Thursday, April 12, 2007

Devil worship in roleplaying games

I did a lot of reading today on Dungeons and Dragons and its alleged causal relationship to Satanism. I think the evidence is questionable, and probably pales in comparison to violence stemming from religious zealotry.
Now, I would offer up World of Darkness games as an alternative to D&D. It has a stronger focus on morality, and those who are immoral are punished. Albeit, they are punished in this life with no mention of a Judeo-Christian afterlife.
Faith is also a strong force in the game. Within the Hunters Hunted and Hunter the Reckoning, mortals have the power to reveal, fight, slow and destroy supernatural forces with faith. Also, the Huner scenarios seem rather benevolent, ie: the players are defending humans or themselves, fighting dark forces. I like that idea a bunch. So much, I want to lead hunter games and maybe never let my players be vampires or werewolves or even mages. The danger is this: is a player who believes themselves an invincible religious zealot, or a paradise-bound martyr, any better than a selfish sorceror? Maybe, but only when their goals are for the glory of God and the good of mankind.
Also present in HH is some simple magic. Mortal hunters have a few simple psychic and magical abilities. If you think magic is evil, then there is evil there. I don't think magic is inherently evil, though I think it has no power in the real world. In a world where magic were real, it's all about how you use it, and then about how you live with it after it's done.
However, in Masquerade, the Player's Guide, and beyond into the new WoD, vampire magic is all about blood rituals. Sacrificing this and making that. Vampire existence revolves around blood so this should come as no surprise. Still, no matter how many actions I can look at objectively, blood magic seems evil. It seems like Satanism to me. It seems like some ancient, scary pagan ritual. It certainly employs the magic worldview, that the caster can do things God would not do for them Himself. It also gives the character an opportunity to fuel his or her goals with the suffering, death and destruction of others. That's a very scary propositon, and one I hope to avoid delving into.
On a lighter note, I am utterly tired of the D&D bestiaries' focus on demons and hell. Lords of the levels of the underworld based on real demonology scare me. I suppose that's the point, but I really would rather work with some inexplicable or inconceivable horrors, even Lovecraft. Judeo-Christian demons have a stronger possibility, in my mind, of being real. That makes me quite hesitant to throw around their possibly real names during the wee hours of the morning.

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