10 Commonly-Held Myths About RPGs

RPGs are great fun, but they have gotten a lot of undeserved bad press over the years. Back in
the 80's, people linked it to suicide, murder, and Satanism. By the 90's these allegations had
mostly died down, to be replaced by stereotypes about "geeks" and "nerds". These and various
other beliefs about RPGs have become something of an urban legend, and have even spread to
related fields such as CCGs and fantasy literature. Below are 10 of the most commonly-held
myths about RPGs:

1. It leads to suicide and murder. This is one of the oldest RPG-related myths, dating back to
the early days of role-playing. The claim is that players sometimes get so attached to one of
his/her characters that he/she commits suicide over the loss of that character. Nothing could be
further from the truth. In fact, studies done by such prestigious institutions as the American
Association of Suicidology, the Centers For Disease Control, and Health and Welfare Canada
have shown that the opposite is true: gamers have a much lower suicide rate than the general
public. This is hardly surprising, since role-playing games are group activities, and suicidal people
tend to be loners. When friends get together frequently, as is the case with gamers, they can look
out for each other and help each other when one of them faces a crisis.
The murder charges against RPGs have similar origins, and entire lists of alleged "RPG
murders" have been compiled by certain religious and anti-gaming groups. In fact, gaming
mavens like Michael Stackpole have examined such cases and found that the children and teens
who commited these crimes all had problems in their real-world lives (drug abuse, mental illness,
family problems) that were unrelated to gaming.

2. It leads to occult activity. This allegation is primarily leveled against Dungeons and Dragons
and similar fantasy RPGs, claiming that the spells and gods in the games are real and the players
actually cast and worship them. Some religious groups went on to claim that FRPGs were
actually being used by occult groups as a recruitment tool. In fact, the spells and gods in the
games exist only in the imaginations of the game designers and players. A player may say, "My
elf wizard is going to cast a fireball spell", but the player himself/herself does not actually say any
magic words or go through the motions of casting a spell. A player may declare that his cleric
may follow a god of justice or war or whatever, but the player does not actually worship the god
his/her character worships. RPGs cannot teach you how to cast spells any more than reading
murder mysteries will teach you how to solve a crime. It all boils down to the difference between
fantasy (which is what these games are) and reality (the world we live in).
As for the allegation that RPGs are used as occult recruiting tools, this can be debunked
simply by noting that there are many Christian role-players and role-playing societies both on-
and off-line. In fact, one of the co-creators of Dungeons and Dragons was himself a Born-Again
Christian!
If you're still concerned about magic or the occult after reading this, just remember that
there are many RPGs out there that don't deal with either subject at all. Sci-fi, historical, and
modern settings are all available for people who want to discover the joy of gaming but don't want
anything to do with magic or gods.

3. It's for "geeks" and "losers". Gamers are often stereotyped as being unwashed nerds who
live in their parents' basement and can never find dates. In fact, gamers are simply people from
all backgrounds, races, religions, and creeds. Many gamers are highly succesful in their fields of
education or employment, are happily married, and otherwise lead normal, well-adjusted lives.

4. Chicks don't dig it. RPGs are often stereotyped as being an exclusively male activity. In fact,
women are one of the fastest-growing demographics in the gaming world. A study done by
Wizards of the Coast in 1999 found that almost a fifth of the gamers they surveyed were women.
In response to this demographic shift, game manufacturers are slowly moving away from the
traditional "chainmail bikini" portrayal of women to a more egalitarian approach.

5. It's kid stuff. RPGs are often derided as something teenagers do on weekends in their
parents' basement. According to a 1999 study by Wizards of the Coast, the majority of gamers
are between the ages of 19 and 35. Hardly a "bunch of kids". RPGs are becoming a
multigenerational activity, too. Many of the people who got into RPGs 20-25 years ago as
teenagers are now grown-ups with their own families, and many of them have taught their
children how to play.
RPGs can be adapted to suit a variety of age groups' tastes. Kids may enjoy slaying
dragons or cruising in a spaceship destroying aliens, whereas an adult may prefer deep political
intrigues or complex, world-spanning plots. This ability to transcend age groups is part of what
makes RPGs so unique.

6. It requires a lot of expensive equipment. In fact, all you need for most games is the core
rulebook(s), some dice, pencils and paper, and your imagination. Supplements and accessories
such as miniatures are helpful, but not necessary to run a game; they are there to help out Game
Masters who are stuck for ideas or who want something a little different for their campaigns. The
beauty of RPGs is that you can spend as little or as much as you want on them and still have a
good time.

7. It's excessively violent. Humans are violent creatures, and this is reflected in the sports and
games we play. However, there's more to RPGs than just killing the monsters and getting the
treasure. Politics, puzzle-solving, diplomacy, and sport are just a few of the many non-combat
ways you can add excitement to your game.
Some anti-RPG people (especially the fundamentalist Christian types) believe that RPGs
are full of realistic violence, sadism, and torture. In fact, combat in most RPGs is a very abstract
affair, better designed to recreate heroic fantasy than slasher horror flicks. Some systems have
detailed critical hit tables that describe injuries realistically, but most games either deal with
criticals in an abstract manner (e. g. as a damage multiplier) or don't use criticals at all. As for
rape, torture, and sadism, they seldom happen in a typical RPG session, but when they do, they
are always condemned as being evil acts and are very strongly discouraged.

8. You can "win" or "lose" the game. The biggest factor that separates RPGs from other
games is their cooperative (as opposed to competitive) nature. The Game Master makes the
challenges, and the players work together to conquer these challenges. If the Game Master
makes his challenges enjoyable and captivating and the players overcome these challenges in
clever and interesting ways, everyone wins. To paraphrase Joshua from WarGames, "the only
losing move is not to have fun".

9. RPGs are played in steam tunnels and caves. This myth is another old one, dating back to
the early 80's. In reality, traditional RPGs are played around a table, using rulebooks, pencils and
paper, dice, and lots of snacks and cola. Steam tunnels are too hot, humid, cramped, and
generally unsafe for ordinary people to go romping around in. Besides, getting into a steam tunnel
would normally be considered breaking and entering, or at least trespassing. Likewise, caves
present their own series of hazards: they are dark, damp, cold, and full of pitfalls, narrow
passages, and uneven floors. Not a good place for laypeople to play games in!
There is, however, a form of role-playing that does involve acting out one's fantasies. This
is called Live Action Role-Playing, or LARP for short. However, most LARPs take place in parks,
college campuses, and the like; as mentioned above, steam tunnels and caves are just too
dangerous to play such games in. In a way, LARPing is like sports: safety is just as important as
having fun.

10. Gamers confuse fantasy and reality. This is somewhat related to the "steam tunnel" and
"suicide" myths detailed above. Some claim that players get so involved with the game that they
become unable to tell the game from reality, start acting out the roles of their characters, etc.
Most gamers are normal, stable individuals who have lives beyond their games. During the RPG
session, players assume the roles of their characters, but when the session ends, they assume
their real-world roles again.
True, there are people who might easily confuse fantasy and reality, but they have this
problem independent of any activities, gaming or not, they may engage in. Such people probably
shouldn't engage in RPGs of any kind, but that doesn't mean that the general public should stay
away from them as well.