Hi Dark, That's just it though. In most cases D&D is harmless as most of the time it is just a bunch of guys and gals sitting around a table rolling dice and playing the game. The serious minded people go do the LARP thing with the live action roll playing. Neither one is particularly dangerous in and of itself.
The problem is that some people go too far, go to extremes, and when someone gets hurt or killed the news media is all over it trumpeting the evils of D&D or whatever. It is a case of something that rarely happens getting blown out of proportion and turned into a media frenzy because it is controversial. Then, we get the religious talking heads adding their input on how the bible tells us not to get involved in the occult, that this behavior is evil, and that D&D should be band because it leads to this kind of violence. All seem to overlook the fact that this incident in question is a rare event, an aberration, and in 99%of all cases that this sort of thing never happens. Its just a case of the media making a mountain out of a molehill to have something to do on a slow news day. It is in my opinion a side effect of what I like to call the drive by media. They always drive around looking for the most sensational stories, and if it isn't sensational enough they will find a way to make it more sensational than it really is. As a result a lot of things that have no real relationship to the situation at hand such as a D&D game gotten out of hand is turned into a media frenzy over the evils of roll playing games even though D&D itself had little to do with what happened. The media just wants to stir the pot and se what comes of it. Back in the early 80's Don Henley made a great song called "Dirty Laundry" that tells it how it really is about today's news media. "We can do the innuendo. We can dance and sing. We know when all is said and done we haven't really told you a thing. We all know crap is king. Give us dirty laundry." Don Henley, Dirty Laundry On 4/30/15, dark <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi tim. > > I'm still a little confused at this correspondance between D&D and deaths, > or indeed what you mean about a girl crawling around in the woods and D&D. > > As far as I knowand have ever played, D&D,like all tabletop games involves > you and your friends and a game master sitting around in a nice warm house > with your dice and character sheets (or electronic versions of same), > essentially participating in a collective story the gm is telling. > > As I said, I can believe that someone probably has committed a murder or > similar, but only the same way any social activity provokes murder. There's > > no directly violent action or running around with real weapons. > > This is a contrast from larp, live action role play which does! involve > dressing up like your fantasy character and running around smacking each > other with fake weapons. This is not something I've ever done or personally > > would particularly want to do (sinse I don't see the point of being > physically limited to playing a blind character), however I have many > friends who are keen larp fans, and they describe a very strict set of rules > > and code of conduct, such as having a licensed first aider, having only > specific phome weapons usable, having a set guide when out in wild locations > > who is responsable for knowing where all the players are etc. > > ? > > indeed apparently at one point a couple of friends of mine were getting > ready to go to one of their larp events dressing in gear, and were accosted > > by a drunken idiot wielding a large table knife saying "I want to play too" > > and swinging it around like a moron, ---- their response was to phone the > police! > > ? > > So, I don't particularly see D&d any more dangerous than any other in door > social activity would be, and while larp does entail more risk, when run > properly it's no more dangerous than say fencing, wilderness walking or > other out door sports. > > ? > > Beware the grue! > > ? > > Dark. > > > --- > Gamers mailing list __ [email protected] > If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to > [email protected]. > You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at > http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. > All messages are archived and can be searched and read at > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. > If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, > please send E-mail to [email protected]. > --- Gamers mailing list __ [email protected] If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [email protected]. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to [email protected].
