Satanic D&D... for the kids!

[D'rok]

you could show them this, lol

Love it! Great update of the original:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5331429585309819856

 

[Nogbad]

If you do go to your boss and explain the situation to them I wouldn't mention the Harry Potter thing about that girl's parent. That way if D+D gets shutdown you'll have a fall back activity.

It is horrible the way the tail wags the dog in these circumstances. Those that get wound up about this sort of thing do go through a lot of fear and angst though - it might not be rational but to them superstition is as real as a real thing that has been down to the shops for an extra packet of real.

In a risk averse society I am guessing the boss will take the route of least resistance unless the other parents complain about its withdrawal - in which case he/she may then contemplate jumping off the roof

 

[Filippo Lippi]

Remember this simple equation

Edition > 2 = evil

 

[fuelair]

You're probably going to have to stop the game, unfortunately. Ignorant angry parents tend to cause a lot of damage when they get going and it's unusual a boss is going to risk losing a client just to make his employees happy.

and ignorant parents are in the majority.

 

[kev]

D&D - I can't even begin to count the hours I spent playing that game as a kid. I would literally sit and read, draw and create for 8-10 hours at a time. Funny thing is, even with all of that "satanic" D&D, I never thought to question anything religious. It took me reading some of the things written by our country's founding fathers to do that Keep em away from the historical documents and books I say!

 

[Furi]

Maybe if you RPd it in a "what would Jeebus do/be" type mode
You would have to roll yourself a Paladin, and an even more nauseatingly sickly Goody goody one than most

Paladins Suck, Chaotic Evil FTW

 

[joobz]

If you wanted to move off of D&D, there are a host of other role playing systems out there that the kids may like. I'm currently playing a sci-fi game in the GURPS system where we're interstellar merchants with a planetary mafia on our tail and mysterious crystalline aliens roaming about. Not your typical dungeon crawl, but it's still a load of fun.

As a nice bonus, our GM lets us earn experience by writing about what happened in the previous session. Most write letters home, but I'm taking the opportunity to try and improve my writing skills by turning out 3-5 pages of short fiction. Might be fun to let the kids do the same.

I think this is a good solution.
Move away from the evil and potentially dark influence of D&D to something more wholesome like call of cthulhu.

 

[Nogbad]

Has FSM considered making a noodley based board game?

 

[fuelair]

Also, to be clear on semantics: you have to follow the boss's policy. There is no requirement to respect it. I never respect bosses who cave (unless they were wrong to begin with and "cave" to correct.

 

[Beerina]

I work at a day care center, and the second half of my day with with a large group of school age children, mostly boys, who come to the center after school until their parents pick them up.

In an attempt to keep the boys occupied and to keep them from their usual bullying, fighting over the video games, and destructive boredom, I dusted off my old Dungeons and Dragons books, hauled them into work, and whipped up a simplified version of the game for the boys, aged about 9-11. They're hooked. They love it. They love making characters, they're always calling me over to roll up a monster and help them level. I'm thrilled that they're getting along, that they look forward to coming, and they're being creative and using math skills at the same time.

Well, the inevitable happened today. The parent of a girl who doesn't even play complained that the game was Satanic to a co-worker. The co-worker knows diddly squat about the game, and carried the complaint onto me. I said "Dungeons and Dragons is about as Satanic as Harry Potter." I should have expected the reply, "Well, her mom doesn't let her read Harry Potter, either."

Now I'm afraid the other shoe is going to drop when the parent inevitably goes to the boss with these complaints.

Any thoughts? What should I argue when asked about the Satanic nature of this silly little role playing game by the boss, the parents, and the kids?

I'm guessing that pointing out that worshipping Satan has caused far less agony for the human race than worshipping Yahweh probably wouldn't work too well.

 

[Jimbo07]

You know, you may have to knuckle under...

... The parent has to know that you folks take her concerns seriously. If not, she may brand you something much worse than satanists... ATHEISTS. She, and others, may feel compelled to pull their children from the daycare, tell other parents that daycares are atheist institutions, and deprive their children of the socialization benefits.

Better to keep your hands on the kids, as much as possible...

 

[TheDoLittle]

As previously stated by several others here, employers will almost always side with clients even if it means dismissing the employee.

When I first met my wife, she was an elementary teacher at a small private school for low income kids. She taught a mixed class of 3rd through 5th graders. She also headed up the after school program as many of these kids had parent's that couldn't pick them up until 6pm. To help I would show up twice a week with several board games under my arm. Even though the school was not attached to any church, many of the parents were very religious. In fact, I found out several weeks into bringing and playing the games, one kid's parents went on a tirade to her principal that she dared allowed their child to "cast lots".

Needless to say, I never brought my copy of the "D&D 3rd Edition Starter Set"...

There are several kid friendly games out there, several of which I have found on the shelves of the local bookstore. Here's a list that may get you started.

FLUXX, http://wunderland.com/LooneyLabs/Fluxx/Default.html, is probably one of my favorite all time card games. The beauty of it is in it's simplicity. I've had kids who can't read and write play this game and still beat the pants off of adults. There is even a friendlier version called "Family Fluxx" which is really good for pre-schoolers. NOTE: Stoner-Fluxx, for obvious reasons, is not "kid friendly"!!

Dino-Hunt, http://www.sjgames.com/dinohunt/, is a wonderful and educational time-traveling card game. Their are plenty of expansion sets available at Warehouse23, but the core set is now out-of-print. PM me and I can call around to some people I know who work for the manufacturer and see if they have an extra set that they wouldn't mind relinquishing. Also take the time to peruse the site. There are some resources for educators at that site as well.

Marvel Heroscape, http://www.hasbro.com/games/kid-games/heroscape/default.cfm?page=Marvel. What kid can't say no to playing Spider-Man, Wolverine, and The Hulk!? This is a very easy to learn game and I've played this with many young kids at conventions and in-store demos. A word of WARNING, this game has a lot of pieces, 40 pieces just for the board, and the set up time can take a while. But all the kinds LOVE building the board!

Lord of the Fries, http://www.cheapass.com/products/cardgames/cag526.html. What happens when a bunch of zombies take over a fast food restaurant? This game lets you find out. There is a new 3rd edition to be released in April through Steve Jackson Games.

Settlers of Catan, http://www.mayfairgames.com/, is a classic board game of building and trading. There is even a section of the site for educators. Just try your best to stifle a giggle when a kid screams out, "I've got Wood for Sheep!"

You also might want to try http://www.boardgamegeek.com. They have a ton of games listed and most of them carry some sort of review.

And if you are going to order anything from SJ Games/Warehouse23, let me know beforehand. I might be able to get you some sort of discount.

 

[Filippo Lippi]

Better to keep your hands on the kids, as much as possible...

Are you sure that's good advice?

 

[Jimbo07]

Are you sure that's good advice?

You tryin' to be funny?



ETA: Just to be clear, I didn't mean to imply anything by using the word hands. I meant that kids can enjoy the positive aspects of being in out-of-home social facilities longer, if their parents feel comfortable letting them go. It's sort-of like the home schooling vs. public schooling debate.

 

[Filippo Lippi]

Just trying.

 

[volatile]

I second the Catan recommendation, and add:

- Carcasonne
- Puerto Rico
- Power Grid
- Caylus
- El Grande
- Ticket to Ride
- Tigris and Euphrates
- Munchkin

Some of these are better for older kids, but I'm sure yours will find them fun too. Lots of critical thinking, maths, strategy, pattern recognition, resource management and the occasional bit of ruthless back-stabbing!

 

[Arkan_Wolfshade]

Two options: replace D&D sessions with (pre-d20) Call of Cthulhu sessions
or


Start playing Shadowrun (pre-d20). One round of combat will take an entire day-care session and the parents will think they are working on math homework.

 

[JFrankA]

Paladins Suck, Chaotic Evil FTW

Hey!!!! I loved the Paladin class in D&D. I was quite good, too.

.....but now that I'm older, I'm playing World of Warcraft, and I'm playing a Rogue.....


....go figure.

 

[TheDoLittle]

I second the Catan recommendation, and add:

- Carcasonne
- Puerto Rico
- Power Grid
- Caylus
- El Grande
- Ticket to Ride
- Tigris and Euphrates
- Munchkin

Some of these are better for older kids, but I'm sure yours will find them fun too. Lots of critical thinking, maths, strategy, pattern recognition, resource management and the occasional bit of ruthless back-stabbing!

I completely forgot to mention Carcasonne! I finally snagged a copy of that game over the holidays.

Ticket to Ride is also a wonderful one!

The classic Munchkin might be considered "too D&D", but the variants (i.e. "Star Munchkin", "Munchkin-Fu", "The Good, The Bad, and The Munchkin") might be right up their ally. There's also the ever popular "Munchkin D20", for those who love pen&paper D&D, but want to "encourage dissent" within your own party.

 

[Arkan_Wolfshade]

Hey!!!! I loved the Paladin class in D&D. I was quite good, too.

.....but now that I'm older, I'm playing World of Warcraft, and I'm playing a Rogue.....


....go figure.

Want to have a lot of fun playing a Pally? Instead of going the King Arthur & KotRT route, or the pompous self-righteous route; go for the fanatical Spanish Inquisition route. Your group-mates will fear you, even if you are lawful-good.