Playing Dungeons and Dragons contributes to psychopathy?

Bababooey · Jul 17, 2008

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-pufferfish-profile-both-17jul17,0,2991971.story

Story of an IL man who was arrested by the FBI for trying to buy a crapload of pufferfish toxin, presumably in order to kill his wife.
"Edward Bachner IV often escaped his workday world as a financial planner by closing his office door and delving into the fantasy realms of Dungeons and Dragons"

For some reason, the Trib keeps mentioning that this guy liked playing the role playing game Dungeons and Dragons, as if that were further evidence (or cause?) of his deranged mental state.

As a former (and trying to be current) D&D player (still have most of the 1st edition books), I find it offensive that a large city newspaper like the Trib would try to link the playing of D&D, or any RPG for that matter, to increased rates of criminal or mentally ill behavior.
Millions of people have played D&D, and if you can show me one reputable study that links the playing of RPG's to criminal/psychopathic behavior then maybe I'll concede the point. But if all the Trib has is conjecture and theory and uninformed opinions on why people play RPGs, then I would ask that they leave their biased, inflammatory hypotheses out of their articles...
My two cents. :joint:

FallenBuddha · Jul 17, 2008

I'd say first person shooter games such as the grand theft auto series would definitley contribute more to the psychosis than a fantasy rpg. but thats just my opinion.

peace -fb

OldPathBluSky · Jul 17, 2008

FallenBuddah - I dunno, I remember reading a newspaper a few years back about a guy who killed himself over an RPG game, b/c his file got erased, I think it was b/c he was in love with a character of the game... kinda sad, but come on that guy was a lunatic.

zeeba amoeba · Jul 17, 2008

Bababooey said:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-pufferfish-profile-both-17jul17,0,2991971.story

Story of an IL man who was arrested by the FBI for trying to buy a crapload of pufferfish toxin, presumably in order to kill his wife.
"Edward Bachner IV often escaped his workday world as a financial planner by closing his office door and delving into the fantasy realms of Dungeons and Dragons"

For some reason, the Trib keeps mentioning that this guy liked playing the role playing game Dungeons and Dragons, as if that were further evidence (or cause?) of his deranged mental state.

As a former (and trying to be current) D&D player (still have most of the 1st edition books), I find it offensive that a large city newspaper like the Trib would try to link the playing of D&D, or any RPG for that matter, to increased rates of criminal or mentally ill behavior.
Millions of people have played D&D, and if you can show me one reputable study that links the playing of RPG's to criminal/psychopathic behavior then maybe I'll concede the point. But if all the Trib has is conjecture and theory and uninformed opinions on why people play RPGs, then I would ask that they leave their biased, inflammatory hypotheses out of their articles...
My two cents.

Even most reputable studies are not to be believed, not about this or about anything.

I don't play RPGs but did play D&D (basic and Advanced) in my teens. It was a lot of fun, but my friends all loss interest in the game after the age of 14. It was like a bomb went off, and suddenly no one at all wanted to talk about D&D any more. I was so into it, I designed dungeons and campaigns. I sent a few off to Dragon magazine but they weren't good enough. The first one I sent, I got a personal reply from Kim Mahon, the editor and publisher. He was impressed by my young age (I was 13) and tried to give me encouragement.

These days I just play a couple of video games, some of which are almost as immersing as D&D was.

People who think D&D is weird never played it themselves. Just like why people think marijuana is bad.

oh-- if you want a really PURE D&D experience on your computer, download the public domain game...Rogue or better yet Larn. That is some cool shit.
I think there is both a PC version and a Linux version. No graphics, just text, but very pure in its D&D.

GET MO · Jul 17, 2008

Anyone play oblivion? 100 hours of my life gon to that mofo...

zeeba amoeba · Jul 17, 2008

GET MO said:
Anyone play oblivion? 100 hours of my life gon to that mofo...

i've read good reviews of it but i'm a little old-school to put it mildly. I have bought three video games in the last five years. One I play to this day. "Age of the Titans." That is a fun game. I've been playing it ever since it came out and talk about addictive. When I play it stoned is best. (btw I always win stoned.) :rasta:

The others I resold on ebay. Just couldn't get into the Sims version 2 (too much like a girly dollhouse) or even Chessmaster (it kicked my ass every time it played me). I also tried World of Warcraft but that felt like a kid's game. Very simple and repetitive.

CaptainStoner · Jul 17, 2008

Oh come on! gimme a damn break. RPG's, videogames, television, movies, marilyn manson music DO NOT cause people to do this stuff. It may give ideas and inspiration to sick, sick puppies but they just don't cause all this stuff. The fall of society and civilisation does. Blaming media for such things is just senseless scapegoating by utterly incompetent "authority figures" and so-called "experts" who will say anything to get paid by the authority figures

As Dave Chappelle once said: "Whatever happened to CRAZY". These people are nutters. Plain and simple. Either that or they lack a proper upbringing.

If everyone was average, the human race would have got nowhere. Psychopaths and crazies are the price we unfortunately have to pay to get the geniuses of the world who create new things.

Verite · Jul 17, 2008

Doesnt anyone remember that awful movie Tom Hanks did right after leaving the series Bossom Buddies?

It was originally called 'Dungeons and Dragons' but they switched it to [ Im sure after being sued by the game makers ] " Mazes and Monsters " from 1982.

Its the same dealio, Tom Hanks character and his buddies love playing D-n-D and Tom goes off the deep end and appears to be saved by the power of bad acting. Rent it if you get a chance.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084314/

TheBigGreen1 · Jul 18, 2008

Playing D&D contributes to....NO PUSSY.

Dr Dog · Jul 18, 2008

TheBigGreen1 said:
Playing D&D contributes to....NO PUSSY.

Beat me to it, I was gonna say that they should be questioning his wife, what the hell is she thinking

zeeba amoeba · Jul 18, 2008

TheBigGreen1 said:
Playing D&D contributes to....NO PUSSY.

lol, that's what you think. It was a girl that introduced me to D&D. If it weren't for her, I don't know that I would have gotten into it. Once I did though, I got a bunch of my friends into it and we started a group that met every two weeks at a different person's house. D&D is like marijuana, it's a trip and you need to use a little imagination to really enjoy it.

oh, Verite- there hasn't been a good movie about D&D made yet. All the ones I've researched get bad reviews. I've watched some of them and I always feel like they get it all wrong. There's something about the romance of the dice and the characters you create that hasn't been captured by film yet.

That said, I do think video games have replaced D&D to a large extent. It's the rare person that makes a really fun companion for D&D, so the computer is probably your best bet if you want to RPG.

TheBigGreen1 · Jul 19, 2008

Those freaky Ren Fest/D&D chicks sure can eat pussy, (they are usually the butch), though. I played it too until I was 12 or so. I was wrong. Lots of Pussy, for girls. Not the guys.

Verite · Jul 20, 2008

My fav D-n-D show? I hate to say it but it was the old 80's cartoon series. Had the voices of Willie Ames and Adam Rich from 8 is Enough and Donny Most from Happy Days.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085011/

whiterabbit9 · Jul 20, 2008

seriously i have no doubt about dnd making people freaky

Verite · Jul 20, 2008

Dont make me use the portable cone of silence on you.

chubbynugs · Jul 20, 2008

play world of warcraft and really enter the evil side of your mind.

Verite · Jul 21, 2008

chubbynugs said:
play world of warcraft and really enter the evil side of your mind.

Who needs WOW when you have..

Pops · Jul 21, 2008

Come on, Verite! If tequila really made you puke, I would only weigh 120 pounds. Tequila puts hair on your balls! After a bottle of Cabo Wabo, I have to shave mine 3 times a day.

Grat3fulh3ad · Jul 21, 2008

Guys... they're all correct about the effects...
I played D&D as a kid and a score of RPG video games since then...
I have a wow account...
and look at the effect it has had on me... case in point, eh?

Pops · Jul 21, 2008

If you are a prime example,H3ad, then more people should be playing!

Playing Dungeons and Dragons contributes to psychopathy?

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