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Sitting here looking at the question at hand, Is Dungeons and Dragons really satanic, I was tempted to right a big fat No. I have played for years and would defend the game on the merits and the character positives that this game can supply a person. However, that is not what the question is asking. So I thought a little more about it.

I thought about the core game system, to those of you who remember the first edition it was the red booklet set, and how it was layed out. With the aid of Gary Gygax and his writers the system was set up as a purely adventurous one. You were intended to fully participate in a system of "role playing" that would allow you to take a character and build it up to hero status. All of this was done by what we called "leveling". Leveling was the idea that as you traveled in your world, fighting demons, monsters, and characters, you would gain experience and moving up in levels rewarded you. This movement up would allow you better abilities, more life, and a sturdier character. Almost all of the people that I knew that played the game loved the fact that it was simple and uncluttered, and was a way to interact with other people without being yourself.

I explain this so you understand that the basic idea of the system, as it was intended to be played, was not demonic or satanic in its beginning. However, once you started to level up into the higher levels, the material becomes disturbingly more and more demonic. The modules, fantasy adventures in a pre-made format, and the materials given for the higher levels are riddled with mentions of demons, Gods, and other satanic visions. Many of the books that are supplemental are diluted with pictures of the same. The effect is that children, or adults for that matter, are taught to accept satanic views and the idea that these demons and devils are commonplace, in a game setting. While they are portrayed as evil, the game allows for you to actually play as a demon or as a human host to demonic powers. As the player becomes more experienced it is evident that the idea is to dive deeper and deeper into labyrinths that are based on the occult and the idea that the overall battle for good and evil is a battle between heaven and hell.

Do I feel that the game itself is satanic? I don't feel it was intended to start out that way. However, the further that this game goes along, and it has for years evolved, I feel that the company that creates the modules and the fantasy players that support it, are tending toward playing a more satanic role, without realizing they are doing it. Acceptance of satanic values and the introduction of occults and their views on society is in my opinion a true test of whether an item is satanic, and by this test alone, yes, Dungeons and Dragons could be conceived as a satanic game.

Learn more about this author, Scott Shaffer.
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