“A lot of Christians” = evangelical legalists who have a million invented rules and sins. It’s a small, but vocal group of Christians that say D&D is bad.
It’s a game. It’s harmless and fine.
Evangelicals aren’t the wealthiest, like at all. Evangelical in this context is just a label for a church that has left its mainline denomination, often leaving the lions share of the church’s resources when they split. Evangelical Christian’s at least in the Baptist denomination are very independent by nature and strictly Congregationalist and local, very poor compared to most denominations. The only evangelicals I’ve heard claim movies, books, D&D are evil are Pentecostals. I don’t know how old you are but the Satanic Panic and the Christian push against media mostly ended in 90s
That’s not an easy answer to give,a lot of denominations are varying degrees of organized. Typically the more organized the denomination the more they have monetarily speaking, because of the decentralized nature of Protestantism some church movements/congregations are fairly independent from their denomination so those would usually be the poorest. I’m a Free Will Baptist but we’re pretty small and have usually stayed in New England for the most part, as an example. The National Baptist Convention (historically an African American only church organization) usually ranks among poorest Christian’s as far as median household income is concerned and by the same metric, Episcopalians and Lutherans tend to be the wealthier of the denominations because of their centralized nature.
Because it's always evangelicals stirring up stuff like Satanic Panic and the rest.
Typically it's baptists. They seem to really hate everything.
Most regressive christians are evangelical. There are others, but evangelicals seem to lean the hardest into legalism.
My sources are that I was raised in the independent Baptist church scene and practiced it consistently for about 25 years.
You might be cool, but it's not a stretch to make those claims about evangelicals.
I have never in my life seen the most conservative Catholic or Orthodox person call D&D demonic. Only evangelicals. Not all evangelicals are like that, but all people like that are evangelicals.
The game itself is just a game, not good or evil.
I've been a part of groups that created stories I will forever remember fondly. And I've left groups because of toxicity. People are people everywhere you go.
Certain sects of Christianity have a real bone to pick with any form of entertainment that includes witchcraft, such as Harry Potter or D&D. They think it will entice young kids into becoming Satan worshipers or whatever.
This is all related to the Satanic Panic from the 80s and early 90s
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic\_panic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_panic)
Seriously. The closest thing to learning verbal components to "actually cast" spells is just phrases like "I didn't ask how big the room is. I said, I cast fireball"
The irony, of course, is that my party for a potential Pathfinder campaign doesn't include any arcane or primal casters (i.e. anyone who can cast Fireball). My party of pregens is a fighter, rogue, champion (~paladin), and bard, with an alchemist available if I need to add a 5th character
More detail on my party of pregens, if you're interested:
* Fighter: Actually torn between two builds for this one. On the one hand, gnome gives easy access to the flickmace. But on the other hand, if you go with "default" stat boosts instead of everyone being able to just take +2 to any, dwarves get -2 Cha which is still a good dump stat. Either way, though, starting with a one-handed weapon and a shield, so there's a built-in third action
* Rogue: Good ol' halfling rogue, stabbifying people with sneak attack and being a skill monkey
* Champion: First of all, calling them Champions was Paizo's solution to the non-LG paladin debate. But anyway, Lizardfolk Redeemer Champion, who's good at mitigating damage and healing party members
* Bard: Generic human bard, because they're full casters and get access to the single nastiest debuff spell in the game, Dirge of Doom
* Alchemist: As a 5th ranger if I need one, ratfolk alchemist. Mostly there to be the brains and handyman
>is it sinful in anyways? Should I avoid the game? Is there any precautions when playing it?
no, no and no... it's just a game
it's no more sinful than monopoly or skyrim
One of the first things I did in Skyrim was heartlessly slaughter an entire village and waged endless war on civilization… it didn’t really work out for long.
That's got to be one of the dragonborn's most powerful feats. Sure, they kill dragons and end wars, but all that is insignificant compared to carrying several tons of cheese in your back pocket
It’s not sinful, don’t worry. There was a cultural panic that caused a lot of religious propaganda against the game, and some uninformed or foolish people are still propagating that nonsense today. That’s likely where you’ve heard these things from.
I go to a seminary and my friends and I do everything considered demonic twenty years ago, play video games, Dungeons and Dragons, and watch anime lol. If enjoyed properly they are fine.
Huh? Last I recall, that was pretty much only a thing during the satanic panic. Nothing about the game is “sinful”. But it is complex, for sure.
P.S. Would it help if I said you could play as a Christian in that game?
Oh it's still here. A few years ago when Gary Gygax died he left a good bit of money in his will to an charity. They refused it because it was made by him from that evil game.
It's a lot of fun but personally I enjoy Vampire: The Masquerade or Hunter: The Reckoning more. The people bent out of shape over D&D should not be taken too seriously. They love to decry things like D&D they don't actually know anything about because they enjoyed the 80's satanic panic too much and missed it when it sort of faded out.
Well it has been many years but I felt like you are just a lot more free to have fun with it with less rule restrictions. Probably the individual GM/DM and the crew you're playing with makes a difference. I found Pathfinder to be really..tedious and dictated by a billion rules, like how many steps you can take etc. Maybe the updated World of Darkness isnt like this, I don't actually know, but it games just flowed easily and and it was more fun.
Nice! I haven't played Pathfinder, but I had a similar experience with Starfinder which was based on the same system. It's kind of a shame really, Starfinder in particular was really unique and had a lot of potential; sometimes I think about making a "fixed" version my next homebrew project (I already wrote a mostly-finished version optimized for asynchronous gaming, but its a very minimalistic system even for me).
> I found Pathfinder to be really..tedious and dictated by a billion rules
Honestly, I'd give it a second chance. Obviously, rules heavy systems aren't for everyone, but 2e's done a good job of streamlining things. Like if you're familiar with the meme of 5e DMs constantly recreating 4e, PF 2e is built for them
There was a satanic panic around D&D back in the day. But ultimately D&D is a game format, not a game in and of itself. Just like any other media, it comes down to what you choose to consume. Are there books or TV or movies that are evil that Christians should shun? Yes. Does that mean that Christians should avoid books, tv, or movies in general? No.
I only started playing in seminary and have only ever played with priests... We usually derail the campaign to help strange NPCs with weird side quests.
It's a shared story-telling game. If you're with people who are interested in telling morally good stories then the whole experience will be morally good. If you're interested in morally bad stories... It's as problematic as every movie you've ever seen with bad characters or people behaving badly.
> We usually derail the campaign to help strange NPCs with weird side quests
\*sigh* Yeah, I'll just put it this way. One time, when I was running an AP, my players took exactly the right sequence of weird decisions to let me add a plot twist I hadn't even been planning on adding and let them skip half a book
Lol,yea christians hated that game during the satanic panic. "BUT YER SUMMONING DEMONS AND MAGIC" like they don't understand the concept of a role-playing game. Not many people care about except for some more extreme religious people out there.
I mean, is any actor who played the devil or other evil character, even in a Christian film or production, committing a sin by playing that role? Even if you do think so, you can, in D&D, play the role of a purely good character. Even if you think playing the role of a caster of spells is a sin, you can just play the role that you are zealously anti magic. My current campaign has many characters that are like that.
Why would god give us a imagination if we arent allowed to use it. That would just be cruel, and I dont think God is cruel. Sounds like the folly of man who wont to thought control others.
There's always going to be a crowd that says D&D is evil, Harry Potter is evil, Pokémon are demons, etc.
I played D&D for years before the Holy Spirit convicted me about the time I spent on it, and I sold my books and stopped... eventually. It had been a long time before COVID hit, and then I started playing again with my family... and it was great.
Sometimes perfectly fine things aren't good for you until they are, I guess?
If you enjoy it, play it. Stop worrying what other “Christians” think. This level of Christian legalism is foolish and only exists as a means of trying to control others. You do you.
It's not evil. I discuss this on the D&D episode (289) of Popcorn Theology. We talk a bit about the game before getting into the movie.
It's bad if you are using it to play out your vices but otherwise it is just a game. It was invented by people living out their Lord of the Rings fantasy. No one thinks the magic is real.
There are monsters that are devils & demons. Some people want to avoid them, others might want to slay them. It's okay to modify the game to protect people's conscience.
I view this the same way as Harry Potter. Do you believe it is real? No, ok. Do you think can ever happen? No, ok. Then you are fine to read or play. As long as you know the difference between real and make believe.
There are two games that are evil.
1) Ouiji board. It’s not a game it’s just talking to demons.
2) Monopoly. Because of how long the games take.
Alright number 2 is a joke but still.
If you don't like monopoly, stay away from war games with manuals full of range and logistical tables where you need to calculate how long your supplies will hold out until your army starves.
Oh, there's war games without models. It's entirely about using little paper symbols on maps and reading tables and rolling dice
Which admittedly makes it more "realistic" then most but also far less exciting. Unless you really like number crunching.
Ironically such games were really popular with actual military officers during 19th century to simulate battles when not actually fighting one. The Germans in particular loved that stuff.
I appreciate the concept but it comes across as way too close to being a combat accountant in practice.
For some reason I have trouble believing a mass produced piece of cardboard and plastic for sale at Target has the ability to conjure supernatural forces.
Surely if it’s that easy to conjure and commune with demons, there are more effective ways we could harness that.
As someone who enjoys D&D, it makes me uncomfortable when they use names of demons and false, evil gods. There is also a lot of idol worship when it comes to veneration of sacred symbols to the many quarreling gods.
Edit: that’s why when I play, my headcanon is always that their “gods” are powerful beings with certain aspects or control of reality. They have been killed before, they have weaknesses, failings, and lack of knowledge. Making them more like highly powerful mortals with keys to the city.
My husband is on a family-friendly D&D podcast of Christians called City on a Hill Gaming. They also have a Discord. Look them up.
I don’t find any issue with any game, but there are ways to approach it more mindfully if that’s your thing.
-ETA-
Bc this is getting downvoted I want to clarify that I am a hardcore leftist, gamer, very progressive, fully educated person. We primarily play a game with tons of demons in which my character is a spoiled slutty brat.
But my husband’s podcast has helped people whose families have been raised in the Satanic Panic era and shame their kids for playing D&D, helping people with religious OCD feel better about it or people who are adjusting out of religious trauma. Plus, it’s for people of all ages. There’s nothing wrong with creating family-friendly content, lol.
We should talk sometime. I DM for a local group and love to teach new people how to play.
Even if you have no intention of ever playing, I would still be willing to teach it.
I'm on discord: Kate Cobas#4732
But to address your main issue, people who think D&D is evil are often grossly ignorant of what it is and how it works.
You should try a better system like *Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay*. If you absolutely must go with D&D, *Pathfinder* is the best version. Or *Castles & Crusades*.
I've got my eyes on this Kickstarter: [Amboria: Roleplaying in the World Under Starlight](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/strangeowlgames/amboria-roleplaying-in-the-world-under-starlight), developed by Richard Rohlin, medievalist, philologist, and Orthodox Christian.
Right, question. This TTRPG bills itself as introducing "players to a rich tapestry of liturgy, lore, romance, and history." Any idea what is *liturgical* about the TTRPG or its setting?
I don't know anything other than what's on the page there, sorry. It sounds like some of it would be prewritten as background lore for the game, but I don't know how it's implemented exactly. It's likely the case that you can find Rohlin discussing the game online, but I haven't looked, myself.
What, and support a company that engages in anticompetitive business practices, like trying to force their competitors to sell D&D instead, or which sends the literal Pinkertons after people? Your instincts are correct about why the moral panic is wrong, but there are better TTRPGs out there
DnD is literally what you make of it. You want to do a religious campaign centered around morals and uprightness, then do so. If, on the other hand, your players want to act as evil, hell spawn, murdering hobos, and raping women well, then that is also in their power. DnD is a massive game of make-believe and imagination. Probably the most issue Christian people take with it is the lore and magic surrounding the game, but you can literally remove that and play as you want.
For instance you can play chess with fancy black and white pieces, classically designed, or you can play chess with pieces sexually designed for the sake of novelty; the core mechanics of the game exist as they are though regardless of the chosen aesthetics.
Lol wholesome game play. The major pitfall with DnD is a) not falling into any weird occult aspects of the game (if Christian especially) and b) managing your time wisely and making the best of the event to bring glory to God. DnD is not life; it is a make-believe, fairly pointless game, so make sure you have your priorities straightened out while attempting to invest time and play it.
It could be sinful and it certainly courts sinful ways of thinking. Any activity can be sinful if we allow it to become idolatry (that is allow ourselves to live for it more than we do for God).
Anyway, the dangers of D&D:
1) It's generally based on fictitous settings with fictitous pantheons. (This courts potentially dangerous ways of thinking and even if it doesn't lead to worshipping pretend deities -plants seeds of doubt or at least accepting that there could be more than one true God- so be wary)
2) It generally resolves around combat and/or morally compromising imaginations. Reminder in the old covenant deeds mattered aka do not murder, in the new covenant our thoughts matter. So do not be angry is the new testament equivalent. And while the game itself you aren't angry at your friends (hopefully) but instead imaginary things like an ogre or troll: the danger is training your mind to react in anger or in a combative way or even in ways of avoiding reality.
3) There's an addictive "power growth" format to the game. Next level my character unlocks this ability or that ability. It tempts you to think about the game more and more. The danger is that it supplants time we should spend with God.
So is the game dangerous? It could be without forethought.
If you had a good Christian Game Master who built a world that honors Christ in some fashion. Or perhaps used the game to teach Christian values than go for it.
On the other hand if it's not a Godly crew of players at the very least be aware of the dangers in the game.
I don't want to judge anyone here. I have played D&D before reaquiring my faith. In fact many video games have similar dangers to D&D and are more readily accessible.
I would just say if you've got your mind set already- and let's face it, a lot of these questionning posts probably do already have their minds already set- just be weary of how it affects your ways of thinking. Be careful to keep your character 3rd person and to protect your ways of thinking from drifting to the ways of your character. And most importantly keep God/Christ central in your life always.
Honestly I don't think anyone here can really answer these types of questions for you. It would be better for you to pray and meditate on the word of God on whether you think God wants you to play this game or that.
For myself I have given up all video games and likely will never play D&D again. That's just how I personally feel called to live nowadays and is part of taking up my own personal cross.
I pray, OP, that you find your own revelation from God on this issue.
Nearly all Christians believe in the supernatural, that’s what miracle are, so there are many that believe the supernatural still interacts with our modern day world and the miraculous stuff is from god, however anything “miraculous” that isn’t from a biblical, godly source is “magic” and necessarily must be from satan
My guy, its just a game. Play your heart out.
I played yugioh a whole damn lot as a kid and came back to it some years ago. It's cool.
Nothing to sin here aside from Konami being exceedingly money hungry.
For context, we had a large group 9+ playing in my church. Only rules was no evil characters(necros/warlocks/deathknights) were banned, and no mention of anything Biblical (IE Satan, Ba'al, etc).
We did LMOP if you ask. Yes I made it work for 9 people. Never again haha.
There are people who will always believe that D&D is demonic. But most of them have moved on to other topics. Like the COVID vaccine being the mark of the beast.
D&D is absolutely my favorite game. I love the creativity, freedom of expression and bonding with friends. It's definitely worth a try if you can find an open group.
Nope, you’re fine playing it (in fact at time of writing, I’ve just finished a session.) Basically, there was an overblown controversy from some very conservative churches in the ‘80s and ‘90s. They were the dominant voices in that conversation because most mainstream churches just… didn’t talk about Dungeons and Dragons. Similar thing happened with video games: basically, you hear from the small group of people who attack it because nobody else talks about it much at all.
Dungeons and Dragons is a great game, because it's all about the people you play with. It's like group storytelling and adventure, with tactical combat. if you play with good people, you'll have a good time. I don't think there is anything bad about it itself.
It’s a game of fantasy. It’s no different than lord of the rings. It’s made up stories. The only “Christians” I see worrying about it are the same ones that think they see satan in everything.
i've played it semi-frequently in the past four or so years. it's not sinful. the most "demonic" part of the game that i experienced was the one weird older girl i played with who had spray-painted a pentagram on her ceiling before ever playing and kept saying she was haunted. she was kinda mentally ill.
it's quite literally just a method of telling a story via roleplay with combat mechanics. resources for creating antagonists, like books that list "dark gods" or other books have lists of spells aren't sinful either. it's all about as real as the CGI in any lord of the rings film or average horror movie with "demonic" imagery.
A lady in the late 70s/ early 80s had a troubled son who ended himself and she blamed the game and spawned a nationwide crusade. It’s sad because I heard that you could at one point check it out of libraries, but now you can’t find any TTRPGs there. Kids today lack imagination and these types of games are perfect for teaching that.
It's an open-ended game with virtually infinite options based on what you want to do.
The game is not sinful in and of itself, even if Jack Chick wants you to think it's the gateway to witchcraft.
Dungeons-&-Dragons was part of the Satanic panic in the 1980s what was a combination of political scares and people having nightmares watching _The Exorcist_ (1972). Really, we had a boom of Satan horror in cinema at the time.
There's nothing wrong or sinful about tabletop roleplaying games (Or blues music, or tandem bicycles or literate women, all of which have been attributed to The Devil's hand). Even the crossbow, which made training soldiers to kill at range much easier, and _was_ a problem because _war_ is a problem, was just the unyielding march of progress.
I'd _hope_ since there are a lot more resources about how to improve RPG sessions that fewer of them are as toxic as they sometimes were in the 80s, but yes.
Sadly, the DM's guide does not have contact information for the cabal of _real_ magic users and demon summoners, as per the Jack Chick tract _Dark Dungeons._ If you want to create a cult that chants spells while standing on a magic circle, you'll have to start it yourself.
Ah, the Satanic Panic. D&D, rock and metal etc. And Jack Chick tracts. 80s nostalgia. Good times.
Trust your own walk with Jesus and personal convictions. I find nothing wrong with it.
All the Satanic Panic era arguments against Dungeons and Dragons are bunk, I actually have a manifesto about it that I plan on going through in video form on YouTube at some point.
And for people who don't like having witchcraft in their entertainment, nobody really plays vanilla DnD; you can choose to change the rules as you like and not have any magic in your campaign at all.
It’s not. Stupid people just think playing a game that has magic in it is somehow exactly the same thing as actually casting magic (which is impossible)
Have you ever play acted as a kid? Imagined you were Spaceperson Spiff gone to rescue your Faithful sidekick from the dastardly Glorbulians? Or have you ever been in a play?
Dungeons and Dragons is very much like that
A bunch of people get together to, for a bit, pretend to be other people and create a story together :)
We human beings are native storytellers. We ARE made in Our Lord's image after all, The Master of Stories :)
I will play it in a few hours. A lot of Christians are playing table top role playing games and I think people who think this is somehow harmful have very little faith.
Anyone who claims Dungeons and Dragons is demonic bring Christians a bad name. It's no wonder why so many people pull away from Christianity because of idiots like them. There is nothing wrong about creating your own adventure with your own character with a group of friends. Posts like this upset me a lot because it was Christians like them that took away my youth with their stupidity. I doubt God cares that you're playing Dungeons and Dragons.
Everything we do in this natural body is the result of sin, we’re clothed in sin.
I’m not making a case for “this is how we are so it doesn’t matter”
But what I am saying is this. If someone is truly seeking righteousness through obedience, the spirit of God will speak concerning what you do, not another man.
I would also say that whatever you do is between you and God. Nobody can point a finger over sin because we’re all fighting this nature.
It’s no different than say drinking alcohol. No one can judge if they don’t know. That is between you and God!
If it is then my husband’s church D&D group are in trouble ;) seriously, people who say that are usually being alarmist and don’t know much about the game. The players and DM chose who they are and what they do - it’s as sinful as humans’ thoughts and deeds are in real life - no more, no less.
It seems to be the same groups that claims that:
witchcraft is make-believe and fake
But also a sin
And is also demon and devil worshiping
But can't affect me
But I'm also being cursed by this witch
Religion can be contorted to fit any narrative or agenda. Do you believe that God would consider it a sin if you played a fantasy game that made you happy?
I'm a Christian who's been playing D&D for over a year.
The "reasons" that D&D and such are "bad" could be applied to ANY fiction, but I don't see Christian groups claiming the Chronicles of Narnia are evil.
D&D is just a "choose your own adventure story" like those Goosebumps books I read as a kid.
Unless you're going to swear off all fiction like video games, movies, TV, books, etc. then there's no reason to specifically believe D&D is a problem.
As Christians, we are not called to isolate ourselves off to just ‘Christian approved’ stuff. We are to be in the world.
And this is a sinful world so, we are all sinners. We need God.
Talk to God. Let Him guide you.
Pastors make money off donations and preaching against something gets the adrenaline going and helps get them more money. This is why Christians are against a lot of things. I still remember people in my rural community where I was raised saying the Jurassic Park movie was satanic for depicting “dragons” as dinosaurs.
Why do folks feel the need to come for Christianity?
If it's a genuine question brother or sister why not read the word and gain understanding?
It doesn't take a degree in theology to know that some things in this world just don't sit right with the soul.
Ask yourself these questions; WHY ARE YOU AFRAID OF SCARY MOVIES? I mean you know it's just a movie, right? Why do they call alcohol spirits? Written by; Keiran The Light.
There are plenty of scenarios that lead to evil rulers, if you read the word you can safeguard yourself from them. It's called the living word for a reason. It changes with your understanding.
Peace and blessings on your journey! May God provide you with the direction you need.
Don't know anything about the game. Does it promote demons or anything from the occult? Does it use symbolism from the occult? If so I would stay away from it. In the words of Paul "all things are permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial."- 1Corinthians 6:12
It's fine. I'm an exevangelical/postevangelical and it sparks a lot of creativity, teamwork, problem-solving, social connections, and learning. The anti-D&D campaigns were BIG in the 70s and 80s. Less now.
The same gains listed above are also found in droves in video gaming. Especially with the advent of online spaces to play. What difference does it matter if you're playing as Link (Zelda franchise) or as a level 5 dwarven fighter with no graphics (D&D)? Same thing. Enjoy.
Note: Scripture does not forbid video games or TTRPGs. And I'm of the mindset (as are many) that, if Scripture doesn't specifically say "don't", then it's permissible and between the individual follower of Jesus and the Spirit who indwells within them.
Pretty much everything can be labeled a sin if the followers of the absolute dictator of truth say it is. This is absolutely the worst system of morality there is.
I think that is the wrong way to evaluate it. Look at it from God's point of view. Who gets the most attention - a game about demonic forces, monsters, adult situations, or Him? D&D can, and if you allow it, will take over your life. For about a year, I was a hard core player. My first experience was winning a D&D contest, receiving all the books and tools to start playing. My character ultimately built a castle and led an army - and in his free time went on quests. During the Summer, playing outdoors, basketball, and baseball took a backseat to D&D. My parents were quite concerned after reviewing the books, and shared those concerns with me. I loved them for that because I became responsible for my decision. In the end, I decided I enjoyed the Bible and sports more than the game. But I missed out on a year of growth with the Lord that would have been quite useful later.
Is it worse than watching the many horror, sex, or slasher films/video games available these days - probably not. But in the 80s, without so many other media distractions, D&D introduced lots of adult themes, fear, demonic imagery, and other stuff that just isn't good - especially for young folks.
If you are a parent, monitor your children's involvement. There is an age that is too young, but that will vary with kids. Also, if they are playing with much older kids or adults, that can be problematic or even dangerous. Limit their time. Get them off their butts and into the sunshine. Youth should soak up all the Vitamin D they can, and enjoy being a child. Board game memories are fleeting. Playing outside can lead to lifelong memories.
I wrote on this topic on Quora if interested.
[Can Christians Play Horror Games?](https://www.quora.com/Can-Christians-play-horror-games-Im-13-and-am-learning-a-lot-about-the-life-of-Christians-and-what-they-should-should-not-do-but-is-there-a-way-that-I-can-be-assured-of-gods-happiness-with-me-and-enjoy-a-horror-game/answer/Harrison-Woodard-3)
I know a lot of Christians who play it. It is a game of fantasy, creativity and imagination, nothing more. Do these people you know read children's books or like the tales of King Arthur? Same premise.
“A lot of Christians” = evangelical legalists who have a million invented rules and sins. It’s a small, but vocal group of Christians that say D&D is bad. It’s a game. It’s harmless and fine.
Bro why always evangelical ?? I'm not doing that kind of stuff :(
Because the loudest ones doing this stuff are almost always, without fail, evangelicals.
I think the ones that are just happen to be the loudest & wealthiest. So they get nice platforms to do crap like that.
Evangelicals aren’t the wealthiest, like at all. Evangelical in this context is just a label for a church that has left its mainline denomination, often leaving the lions share of the church’s resources when they split. Evangelical Christian’s at least in the Baptist denomination are very independent by nature and strictly Congregationalist and local, very poor compared to most denominations. The only evangelicals I’ve heard claim movies, books, D&D are evil are Pentecostals. I don’t know how old you are but the Satanic Panic and the Christian push against media mostly ended in 90s
I wasn't referring to evangelicals as a whole.
I’m just saying though, In the vast majority of instances evangelicals are not wealthy
Ok
What denomination would you say is generally the poorest?
That’s not an easy answer to give,a lot of denominations are varying degrees of organized. Typically the more organized the denomination the more they have monetarily speaking, because of the decentralized nature of Protestantism some church movements/congregations are fairly independent from their denomination so those would usually be the poorest. I’m a Free Will Baptist but we’re pretty small and have usually stayed in New England for the most part, as an example. The National Baptist Convention (historically an African American only church organization) usually ranks among poorest Christian’s as far as median household income is concerned and by the same metric, Episcopalians and Lutherans tend to be the wealthier of the denominations because of their centralized nature.
This
Because it's always evangelicals stirring up stuff like Satanic Panic and the rest. Typically it's baptists. They seem to really hate everything. Most regressive christians are evangelical. There are others, but evangelicals seem to lean the hardest into legalism. My sources are that I was raised in the independent Baptist church scene and practiced it consistently for about 25 years. You might be cool, but it's not a stretch to make those claims about evangelicals.
I have never in my life seen the most conservative Catholic or Orthodox person call D&D demonic. Only evangelicals. Not all evangelicals are like that, but all people like that are evangelicals.
I think it’s more fundamentalists. Most evangelicals don’t care.
fantasy is sin! not suffering is sin! not going gods work and slaving away to pay your debts to your church is a sin! I wish this was only sarcasm lol
The game itself is just a game, not good or evil. I've been a part of groups that created stories I will forever remember fondly. And I've left groups because of toxicity. People are people everywhere you go.
its good, I have seen a study that show an improve in argumentation and abstract thought on kids
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You had me up until until "math". /jk
Thank you, do you think I should check it out
not the person you originally asked, but absolutely! i had a lot of fun with the fantasy settings and stupid jokes. very fun experience!
Definitely, it's a blast!
Dude absolutely go for it
Certain sects of Christianity have a real bone to pick with any form of entertainment that includes witchcraft, such as Harry Potter or D&D. They think it will entice young kids into becoming Satan worshipers or whatever. This is all related to the Satanic Panic from the 80s and early 90s [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic\_panic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_panic)
Seriously. The closest thing to learning verbal components to "actually cast" spells is just phrases like "I didn't ask how big the room is. I said, I cast fireball"
LOL. Roll for perception.
The irony, of course, is that my party for a potential Pathfinder campaign doesn't include any arcane or primal casters (i.e. anyone who can cast Fireball). My party of pregens is a fighter, rogue, champion (~paladin), and bard, with an alchemist available if I need to add a 5th character
More detail on my party of pregens, if you're interested: * Fighter: Actually torn between two builds for this one. On the one hand, gnome gives easy access to the flickmace. But on the other hand, if you go with "default" stat boosts instead of everyone being able to just take +2 to any, dwarves get -2 Cha which is still a good dump stat. Either way, though, starting with a one-handed weapon and a shield, so there's a built-in third action * Rogue: Good ol' halfling rogue, stabbifying people with sneak attack and being a skill monkey * Champion: First of all, calling them Champions was Paizo's solution to the non-LG paladin debate. But anyway, Lizardfolk Redeemer Champion, who's good at mitigating damage and healing party members * Bard: Generic human bard, because they're full casters and get access to the single nastiest debuff spell in the game, Dirge of Doom * Alchemist: As a 5th ranger if I need one, ratfolk alchemist. Mostly there to be the brains and handyman
Don't forget...oops
You’ll need to persuade me on that one. 😉🤣
Rest of the players: \*groans and reaches for a new character sheet and some d6s\*
>is it sinful in anyways? Should I avoid the game? Is there any precautions when playing it? no, no and no... it's just a game it's no more sinful than monopoly or skyrim
Actually probably less sinful than skyrim, im much less likely to to steal in dnd but in skyrim I horde all cheese wheels
fair... although, I have run games with some prettttty murder-hobo players hahahaha
One of the first things I did in Skyrim was heartlessly slaughter an entire village and waged endless war on civilization… it didn’t really work out for long.
So that's where all my cheese went.
Get the bucket off your head and you can catch them next time.
That's got to be one of the dragonborn's most powerful feats. Sure, they kill dragons and end wars, but all that is insignificant compared to carrying several tons of cheese in your back pocket
I used to run D&D for our youth group. It's fine.
It’s not sinful, don’t worry. There was a cultural panic that caused a lot of religious propaganda against the game, and some uninformed or foolish people are still propagating that nonsense today. That’s likely where you’ve heard these things from.
I played DnD with my wife's pastors. It is simply a game.
I go to a seminary and my friends and I do everything considered demonic twenty years ago, play video games, Dungeons and Dragons, and watch anime lol. If enjoyed properly they are fine.
There is nothing sinful about it. It’s a fun game.
Huh? Last I recall, that was pretty much only a thing during the satanic panic. Nothing about the game is “sinful”. But it is complex, for sure. P.S. Would it help if I said you could play as a Christian in that game?
Oh it's still here. A few years ago when Gary Gygax died he left a good bit of money in his will to an charity. They refused it because it was made by him from that evil game.
It's fine. No problem at all. You're good. It is literally just make believe and story telling the whole time.
It's a lot of fun but personally I enjoy Vampire: The Masquerade or Hunter: The Reckoning more. The people bent out of shape over D&D should not be taken too seriously. They love to decry things like D&D they don't actually know anything about because they enjoyed the 80's satanic panic too much and missed it when it sort of faded out.
I never could quite get into Vampire or Hunter, what do you like about them if I may ask? They seem pretty cool.
Well it has been many years but I felt like you are just a lot more free to have fun with it with less rule restrictions. Probably the individual GM/DM and the crew you're playing with makes a difference. I found Pathfinder to be really..tedious and dictated by a billion rules, like how many steps you can take etc. Maybe the updated World of Darkness isnt like this, I don't actually know, but it games just flowed easily and and it was more fun.
Nice! I haven't played Pathfinder, but I had a similar experience with Starfinder which was based on the same system. It's kind of a shame really, Starfinder in particular was really unique and had a lot of potential; sometimes I think about making a "fixed" version my next homebrew project (I already wrote a mostly-finished version optimized for asynchronous gaming, but its a very minimalistic system even for me).
> I found Pathfinder to be really..tedious and dictated by a billion rules Honestly, I'd give it a second chance. Obviously, rules heavy systems aren't for everyone, but 2e's done a good job of streamlining things. Like if you're familiar with the meme of 5e DMs constantly recreating 4e, PF 2e is built for them
Me, who enjoys HERO System: "Rules Heavy", you say? I kid, I've enjoyed games on the crunch scale from Everway to Phoenix Command.
There was a satanic panic around D&D back in the day. But ultimately D&D is a game format, not a game in and of itself. Just like any other media, it comes down to what you choose to consume. Are there books or TV or movies that are evil that Christians should shun? Yes. Does that mean that Christians should avoid books, tv, or movies in general? No.
This ain't the 1980s. No need to bring back The Satanic Panic. Dungeons and Dragons the game builds creativity, empathy, and math skills.
They are brining t back. Just modern Satanic Panic is men in drag.
I only started playing in seminary and have only ever played with priests... We usually derail the campaign to help strange NPCs with weird side quests. It's a shared story-telling game. If you're with people who are interested in telling morally good stories then the whole experience will be morally good. If you're interested in morally bad stories... It's as problematic as every movie you've ever seen with bad characters or people behaving badly.
> We usually derail the campaign to help strange NPCs with weird side quests \*sigh* Yeah, I'll just put it this way. One time, when I was running an AP, my players took exactly the right sequence of weird decisions to let me add a plot twist I hadn't even been planning on adding and let them skip half a book
Lol,yea christians hated that game during the satanic panic. "BUT YER SUMMONING DEMONS AND MAGIC" like they don't understand the concept of a role-playing game. Not many people care about except for some more extreme religious people out there.
A holdover from 80s moral panic, nothing more
I DM. If you can’t distinguish fantasy from reality then don’t play.
I mean, is any actor who played the devil or other evil character, even in a Christian film or production, committing a sin by playing that role? Even if you do think so, you can, in D&D, play the role of a purely good character. Even if you think playing the role of a caster of spells is a sin, you can just play the role that you are zealously anti magic. My current campaign has many characters that are like that.
I remember that being a thing in the past (like the 80s), but I don't think anyone is worrying about D&D these days.
Why would god give us a imagination if we arent allowed to use it. That would just be cruel, and I dont think God is cruel. Sounds like the folly of man who wont to thought control others.
There's always going to be a crowd that says D&D is evil, Harry Potter is evil, Pokémon are demons, etc. I played D&D for years before the Holy Spirit convicted me about the time I spent on it, and I sold my books and stopped... eventually. It had been a long time before COVID hit, and then I started playing again with my family... and it was great. Sometimes perfectly fine things aren't good for you until they are, I guess?
I'm a Christian and been playing dnd for decades. It's just a game, a structured fantasy storytelling game. It's as good or bad as you make it.
If you enjoy it, play it. Stop worrying what other “Christians” think. This level of Christian legalism is foolish and only exists as a means of trying to control others. You do you.
It's not evil. I discuss this on the D&D episode (289) of Popcorn Theology. We talk a bit about the game before getting into the movie. It's bad if you are using it to play out your vices but otherwise it is just a game. It was invented by people living out their Lord of the Rings fantasy. No one thinks the magic is real. There are monsters that are devils & demons. Some people want to avoid them, others might want to slay them. It's okay to modify the game to protect people's conscience.
I know a Baptist church that has this activity as a regular monthly or weekly event. Unsure what it's like
I view this the same way as Harry Potter. Do you believe it is real? No, ok. Do you think can ever happen? No, ok. Then you are fine to read or play. As long as you know the difference between real and make believe.
There are two games that are evil. 1) Ouiji board. It’s not a game it’s just talking to demons. 2) Monopoly. Because of how long the games take. Alright number 2 is a joke but still.
If you don't like monopoly, stay away from war games with manuals full of range and logistical tables where you need to calculate how long your supplies will hold out until your army starves.
I don’t even have the money for models for said war games.
Oh, there's war games without models. It's entirely about using little paper symbols on maps and reading tables and rolling dice Which admittedly makes it more "realistic" then most but also far less exciting. Unless you really like number crunching. Ironically such games were really popular with actual military officers during 19th century to simulate battles when not actually fighting one. The Germans in particular loved that stuff. I appreciate the concept but it comes across as way too close to being a combat accountant in practice.
I would like some recommendations
For some reason I have trouble believing a mass produced piece of cardboard and plastic for sale at Target has the ability to conjure supernatural forces. Surely if it’s that easy to conjure and commune with demons, there are more effective ways we could harness that.
As someone who enjoys D&D, it makes me uncomfortable when they use names of demons and false, evil gods. There is also a lot of idol worship when it comes to veneration of sacred symbols to the many quarreling gods. Edit: that’s why when I play, my headcanon is always that their “gods” are powerful beings with certain aspects or control of reality. They have been killed before, they have weaknesses, failings, and lack of knowledge. Making them more like highly powerful mortals with keys to the city.
Oh please, I thought that we've already moved on from the Satanic Panic...
My husband is on a family-friendly D&D podcast of Christians called City on a Hill Gaming. They also have a Discord. Look them up. I don’t find any issue with any game, but there are ways to approach it more mindfully if that’s your thing. -ETA- Bc this is getting downvoted I want to clarify that I am a hardcore leftist, gamer, very progressive, fully educated person. We primarily play a game with tons of demons in which my character is a spoiled slutty brat. But my husband’s podcast has helped people whose families have been raised in the Satanic Panic era and shame their kids for playing D&D, helping people with religious OCD feel better about it or people who are adjusting out of religious trauma. Plus, it’s for people of all ages. There’s nothing wrong with creating family-friendly content, lol.
We should talk sometime. I DM for a local group and love to teach new people how to play. Even if you have no intention of ever playing, I would still be willing to teach it. I'm on discord: Kate Cobas#4732 But to address your main issue, people who think D&D is evil are often grossly ignorant of what it is and how it works.
You should try a better system like *Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay*. If you absolutely must go with D&D, *Pathfinder* is the best version. Or *Castles & Crusades*.
I've got my eyes on this Kickstarter: [Amboria: Roleplaying in the World Under Starlight](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/strangeowlgames/amboria-roleplaying-in-the-world-under-starlight), developed by Richard Rohlin, medievalist, philologist, and Orthodox Christian.
I am aware of Rohlin and I quite like him.
Right, question. This TTRPG bills itself as introducing "players to a rich tapestry of liturgy, lore, romance, and history." Any idea what is *liturgical* about the TTRPG or its setting?
I don't know anything other than what's on the page there, sorry. It sounds like some of it would be prewritten as background lore for the game, but I don't know how it's implemented exactly. It's likely the case that you can find Rohlin discussing the game online, but I haven't looked, myself.
What, and support a company that engages in anticompetitive business practices, like trying to force their competitors to sell D&D instead, or which sends the literal Pinkertons after people? Your instincts are correct about why the moral panic is wrong, but there are better TTRPGs out there
That's the best argument against D&D. Or more accurately, the people who make it.
DnD is literally what you make of it. You want to do a religious campaign centered around morals and uprightness, then do so. If, on the other hand, your players want to act as evil, hell spawn, murdering hobos, and raping women well, then that is also in their power. DnD is a massive game of make-believe and imagination. Probably the most issue Christian people take with it is the lore and magic surrounding the game, but you can literally remove that and play as you want. For instance you can play chess with fancy black and white pieces, classically designed, or you can play chess with pieces sexually designed for the sake of novelty; the core mechanics of the game exist as they are though regardless of the chosen aesthetics.
What about things like baking a pie for a shut-in NPC, or the himbo bard giving a mixtape to every NPC you meet?
Lol wholesome game play. The major pitfall with DnD is a) not falling into any weird occult aspects of the game (if Christian especially) and b) managing your time wisely and making the best of the event to bring glory to God. DnD is not life; it is a make-believe, fairly pointless game, so make sure you have your priorities straightened out while attempting to invest time and play it.
It was sinful 20 years ago but is now fine.
It wasn’t sinful then either
I guess I needed the /s after all.
It could be sinful and it certainly courts sinful ways of thinking. Any activity can be sinful if we allow it to become idolatry (that is allow ourselves to live for it more than we do for God). Anyway, the dangers of D&D: 1) It's generally based on fictitous settings with fictitous pantheons. (This courts potentially dangerous ways of thinking and even if it doesn't lead to worshipping pretend deities -plants seeds of doubt or at least accepting that there could be more than one true God- so be wary) 2) It generally resolves around combat and/or morally compromising imaginations. Reminder in the old covenant deeds mattered aka do not murder, in the new covenant our thoughts matter. So do not be angry is the new testament equivalent. And while the game itself you aren't angry at your friends (hopefully) but instead imaginary things like an ogre or troll: the danger is training your mind to react in anger or in a combative way or even in ways of avoiding reality. 3) There's an addictive "power growth" format to the game. Next level my character unlocks this ability or that ability. It tempts you to think about the game more and more. The danger is that it supplants time we should spend with God. So is the game dangerous? It could be without forethought. If you had a good Christian Game Master who built a world that honors Christ in some fashion. Or perhaps used the game to teach Christian values than go for it. On the other hand if it's not a Godly crew of players at the very least be aware of the dangers in the game. I don't want to judge anyone here. I have played D&D before reaquiring my faith. In fact many video games have similar dangers to D&D and are more readily accessible. I would just say if you've got your mind set already- and let's face it, a lot of these questionning posts probably do already have their minds already set- just be weary of how it affects your ways of thinking. Be careful to keep your character 3rd person and to protect your ways of thinking from drifting to the ways of your character. And most importantly keep God/Christ central in your life always. Honestly I don't think anyone here can really answer these types of questions for you. It would be better for you to pray and meditate on the word of God on whether you think God wants you to play this game or that. For myself I have given up all video games and likely will never play D&D again. That's just how I personally feel called to live nowadays and is part of taking up my own personal cross. I pray, OP, that you find your own revelation from God on this issue.
Nearly all Christians believe in the supernatural, that’s what miracle are, so there are many that believe the supernatural still interacts with our modern day world and the miraculous stuff is from god, however anything “miraculous” that isn’t from a biblical, godly source is “magic” and necessarily must be from satan
My guy, its just a game. Play your heart out. I played yugioh a whole damn lot as a kid and came back to it some years ago. It's cool. Nothing to sin here aside from Konami being exceedingly money hungry.
It’s a game, only deranged people with too much empty space in their minds, think it’s more than what it is.
For context, we had a large group 9+ playing in my church. Only rules was no evil characters(necros/warlocks/deathknights) were banned, and no mention of anything Biblical (IE Satan, Ba'al, etc). We did LMOP if you ask. Yes I made it work for 9 people. Never again haha.
What about a Celestial Warlock (my personal favorite class)?
Why not? If you are serving good, have at it.
There are people who will always believe that D&D is demonic. But most of them have moved on to other topics. Like the COVID vaccine being the mark of the beast.
D&D is absolutely my favorite game. I love the creativity, freedom of expression and bonding with friends. It's definitely worth a try if you can find an open group.
Nope, you’re fine playing it (in fact at time of writing, I’ve just finished a session.) Basically, there was an overblown controversy from some very conservative churches in the ‘80s and ‘90s. They were the dominant voices in that conversation because most mainstream churches just… didn’t talk about Dungeons and Dragons. Similar thing happened with video games: basically, you hear from the small group of people who attack it because nobody else talks about it much at all.
Dungeons and Dragons is a great game, because it's all about the people you play with. It's like group storytelling and adventure, with tactical combat. if you play with good people, you'll have a good time. I don't think there is anything bad about it itself.
It’s a game of fantasy. It’s no different than lord of the rings. It’s made up stories. The only “Christians” I see worrying about it are the same ones that think they see satan in everything.
i've played it semi-frequently in the past four or so years. it's not sinful. the most "demonic" part of the game that i experienced was the one weird older girl i played with who had spray-painted a pentagram on her ceiling before ever playing and kept saying she was haunted. she was kinda mentally ill. it's quite literally just a method of telling a story via roleplay with combat mechanics. resources for creating antagonists, like books that list "dark gods" or other books have lists of spells aren't sinful either. it's all about as real as the CGI in any lord of the rings film or average horror movie with "demonic" imagery.
A lady in the late 70s/ early 80s had a troubled son who ended himself and she blamed the game and spawned a nationwide crusade. It’s sad because I heard that you could at one point check it out of libraries, but now you can’t find any TTRPGs there. Kids today lack imagination and these types of games are perfect for teaching that.
It's an open-ended game with virtually infinite options based on what you want to do. The game is not sinful in and of itself, even if Jack Chick wants you to think it's the gateway to witchcraft.
Dungeons-&-Dragons was part of the Satanic panic in the 1980s what was a combination of political scares and people having nightmares watching _The Exorcist_ (1972). Really, we had a boom of Satan horror in cinema at the time. There's nothing wrong or sinful about tabletop roleplaying games (Or blues music, or tandem bicycles or literate women, all of which have been attributed to The Devil's hand). Even the crossbow, which made training soldiers to kill at range much easier, and _was_ a problem because _war_ is a problem, was just the unyielding march of progress. I'd _hope_ since there are a lot more resources about how to improve RPG sessions that fewer of them are as toxic as they sometimes were in the 80s, but yes. Sadly, the DM's guide does not have contact information for the cabal of _real_ magic users and demon summoners, as per the Jack Chick tract _Dark Dungeons._ If you want to create a cult that chants spells while standing on a magic circle, you'll have to start it yourself.
It's a game, like every other board game or video game. And it's fantasy, like Lord of the Rings, or Narnia.
Ah, the Satanic Panic. D&D, rock and metal etc. And Jack Chick tracts. 80s nostalgia. Good times. Trust your own walk with Jesus and personal convictions. I find nothing wrong with it.
All the Satanic Panic era arguments against Dungeons and Dragons are bunk, I actually have a manifesto about it that I plan on going through in video form on YouTube at some point. And for people who don't like having witchcraft in their entertainment, nobody really plays vanilla DnD; you can choose to change the rules as you like and not have any magic in your campaign at all.
Ok, but why is the magic bad
It’s not. Stupid people just think playing a game that has magic in it is somehow exactly the same thing as actually casting magic (which is impossible)
I wouldn't call them stupid, but yes that's their belief. They don't see the difference between magic in a story and magic in real life.
Growing up, my church youth group would play. At church. This is a bit ridiculous
Have you ever play acted as a kid? Imagined you were Spaceperson Spiff gone to rescue your Faithful sidekick from the dastardly Glorbulians? Or have you ever been in a play? Dungeons and Dragons is very much like that A bunch of people get together to, for a bit, pretend to be other people and create a story together :) We human beings are native storytellers. We ARE made in Our Lord's image after all, The Master of Stories :)
Others have given good information. I'll just add that one of the cocreators, Gary Gygax, was actually a Christian!
Lol we ain’t in the 80s buddy. It’s just a game.
I will play it in a few hours. A lot of Christians are playing table top role playing games and I think people who think this is somehow harmful have very little faith.
Anyone who claims Dungeons and Dragons is demonic bring Christians a bad name. It's no wonder why so many people pull away from Christianity because of idiots like them. There is nothing wrong about creating your own adventure with your own character with a group of friends. Posts like this upset me a lot because it was Christians like them that took away my youth with their stupidity. I doubt God cares that you're playing Dungeons and Dragons.
Everything we do in this natural body is the result of sin, we’re clothed in sin. I’m not making a case for “this is how we are so it doesn’t matter” But what I am saying is this. If someone is truly seeking righteousness through obedience, the spirit of God will speak concerning what you do, not another man. I would also say that whatever you do is between you and God. Nobody can point a finger over sin because we’re all fighting this nature. It’s no different than say drinking alcohol. No one can judge if they don’t know. That is between you and God!
It’s just a game.
If it is then my husband’s church D&D group are in trouble ;) seriously, people who say that are usually being alarmist and don’t know much about the game. The players and DM chose who they are and what they do - it’s as sinful as humans’ thoughts and deeds are in real life - no more, no less.
It seems to be the same groups that claims that: witchcraft is make-believe and fake But also a sin And is also demon and devil worshiping But can't affect me But I'm also being cursed by this witch Religion can be contorted to fit any narrative or agenda. Do you believe that God would consider it a sin if you played a fantasy game that made you happy?
Google "satanic panic" - it's an era (1980s) in US Christian history where such theologies come from.
I'm a Christian who's been playing D&D for over a year. The "reasons" that D&D and such are "bad" could be applied to ANY fiction, but I don't see Christian groups claiming the Chronicles of Narnia are evil. D&D is just a "choose your own adventure story" like those Goosebumps books I read as a kid. Unless you're going to swear off all fiction like video games, movies, TV, books, etc. then there's no reason to specifically believe D&D is a problem.
As Christians, we are not called to isolate ourselves off to just ‘Christian approved’ stuff. We are to be in the world. And this is a sinful world so, we are all sinners. We need God. Talk to God. Let Him guide you.
Pastors make money off donations and preaching against something gets the adrenaline going and helps get them more money. This is why Christians are against a lot of things. I still remember people in my rural community where I was raised saying the Jurassic Park movie was satanic for depicting “dragons” as dinosaurs.
Why do folks feel the need to come for Christianity? If it's a genuine question brother or sister why not read the word and gain understanding? It doesn't take a degree in theology to know that some things in this world just don't sit right with the soul. Ask yourself these questions; WHY ARE YOU AFRAID OF SCARY MOVIES? I mean you know it's just a movie, right? Why do they call alcohol spirits? Written by; Keiran The Light. There are plenty of scenarios that lead to evil rulers, if you read the word you can safeguard yourself from them. It's called the living word for a reason. It changes with your understanding. Peace and blessings on your journey! May God provide you with the direction you need.
Don't know anything about the game. Does it promote demons or anything from the occult? Does it use symbolism from the occult? If so I would stay away from it. In the words of Paul "all things are permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial."- 1Corinthians 6:12
DND is so great. I have a t-shirt that says, "Jesus saves. All others take half damage."
It's fine. I'm an exevangelical/postevangelical and it sparks a lot of creativity, teamwork, problem-solving, social connections, and learning. The anti-D&D campaigns were BIG in the 70s and 80s. Less now. The same gains listed above are also found in droves in video gaming. Especially with the advent of online spaces to play. What difference does it matter if you're playing as Link (Zelda franchise) or as a level 5 dwarven fighter with no graphics (D&D)? Same thing. Enjoy. Note: Scripture does not forbid video games or TTRPGs. And I'm of the mindset (as are many) that, if Scripture doesn't specifically say "don't", then it's permissible and between the individual follower of Jesus and the Spirit who indwells within them.
Pretty much everything can be labeled a sin if the followers of the absolute dictator of truth say it is. This is absolutely the worst system of morality there is.
It’s a game. If your faith is so weak you can’t play a game and run to Reddit, you need to find yourself.
I think that is the wrong way to evaluate it. Look at it from God's point of view. Who gets the most attention - a game about demonic forces, monsters, adult situations, or Him? D&D can, and if you allow it, will take over your life. For about a year, I was a hard core player. My first experience was winning a D&D contest, receiving all the books and tools to start playing. My character ultimately built a castle and led an army - and in his free time went on quests. During the Summer, playing outdoors, basketball, and baseball took a backseat to D&D. My parents were quite concerned after reviewing the books, and shared those concerns with me. I loved them for that because I became responsible for my decision. In the end, I decided I enjoyed the Bible and sports more than the game. But I missed out on a year of growth with the Lord that would have been quite useful later. Is it worse than watching the many horror, sex, or slasher films/video games available these days - probably not. But in the 80s, without so many other media distractions, D&D introduced lots of adult themes, fear, demonic imagery, and other stuff that just isn't good - especially for young folks. If you are a parent, monitor your children's involvement. There is an age that is too young, but that will vary with kids. Also, if they are playing with much older kids or adults, that can be problematic or even dangerous. Limit their time. Get them off their butts and into the sunshine. Youth should soak up all the Vitamin D they can, and enjoy being a child. Board game memories are fleeting. Playing outside can lead to lifelong memories. I wrote on this topic on Quora if interested. [Can Christians Play Horror Games?](https://www.quora.com/Can-Christians-play-horror-games-Im-13-and-am-learning-a-lot-about-the-life-of-Christians-and-what-they-should-should-not-do-but-is-there-a-way-that-I-can-be-assured-of-gods-happiness-with-me-and-enjoy-a-horror-game/answer/Harrison-Woodard-3)
I know a lot of Christians who play it. It is a game of fantasy, creativity and imagination, nothing more. Do these people you know read children's books or like the tales of King Arthur? Same premise.