DUNGEONS & DRAGONS A very concerned ex-player, Darren Motitor {signed}
#107 Dungeons & Dragons brochure. This item is free of charge.
It is a personal testimony of a young man sentenced to life in
prison for the murder of a friend with whom he played Dungeons &
Dragons. He tells how to play the game and reasons why you
should not play the game.
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS
A very concerned ex-player,
Darren Motitor {signed}
I'm sure many, if not all, of you have heard about or played the
very popular game of "Dungeons & Dragons". Now I'm not speaking
of the board game, of which there is one, I'm speaking of the
game that is played in your mind.
To give some background of the game for those of you that haven't
had the so-called priviledge of experiencing the let me tell you
about it.
The game is called "Dungeons & Dragons" and it is a fantasy role-
playing game. As you can probably assume from the title it is
set in the medieval era of our time or history. Because it is a
game of "fantasy" anything is pobbiBle {sic} and being a "role-
playing" game means you act as a character of that time as if you
were on stage. But there is no physical action on the player's
part. Everything is played or imagined in the mind. And you, as
a player, are the sole person responsible for the actions of your
character or characters. You control him totally, His/her {sic}
actions, words feelings, thoughts. Everything about this
character you control.
To obtain a "character", a player must first roll three six-sided
dice. Add up the numbers rolled and write it down. A player
does this six times and then he must organize the numbers he has
rolled to the six characteristics of his character. After which
the player may roll to obtain the height and weight or he/she may
choose it. The si characteristics are strength, intelligence,
wisdom, constitution, dexterity and charisma. These six
characteristics are the "heart" of your character. The player
assigns a race to the character, a class, which is his/her
occupation and the alignment. An alignment is the character's
attitude or outlook on life. The different classes are many and
each class has a sub-class. They are the following:
Cleric, (druid); fighter, (paladin, ranger) magic-user,
(illusionist); thief (assassin); monk and bard. the different
alignments are : lawful good, lawful neutral, lawful evil,
neutral, chaotic good, chaotic neutral and chaotic evil. Now the
player rolls a particular die or dice, of which are many to
obtain a character's hit points. The "hit points" are the amount
of stamina or damage the character can sustain before going into
a coma or even dying. You then give him/her money, by rolling
the dice, and equipping him with supplies, weapons and armor.
From here there is only two more steps. The first is to roll and
obtain the spells a character has if/she is able to use them.
Some classes use spells and others don't. The final stage is
picking a name for your new-born character. He/she is now a true
and real person in the player's mind.
There is also a player called the dungeon master or DM, for
short. This player is usually more familiar and experienced in
the game. The DM plays a very important part of the game. Also
a very powerful part. He/she plays the sole role of "god" of the
game. The DM controls everything that happens within the game.
The only part of the game he does not control entirely is the
actions of your character. But he/she may constrict then if
he/she chooses. He/she is also in control of that player's
character's life. The DM may decide to destroy the character for
some reason, but it should not be for any personal reason and the
DM should refrain form doing such actions unless the player of
that character has become uncontrollable and has changed the fun
of the game.
The DM has a lot of responsibility, as you can imagine. For
example, the DM must create an adventure or dungeon. There are
many books called modules with "dungeons" already prepared, but
for the most part the DM creates them hinself/herself. He/she
must create the scenery (indoor, outdoor, underground, the
various and numberable characters a player may encounter, the
temperature, the smell, the monsters and the treasure. It is a
very long and tedious process and the average dungeon takes
anywhere from 36-48 hours of work. There is one case of the game
being followed, that the DM a lady, has quit her job and does
nothing except create and prepare a dungeon for her players. She
has created an entire country. The players of the group support
her living necessities. They pay for her home, her groceries,
her bills, etc.
The game is played with two or more people with the average group
consisting of 5, including the DM. The DM, as I have explained
runs the show. He/she will describe, in detail what is around
you. What action is taking place, what sounds you may hear, what
smells you may notice, etc., etc. From here it is the player's
option of what to do. The player must decide what his/her
character is going to do. In response the DM tells the players
of the result of their actions. As I've said before, a character
may do anything; I emphasize anything, that a player wants
him/her to do. For example; the DM has just told you that you
have come up a cave entrance It is midday, warm, you hear what
appears as water running from inside, but you can't see anything.
The players now decide if they wish to enter the cave, throw a
stone in to try and locate water, yell something in to try and
get a response or just ignore it completely.
Another example is; you are in a room or chamber underground that
you have discovered. There is a table, some chairs, a desk with
numerous jars on it. There is a lot of dust covering everything.
And in the corner a chest sits. As a player your first instinct
is to search the chest for some treasure. During the proces of
checking for any traps and trying to unlock it a few orcs (a type
of human-like monster, resembling a pig) sneak up from behind.
They are very angry and have their weapons drawn and are about to
attack. What do you do now? If you are a spell user you attempt
to cast a spell. You may try and bargain with them. Or, and
most likely, you may fight them. You draw your weapon and
charge. Now the dice come in. The DM rolls a six-sider for the
orcs and you roll a six-sider. This is for the initiative. You
win initiative. You roll a 20 sided die and attempt to hit the
orc. What you are doing is swinging your sword or hammer, etc
and the die roll will tell you if you hit the orc. If you hit
you roll another die which could be a four-sided, six-sided,
eight-sided, ten-sided, or twelve-sided, depending on the weapon
and the result is the amount of damage to the orc. Now the orc
or orcs swing. The same process is used. And this continues
until you or they are dead.
Remember now, all of this is imagined in the mind. You can
actually see this. What they look like, how you're swinging, the
damage given and obtained. It all appears in the mind.
The reason for explaining so much is so you may understand how
the game is played. It may seem to be harmless and very
entertaining and it is entertaining, but far from harmless. I
have had the experience of the game for more than 3 years now and
I know the effects of the game. For the majority of those that
play it becomes a way to escape reality. It is a way of letting
tension and anxieties loose. And that is good. But subjecting
the mind to the amounts of violence involved isn't. It is far
more bad than it is good. Especially to a young mind. And an 18
or 20 year old still has a young mind. Its effects are both
mental and physical. It is in comparison to drugs, alcohol or
tobacco. It is very possessive, addictive and evil. Evil may
sound wrong or peculiar to explain a game, but there is no other
way to describe it. It is a device of Satan to lure us away from
God. It is occult.
An occult you say? What is an occult? Defined in American
Family and School Dictionary, a publication based on the American
College Dictionary, prepared by Random House, Inc., it is:
beyond the bounds of ordinary knowledge; secret. And in
Webster's Dictionary it defines it as: secret; mysterious,
magical; supernatural; mystical. Staying on the same subject
let's define occultism: the docrine or study of the
supernatural, magical imaginary, etc. Stated concisely it is the
participation or involvement in anyway with fortune telling,
magic practices, spiritism, or false religious cults and
teachings. Within that category is using a ouija board, ESP,
telepathy, horoscope, a seance, yog {sic}, remote influence of
the subconscious mind of others, self-hypnosis, following
astrology and Dungeons & Dragons. They are all connected with an
occult or are considered occultism pratic {sic}. All such
occults are condemned by God in the Scriptures, being an
abomination unto Him and are under His curse. To quote a passage
from an article written by Dr. Hobart E. Freeman I write the
following:
"The Scriptures condemn all forms of occultism as scorcery and
warn that . . .they which do such things shall not inherit the
kingdom of God" (Gal. 5:19-20), but ". . .are an abomination unto
the Lord" (Deut. 18:12), and ". . .shall have their part in the
lake which burneth with fire and brimstone" (Rev. 21:8).
From earliest times God forbade occultism as spiritually defiling
(Le. 19:31), and made participation in it punishable by death
(Ex. 22:18); Lev. 20:27), and cause for rejection of that soul by
god {sic}(Lev. 20:6).
Dungeons & Dragons is based on magic and the supernatural. There
is, in fact a hard bound book entitled "Deities & Demigods" for
the sole purpose of informing you of the "gods" that are involved
in the game. It gives complete details of the "gods" and it
expects you as a player character to pick a "god" to worship
him/her. To pray to, to sacrifice, to, to {sic} obey. And to
die for if necessary.
Not only is the game based on magic and the supernatural it
involves violence. Serious violence! The type of violence not
allowed on TV. There is hack and slash murder, rape, theivery,
pillaging and terrorism. And in the game it is natural and
expected for a character to do those things. A character must,
at elast {sic}, murder and rob in order to survive. And it is
the object of the game to survive. To do whatever you must, to
anybody or anything, in order to survive and become more powerful
and wealthy. The more you do those things the longer you live.
The longer you live the more powerful you become and usually with
power comes wealth.
You may be saying, "all of that may be true, but what does that
have to do with me (or my children)? It has everything to do
with you (or your children) if you (or they) are involved in the
game. AS {sic} I have repeated several times the game is played
or imagined entirely in the mind. Totally and only in the mind.
The conscious mind experiences these visions as reality while
playing. And if it is played let's say, 3-5 times a week, 4-8
hous each time, the conscious mind becomes accustomed to such
acts of violence. Then when the person is finished playing for
that day, it is all pushed back to the sub-conscious supposedly.
But it is known that the mind is very powerful and unexplainable.
It is very possible for the sub-conscious mind to overpower the
concious mind. Suddenly you are no longer in total control of
your mind. The "fantasy game" becomes a "reality game". You
begin to live it for real. Everything you do, or say, involves
or associates to the game itself. You no longer play the game
for enjoyment, you must have it (play it) just like a person on
drugs, alcohol or tabacco {sic} must have them. It is an
addiction. And you {sic} mind is udner {sic} the control of the
game. It is possessed by the game.
Now, you're probably saying that won't happen to me (or my
children) because I won't let it happen or I'm too smart for that
to happen. Believe me, it happens! And it happens to anyone.
It has happended to many younger teenagers, 13 and 14. The It
{sic} has happened to me. It has happened to many college
students that have committed suicide or have done some serious
bodily harm to themselves and others. The destruction it can
cause to the mind and sould {sic} is incredible. It's rather
unexplainable. I an {sic} many others have had some very bad
experiences because of the game and I am writing too, on their
behalf to warn or make you aware of the game. It is dangerous
and against God's command.
There are as I've said numerous recorded accounts of teenager 13
to 19 and some older persons that have had some troublesome
experiences. Many have committed suicide due to the game.
ANother {sic} good many have either caused serious harm to
themselves or toher {sic} individuals. And some have caused the
death of a friend or family member by accident, but because of
the "game", they took the "game" one step too far. "Playing" it
for real one time too many. For some it was the alst {sic} time
they played it or any other game. Many were lucky, but you may
not be.
So, please for your own safetty and salvation and the safety of
others don't play the game anymore. It is more dangerous tha I
can fully explain. Don't play with you {sic} physical life that
way and don't condemn you soul to hell by participating in the
game.
A very concerned ex-player
Darren Motitor {signed}
