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rate (5).

James Forest and Suzanne Abyeta studied criminal tendencies of people who played RPG's and found

that fewer crimes were committed by gamers than the average for each age group. The Association of 

Gifted-Creative Children of California endorses D&D for its educational content. After surveying psychological autopsies of adolescent suicides, they found no links to D&D (5).

  No links between D&D and teen suicides were found after extensive studies by The American

Association of Suicidology, The Center for Disease Control, and Health & Welfare (Canada).

Dr. S. Kenneth Schonbert studied over 700 adolescent suicides and found that D&D was not a factor in

any of them. Luis H. Zayas found D&D can help treat disruptive eight and nine year olds. FBISupervisory Special Agent Kenneth Lanning states in his book that there are no connections between

RPG's and crime (6).

Today, many secondary schools even offer "gifted and talented" students the opportunity to play D&D

for credit during school hours. Many state-supported colleges offer classes in D&D. A student atOakland University says: "It (the game) allows you to work out the frustrations and the doldrums of 

classes. You can do anything your wildest imagination will permit. But it's not dangerous." (Robie 16)

These are cold hard facts. These are scientific and psychological tests that prove D&D is safe. Anti-D&D groups base their opinions on speculation and word of mouth. The main problem with theseindividuals is that they have never actually played the game or read the manuals. They read literature

that exaggerates the contents of the rule books, or just blatantly lies about aspects of the game.

Many people believe D&D to be blasphemous because it mentions words like spellcraft, resurrection,

deity, witchcraft, demon, and hell. These terms appear in the Bible, but do not make it any less holy(Koehler 11) These terms appear all the time in other media and are not criticized. The spells listed in

the rule book don't describe hand gestures or verbal chanting. Gary Gygax, the actual creator of D&D

says: "I made up all the spells out of my head. How can anyone take them seriously?" (Robie 21)

An un-named GM states: "Nobody in my game, 'sees me as a god.' Nobody in my game treats their so-called 'Deities' with reverence or performs some kind of ritual to it." (Robie 34)

The Player's Handbook is the main rule book of the game. It does not ask you to join a cult, worship the

devil, or sacrifice animals. It doesn't encourage random killings or murder. In D&D you choose the

general attitude and beliefs of your character, the Player's Handbook specifically suggests thatcharacters be lawful and good. The game's rules are very flexible, and you can choose to do anything

within the limits of your characters ability. If someone takes advantage of this, it is not the games fault

 but the persons own bad judgment.

Court cases involving D&D have always found other reasons for the crime. People who blame D&Dfor their child's suicide often don't take into consideration a drug abuse or previous record of criminal

activity. They try to blame the problem on something so they use D&D (but not the interest in video

games or biology). D&D is a harmless activity that continually is blamed for causing problems when so

many overriding factors are also present.

Charney Cale, an avid D&D player, says: "I have had over six years of experience playing D&D, and

own dozens of rule books and manuals. D&D has been a wonderful and educational experience. I have

learned new vocabulary, and have better decision making skills. D&D has made me a quicker mathstudent because of all the calculations I make when I am the GM. I have learned many things about

European Medieval culture because the manuals are full of historical anecdotes. I have been exposed to

 beautifully painted fantasy art pieces that fill the manuals, and have increased my enjoyment of reading

from many of the best-selling D&D based novels. I have become a better artist by drawing intricate

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maps, and a better writer by creating stories and adventures. For many people D&D is an alternative to

crime and drug abuse, players get their highs from a great game."

The facts are clear. Scientists, psychologists and millions of gamers worldwide can't be wrong. D&D

and other RPG's are harmless. They are just a fun pastime like computers or chess. But for some reasonthese games are wrongly accused of so many things. It's too bad when these people focus their attention

on D&D, when the real problems like domestic violence and drug abuse are to blame.

References

1. Cook, David: "AD&D Player's Handbook" TSR Inc., Lake Geneva: 1989

2. Koehler, Manny: "Playing With Dragon Fire" Breakaway Aug. 1994, 10-12

3. Robie, Joan Hake: "The Truth About Dungeons & Dragons" Timelee Books, Pennsylvania:

1991

4. Sutton-Smith, Brian: "Games" Groliers 1995 Interactive Encyclopedia

5. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance: http://www.religioustolerance.org

6. The Evidence on Role-Playing Games:http://www.chrysalis.org/jfreeman/evidence.htm(outdated)