The Gypsy Train	Druids: 15th level +	Campaign design	Ecology: Eye of the Deep	Jumping (#93) (WSG)
Pronunciation Guide	Thinking for Yourself	-	-	Dragon
<#92	-	#93	-	#94>

Thinking for yourself
A guest editorial by E. Gary Gygax

The fanatical elements are at it again.
Those groups who are convinced that they
must decide for everyone are again attacking
role playing games in general and the
D&D® game system in particular.
Hopefully, most do so out of ignorance. If
you know of anyone such as this, why not
explain what role playing is, that games are
not reality, and the play is both fun and
useful in many ways. Of course, some
detractors will be convinced that such
games are basically evil, and there is little
which can be done about that. Obviously
objects are neither good nor evil, so just be
polite to such individuals.

The worst of the lot are those cynics who
seek to use a famous activity to further their
own ends. By attacking role playing, they
bring Attention to their ?cause? ? and
donations, too. It is worth mentioning that
those proclaiming that they know the absolute
truth do not appreciate people who are
able to think and judge for themselves. The
world has had its share of narrow-minded
bigots, thought-controllers, and bookburners.
It seems that they crop up periodically,
just as noxious weeds do.
The United States is still the land of
liberty. We have the freedom to choose.
Those who demand that we think and act in
the way they do know this, so they attempt
to suppress by pressure campaigns and
smear tactics. If you know of such activity
in your area, please counter it! If some
game outlet is being pressured to remove
role playing games, write and let them
know that you support their business.

Please let us know too. Drop us a line and
we?ll help all we can. Your letter will get the
fastest service if it is addressed as follows:

Corporate Public Relations Director
TSR, Inc.
P.O. Box 756
Lake Geneva WI 53147

It is interesting to note that educators,
psychologists, and psychiatrists seem to find
role Playing games to be helpful tools for
learning and communicating, at the very
least. Why, then, are certain elements seeking
to deny you the right to play such
games? The answer appears evident. They
do not find free thinking desirable. You
draw your own conclusions!

Misleading movie

Dear Editor:
After seeing “Mazes and Monsters” on nationwide
television, I wonder what in the
world people think gamers do in the backs of
gaming shops, in schools, and at conventions.

I have never heard of role-playing games
going so far as to act out an entire dungeon
adventure. Occasionally, my DM will ask me
to explain how my character would do something,
and I may have to demonstrate — but
never to the point of endangering anyone.

I explained to my parents, friends, and relatives
what the D&D game is about, and they
know that gaming will not lead me to the life of
a “crazed killer in New York” as the movie
depicted. I believe that D&D is a great pastime
and a great way of self-expression. Gamers
know what D&D is really like.

Marc C. Matthews
Knoxville, Tenn.
(Dragon #71)

THE FORUM

I am writing this letter concerning the bad
publicity the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS®
game sometimes gets from ministers or television.
I saw a news report on one of my local news
stations in which they talked about how D&D
books contained descriptions of demons and
devils and how bad an influence D&D gaming is
on young people. The report was highly biased in
that they only got the point of view of a minister
who was against the game. They did include
some film of regular kids playing a game, but the
way they presented the game, the event didn?t
look as fun as many say it is supposed to be.

I couldn't stand the report but I watched the
whole thing and took notes about what each
person said and who was involved (e.g., the
minister?s name and church). I then wrote a letter
to the news reporter and explained how I thought
the report was slanted and expressed how the
report could have been more balanced. All I
wanted to do was vent my opinion and I didn?t
expect her to get back with me personally. She
asked me if I would give my side of the story and
I happily agreed. In the end, we did get our side
of the story told, albeit not in the way I would
have preferred.

There were a few things I learned, though,
which people should be aware of. In my opinion,
the report we were part of was not presented in
the way I had expected. Mainly, they allowed two
of the four people to say one sentence; the reporter
said everything else, and they showed a lot
of footage of our painted figures, which they
obviously thought were pretty neat. Now, for
those who might happen to get into this spot, a
few warnings. The news report is not in your
hands. The editing (what goes in and what stays
out) is entirely in the hands of people who know
little or nothing about the game. What makes the
editor put something into the report is the quality
of the picture; is the person?s face focused, did the
person speak ineffectively, etc. The editor wants
to put together a montage of his best pictures
rather than try to present you in the way you
would like to be presented.

Another problem I ran into was that the reporter
asked me questions like ?What would you
like to say about the game?? I hadn?t prepared
myself for any of her questions and found myself
bumbling a lot of words (that scene didn?t get
into the report, of course). Another question she
asked me was, "Could you explain how the game
is run?" Again, I knew what I wanted to say, but
because I didn?t prepare myself I bungled up in
my explanation by repeating things. When you
see politicians on television, they look good
because they've prepared themselves for the
camera. On the other hand, I didn?t have any
experience with the camera and I didn?t prepare
myself at all.

Finally, the last thing you have to be aware of
is the fact that working in front of the camera is
not as glamorous as it looks. There are a lot of
mundane things that have to be taken care of,
like: Do you have a large table where they can
film you? Is there enough room to move the
camera around and set up lights? Then they tell
you to act normally as if no one was about.

I hope that this information may prove useful
to future ?television aspirants.? I have done my
little part to ferret out any misinformation concerning
role-playing and would gladly do it
again, but only if I prepared beforehand.

I am 17 and a freshman at Georgetown University,
majoring in international political science.
I have been playing the ADVANCED
DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS® game for five
years, incorporating my love of languages into
my milieu. I read DRAGON Magazine regularly
and am an RPGA member.

Nick Jamilla
Cape Coral, Fla.
(Dragon #104)
 

I agree with the guest editorial by Frank Mentzer,
in POLYHEDRON™ issue #26, about the
negative publicity the D&D® game has received
from the media (60 Minutes, Today Show,
Newsweek, etc.). As Frank Mentzcr says, “We
encourage you to get the facts yourself, and do
your own thinking. We think that all this
noise will die down if the cold light of reason and
Truth shines upon it.” It is time we get some facts
together!

I am a D&D player and a pediatric psychiatrist.
It’s my hunch that the D&D game and other
role-playing games are not only fun, but they
offer a way to develop new knowledge and skills,
and to make good friends. For most, gameplaying
is a positive experience. With your help,
I would like to gather facts about D&D gaming,
facts that go beyond the “opinions” which everyone
seems to have plenty of! Please take half an
hour and write up (in as much detail as you can)
an exciting adventure you have had playing the
D&D game and send it to me. The story should
describe the game from beginning to end, especially
your own experience. With a number of
such stories, we can get beyond “opinions.” By
the way, this is strictly voluntary, and you don’t
need to sign your name. Just write down your
age.

So please — take half an hour and help do
some real research to shed light, and hopefully
understanding, on D&D gaming!

Dr. John F. McDermott
1356 Lusitana Street
Honolulu HI
96813
(Dragon #109)
 

I’ve been involved with several different roleplaying
games for many years. I’m currently a
25-year-old pilot for the U.S. Army, flying AH-64
Apache helicopters at Port Hood, Texas.

In early October, I attended a middle-size
gaming convention in Georgia. Having missed
the last two GEN CON® game fairs due to Army
commitments, I was eager to participate in some
good tournament-level gaming. Regrettably,
despite a wide range of guests and excellent
facilities, the convention was a total fiasco for
the gaming attendee. Of the four events for
which my wife and I preregistered, none
occurred as advertised, if at all. Cheating in
some events was blatantly obvious yet was
ignored by officials. The “security personnel” of
the convention staff were more concerned with
checking everyone’s registration badges than
dealing with the group of marijuana-smoking
conventioneers who were clouding up an entire
floor of the hotel (despite my repeated complaints)
or the intoxicated imbecile who was
screaming obscenities from the elevators. I
eventually became so angry and disgusted that I
simply went to my room and tried to ignore the
constant caterwauling of the animals this convention
allowed to harass the honest gamer.
Speaking of harassment, even some of the
convention staff thought it was fun to roam
around and make all sorts of idiotic comments
to the paying members.

During my college years, I supplemented my
income by teaching the AD&D® game to groups
of gifted children all over southeast Tennessee.
Because of responsible behavior and constant
mindfulness of the image of the D&D® games,
both the children and parents I dealt with were
very enthusiastic about the game. I was regularly
contacted by new schools to teach more
children. But despite my efforts to establish a
positive image for role-playing games, the TV
movie Mazes and Monsters crushed this interest
in gaming, and parents withdrew their children
to save them from the “danger” of the D&D
games. In a matter of months, gaming in my
hometown went from a rising hobby to a pastime
for “weird” people. A two-hour movie
devastated a positive program that I had developed
for over a year. Why? Bad image.

In the years since, the image of the D&D
games has taken a pounding. It seems nearly
every discussion on Satan worship has some illinformed
individual pointing a finger at the
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® game. How many
more hatchet jobs will the media need to totally
destroy the game? Take it from me, John Q.
Public will probably believe anything that a
“reputable” reporter says. The public opinion on
D&D games is abominable and is getting worse.

Back to the October convention: I was very
disturbed to see the local news media observing
the irresponsible behavior of what I’m sure they
thought were “D&D game players.” What bothered
me the most, however, were the looks of
shock on some parents’ faces as they observed
the type of environment their children are
exposed to when attending such conventions. I
have to say I was shocked as well.

I've attended several GEN CON game fairs and
have greatly enjoyed each one. The behaviors of
the staff and the attendees have nearly always
been courteous and professional However, is
the level of maturity and responsibility that this
convention displays a rarity, or is it even
unique? I would hope not. A convention should
be a forum of events to stimulate interests and
enthusiasm in gaming, not a freak show where
social deviants are allowed free reign, and
programmed events fall to pieces in the hands
of incompetent or apathetic organizers.

While there is little excuse for the slipshod
organization of the convention I attended, the
staff cannot be held entirely to blame for the
behavior of the attendees. Folks, please remember
that a convention is a high-visibility situation
for the gaming community. Running around
acting like a moron in front of TV cameras is a
mistake. Parading around in restaurants near
the convention dressed like a psychopath will
only hurt the image of all gamers. With public
opinion turning against us, responsible behavior
is a must.

It’s my understanding that GAMA’s 1990
ORIGINS™ convention will be held in the same
city of this unfortunate convention. I can only
hope that the organizers of this last convention
are either not involved in any way or have
learned from their numerous mistakes. Most of
all, every gamer involved needs to contribute to
the convention with behavior befitting a nationally
recognized event such as this one.

Bryan A. Walker
Copperas Cove TX
(Dragon #145)
 

In all of my 4 years of gaming, I have met
only 1 gamer who really stands out: Pastor
Mark.  Mark is 31, and he says he's been playing
the AD&D game since he was in high school.
He, being a pastor, tries his best to keep religious
references out of the AD&D game.
Though he often plays a paladin or a cleric, he
does not think that people should play Heaven
or Hell as actual places.  In that event, he renamed
them in our campaign.

The Seven Heavens, being the source of
LG and the power of paladins, have
been renamed as Utopia.  I think it sounds
rather fitting, for utopia is said to be a place of
perfect happiness and harmony.

The Nine Hells is referred to as the Nine Pits.
Because of the descending structure of the
Hells, as described in the Manual of the Planes,
the Pits is an accurate description.  This leads to
phrases such as "this is the pits!" and so forth.

I feel that Marks renaming policy is effective in
widening the gap between fantasy and reality.  It
should diminish some religious orders' belief that
the AD&D game is mocking God.  Even though
there is no grounds for this belief, such a change
in names should cut down on the accusations.

Dan Fehler
Jordan MN
(Dragon #147)
 

Often I have seen letters proving that D&D
games are not linked to satanism or the ideas
associated with it. But what good does it do to
show D&D game players what their game is
really about when they already know? I?m sure
all of you reading this know that RPGs, including
the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game, aren't
about Satan worship. I know this and so do my
friends. Most of the people who have written in
about this subject have good points to make in
defense of RPGs. Again, what good does this do?

I can list several points in favor of roleplaying.
A psychologist (from Hawaii I think)
wrote that he used D&D games to help his
patients. Many letters have been written about
how role-playing has helped the writers? handicapped
friends. And Douglas J. Hutchinson
points out in issue #146 that RPGs help develop
linguistic and social skills. I have a point of my
own. In high school I was required to take a
Greek mythology class. In that class, we discussed
half the creatures in the Monster Manual,
creatures that were a very much a part of
the Greeks' mythology. The ?cult threat? (that is
blown very much out of proportion anyway)
must be much worse than estimated if our
schools are teaching our children about satanic
creatures. Also, many people opposed to RPGs
have a difficult time showing how TSR?s TOP
SECRET® game and other nonfantasy RPGs are
satanic like their more ?hellish? fantasy counterparts.
But what good does it do to tell you?

Here is my suggestion: Why not attempt to get
an article showing what role-playing is really
about in a major magazine, such as Time, Reader
's Digest, Better Homes and Gardens, etc.? I
know there are many free-lance writers who
read DRAGON Magazine, and I ask those of you
to consider writing such an article.

Why should such a thing be done? It would
show many people what these games are about,
people who have heard only the opposed side in
this debate. I knew many people who used to
play D&D games but weren?t allowed to continue
playing because their parents were told
[that gaming] was satanic and caused its players
to commit suicide. Maybe [a pro-gaming] article
would show parents the truth. I cannot be sure
about anyone else, but I have found a lot in roleplaying,
and I want to share it with people,
show them all the fun in it.

And finally a few words for Mr. Shawn
DeMers (in issue #132, thanks to Mr. Michael
Drake for mentioning it). Tell your friends of the
thousands of ?satanists? who have made the
books of the DRAGONLANCE® saga best sellers.
People will assume almost anything. Many
people do not realize that [Salman Rushdie?s]
Satanic Verses is a novel and not a satanic bible.

Please consider my suggestion.

Dayle Johnson
Dickinson MD
(Dragon #161)
 

I am one of a seemingly small minority, the
Christian gamer. As such, I have to applaud and
comment on your ?Letters? column and editorial
in issue #125. It was an even-handed treatment
of parental concerns, while at the same time a
valid scratching of the head at the kind of
people who would condemn the entire game
because there have been a few goofy players.
But still, let me say a few things about the light
and dark sides of AD&D games:

I learned to play the AD&D game in college,
eight years ago.  At once the gmae struck me as
being an amazing adventure, a storybook of
valiant deeds that could last a thousand life-times,
a chance to do in a passing evening epic
quests that spanned the planes.  I was fortunate
in that my fellow players were all NG.
Later, when I began to DM and teach the game
to others, I made sure that evil characters met
an untimely death, and that whatever the adventure,
great deeds would be done.  I had
quickly found that evil characters bug down the
game with petty greed at the party's expense.
We hung together.  In my world, Good always
wins.

We ask why people fear FRPGs.
It's partly because the average guy in the
street's had his imagination stomped out of him
at an early age, and so thinks a "game without a
board" is really weird.  Unfortunately, it is more
than that.  It's the few actual oddballs that have
gone off gaming's deep end and met with trouble
(including a few suicides).  As gamers, we
know role-playing is like any tool: It does what
you do with it, and a few people have indeed
given the whole field a bad name.  But I'd like to
say this about responsible DMing:

I'm a Christian and an adult.  The AD&D game,
as a game for adults, is terrific.  Adults already
have decided what is good and bad, and how
they will live their lives.  But when TSR watered
down the AD&D game to the paperback book
level and started selling it to preteens is where I
think the trouble began.  Kids do role-model; it's
proven.  And in "Monty Haul" dungeons where
the DM is an adolescent who hates the world,
evil wins.  That is why parents, right or wrong,
fear D&D games.  It's because when it is run
badly, it can feed hate rather than drain it away.
It's rather like being a Jedi Knight; as a DM, I
feel that if I introduce the AD&D game to
anyone under the age of 18, I should show the
glory of the game, the valiant hero we all should
be, not the cowardly assassin who slinks in the
night.  (The assassin is an NPC and lives a very
short time in my world.)

The other bad side of the AD&D game stems
from the few actual magic flaws engineered in
by its designers.  I'm not the narrow-minded
fellow who thinks that a cleric character praying
to his deity is the same as a player "Worshiping
idols," as some nongaming people would
believe (although all PC clerics in my world are
NG Jehovahans).  But there is elemental
evil in the real world.  It's a joke to most gamers.
But it's a short step from a pentagram inscribed

in the Dungeon Masters Guide to messing
around with tarot cards, Ouija boards, and
Darkness.  "My magic-user casts a sleep spell,"
works just fine. When you get into specifics like
symbology and actual arcane markings, you are
playing with fire, as the barriers between ourselves
and Satan are there for a reason.

The AD&D game is just a game. It?s fun, like
all FRPGs. But when it glorifies darkness, greed,
or hate, or when it is used as a tool to escape
our troubles rather than just to let off steam, it
runs the risk of harming people. I wouldn?t give
a loaded gun or a bottle of scotch to a child and
tell him to "go have fun." Likewise, if I pass the
AD&D game on to another person, it should be
as a glorious adventure, a chance to be a hero.
In the Bible, good triumphs over evil; in a good
game, the same thing happens. If you want to
play in a campaign with backstabbing and
secrecy are viewed as useful skills, play West
End Games? PARANOIA game, where everyone
knows that the mayhem is a joke, not something
on which to build young lives.

Andrew Bartmess
Cincinnati OH
(Dragon #162)
 
 

[From a letter dated December 7, 1990:] While
sitting in Saudi Arabia as part of Operation
Desert Shield, I have been reading with interest
the ongoing debate involving role-playing games
and certain religious fringe groups. I?d like to
express my views on the subject and give some
advice on how to handle people who would
degrade our hobby.

I am a veteran DM and player with over 10
years of gaming experience, and I am a devout
Southern Baptist. I have never felt my faith
being questioned when I play (and I?ve played all
alignments and character classes, including
assassins). This is easy to do when you play for
pure pleasure and keep in mind that roleplaying
games are games. I think that part of
the problem with these religious groups is that
they refuse to believe that the AD&D game is a
game just like Parker Brothers? MONOPOLY
game, chess, or basketball. They really don?t
understand the idea of a game played in the
imaginations of its players, a game that doesn?t
end and in which everyone ?wins!?

I am the only person in my six-member family
(including both parents) to graduate from high
school, and the only person in my family to
graduate from college. I have AD&D games to
thank for much of that. I was introduced to
gaming when I was 16, when my friends and I
discovered the AD&,D game. At the time, I was a
fairly withdrawn underachiever. Through
gaming, I learned that any obstacle can be
overcome through some very simple principles:
teamwork, faith in friends, faith in your own
abilities, perseverance, and dedication. These
principles were buried behind piles of discarded
soda cans and empty potato chip bags, and I
learned them while surrounded by loyal friends
who faced creatures that would make Arnold
Schwarzennegger run in fear. In the meantime,
my ?normal? peers spent their weekends getting
drunk, getting high, and taking part in other
?normal? activities. By playing this ?dangerous?
game, my friends and I became adults. Our
parents worried about us, and our high-school
principal and teachers feared for our sanity, just
like what is happening to many of you today.

What became of my group? The paladin is
now a professional Army officer and veteran of
the Panama invasion. The fighter/magic-user
owns his own business. The ranger is now a
successful attorney. We?re well-adjusted adults
who learned that nothing is impossible once
you?ve kicked the snot out of the demi-lich
Acererak from [the AD&D module] The Tomb of
Horrors.

Finally, I?d like my fellow gamers to not judge
these [critics] too harshly. Most Christians are
well-meaning, open-minded people. Many just
do not have the facts about RPGs and are led to
believe (wrongly) that RPGs are more than a
form of entertainment. If you can rationally
explain your reasons for gaming and present
RPGs to them in the light of commonly known
games, you will find most of them accept gaming
as entertainment. Explain it to your minister
or school principal. Prove to them that gaming
makes you a better person. Who knows? You
might find a new player or two in the process!

ILT Bob MacKey
Somewhere in Saudi Arabia
(Dragon #181)
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by palleomortis
Not sure if this has been asked before, but have you ever taken much flack for being tied so heavily to a game that so many consider to be "evil"?

Back in the mid-80s when the media was exploiting the "dangers" of the D&D game for sensationalist reasons, there were a number of crackpots that sent me death threats by mail.

That's is some flack indeed.

Thomas Rideki and Patricia Pulling also sought to exploit the unfounded fears of the "dangers" of D&D gaming by making money attacking it, and that some were duped by them didn't help.

Cheers,
Gary

Quote:
Originally Posted by Valdur
Gary,
Glad to see you're still active in the gaming world and communicating regularly with fans. I hope you are able to do so for many more years.

Thanks

As I am semi-retired, don't do as much creative work as I did previously, I have more time for posting on boards and to my email list groups.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Valdur
Without getting into a religious discussion, how did you feel about the accusations and attacks on D&D by religious groups back in the 80's ? Were you ever contacted by any of them in a sincere effort to find out about the game or to discuss it? Has time changed your view of the situation any?

Only one such group contacted me personally, whichever one it is that published the magazine, Cornerstone. the young lady that interviewed me was very sincere, polite, and reasonable. Although the subsequent article was not favorable to the game, it was written feirly from a basically fundamentalist position, did not attack me personally, rather came near to praising me with faint damns <laughing>

Otherwise, all of the so-called mental health advocates and their ilk stayed far away as well.

All of it was a load of rubbish, of course. either the detractors could not tell the difference between make-believe and reality or else they were cynically exploiting the ignorance of others in order to gain from attacking the game.

<trim>
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by ZuulMoG
Tsk, tsk, Mr. Gygax,
Do you have any idea how much trouble your game got me into as a kid? My parents are devout Witnesses, and it was an uphill battle to get to play. Besides the whole '25 years of entertainment, lifetimes in alternate realities, and the accolades of mythic populations', I'd like to thank you for my mind. Playing every version of D&D from Basic to AD&D has not only kept my math skills up to date (Alas for ThAC0, it kept the riff-raff out of our game!!), it also kept me reading.

When kids can be using drugs, having sex with each other, or actually killing each other with real weapons, the idea that parents can object to a group of their children sitting peacefully at a table reading and doing math is...well, it's infuriating, that's what it is. I'd like to thank you for providing an educational form of entertainment to millions of kids (and adults, we never stop learning!).

That said, I can't really think of a question... Sorry to spam the thread.

My former wife was a JW, as was I for a time, so I can relate to your difficulties <paranoid>

Thanks for the good words about the side benefits of playing the games.
Their primary purpose is fun and entertainment, but there are many other beneficial aspects to them, indeed!

Interesting and useful comments are by no means spamming <wink>

Cheers,
Gary
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by blackshirt5
Mr Gygax,

Why do you think it is that gamers have gotten such a bad rep in the general media as stalkers and freaks?
 

News media seeks the sensational in order to attract viewers, sell air-time ads, make money. Initial publicity for the D&D game, that pre-1981, was not broad, but several newspapers of good repute, such as the St. Louis Post Dispatch wrote articles about the game that were informative and positive.

The James Dallas Egbert III case was the turning point. Thanks to the publicity-seeking DI brought in, and the following ill-informed news media coverage--sensationalist to the extreme--there was a barrage of inaccurate stories and further biased charges of baseless sort. These in toto brought forth suicide, Satanism, and mind-control as supposed dangers of the game. Add to that the difficulty of the ignorant in understanding the RPG form, and what can one expect? Certainly the mass of people are not motivated to put forth any effort to discover the truth. Coupled with the nature of the people playing RPGs--generally above-average intelligence, given to imnaginative literature, creative and non-conformist, interested in technology such as computers, and often not concerned with social "norms"--that making for an easy target for cheap shots from "reporters" (you know, that group of intellectual giants who talk about "honing in" on something, and "ratchet up" rather than raise; the group that doesn't know that "enormity" isn't synonomus with wonderful or considerabe and think "momentarily" means in a moment)--expressions of ignorance can be expected to come from the news media,

Again, given all that, what can one expect from the general populace? Certainly not an informed and reasonable view of the RPG!

Cheers,
Gary
Col_Pladoh is offline
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe123
Gary,

You said here once before that you believe people who play D&D have above-average intelligence. I’m wondering, what makes you say this?

Heh!

The fact that the entry bar to playing RPGs is above average intelligence.
Consider the amount of reading necessary, the reasoning called for in understanding the game and the play of it.
If one begins with an audience whose intellect is necessarily above average, the norm for the participant group will be higher than average.

RPG enthusiasts actually read, often broadly.
It is also apparent that the creative level of the RPG audience is wel above the average.
demonstrable from the output of writing and game creation coming from it.

Finally, most gamers are college graduates, or going to college and will graduate.
Most are highly literate in regards to computers too 

Cheers,
Gary
 
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sir Elton
I'm putting the two together in this post. Sue me! <cool> <devious>

Mr. Gygax,

I've been thinking on the benefits of D&D, and I've decided to turn RPG Activist for a while. I'm thinking that the benefits of playing RPGs are highly overlooked by the Education Establishment thanks to Bothered About Dungeons and Dragons (BADD!). In fact, you're welcome to read my essay. <very happy>

From the correspondence i have received from gamers, I have no doubt that there are many positive benefits associated with participation in RPGs. I ran a survey on my website asking if the RPG was positive, neutral, or negative in regards several aspects of their life--social, educational, and work. Over half said highly positive, over a quarter said moderately positive, about 10% siad that gaming had no effect, and less than 5% had negatives regarding it, uners 1% of over 1,000 responses rathe the RPG as hightly negative. Sadly, the poll results were lost in a server crash.

Back around 1980 I directed TSR to advertise in professional educators' perioricals asking for the reader to registed with the company if ther were intersted in learning about RPG modules designed for classroom instruction, We received over 3,000 requests. In the course of this we hires a Ph.D in Educational Psychology to assist with the creation of the modules. Just as we were ready to begin prodiction, the Blumes canned the project<frown>

BADD was a bad joke. The woman who attempted to exploit the organization she founded had to drop it, ended up being an "expert" speaking to small town police departments on the "dangers" of RPGs and Satanism.

I'd appreciate receiving a copy of your essay.

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I've even gone a step further, and I'm translating the myth of the Agronautica into an actual adventure module intended for kids. I'd like to know your opinion on this matter.

Yours,
Elton Robb

My opinion is that your efforts are well-founded. I wish you great success.

Cheers,
Gary