Fantasy Role-Playing as a tool for Christian Education - PAGE 8
by Mike Perschon - Copyright © Mike Perschon 2002
A practical approach to the use of FRPG's as a CE tool.
    If none of these arguments has convinced you that FRPG's are not a work of the devil, then thanks for coming by and taking the time to entertain the thought. Take care and Godspeed. For those who have a change of heart, or who were the "choir" I've been preaching to through the posting of the article, welcome to the part where I get a little down and dirty with how best to carry this out in a CE (Christian Education) environment.
     A caveat at this point: I am not implying that FRPG's are only good if used as a CE tool. I believe that FRPG's are enjoyable and worthwhile for their own sake as creative engines, in the same way many people enjoy hockey games that aren't held withn church leagues. This article is for youth workers or teachers who wish to use FRPG's and avoid excessive controversy and paranoia.
     Here are some tips I hope will be helpful in working FRPG's into a ministry environment, or for those hoping to play a game from a more decidedly Christian worldview.
1) COMMUNICATION: Get and give information.
Before you do any sort of community based roleplaying game with young people, be it in a church or in a school, you need to know the issues surrounding roleplaying games, know what you believe regarding that, and then be able to communicate that clearly to others. Parents need to be informed up front about what you intend on doing. If they ask, "Is this like Dungeons and Dragons?" you need to be able to reply "yes," and then help the parents understand that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I recommend holding a parent meeting prior to start up with interested parties and talking through the issues. My article was the result of a meeting that happened AFTER someone panicked about a gaming session I was running in a youth group, where I nearly lost my job. To this day, I'm convinced that scenario could have been avoided if I had communicated more clearly up front. I can't stress enough that you NEED parental involvement and endorsement or you'll be headed for a world of hurt, especially in Evangelical Christian circles.
2) MORALITY: No Chaos Mages please...
In my experience, the only time I ever saw someone exhibit negative behavior stemming from a gaming session was during my teens when we played "anything goes" style campaigns, most of which were "hack and slash." This meant that players could choose any alignment (moral/religious affiliation) and that the games were centered around combat, ergo violence. One of the players commented in his journal (see JOURNALING) that he was going to find a particular cursed sword and then kill everyone else in the group. I shut down that campaign pretty quickly and began evaluating how to avoid that in the future. The solution I came to was that evil characters were not 'playable.' Only character classes or races of good or neutral alignment were allowed. The game master is responsible for the villains, not the characters.
I also refuse to run "hack and slash" campaigns. That's like playing Diablo with paper and pencils. The advantage of  tabletop roleplaying games is that they allow for an infinite number of options in a situation. For example, in a campaign I just ran this last weekend, the solution to an oncoming regiment of goblins was to cast a spell of "Tale-telling" which resulted in the goblins becoming entranced with the story the mage was telling. A non-violent solution, which proved to be far more comical and Tolkien-esque when one of the goblins, not entranced by the story got beaten up for silence by the rest of the goblins. The players used the fight to sneak away. Games which avoid combat as the only resort are far more interesting than "hack and slash" campaigns. They also avoid concern over the glorification of violence in FRPG's.   
3) JOURNALING
At the end of campaigns, I have often had players journal from the point of view of their character. I then read over the journal entries, which is how I nipped the aforementioned situation in the bud. It also builds writing skills and enriches the game overall. During one campaign run in a youth group and set in a pre-Flood earth, players would often write their journal entries as prayers, which in turn enriched their actual prayer life.
4) SETTING
Game in a setting that has some precedent that gives parents or concerned individuals some familiarity. When working with youth groups, I would recommend gaming in a historical period from the Bible or perhaps the middle ages, where faith issues can be explored in a creative fashion. The conquest of Canaan is an obvious choice, as is David's years in the desert. Characters could be among the "mighty men". Narnia or Middle Earth are good choices as well, since the world systems have built in moralities. Using I.C.E.'s Middle Earth system takes some work since the books are presently out of print, but you can find a lot of it on Ebay. Narnia might prove more daunting, since no system presently exists for that world. Although some people think of the cosmology of Star Wars as 'New Age' I would also say that this would make for a good system to game in, or if Sci Fi is your gig, Star Trek is pretty safe due to a very high familiarity with the Secondary World of Vulcans and Klingons.
5) SYSTEM: Using Vampire: The Masquerade will get you in hot water
Choose a gaming system that doesn't immediately ring warning bells for parents. Stay away from really dark or occult based games like Vampire: the Masquerade or stuff based on H.P. Lovecraft's work. Please note, I'm not saying that Christians can't play these games; I'm saying if you used them in a youth group or school setting you deserve whatever heat you take for it.
I personally use Rolemaster, because the actual mechanics of the game allow you to adventure in any historical period or fantasy realm. For example, check out "And a 10 foot pole" a supplement I.C.E. made which has the price tables for items from periods dating from the Stone Age to the Modern Era. Their website also features some nice free downloads. Launching a Biblical campaign would be relatively easy using Rolemaster's system.
6) BOTTOM LINE - Know your people
This summer at Greenbay I had several conversations with people who are gamers at Christian schools and colleges across Canada. They play in secret, behind closed doors because the consequences of their actions might result in discipline from their school. If you are a teacher or a youth leader where it would be 'a hill to die on' to using FRPG's as a CE tool, don't bother. The disadvantages will outweigh any advantages you might see. You know your community, and you need to assess whether or not such an experience would be beneficial, or disastrous.
I'm more than happy to answer any questions this series of articles may have provoked, and look forward to hearing from any and all on this subject. My prayer is that this article will have been enlightening or inspiring in some way.
God bless, MP. (November 1, 2002)