD captured the attention of many, and, at the peak of its power, had a significant level of influence across the US . Many schools banned the games, churches condemned them and shops stopped carrying them. Gaming stores were often forced to close and more than one small company went bankrupt. Worst of all, BADDs propoganda was able to convince thousands, possibly even millions, that role-playing was dangerous and evil. This was so effective that even now, over ten years later, people continue to associate the game with suicide and the occult.

This prejudice continues to surround us: role-playing is still occasionally slighted by the media and religious groups, and anti-gaming crusades still occur. Two years ago, another large movement began in Italy, after a so-called "role-playing suicide". However, the situation is much better today and it is irresponsible to think or act as if the battle-lines are still drawn.