DragonRaid
Encyclopedia
DragonRaid is a Christian
fantasy game that was created by Dick Wulf in 1984. It is generally considered a role-playing game
, although the game's official sites describes it as "a cross between simulation exercises and traditional role-playing games" http://www.dragonraid.com/index.php?topic=info.
Its primary focus is to help Christian
s to become discipled in the teachings of the Bible
. Its terminology and design assumptions are particularly pitched toward evangelical and fundamentalist Christianity
.
Using an allegorical fantasy RPG setting, players are able to play the roles of "TwiceBorn" LightRaiders and practice Scriptural principles in a group setting. The fantasy backdrop (called "EdenAgain") is similar to J. R. R. Tolkien
's Arda
and C. S. Lewis
' Narnia.
It uses a mechanical system called the Adventure Learning System, and is (as of 2006) the only role-playing game to use that system. In the ALS system, the rule set used by the game master (called the "Adventure Master") to operate the environment and non-player character
s is significantly different from the rule set used by the players to operate their personal characters
. In particular, enemies roll a smaller die than the players (d8 versus d10), making it markedly more likely that PCs will succeed in their actions than their antagonists. This also has the effect of making random failure more likely for NPCs than for PCs, as the lowest value on an eight-sided die comes up 12.5% of the time, compared to 10% of the time for a ten-sided die.
asserted that the game was criticised both by secular role-players (for its overtly proselytising content), and by Christian anti-roleplaying groups like Bothered About Dungeons and Dragons. http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/11/11723.phtml.
The website christiangaming.com similarly states that "DragonRaid became a victim of some well-meaning but mistaken Christian organizations that condemned it as having evil content". http://www.christiangaming.com/oldsite/Reviews/XDRaidReview.shtml
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
fantasy game that was created by Dick Wulf in 1984. It is generally considered a role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, although the game's official sites describes it as "a cross between simulation exercises and traditional role-playing games" http://www.dragonraid.com/index.php?topic=info.
Its primary focus is to help Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s to become discipled in the teachings of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. Its terminology and design assumptions are particularly pitched toward evangelical and fundamentalist Christianity
Fundamentalist Christianity
Christian fundamentalism, also known as Fundamentalist Christianity, or Fundamentalism, arose out of British and American Protestantism in the late 19th century and early 20th century among evangelical Christians...
.
Using an allegorical fantasy RPG setting, players are able to play the roles of "TwiceBorn" LightRaiders and practice Scriptural principles in a group setting. The fantasy backdrop (called "EdenAgain") is similar to J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's Arda
Arda
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Arda is the name given to the Earth in a period of prehistory, wherein the places mentioned in The Lord of the Rings and related material once existed...
and C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
' Narnia.
It uses a mechanical system called the Adventure Learning System, and is (as of 2006) the only role-playing game to use that system. In the ALS system, the rule set used by the game master (called the "Adventure Master") to operate the environment and non-player character
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
s is significantly different from the rule set used by the players to operate their personal characters
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
. In particular, enemies roll a smaller die than the players (d8 versus d10), making it markedly more likely that PCs will succeed in their actions than their antagonists. This also has the effect of making random failure more likely for NPCs than for PCs, as the lowest value on an eight-sided die comes up 12.5% of the time, compared to 10% of the time for a ten-sided die.
Criticism From Two Sides
A review on rpg.netRPG.NET
RPGnet is a role-playing game website. It includes sections on wargames, tabletop games and video games, as well as columns on gaming topics....
asserted that the game was criticised both by secular role-players (for its overtly proselytising content), and by Christian anti-roleplaying groups like Bothered About Dungeons and Dragons. http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/11/11723.phtml.
The website christiangaming.com similarly states that "DragonRaid became a victim of some well-meaning but mistaken Christian organizations that condemned it as having evil content". http://www.christiangaming.com/oldsite/Reviews/XDRaidReview.shtml
External links
- DragonRaid Online
- DragonRaid Discussion List
- The Dragonraid Inn A set of expansion rules enriching gameplay.