How D&D Taught Me How to Summon a Demon (Spoilers: It Didn't)
I wanted to write a few words regarding our last episode, because there's only so much we can cram into an hour and the majority of our episodes are recorded late, so we tend to miss things after we've worked or had a trying day.
I simultaneously dreaded and loved this topic. It's one of those things where the people who've ever experienced D&D or played a game know how comical it is to believe that anyone would be influenced by the devil when playing D&D, while at the same time there is still a generation of folks who believe, to this day, you can read a Monster Manuel and summon a demon. As someone who has been a player character and dungeon master, the closest thing I've ever experienced in summoning a demonic entity from D&D was when the party I DM'd for needed more of a challenge so I improvised another enemy for the sake of making it harder. Sorry, guys.
However, when researching the topic, I was hilariously flabbergasted at the fact that people went on legitimate news programs and purported to either "knowing someone" that summoned a demonic entity through D&D, or "knowing someone" who killed themselves after playing a game of D&D. I was born in the late 80's, so I wasn't old enough to witness the panic that ensued at the time, but watching the clips and hearing about these anecdotes made me realize how easy it is to be influenced by what we see or read in the media day-to-day.
Anyone could tell you that we live in tumultuous times present day. Regardless of your political affiliation, religious beliefs, or favorite brand of cereal, we are at the mercy of what we're told through mainstream media and our communities. It is unfortunate because most of the time, a little research into the topic can either validate or invalidate the issue, but that doesn't necessarily mean that an individual will do so. Sometimes we want to hear information that validates our perception on a topic, even if there is clear research and information to the contrary of that perception.
Luckily, we live in a time where the internet is a click away on our computers. We have the ability to reach out to a person in a separate timezone, country, or continent to learn about their beliefs and their issues. Unfortunately, that was non-existent in the 80's when the whole issue regarding D&D popped up. I can't imagine living in a world where I can't validate information immediately through my own research. The fact that this wasn't feasibly possible back then explains why this "witch hunt" effectively happened in the first place. What's still striking is the fact that even now, there are people who still firmly believe that D&D is tied to devil worship, even after the geek renaissance began and the overwhelming positive output regarding D&D in the mainstream media today.
I guess the point of this post is a hope that this small look at D&D helps you understand that it is important to always factually check issues that come up day-to-day. We cannot be complacent in the information we're provided because we end up with falsehoods that can affect brands or issues for decades to come. At the base of D&D is a Hero's Journey (we did an episode on that too), where essentially, the good guys are out to win over the bad guys. If some of these people had bothered to take the time to learn about D&D instead of taking a cursory glance over it and seeing what they wanted to see, they would have realized that D&D is a communal storytelling process with your friends that allows you a chance to succeed over the bad guys, if the dice allows it. And hell, D&D is fun. We have stories we have been telling for years from our sessions because of the stupid things we've managed to do. In a world where shitty things happen to good people daily, a little laughter and an adventure isn't such a bad thing.
You could say that D&D has, overall, had a huge impact.
(Brought it back to our rotation topic, booyah).
If you want to check out more information regarding the Satanic Panic, you can check out these links below from where we did research:
HOW D&D WRITERS FOUGHT THE SATANIC PANIC OF THE 1980S- GEEK & SUNDRY
The Great 1980s Dungeons & Dragons Panic- BBC News
The history of Satanic Panic in the US — and why it's not over yet- VOX