Dungeons and Dragons/Fantasy Revisited

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In case anyone is interesting in looking at the actual rules for the game, without either buying the books or going to your local bookstore and spending time perusing them, the basic rules for the game are all collected here, in a document called the SRD, which is free for anyone to download.

wizards.com/d20/files/v35/SRD.zip
 
I think it would be interesting to show you the alignments that have been mentioned before. Characters choose an alignment, kind of a short hand version of what their morals and values are. I would also like to point out that the Player’s Handbook for D&D also discourages players from playing evil characters, since evil characters, by their nature, aren’t going to make good heroes.

From Wizards of the Coasts d20 Source Reference Document :

ALIGNMENT
A creature’s general moral and personal attitudes are represented by its alignment: lawful good, neutral good, chaotic good, lawful neutral, neutral, chaotic neutral, lawful evil, neutral evil, or chaotic evil.
Alignment is a tool for developing your character’s identity. It is not a straitjacket for restricting your character. Each alignment represents a broad range of personality types or personal philosophies, so two characters of the same alignment can still be quite different from each other. In addition, few people are completely consistent.

GOOD VS. EVIL
Good characters and creatures protect innocent life. Evil characters and creatures debase or destroy innocent life, whether for fun or profit.
“Good” implies altruism, respect for life, and a concern for the dignity of sentient beings. Good characters make personal sacrifices to help others.
“Evil” implies hurting, oppressing, and killing others. Some evil creatures simply have no compassion for others and kill without qualms if doing so is convenient. Others actively pursue evil, killing for sport or out of duty to some evil deity or master.
People who are neutral with respect to good and evil have compunctions against killing the innocent but lack the commitment to make sacrifices to protect or help others. Neutral people are committed to others by personal relationships.
Being good or evil can be a conscious choice. For most people, though, being good or evil is an attitude that one recognizes but does not choose. Being neutral on the good–evil axis usually represents a lack of commitment one way or the other, but for some it represents a positive commitment to a balanced view. While acknowledging that good and evil are objective states, not just opinions, these folk maintain that a balance between the two is the proper place for people, or at least for them.
Animals and other creatures incapable of moral action are neutral rather than good or evil. Even deadly vipers and tigers that eat people are neutral because they lack the capacity for morally right or wrong behavior.

LAW VS. CHAOS
Lawful characters tell the truth, keep their word, respect authority, honor tradition, and judge those who fall short of their duties.
Chaotic characters follow their consciences, resent being told what to do, favor new ideas over tradition, and do what they promise if they feel like it.
“Law” implies honor, trustworthiness, obedience to authority, and reliability. On the downside, lawfulness can include close-mindedness, reactionary adherence to tradition, judgmentalness, and a lack of adaptability. Those who consciously promote lawfulness say that only lawful behavior creates a society in which people can depend on each other and make the right decisions in full confidence that others will act as they should.
“Chaos” implies freedom, adaptability, and flexibility. On the downside, chaos can include recklessness, resentment toward legitimate authority, arbitrary actions, and irresponsibility. Those who promote chaotic behavior say that only unfettered personal freedom allows people to express themselves fully and lets society benefit from the potential that its individuals have within them.
Someone who is neutral with respect to law and chaos has a normal respect for authority and feels neither a compulsion to obey nor a compulsion to rebel. She is honest but can be tempted into lying or deceiving others.
Devotion to law or chaos may be a conscious choice, but more often it is a personality trait that is recognized rather than being chosen. Neutrality on the lawful–chaotic axis is usually simply a middle state, a state of not feeling compelled toward one side or the other. Some few such neutrals, however, espouse neutrality as superior to law or chaos, regarding each as an extreme with its own blind spots and drawbacks.
Animals and other creatures incapable of moral action are neutral. Dogs may be obedient and cats free-spirited, but they do not have the moral capacity to be truly lawful or chaotic.
 
Continued from the SRD:

THE NINE ALIGNMENTS
Nine distinct alignments define all the possible combinations of the lawful–chaotic axis with the good–evil axis. Each alignment description below depicts a typical character of that alignment. Remember that individuals vary from this norm, and that a given character may act more or less in accord with his or her alignment from day to day. Use these descriptions as guidelines, not as scripts.
The first six alignments, lawful good through chaotic neutral, are the standard alignments for player characters. The three evil alignments are for monsters and villains.

Lawful Good, “Crusader”: A lawful good character acts as a good person is expected or required to act. She combines a commitment to oppose evil with the discipline to fight relentlessly. She tells the truth, keeps her word, helps those in need, and speaks out against injustice. A lawful good character hates to see the guilty go unpunished.
Lawful good is the best alignment you can be because it combines honor and compassion.

Neutral Good, “Benefactor”: A neutral good character does the best that a good person can do. He is devoted to helping others. He works with kings and magistrates but does not feel beholden to them…
Neutral good is the best alignment you can be because it means doing what is good without bias for or against order.

Chaotic Good, “Rebel”: A chaotic good character acts as his conscience directs him with little regard for what others expect of him. He makes his own way, but he’s kind and benevolent. He believes in goodness and right but has little use for laws and regulations. He hates it when people try to intimidate others and tell them what to do. He follows his own moral compass, which, although good, may not agree with that of society.
Chaotic good is the best alignment you can be because it combines a good heart with a free spirit.

Lawful Neutral, “Judge”: A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs her. Order and organization are paramount to her. She may believe in personal order and live by a code or standard, or she may believe in order for all and favor a strong, organized government.
Lawful neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you are reliable and honorable without being a zealot.

Neutral, “Undecided”: A neutral character does what seems to be a good idea. She doesn’t feel strongly one way or the other when it comes to good vs. evil or law vs. chaos. Most neutral characters exhibit a lack of conviction or bias rather than a commitment to neutrality. Such a character thinks of good as better than evil—after all, she would rather have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones. Still, she’s not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way.
Some neutral characters, on the other hand, commit themselves philosophically to neutrality. They see good, evil, law, and chaos as prejudices and dangerous extremes. They advocate the middle way of neutrality as the best, most balanced road in the long run.
Neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you act naturally, without prejudice or compulsion.

Chaotic Neutral, “Free Spirit”: A chaotic neutral character follows his whims. He is an individualist first and last. He values his own liberty but doesn’t strive to protect others’ freedom. He avoids authority, resents restrictions, and challenges traditions. A chaotic neutral character does not intentionally disrupt organizations as part of a campaign of anarchy. To do so, he would have to be motivated either by good (and a desire to liberate others) or evil (and a desire to make those different from himself suffer). A chaotic neutral character may be unpredictable, but his behavior is not totally random. He is not as likely to jump off a bridge as to cross it.
Chaotic neutral is the best alignment you can be because it represents true freedom from both society’s restrictions and a do-gooder’s zeal.
 
Continued and completed from the SRD:

Lawful Evil, “Dominator”: A lawful evil villain methodically takes what he wants within the limits of his code of conduct without regard for whom it hurts. He cares about tradition, loyalty, and order but not about freedom, dignity, or life. He plays by the rules but without mercy or compassion. He is comfortable in a hierarchy and would like to rule, but is willing to serve. He condemns others not according to their actions but according to race, religion, homeland, or social rank. He is loath to break laws or promises.
This reluctance comes partly from his nature and partly because he depends on order to protect himself from those who oppose him on moral grounds. Some lawful evil villains have particular taboos, such as not killing in cold blood (but having underlings do it) or not letting children come to harm (if it can be helped). They imagine that these compunctions put them above unprincipled villains.
Some lawful evil people and creatures commit themselves to evil with a zeal like that of a crusader committed to good. Beyond being willing to hurt others for their own ends, they take pleasure in spreading evil as an end unto itself. They may also see doing evil as part of a duty to an evil deity or master.
Lawful evil is sometimes called “diabolical,” because devils are the epitome of lawful evil.
Lawful evil is the most dangerous alignment because it represents methodical, intentional, and frequently successful evil.

Neutral Evil, “Malefactor”: A neutral evil villain does whatever she can get away with. She is out for herself, pure and simple. She sheds no tears for those she kills, whether for profit, sport, or convenience. She has no love of order and holds no illusion that following laws, traditions, or codes would make her any better or more noble. On the other hand, she doesn’t have the restless nature or love of conflict that a chaotic evil villain has.
Some neutral evil villains hold up evil as an ideal, committing evil for its own sake. Most often, such villains are devoted to evil deities or secret societies.
Neutral evil is the most dangerous alignment because it represents pure evil without honor and without variation.

Chaotic Evil, “Destroyer”: A chaotic evil character does whatever his greed, hatred, and lust for destruction drive him to do. He is hot-tempered, vicious, arbitrarily violent, and unpredictable. If he is simply out for whatever he can get, he is ruthless and brutal. If he is committed to the spread of evil and chaos, he is even worse. Thankfully, his plans are haphazard, and any groups he joins or forms are poorly organized. Typically, chaotic evil people can be made to work together only by force, and their leader lasts only as long as he can thwart attempts to topple or assassinate him.
Chaotic evil is sometimes called “demonic” because demons are the epitome of chaotic evil.
Chaotic evil is the most dangerous alignment because it represents the destruction not only of beauty and life but also of the order on which beauty and life depend.
 
Sorry, you lost me.

The expression “the devil is in the details” comes to mind. Too much information.

Before I go, I have one more question:

If you were asked to supply the references to bolster a REAL moral issue, could you be as knowlegeable about the teachings of the Church as you clearly are about D&D? That is to ask, could you supply references from the doctrine, dogma, and tradition of the Church in addition to Scripture? 😉
 
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carlc:
I had just the opposite experience growing up. Although we sometimes missed Mass, my folks rarely let us wonder about what was right and wrong.

There was no such thing as “I’m okay…You’re okay”… No moral relativism around our house. Hypocrisy perhaps, but no grey area. 😉

Fortunately, as I’ve grown older, my spirituality (Catholic faith) has only grown. Because I’m prone to falling off the straight and narrow, I’ve found it NECESSARY to attend Mass daily now and have for a couple of years.

Your point about the game is well taken. However, I’m convinced that the “occasion of sin” is often closer than we’re willing to admit as human beings.

I’ll have to do some praying and thinking about why I feel that reading about sorcery, witchcraft, demons and such is different than playing a game that associates them.
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It might be that the reason that you personally have difficulty with dungeons and dragons is that for you such an activity, although harmless, might somehow lead you to sin.

I do not believe in moral relativism either. I do know that in Romans Paul speaks of the fact that eating meat sacrificed to idols might be the cause of sin for some weaker Christians(not that I am saying that you are weak) while it would not be a sin for other Christians. Perhaps the same rule applies here.
 
One last thing I would like to point out. I’m not saying that anything in pop culture that deals with magic or the supernatural is A-OK and that if you are upset by such things, you are being unreasonable. I like D&D mainly because its settings are in non-real places, not in the past of this world but in a different world, and as such can be seen as a more allegorical setting.

I used to like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, until all of the sudden it wasn’t about a girl killing vampires and demons, but about lesbian witches that can return people from the dead. It was set in the real world, and Willow ends up taking shots at Christians because she is a witch and they aren’t accepting of her. Bah!

Charmed is another one that gets me. Witchcraft is good if you intentions are good, and angels can be hot guys for you to marry eventually. Ugh.

I also won’t defend all role playing games. White Wolf’s World of Darkness games bother me. You play werewolves, vampires, and real world “mages” and the whole tone is one of counterculture, that the Man is wrong and keeping you down and that there is no real good or evil. These games try to be hip and trendy and tap into pop culture and I don’t think they are the most healthy aspect of the hobby. Even then, I wouldn’t brand them evil, but they are definately harder to reinforce Christian values within.

I just thought I would throw that out there.
 
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carlc:
Sorry, you lost me.

The expression “the devil is in the details” comes to mind. Too much information.

Before I go, I have one more question:

If you were asked to supply the references to bolster a REAL moral issue, could you be as knowlegeable about the teachings of the Church as you clearly are about D&D? That is to ask, could you supply references from the doctrine, dogma, and tradition of the Church in addition to Scripture? 😉
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Well, I don’t know how well I can quote scripture accurately. I try very hard to continue to increase my knowlage of the faith, but you have to remember, I have been playing this game since I was in 6th grade or so, and I have only been Catholic for four years or so. Dispite this, I have taken my Catechism in to work to read at break, as well as reading Pope John Paul II’s Crossing the Threshold of Hope. When I was Lutheran, my pastor tried to get me to go to Concordia because he thought I had such a good grasp of the faith (yes, he would likely be shocked now). My point is that I am actively interested in my faith and learning more about it, and I often have discussions with my wife and friends about the faith. And usually if I am not watching CSI reruns I’m watching EWTN or listening to Talk Radio.
 
Still didn’t answer my question…

Could you respond to a friend with a spiritual, biblical, moral, and/or ethical question as fervently, and thoroughly as you have been able to respond to these arguments about D&D? Could you be as much an apologist for your faith as you are for your hobby?

I’m not talking about being able to generally repeat Christian moral tenents. I mean quote chapter and verse of the G.I.R.M., Vatican II documents, Scripture, Church Fathers…etc.
 
Oops, sorry. Took me too long to respond. I’ve read your last post and you have indeed answered my question.

Glad to hear your’re working on your knowledge base.

It’s been a good conversation. Thanks.

May the force be with you…or something like that. 😃
 
I understand what you are saying, and to tell you the truth, I would do much the same as I did here, i.e. post something that I googled from the internet (you don’t think I typed that stuff from the SRD from memory did you 😃 ). I do have the Vatican’s website, the American Catholic Bishops Site, and the Catachism all bookmarked on my browser so I can look things up. Are you asking if I can keep anything else in my head with all of this information in it? I’ m not sure what you want from me here, and quite frankly, I’m a little annoyed with the implication that I can’t know a lot about this topic and my faith at the same time. I am reticent to call myself an expert on the Church and her doctrine after only having been through RCIA a few years back, but at the same time I have definately done my homework. I appologize for getting a bit upset, but if you want to see what else I do in regards to my faith, all I can tell you is to do a search of this site to see what topics I have gotten involved in and what I have done.
 
I’m sorry, I think we both crossed what posts came up and started to respond before everything resolved. Sorry for starting to get upset, I thought you had seen my last post.
 
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