Life, Gaming, and the Gospel: Dungeons and Dragons, part 3

Click on the links to read Part one and Part Two of a series of articles about Dungeons and Dragons.

So, I've just been thinking a bit lately about Dungeons and Dragons.  A guy has to think about something, after all, and I've had a lot of practice thinking about D&D.  (I first got started in a library near my house when I saw a copy of the Dungeon Master's Guide on a shelf and figured, why not?  After all, I had seen some of my dad's old AD&D figurines, so I was kind of curious.)

Anyway.

Once I got my start, I was hooked.  What were these tables of feats, dice charts, adventures, characters, options, prestige classes, sourcebooks, weapons, character traits, flaws, monsters... Oh yes, lots of monsters...  From there, I branched out at the library.  I knew from the internet that I'd need the Dungeon Master's Guide (DMG), the Players Handbook (PHB) and the Monster Manual.  I couldn't find the PHB, so I got the Player's Handbook II.  (Yes, there's a second PHB.)  Since I couldn't find the PHB anywhere, I got really frustrated.  After all, the PHB is the only book of the main three that is absolutely indispensible; everything else revolves around it, since it explains the character rules the most clearly.

 

Imagine trying to play Monopoly without the rules.  Imagine playing any game without the rules.  It would become chaos, everyone trying to get their own way, trying to get all they can grab, and with noone really being sure when they've won or not.

It kind of sounds like today, now doesn't it?  Everyone's running around like a chicken with their head cut off, trying to scratch all the money that they can out of life.  All the times, they've lost the point of life.  Just like the point of D&D is not to get rich, in-game or out, the point of life is not to get rich but to be happy.  Certainly, having enough money to get by is healthy and good, but we just need to focus on being happy.  Christ is the best way to achieve that.  I know this to be true.

Next time you need to know what to do, try reading the scriptures. They're the instructions for life.

(A Postscript: I still don't actually own any of the PHB, MM, or DMG.  They're very hard to find in the thrift stores I shopped at.  I haven't gone on Amazon yet. Maybe when I get home from my mission.)