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Dungeons and Dragons is a game, pure and simple. It features the process of role-playing, which inspires creativity, teaches problem-solving skills, and allows players to discover and develop relationships in a safe, fictional setting. Dungeons and Dragons is NOT a self-hypnosis program, a secret society, an experimental brain-altering drug, or a self-taught course in swordplay, and it is certainly not satanic.

Various dictionary definitions of "satanic" include adjectives like demonic, evil, wicked, diabolical, or something that applies to the concept of Hell. For purposes of supporting this argument, however, we must also accept the more socially defined, generic assumption that "satanic" might include anything supernatural, pagan, or anything that would go against teachings of faiths such as Christianity and Islam, that believe in Satan as an entity.

== Role-Playing ==

In its simplest form, role-playing offers an escape from real life, and everyone needs an escape from time to time. Instead of just reading about a character in a novel or watching one in a movie, players portray fictional characters, and the entire group, along with the game referee, literally writes the story based on their decisions as the game progresses.

This interactive element is used not only in games, but also in education (e.g., Learning various occupations by stepping into their roles in a college class) and entertainment (e.g., TV's "Whose Line is it, Anyway?"). Are actors seen as satanic because they immerse themselves in roles that portray other people? Not usually. Therefore, the role-playing aspect of D&D cannot be blamed for the misconception that it is satanic.

== Dungeons and Dragons in the Media ==

D&D has historically been a convenient scapegoat for the mainstream media. If a young person had an underlying problem that was not caught or solved before a personal tragedy, and if s/he happened to play D&D even once, some journalists find it easier to blame the game than to find out the true cause of death.

In 1979, 16-year-old genius Dallas Egbert went missing from Michigan State University, returned, but then committed suicide because of depression. His situation was allegedly caused by parental pressure, academic expectations, sexual confusion, and other unfortunate circumstances. According to many unofficial sources, he simply wanted to get away to sort things out, but found the pressure to be too much. He also happened to play D&D.

In the early 1980s,

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