Prison Bans D&D For Mimicking Gang Structure 496
Trepidity writes "In a case that has been winding its way through the courts for a while now, a Wisconsin prison banned inmates from playing Dungeons & Dragons, using the justification that 'one player is denoted the Dungeon Master... [who] is tasked with giving directions to other players... [which] mimics the organization of a gang.' The prison also cited some sparse evidence that a handful of non-inmate D&D players once committed some crimes that allegedly were related to their D&D playing. On Monday the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the regulation (PDF) against challenges from inmates. The court appeared skeptical of the ban, sarcastically referring to it as the 'war on D&D,' but upheld it nonetheless as having a 'rational basis.' Law professor Ilya Somin suggests that the court may have had no choice, given how deferential rational-basis review usually is."
No worries (Score:1, Funny)
They are now all playing Mafia Wars.
Big Brother (Score:4, Funny)
Soon, the game Paranoia will be outlawed.
It isn't why you think... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Playing games in prison (Score:4, Funny)
They could be learning to post on /. - the pinnacle of civilized interaction with other people.
Re:Big Brother (Score:5, Funny)
That could give ideas to inmates.
In other news ... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Is it just D&D ? (Score:4, Funny)
What if they played any other sort of RPG?
Maybe the prison would prefer it if they played Shadowrun? Violent, gun-toting hoodlums breaking in and out of places sounds like just the thing to play when you're in prison.
My Crime (Score:5, Funny)
"The prison also cited some sparse evidence that a handful of non-inmate D&D players once committed some crimes that allegedly were related to their D&D playing."
My only crime was to CAST FIREBALL at LEVEL 6 and do 6D6 damage to everyone in a huge sphere in front of me...except the ones who made their saving throws.
I wouldn't even be here except I rolled a 4 on my SAVING THROW VS. JUDGES
Freedom of speech (Score:5, Funny)
Beyond prison reach
Societal deportment
So hard to teach
Burma shave
Oblig.: Guns don't kill people, ... (Score:5, Funny)
... magic missiles do.
This is jive, man. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Is it just D&D ? (Score:5, Funny)
They don't want the prisoners to learn black magic rituals [chick.com].
Re:Is it just D&D ? (Score:5, Funny)
You bastard!! That just brought back some memories of my childhood. This was a real conversation:
"So who is the dungeon master."
"Well, Jonathan is usually the dungeon master."
"Who is Jonathan?"
"He's my friend."
"So you can see him?"
"What do you mean? Of course I can see him."
"And he's the dungeon master?"
"Yes, he's the dungeon mater."
"Obviously this game is playing tricks with your mind if you think you can actually see this dungeon master."
Re:Is it just D&D ? (Score:5, Funny)
If you replace the word "weights" with "computer" you have a good definition of the stereotypical slashdoter.
Re:Is it just D&D ? (Score:1, Funny)
According to this, checkers mimics gang warfare due to elimination of the other team's guys.
Re:What A Flawed Premise... (Score:3, Funny)
Dear Madam,
On behalf of the People's Correctional Facility of North Korea, we are most sorry to report your son, while playing a banned D&D game, failed his dexterity roll against a spellcast as well as a critical hit save, the monster involved was level 20, and the spell involved resulted in a permanent Invisibility curse. We lack the ability to detect your son, however we do believe he is alive and well, somewhere on this planet. We are returning his personal affects as some comfort, however we think his shoes are cursed, and recommend you not let anyone wear them.
Most Sincerely,
Wei Tu Yun
Re:Is it just D&D ? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Is it just D&D ? (Score:2, Funny)
"I wanna be a thief!"
"It's 'rogue', now. They were sick of being accused of making kids wanna be thieves."
"But I can still steal and pickpocket and pick locks and backstab people who aren't aware of me sneaking up on them, right?"
"Yes."
"Cool."
"I wanna be a thief, er, rogue, too! Can I be an assassin?"
"Sure. Except it's called a 'liquidation specialist' now, for much the same reason."
"I don't wanna be a rogue. I just wanna hit people over the head."
"Sure, no problem."
"And I wanna cast magic spells."
ZOMG, not magic! Evil, evil!
Re:Is it just D&D ? (Score:3, Funny)
I never knew the full depth of Jack Chick's disconnect with reality until now... 7 gamers - 4 of them attractive girls and not a single one - of any them - overweight!
I know. It's like an advertisement for D&D. "Play Dungeons and Dragons! Meet cute girls! Spend your evenings with domineering sexy women DMs! Learn black magic and get that sourcebook you've always wanted!"
Especially since the alternative seems to be "Become a Christian! Pray! Dress up! Hang around with older men and only a few depressed- or bored-looking people your own age! Burn books! Pray... again!"
(I almost said "Hang around with domineering sexy women DMs!" in that last one, completely unintentionally. I think the tract has had an effect on me. Random thought: The D&D girls here are a bit crazy but that just means you need to catch them before they kill themselves and let them know you're starting your own campaign and they can keep playing their old character. I'm sure they'd be grateful... glaaah, this post is turning into every teenage D&D fantasy that doesn't involve succubi. Stopping now.)
Re:Is it just D&D ? (Score:3, Funny)
I had to laugh out loud so hard...
Table: "Only Jesus can save"
Poppycock. I have a Will save modifier of +18.