D&D players explain how they defend it from family members who think it’s “witchcraft”

D&D fans have offered advice for a fan with a family member who believes the game is witchcraft – a holdover from a dark era of the franchise’s history.

It might seem like a ridiculous notion now, but there was a time when Dungeons & Dragons was part of the “Satanic Panic” in the ’80s, where different forms of media were accused of being associated with devil worship, continuing into the ’90s with series like Pokemon associated with the occult.

In response to this outcry, the creators of D&D altered parts of the game, including renaming Demons and Devils to the Tanar’ri and Baatezu, making them more alien and interdimensional than fiendish, which was expanded upon in the Planescape campaign setting.

Thankfully, the days of D&D being associated with Satanism are long over, and all it takes is one YouTube search to see that the game doesn’t actually allow people to perform dark magic. There are still some who hold onto these beliefs, however.

A user on the DnD Reddit asked for advice on explaining to their aunt that the game isn’t witchcraft after the topic was brought up during a family gathering.

“If she’s concerned that playing the game is somehow an act of witchcraft, just explain what the game actually is: playing pretend within a structure of rules,” one user offered, “If her concern is that magic appears within the fiction of the game however, she’s probably beyond helping.”

“Tell her it’s a made-up bunch of rules about gods and the world and how people should interact with it, and that people sit around and take it very seriously. Then tell her D&D is the same,” another user wrote, while another said, “Tell her magic isn’t real and neither is DnD.”

“Try to explain it as a form of acting, and as a way to build speech and critical thinking,” one user said, “It’s a puzzle-solving play, like going to a murder mystery game! Try to show her some videos of some games!”

“Wait, you guys don’t cast fireball irl?” one user joked.

D&D celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2024, riding high on the huge success of D&D 5e and the meteoric rise of Baldur’s Gate 3 the previous year.

The Satanic Panic was a dark time in the history of the franchise, but those days are long gone, even if the belief that rolling dice can summon demons is still present in parts of the world.