D&D fans have "weak personality"

[Neo]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...052074,00.html

Army frowns on Dungeons and Dragons



IDF says players are detached from reality and automatically given a low security clearance
By Hanan Greenberg



Does the Israel Defense Forces believe incoming recruits and soldiers who play Dungeons and Dragons are unfit for elite units? Ynetnews has learned that 18-year-olds who tell recruiters they play the popular fantasy game are automatically given low security clearance.



“They're detached from reality and suscepitble to influence,” the army says.



Fans of the popular role-playing game had spoken of rumors of this strange policy by the IDF, but now the army has confirmed that it has a negative image of teens who play the game and labels them as problematic in regard to their draft status.




So if you like fantasy games, go see the military psychologist.



Dungeons and Dragons (also known as “D and D”) has been a popular role-playing game for decades and is based on a fantasy world.




One player assumes the role of “Dungeon Master” which entails directing the game and controlling the labyrinth, while the others select from a large selection of characters that includes warriors, magicians, dwarfs and thieves.



The game focuses on the results of decisions

Dungeons and Dragons players Photo: Ahvah
made by the players as determined by the roll of the dice.



In a more "active" version of the game, players leave the table and go out, dressed as the characters they assume for the game, along with the requisite equipment of swords (not real) to play outside, usually in the forest or woods.




'Simply detached from reality'



Thousands of youth and teens in Israel play "D and D", fighting dragons and demons using their rich imaginations. The game has also increased in popularity due to the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.




However the IDF does not approve of this unusual hobby and prevents "D and D" players from being considered for sensitive army positions by labeling them with low security clearance.




"We have discovered that some of them are simply detached from reality," a security source told Ynetnews.



Game enthusiasts are aware of their problematic image in the army and prefer to maintain their anonymity. Many of them are from the former Soviet Union where the game is very popular.



In Israel there are thousands of players, between the ages 16 to 35, and include lawyers, high-tech workers and businessmen. Matan, 22, and Igor, a 21-year-old IDF soldier, organize activities for groups of players. Soon hundreds of fans are expected to meet in a forest in the southern part of Israel for a two-day game of pure fantasy.



"It's not a game of winners and losers," Matan says,
"but rather entry into another world with stories and plot changes."



He is aware of the game's problematic reputation, especially in the IDF. The army is not indifferent to the unique hobby and is trying to locate soldiers who in their free time dress up as witches and play in forests.



'The game indicates a weak personality'



A security official tells Ynetnews there are specific criteria for deciding the level of a soldier's security clearance.



"One of the tests we do, either by asking soldiers directly or through information provided us, is to ask whether they take part in the game," he says. "If a soldier answers in the affirmative, he is sent to a professional for an evaluation, usually a psychologist."



More than half of the soldiers sent for evaluation receive low security clearances, thus preventing them from serving in sensitive IDF positions, he says.



Igor says exposing soldiers who play the game could result in the soldiers being sent to a military psychologist or even being kicked out of the army.



"Exposing them could also harm their chances at being accepted to other military courses," he says.



Matan says he has personally met soldiers whose military career was harmed due to their connection to the game. Most soldiers who play Dungeons and Dragons simply do not admit to it while they are in teh army, he says.



Why does the IDF believe the game is so dangerous?



"These people have a tendency to be influenced by external factors which could cloud their judgment, a military official says. "They may be detached from reality or have a weak personality – elements which lower a person's security clearance, allowing them to serve in the army, but not in sensitive positions."




Unsurprisingly, Igor, Matan and thier friends do not approve of this IDF policy. They say the game is only a colorful, non-violent hobby.



"Many people who play served in the most classified units," David says. "They are intelligent and any attempt to label them as 'weird' is incorrect and unfair."



But in the struggle between the Lord of the Rings and the Minister of Defense, the latter wins, or at least this is the case in the real world of the IDF.

[GameMaster]

I would think that D&D players have a stronger mind than the standard human. I think it's silly that the ARMY would focus on such ridiculous factors. Especially when nobody wants to even join anymore. Oh well.

[Jonbo298]

Let the army have this policy. It means they will lose some good soldiers down the road

[Blackmane]

I don't think that they will let playing D&D keep people from joining the Army. They just frown on it a bit.

[Happydude]

heh...i think the people who do play D&D have a greater imagination, and therefore can see a larger picture during a fight/war/whatever. they will be able to come up with better strategies than the people who don't play because they are used to "fighting" in the game and must come up with strats in order to defeat their enemies.*


i think it's really stupid, but on the other hand better for the soldiers becuase they won't be put in as much risk as others due to them not having very important positions.



*NOTE: i do not play, i am merely speculating.

[Stonecutter]

“They're detached from reality and suscepitble to influence,” the army says.

That's military speak for "They can actually think for themselves and, thus make bad soldiers."


I never got into D&D myself, but it looks fun.

[Typhoid]

I played D&D once, Just so I could shut up Andrew when he said "Dont make fun of it if you havent tried it"


So I tried it.

It went swimmingly.


I ended up stabbing my own people with a Scythe.


And now he cant tell me to shut up when I make fun of it.

[thatmariolover]

Originally Posted by Stonecutter

That's military speak for "They can actually think for themselves and, thus make bad soldiers."


I never got into D&D myself, but it looks fun.

I was just about to say the exact same thing. When soldiers can make their own decisions they become dangerous.

And it is a lot of fun, I've been playing it off and on for five years or so.

[Professor S]

Actually when soldiers make their own decisions they DO become dangerous to their fellow soldiers. Soldiers need to be able to take orders and follow them to the letter. Doing so saves lives; their own and others.

As for the reason why D&D players are frowned upon, I think it has more to do with the lack of social skills, and a physique that is the direct result of little to no excercise and a strict diet of Cheetos and Mountain Dew.

After all, if you were stuck in a foxhole under enemy fire, would you rather have a massive muscle bound steak-head who lives for physical violence next to you, or some dude who is going to roll some multi-sided dice to determine how much damage he's going to do to Abdul the Terrorist with his Terrorist Slating Knife (which has +12 against Terrorists)?




/me wonders who will be the first to name what I've referenced several times in this post.

[Blackmane]

Originally Posted by The Strangler

* The Strangler wonders who will be the first to name what I've referenced several times in this post.

what? reference?

[Stonecutter]

Edit: Deadale wives did the origional, maybe you're thinking of the 8 bit theater parody, which can be seen here

The Dead Alewives did do the original, and the 8-bit theater version is the same one with an animation quite brilliantly put on top of it.

EDIT: Stonecutter, I'm sorry but I meant to hit "quote" but hit "edit" by accident and didn't realize until I was finished. - The Strangler

[Happydude]

that's funny