DragonRaid

DragonRaid
Designer(s) Dick Wulf
Publisher(s) Adventures for Christ
Publication date 1984
Genre(s) High fantasy, Christian apologetics, Pedagogy
System(s) Custom

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".[1] Its primary focus is to help Christians to become discipled in the teachings of the Bible. Its terminology and design assumptions are particularly pitched toward evangelical and fundamentalist Christianity.

Description

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 characters 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.

The ludic experience is included in a more global pastoral or religious frame, for example the Adventure Master has to be a figure of authority (an adult, a dad, a pastor). The game design introduced different resolution rules for the player characters and for the non-player characters.

Criticisms

A review on rpg.net 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.[2] 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".[3]

DragonRaid Second Edition

An updated version, with updated rules[4] and resources was in development as of September 2018, under the guidance of James R. Hannibal.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "DragonRaid Adventure Learning System". 2004-10-12. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  2. ↑ "Review of DragonRaid - RPGnet RPG Game Index". www.rpg.net. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  3. ↑ "DragonRaid Review". www.christiangaming.com. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  4. ↑ "New Dragon Rules". LightRaider Academy. 2018-05-17. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
  5. ↑ "What is DragonRaid". LightRaider Academy. 2018-05-17. Retrieved 2018-09-18.


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