This page last updated on 9/30/03.

Roleplaying is something I do. I'm sorry if that offends any of you reading this page, but I do roleplay.

To skip this and go read the adventure I'm currently running via Play by Email with some friends of mine, go to the Erath Adventure page.

It seems there's a big controversy about roleplaying. Is it a sign of the devil? Is it the cause of suicides? Is roleplaying a cult? Or is it just fun and games? I want to take up some of this page to address these ideas individually and, when I think of more of the points that have been made against roleplaying, I'll mention those, and my views on them, as well.

The rest of this page deals with answering those questions. For those of you interested in Roleplaying (Rollplaying) links go here

For those of you interested in my idea of what Roleplaying is go here

Otherwise, continue on.

Recent events have triggered more of the "it has to deal with sorcery and spells so it must be evil" mentality that I find both humorous and painful. I read an article in my January 24th 2001 edition of Infobeat (an online version of short blurbs that happen around the world) and saw this article:

Aussie school bans Harry Potter book BRISBANE, Australia (AP) - A Christian school has banned the popular Harry Potter children's books from its library, saying they are violent and dangerous. Dr. Chas Gullo of the Christian Outreach College, a private school in Queensland state, said he read one chapter from the latest story about a young magician, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," and was exposed to four murders. "It was pretty gory," Gullo was quoted as saying by Brisbane's Courier-Mail newspaper. Some parents' groups and academics on Tuesday criticized the school's decision, saying the books by J.K. Rowling are fantasy and pose no threat. University of the Sunshine Coast popular culture expert Dr. Karen Brooks said the books encourage children to read and use their imaginations. "I think that in this day and age there's a huge spiritual dearth in our lives," she told ABC radio.

I've personally not read the Harry Potter series of books, so any discussion I have about them are purely from what I've read and what I know as a roleplayer. I have also not been to Australia, so my views are on how life is in the United States, and not how life is in Australia. I see the same kind of views here too, so feel I can use this example to discuss how ridiculous I think banning a book is (yes, the US has banned books, most of which probably shouldn't be banned).

Dr. Chas Gullo points out that there are 4 murders in one chapter of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" and if that is the basis on which he asked the book to be banned from the school's library, he must not read much. Read the front section of a newspaper and you will find probably around 4 murders or so. Just think of when the Oaklahoma bombing happened, all the murders in the paper at that time. Should our children not know what is happening in the world because we choose not to show them, not to let them make their own decision? Not only that but the obituary section is in the newspaper somewhere and those people are dead - not neccessarily murdered, but should we subject our children to any sort of death then, if we can't let a book on fantasy talk about the fact that people died (be it not by their own hands).

By banning books, we are not letting our children decide for themselves what they do and do not want to read. Does our society need to dictate everything a child reads? Ban Superman - it talks about an alien from another planet that has super powers and could possibly use them for evil. Ban the X-men - same reason. Ban any and all comic books because our children see that people can die, can be killed and they shouldn't be subjected to that.

I'm not saying that a child should be presented with murders, sex and violance at every chance, but a child old enough to read a Harry Potter book should be old enough to know "hey, this is fiction, this isn't my life, but wouldn't it be cool to be able to cast a spell like that."

If we're going to ban books, where do we stop? Or don't we stop until the only thing we can read are textbooks that are edited to take out any and all references to sex, violence and murder (and anything else people don't want to talk about). Then again, should we just throw out the textbooks too and have our society grow up illiterate?

From what I've heard, reading "Harry Potter" books have gotten a lot of children that might not have begun reading, into reading. We need more of that and less of watching TV.

Now, on to my discussion about about roleplaying:
First of all, is it a sign of the devil? It's true that roleplaying usually uses different, multiple gods. There is a reason for this. Remember that the Greeks used to have different gods to explain different things that happened. Apollo was the god of music, Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and Ares the god of war. Roleplaying is usually set in a time much like the Greek time. People would have thought of different gods to explain different things. Besides, it's much easier to have bad things happen to gods that don't really exist than to a god that does exist. For example, in the Forgotten Realms, the gods were banished to earth for a time because they weren't doing their jobs. How would it look if roleplayers banished Jesus to earth because he "wasn't doing his job"? THAT would be blasphamy. In creating the artificial world of multiple gods, we do not speak against His almighty power.

Does roleplaying cause suicide? I don't believe that roleplaying causes suicide any more than reading books, going to movies, or just hanging out with friends does. Does that mean we should practice book burning? Banish ALL movies (even those G rated ones) or don't let anyone have friends anymore? Sorry, but take all of those things away from me and my life's not worth living. That would cause more suicide than roleplaying does. Sure, there are some mentally unstable people that can't seem to seperate reality and roleplaying, but don't bunch us all together and say that all roleplaying is bad and causes suicide. I've been playing for years and I have yet to commit suicide (wouldn't be writing this now if I had).

Is roleplaying a cult? First I have to define cult. According to the American Heritage Dictionary a cult is: 1. A system or community of religious worship and ritual. 2.a. A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or bogus. b. Followers of such a religion or sect. 3.a. Obsessive devotion or veneration for a person, principle, or ideal, esp. when regarded as a fad. b. The object of such devotion. 4. An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric interest.
First of all: A system or community of religious worship and ritual.
Well, this seems to describe every religion I've been witnessed to. Tell me that Catholicism isn't rituals, or none of the religions have a community and I'll be happy. But until someone tells me that and can prove it to me, I'll stand by my belief that by this definition all religious are cults. Is roleplaying a cult by this definition? Not as I see it.
Secondly: A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or bogus.
Roleplaying is not a religion. Some people get together on a religious basis (my friends and I get together every Saturday night), but that in itself does not make it a religion. A religion (as defined by American Heritage) is 1.a. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power recognized as the creator and governor of the universe. b. A particular integrated system of this expression. 2. The spiritual or emotional attitude of one who recognizes the existence of a superhuman power or powers. 3. An objective pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.
The only definition of religion that even closely matches what roleplaying is, is the third definition. And even then it is as much a religion as reading a book to some people.
Thirdly: Obsessive devotion or veneration for a person, principle, or ideal, esp. when regarded as a fad.
To explain this definition, I feel I need to explain what veneration means. For those of you that know what it means, bare with me. Veneration (according to American Heritage Dictionary): 1. The act of venerating. 2. Profound respect or reverence. 3. The condition or status of one who is venerated.
Now, I don't know about you, but I hate definitions that use the word, or part of the word that you are defining in the definition. To me that means the only valid definition I see is the second one: Profound respect or reverence. Again, I think of religions. In any religion who does not have profound respect or reverance to the pastor, priest, clergy? Their positions give them that respect. Now the question is, does roleplaying get defined as a cult with this definition. Yes. But does that make it any more wrong than a religion? No. Lastly: An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric interest.
Again, I had to define one of the words to figure out the meaning of this definition. That word was esoteric. Esoteric: 1. Intended for or understood by only a particular group: an esoteric cult. 2.a. Known by a restricted number. b. Confined to a small group. 3. Not publicly disclosed: confidential.
Roleplaying is worldwide that means there is not just a small group that understands it. Most of us are willing to teach others how to roleplay, if they want to learn, but we're not going to force it on people that don't want to learn how. Yes, we play in small groups, but it is hard to run a game if you have 25+ people playing characters. Roleplaying is not, by definition, intended for use for only a small group of people. It just happens that way because others do not want to understand it.

I hope that by defining cult, I have shown you that, while I will say that roleplaying is a cult, it is no more so than a religion, any religion.

Roleplaying is fun. It lets you get away from the stress and tension of real life. It lets you become someone you aren't. Does this make it wrong? If it does, please, stop reading books. The strength of a book is how well it can take you into a story and let you live the life of the person that the story is about. The better the game in roleplaying is how well you can relate to your character and feel what he/she is feeling. If you don't take it too far and can't leave when the game is over, then it's trouble.

If you have any questions or comments about this page, please e-mail me. I'd be more than happy to discuss roleplaying or anything else in this page with you. Or, if you want, I am interested in getting together a play-by-mail roleplaying game. For more information, e-mail me.

© 1996 LadyCati@yahoo.com

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