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by Adam Delligatti

Created on: January 12, 2011   Last Updated: January 13, 2011

In 1979, child prodigy, James Dallas Egbert III faked his death in the Michigan State University steam tunnels.  His parents hired private investigator William Dear to find out what exactly happened to their son.  The investigation led Dear to study Dungeons & Dragons which was a game that he had previously known nothing about.  He believed that Egbert had killed himself in an incident that related to the game, because Egbert had played a live action version of D&D in the tunnels before the suicide.

It was later revealed that Egbert was still alive and living in Lousiana, and Dear traveled there to retrieve him.  Egbert had faked his death because he was in a state of depression caused from the pressures of life.  Yet he did reveal that the suicide incident did not have anything to do with D&D, but it was just something that he played for fun.

A year after the tunnel incident Egbert finally committed suicide.  Two years later the ordeal was turned into a fictionalized book and movie called Monsters and Maze.  Four years later Dear published a book called The Dungeon Master, which was an account of Egbert’s story that blamed Dungeons & Dragons.  At this point the game continued to gain negative publicity and religious groups began to look at the evil.

The religious groups studied the game and realized that it incorporated evil beings such as the succubus, and more importantly the Devil.  The Devil, a being in Christian religion, is known as a being of ultimate evil.  When groups found out that a game would be played using this being of evil they began to associate D&D with Devil worshipping.  It became a game of evil.  This type of game was not the type of game that children should be playing.  A type of game that no one should be playing.

The churches then began to advise their parishioners not to let their children to play the game.  They felt the evil would lead the children into worshipping the Devil.  Yet there was also the lingering incident of Egbert to support their cause.  Parents wanted to protect their children.  Therefore the game of Dungeons and Dragons was going to be known as a forbidden game.  A game that was just evil.

The DM (Dungeon Master) or GM (Game Master) is the person who controls the world of D&D in a godlike manner.  This person watches over the game and creates the storyline for the characters to follow.  If the game was going to take a Satanic path then it will be because of the DM.  On the other hand, the DM can create a happy adventure of goodwill and charity.  Depending on the creative ability and the game play that this omnipotent master chooses, the game can become anything.

Even though the DM is considered the god of D&D, he is never revealed to the characters inside the game.  Within the realm of D&D there are many different gods that exist from Egyptian, Roman, Asian, and original gods that are made for the game.  The world is ran by the same simple principles of good and evil.  Yet these are the ideas of the DM and he can use or omit the gods in whatever manner supports his game.  

It cannot be denied that D&D has the potential to be the game of evil, or for that matter a game of Devil worshipping.  The DM  could choose to only use gods of evil to support his game, or he could lead he players towards a path of evil.  But that doesn’t mean he will.  The game is not the one creating the evil, but the person who designs the world for the players to play.  The creators of D&D even say in the manual that the rules are “not absolute, but just guidelines to play.”  In the end it is the players choice.

In the game of D&D there is only on DM per game,  but every other player is going to be a PC (Playable Character).  The PC doesn’t have the power that the DM does and he is limited to the rules of the world that has been created for him.  Yet at the same time the PC has the free ability to do almost anything.  He can adventure through dungeons, fight enemies, search for treasure, or maybe even sit at home and read a book.
    The PC, like the DM, needs to be creative in order for the game to be exciting.  One of the easiest and most common (especially for first time players) ways to ruin a character is if the player plays himself.  A lot of people tend to make characters that look like themselves, and they act as they would be acting.  This process takes away the role-playing ability and turns D&D into a game that lacks creativity.

There is also a problem with the PC known as metagaming.  Metagaming is a term used to associate when a player uses outside information to affect how he is going to play.  An example in D&D would be:  The DM tells person A about something translated into a language that only he would understand.  Person B then takes that information and acts according to it.  This may ruin the game for other players because the game becomes unfair.  Another problem with metagaming is when a player takes outside grievances and uses them in game.  An example would be if person A is mad at person B, then he attacks him in the game for no reason.  Again it makes the game unfair.
    To make the game more exciting the player has to use creative skills when developing and playing his character.  A person can create goals for their character such as a swordsman can strive to be the greatest swordfighter in the world.  Or a person can create a back-story such as their family was killed.  Not only will creativeness make the game realistic, but it will allow the PC to take the game to a new level.  Not always following a simple path.
    The PC doesn’t always have to follow the path that the DM creates and can go against the set path.  Sometimes the PC can even try to do something that hasn’t been planned out and it could change the way the DM has set up the game.  Thus if the DM has created a game of evil then the PC could rebel against it, or the player could choose not to play the game.

To fully understand of how D&D is not a game of evil there needs to be some explanation of the game play.  The game has one DM, and has one to an unlimited number of PCs.  Running the game the DM is the storyteller who decides what the PCs are going to be doing, or what type of world they will live in.  After everything is planned out the DM starts the players out in the world and they can do practically anything.  Also there may be some sort of hook that starts the characters on a quest.  An example would be that all of the PCs are currently waiting in a bar, and someone enters the bar looking for warriors to go on a quest.  The players may already be friends or just patrons in the bar who decide to work together for money or fame.  Yet having freewill the players may decide not to even go on the quest.

The game is set up in a storytelling fashion where the DM talks about the world where he is like the narrator of a story.  The PCs are actors that play the role of their characters.  In this method the player talks as the character.  Player is character.  If the PC wants to go to the bar he would say, “I want to go to the bar.”  Yet if he cannot do this then he is not role playing.

D&D is not just a game of storytelling but it also tries to bring players into a realistic experience by using a character sheet.  This sheet contains information such as the race, class, character stats, alignment, religion, items and armor that a character has.  Each of these things are an integral part of taking players into a world of fantasy.
    
In 1974, the first edition of the D&D handbook was published by Gary Gygax.  Since then there have been three more editions of the game published, each with additions and changes to the rules.  One change that was made after the initial release was the removal of various creatures such as the Devil.  Yet they were returned in later years once the controversy of Egbert had begun to die out.  Along with these newer additions the game companies have also provided supplemental materials (books) that give players more things they can do.  

The original version of the game was the result of many years of study by Gygax.  He began playing table top and miniature war games in 1953.  Through all of his gaming experience Gygax began picking out things that he liked and putting them together to create his own game.  Being particularly fond of the medieval time period, the setting for the game was created.  Another thing that Gygax began to study was dice.  He did not want to create a game that just revolved around the standard six-sided die.  The game would be played with : two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve, twenty sided dice.  There was also a one-hundred sided die, but it was later phased out and replaced with two ten-sided dice.

Through all of the study, creative ability, and innovation of Gygax, the game of Dungeons and Dragons became a truly original experience.  In 1985 Gygax had lost control of his company and ownership of his game due to corporate problems.  Yet gaming still remained a part of his life.  He continued to play D&D, write campaign scenarios and supplements, create a D&D cartoon, and parody himself on other television shows such as Futurama and Code Monkeys.  Gygax was still a part of D&D, and fans would still remember him as the creator of the game.  Four months before the newest version of D&D (4.0) was going to be released, Gary Gygax passed away.      

Besides the evil wrap D&D has gotten over the years, it has also been known for being a game for nerds or geeks.  Comedian Stephen Lynch had written the song D and D to represent the level of the nerdiness that the game inspires.  There is also a song entitled Geek by rapper MC Chris, where he also mentions “If this were D and D I’d jump into a portal.  I’m a geek.”  Both of these songs represent the current trend of attitudes toward the game, and both make the players (or DM) seem like nerds.

The idea that D&D is a game for nerds takes away from peoples desire to play the game.  A lot of people do not want to associate with this stereotype and they will not even consider playing the game.  This stereotype has less credibility than the game being evil.  There is no story (fact or myth) to support the judgment.  It just becomes an act of bigotry that takes players away from an experience that they may find enjoyable.
 

Learn more about this author, Adam Delligatti.
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