www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization ByzanTEEN Are rpg moral?

I am playing twice a week, white-wolf role-playing games such as World of Darkness and Vampire the Requiem... Also I am a Warhammer maniac.

An eastern orthodox priest I talked to told me that these are creations of the antichrist... Is this even close to true?

Ο Κύριος να είναι μαζί σας.

I don't think neccesarily RPGs are immoral or moral. Immoral people may play them, but that's a reflection of the people involved. I was an RPGer when I was younger, and the thing that concerns me is the move to RPGs on the net, like World of Warcraft etc. I am disturbed by the way that people can percieve their webbased lif to be "more real" than their actual life, though I think this is more a function of the medium than the game. If you can treat it as a game, fine. If it is about wishing you were someone else, not so fine. Personally the thing I liked in RPGs was the social contact and the idea of exploring how I'd react in scenarios; my characters were thinly disguised versions of myself. Whether you feel like you should play White Wolf, which has a number of aspects which contradict Catholic theology is up to you. Heres an idea. Play a character that fights to expose all the inaccuracies in Christology in the books...

N

I'd be careful with the RPGs. I used to be a pretty hardcore online rpg type of person and that lol was not very healthy.

As long as you realize its all a game and nothing more then its fine.

RPGs are games. As long as you remember that fact, and don't spend all day gaming, they are ok.

-- John

Some of my middle school age students are playing a game during their free time called, "runescape." I am trying to find enough info to decide whether to allow this, or block that site on any school computers. Anyone know anything about this game?

I never played Runescape, but I did know a few who did. I can tell you there is prolly some unsavory langunage being used by the other players your kids might be interacting with.

I've been a D&D player since the late 70's. My group of D&D playing pals all switched from paper-n-pencil to "NeverwinterNights" when it came out several years ago. We still play - every Sunday night from 8 to 11.

For us, D&D is first and foremost, a game. It's like reading a fantasy novel, but having that novel be "interactive." Keep that frame of mind during your game play, and all is well.

Second, for a group of guys who went to elementary and high school together, and have now married and gone out into the world, it gives us a change to stil have fellowship with each other - even if it is for just a few hours each week.

Like the other posters, only if your gaming starts to "consume" your life - and that's ALL you do (like the people who used to play Everquest at my job - we called in EverCrack - because they were like crack-addicts for that game) - then you have a problem.

It's not that I might think it's true or anything. It's just that Vampires, Mages and Werewolves in Greece sound satanic. Let's not forget that more than 100 harry potter books were burnt by orthodox priests (in Greere or Russia, can't remember).

I think they're fine as long as people can tell it's fictional.

Only 100 then they were not so worried about the book.

ICXC
NIKA

This is how you know whether you should be playing those games or not:

1 John
Chapter 4

1
1 Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

4
You belong to God, children, and you have conquered them, for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
5
They belong to the world; accordingly, their teaching belongs to the world, and the world listens to them.
6
We belong to God, and anyone who knows God listens to us, while anyone who does not belong to God refuses to hear us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.
7
3 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.

Armando you asked a very wise priest and he spoke the truth...This is how you know whether you should be playing those games or not:

1 John
Chapter 4

1
1 Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

2
This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh be longs to God,
3
and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus 2 does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world.

4
You belong to God, children, and you have conquered them, for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
5
They belong to the world; accordingly, their teaching belongs to the world, and the world listens to them.
6
We belong to God, and anyone who knows God listens to us, while anyone who does not belong to God refuses to hear us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.
7
3 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.

Question is what spirits inspire a raft of leisure or vocational activities that do not acknowledge Jesus came as Lord? I think the key part of reading that passage is that it is talking about the whether spirit behind an activity or person implicitly and essentially DENIES Christ came, if that is its reason d'eitre, let's say. I don't know that it's applicable to many elements of our leisure activities. BY that token, because football, for instance, doesn't implicitly acknowldege the incarnation it is not inspired by positive spirits. Maybe, but the question also must be asked, is that a fair standard to apply to it?

N

Perhaps this is a stupid question from someone who only knows the RPG gaming industry only a little, but...

Is it possible to set up an RPG game that is Eastern Christian based, where the gamers have to interact with eachother as they seek holyness... collect items such as icons and relics... and learn things like the 8 samohlasniy tones? (Byzantine Catechesis in a game format!)

Think of this... "Your elderly bishop has a dream in which an angel tells him retreve a particular icon which will help your eparchy to grow closer to God, or which will cure cancer, or something. He calls you to his bedside and asks you to retreve it because it is hidden in some monastic lavra in a hostile non-Christian country, and he is to old and frail to get it himself..."

Perhaps we can evangelize, educate, and inspire people without them even knowing it.

Besides computer game addictions (which are real) what would be the major drawbacks?

Fr. Bo
(Who has not fully thought out all the pros and cons of such a project before posting this.)

In the game I play - "Neverwinter Nights" - there is content provided by the manufacturer as well as user-generated content.

If one were willing to author it, I'm sure some interesting evangelization could be done, under the guise of playing the game - and a scenario such as the one you presented would be wonderful.

In order to reinforce the drive for holiness and goodness, the gamemaster could enforce "all-good" parties, encourage certain clasess of characters. Experience points are awarded for acts of mercy and righteousness. And... what a better thing for good characters to do than to smite evil while they embark on the quest?

I think you're on to something, Fr Bo!

I once ran a game set among nascent Christians, around the Mithraic struggles in ROme. No magic, just straight out human characters and their struggles with persecution and their discovery of a VERY new faith.

Only trouble was getting and keeping players..no magic, moral characters and being persecuted..hard to sell..

N