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Castles & Cauldrons

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 4:35 pm
by Eleventh Doctor
This two part series, http://www.aiowiki.com/wiki/Castles_and ... ns,_Part_1 , from 1990 was Focus on the Families contribution to the conversation around "The Satanic Panic" of the 1980s & 90s that spread moral panic about Dungeons & Dragon, rock and roll music, and Halloween. There was also a Jack Chick tract in 1984 called Dark Dungeons that claimed Dungeon & Dragons is satanic and leads to its players actually practicing satanism. Of course anyone who has read the rule books or played Dungeons & Dragons will realize that's not true at all. So why was Focus on the Family and Jack Chick so worried about this fantasy role playing game? Have you played Dungeons & Dragons? Did you enjoy it if you did? Are you interested in trying it out?

A couple additional notes, here is an interesting podcast on the Satanic Panic from a Christian viewpoint http://stgcast.org/episode-131-christia ... avid-subu/ also while I was doing some research for this post I learned that Katie Leigh, the voice actor for Connie, also played Sheila The Thief, one of the main characters in the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon television show.

Re: Castles & Cauldrons

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 5:42 pm
by Blitz
I find it kinda ironic. I tend to play and watch a lot of lore about Warhammer. That's definitely a lot more, how should I say.... controversial if you bring it up. I'm not a player of DND but I do rp much of what would be considered a descendant of Dnd, like Warhammer for example. I can see why people however can be skeptical about rping in general. Its much like any field in that their is room for a lot of bad things. However, as far as I've come in this field the greatest danger isn't in what people attack it for but for the limitless potential of introducing bad things into the rps of players own volition.

Re: Castles & Cauldrons

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 8:31 pm
by Audrey
DnD is so freaking fun. I genuinely don't see how it could even be perceived as Satanic half the time. It seems like something modern granola families would be all for - using your imagination while hanging out with friends to create super cool stories, instead of spending time on electronics? I guess because you can "cast a spell", that means Satan.

DnD is what you make of it - if you get obsessed with it, you could get obsessed with anything else, don't blame the game. If you join a super dark anti-God campaign, fine, but don't claim all campaigns end in worshiping demons.

Also, chick tracts are the best. I mean that unironically. They make me laugh.

Re: Castles & Cauldrons

Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2019 10:50 pm
by Metal15
Never played DnD, but I don't see a huge problem with it. Younger kids, maybe so.

I always loved the Castles and Cauldrons episode in AIO, while my brothers all thought it was too evil and always avoided it. For me, even at a young age, I enjoyed a story with a hefty "conflict". The bigger and the harsher the conflict, the more satisfying it is to me when the story gets resolved.

I've read several of the Forgotten Realms l DnD novels from the early 2000s and I can understand some Christians reasons for avoiding them. They can be extremely dark and cruel, with characters who commit evil deeds encouraged and rewarded at the end of the day. I was taken aback upon reading a couple of the novels, and it turned me off from them for a bit, but I ended up reading some more years later. They don't bother me, but they can be a grind to read.

Overall I think people should just use discretion when consuming any entertainment, especially when it comes to smaller children.

Re: Castles & Cauldrons

Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2019 11:02 pm
by Eleventh Doctor
Yeah I was never a fan of the Forgotten Realms books either, for the exact reasons you mentioned. I totally agree that discretion is key to any entertainment. Good to find something we agree on!