I started playing Dungeons and Dragons when I was 20-21, for years I told myself it was a line I would not let myself cross, seeing how it was portrayed by others as hopeless geeks cosplaying elves and orcs in a dimly lit room throwing bizarre dice back and fourth while pretending to cast a Cone Of Cold, but I was at the bookstore one day and saw the cover of the 4th edition cover, a Dragonborn Fighter with a claymore as tall as he was and a Human Wizard crouched as she felt unseen eyes watching her (The cover of the GM manual shows us it is in fact a massive dragon scrying on them with some kind of enchanted orb) and I felt that flame spark on, the same one I've felt every time I found a new series to read or a new show to watch, this was going to be a part of my life.
Oddly enough the two guys I started playing with where two very gruff men, rednecks to beat the band and High school wrestlers and avid hunters, the first time I played created a rogue who's character eventually evolved into one of the main characters in my webcomic series "Guild Tomes" and we played for 12hrs straight and honestly I can't remember the last time I had had so much fun, hanging out, joking, laughing and indulging in my thirst for fantasy.
I loved this game instantly but I was unable to deny the un-Christian themes of it, spirit conjuring, magic, pacts with deamons, primal pagan like spirits and other dark things, I tried to avoid those aspects by playing melee type characters like Fighters, Rangers, Rogues and other simple styles, it suited me and the people I played with usually preferred similar classes, like so much in mainstream media I had to take it with a grain of salt.
I was working for my church as a grounds keeper at the time and one day in Bible study I talked to my Pastor about it, we agreed the magic aspect was not something Christians should even pretend to fiddle in but he even said a knight fighting goblins was not something we should think about, I asked why but he could not give me a real answer he just asked if I thought it was something we should in a tone that told me he was not interested in going into it and I did not pursue it, he was my boss and pastor and I didn't want to seem like I was stiff necked, I figured I could try again another time. It never came however, not soon after that the Pastor ended the one on one bible studies we use to have and told me another gentlemen from the church would be taking over my duties, it was a powerful blow to me and I never did go back to that church again.
I'm the only avid christian in my family, everyone else is either a "Once A Week Christian" or just isn't interested, this meant I was cut off from other Christians as I lacked a car to get the long distances to another church, I was familiar with this, I was a part of a liberal crowd in High School that quickly turned on my once I came to God so being alone with my thoughts and God was well mapped ground but it always stuck with me how my Pastor had been so quick to shut out the good in a fantasy game like D&D and focus and condemn it for what he perceived it to be and unwilling to talk further with me after he spoke his peace, it reminded me of many times in my youth when family and spiritual figures had rolled their eyes and said it did not belong.
I started playing around with the idea of a Christian fantasy tabletop RPG and based it in the world of my webcomic Guild Tomes, a fanatsy series of superhuman adventurers who join Guilds to seek treasure and glory through exploring and fighting the dark powers that threaten their homelands, the church and their Guilds, I was unsure if this truly was something God wanted but the other week I put the game up for sale on my Facebook page and sold several copies in the first week, my paypal account went from $9.90 to $65.88 in a just few days from people buying copies of the game and other Guild Tomes products and the number just grew from there.
I saw with my own eyes that other Christians had the same passion I did and that the realm of fantasy is indeed a realm God is willing to use to minister, guide and teach us in and that he must have saw potential in what I was doing, I was on the right road and God wa son it with me.
I don't claim God has ordained me to be the next big thing but I am humbled to see God helping and using my works for his glory and now I walk the comic artist and fantasy enthusiast path with more confidence now and am happy to have seen that our God is indeed a supportive and creative God and that I have met so many of you, my creative and imaginative Sisters and Brothers.
My next comic is taking awhile and I wanted to add something inspiring to the site so I posted this little testimony/story.
Have a great night guys and may God bless you! X3
Keep those pencils on that paper! ;3
Comments
Hello. Our business is active at GenCon here in Indianapolis, one of the largest Gaming Conventions in the world. We have lots of friends who are Christians and gamers, including some who are active in game development. One of the creators of the new game "Myth" (and their prior game "Mercs") is a fabulous Christian who takes part in mission trips. They recently did a kickstarter campaign for their Myth game project and raised over $900,000 for the project.
Myth Kickstarter Link
I'm not saying Kickstarter is for everyone, but it may help you to get a project funded and developed if that is your goal. And I encourage you to locate the Christian Gaming community's website and let them know what you are working on; we see their booth at the convention.
Thank you everyone for the kind words, I'm glad to see others can relate to this.
Kevin: I saw Mazes and Monsters, I'll admit people with extreme mental frailness might want to stick to something lighter like oh....macaroni art, but come on killing a puppet with a fake sword after breaking their oath never to kill a living creature would push anyone over the edge! I'm glad you were able to help your mom find the fun side of these games and not the "Dark evil side" that will drive you nuts!
Nate: I agree, as Christians it is important to know when we need to judge something for ourselves and having a a biblical rooted outlook and not a follow the crowd outlook.
I also agree about ending up stronger from these experiences, after all "No coal, no diamonds!"
P.S: Loved your newest stuff on DA, I'll get those sketches up soon to, sorry about the false start, work and webcomic stuff came up. :P
Gerry: I can relate to your Odyssey story, I had a very strict Aunt and Uncle that told my cousins that pokemon was evil because a pokemon got it's power's from the devil but they don't really tell you which one just that it had a star on it, which at least one of them did so when we went over to show them our cards they kind of froze like we had pulled out a heroine needle, they just decided it was wrong and fed their kids nasty lies about it. :P
The best we as a group can do on here is make sure we don't give anyone the chance get away with being vague and make sure our products and art are in the right so no one can say they are wrong as it says in scripture when we are told to act in such a way that when someone says something evil about us people can see it just isn't true. :3
Thanks again for the kind words guys, God bless! :3
Gerard, I remember hearing that adventure in odyssey when I was a kid and they even suggested kids listen to it with their parents lol.
Thanks for the post. My mom also freaked out about me playing RPGs and insisted that I watch Mazes and Monsters, which has Tom Hanks going crazy after playing games. Fun stuff :)
She and I have certainly come to terms with it and we even played a few rounds of Magic: The Gathering lately.
Like so many things in life, you must decided if it is something that brings you closer to God or further away. Anything can become an idol and there is nothing "magical" about an RPG that gives it more or less power to be a distraction. You have taken your love for a game and used it to tell the message of Christ. Sounds good to me :)
Hello DY Comics! RPGs and Christianity has always been a topic I've been very interested in. Like you, I used to hear Christians whisper about the terrifying occultic dangers of D&D and claims that it would make you violently insane, if not outright demon possessed. This is one Achilles heel of a lot Christians. Tell a good well meaning Christian something is bad, and they will naturally shun it. But then, all their information about the subject is received as second hand at best, and outright outlandish rumor and urban myth at worst. On the one hand, it shook up my fledgling Christian faith when I heard Focus on the Family's 'Adventures in Odyssey' portray rpgs in the most ridiculous fashion. It made me wonder if they were wrong about things I was taking their word for... But on the other hand, God can use such experiences for good too. My faith, flawed as it is today, is more real and sincere because it is what -I- believe, not a carbon copy of what radio preachers teach. For good and bad. I think RPGs in Christian hands can be a very positive recreation and a blessing to believers. Because it's just a form of fiction. What I believe it needs is more Christians like you to claim ground and mold it into something pleasing to God. I love Guild Tomes, and am looking forward to playing your system next Monday night, if the Lord is willing. Though the problem with most RPGs is that you get a pre-made fictional setting with most rules systems you purchase, and they, so far, have been written from a non-Christian world view for the most part. It's just like comics, people point at bad examples of non-Christian comics, and then condemn the medium along with the worst examples of the pornographic and violent. Thank the Lord that there are so many Christians being inspired to become fans and creators of Christian comics! May it soon be so with RPGs if God wills it so!