I'll put the TL;DR, up front. Co-worked just told me to be careful I don’t “turn evil” playing Role Playing Games. What are some good tacts to try dissuade him of this notion?

This has to have been discussed before on the forums and I know it’s been done on the podcast but I was hoping if I give some specifics of my situation I can get some specific advice. Plus I feel like I have to rant about this. Sorry. This might brush the Cos, but shouldn’t call down his wrath.


So I work at a company based in the bible belt, that is somewhat seriously Christian. Both my Boss and this co-worker and a few others are very Catholic, so all in all the office is usually a bit less agnostic then your usual corporate environment. Still I’ve never felt that I was being evangelized or anything similar till now.
I had my copy of The Dresden Files RPG sitting on my desk, as I’ve been reading it during cigarette and lunch breaks. We were having a conversation about a product about to be released when he noticed the book. He looks at it interested, then in a surprised tone, “Dresden Files Role Playing, huh? I’ve heard of this series, didn’t know they made a Role Playing Game out of it.”
The man is in his late 40’s early 50’s I think, so I’m thinking maybe he’s played a little D&D back in his youth or even if he’s just heard of RPG’s and never played, this might be a good opportunity to bring another member into the hobby. I know he likes LOTR and he’s a programmer, so he’s got the mind for rules and the enjoyment of adventure and fantasy so it seems like it will be an easy sell.
I start talking about some of the things I’ve heard about Jim Butcher supposedly playing Fred Hicks back in the 90’s, trying to take the angle of, hey if successful author used to RP, it’s probably pretty cool. He listens for a bit then responds with something like “You know some people take this stuff too seriously, turning it into a religion.”
That threw me for a bit of a loop. I tried to brush it off, not really sure where this conversation is going anymore. I told him it’s like anything else, if you take it too far, yeah that’s bad, but same as a TV show or something. That’s the fringe, most people don’t do that. At this point I’m kinda waiting for a Black Leaf or Steam Tunnel reference.
It never comes. Instead he makes some comment about “Not turning evil.” I try to make a joke about it, saying, no it’s the hat that’s evil, not the game. At this point I’m really not sure how to handle the conversation. I try to take the tact of It’s just a game, no different than monopoly. He points out the demon/ghoul/vampire (not really sure what it is) and the gun firing on the cover and says “Monopoly doesn’t have this kinda violence”
Well Crap, he’s right. I mention something about there’s also a story aspect to it, then seize on Risk. “Risk has violence, there’s nothing wrong with that right?” He sorta agrees, more just letting the comment go as opposed to accepting or countering the argument and the conversation kinda dies and we go back to work.
Well now I feel responsible for trying to correct this guy’s view of our hobby but I’m not really sure how to go about it. I know that episode 115 is a great resource, but I feel like I have to get him to stop thinking it’s evil first.

Then walk away.

You won't convince him be explaining. You might convince him by not being evil.

First off, I don't see any particularly Cos-worthy aspects to this post, so well done there.

I'm honestly not certain it's worth your trouble to pursue it—it's hard to tell how concerned he was from your description, and frankly, no one likes being pestered about what they think in order to change their mind on something. (Which, of course, cuts both ways.) If he starts hassling you about it, I'd recommend having a few articles (from this thread, probably) to hand to contradict him; and likewise, if he expresses real interest in learning about the hobby, some of those articles might be helpful. But don't chase him down and keep trying to change his mind. That'll backfire quickly.

Unfortunately, I haven't got any articles and resources handy, and The Cos actually cuts against me here—I have a number of explicitly Christian arguments in favor of tabletop gaming that I won't post here. (I really should have started that Christian RPG podcast a year or two ago when I first thought of it. It's been in the back of my mind for a while now.) If you're not a Christian, though, I don't want you to just parrot those arguments back to him; if nothing else, you wouldn't be terribly convincing.

He seems particularly hung up about violence, and I'll just say that violence in pursuit of just causes—protecting one's country or faith, protecting the weak, protecting oneself, enforcing just laws, and to break the hold of evil in the world—is something we generally approve of. Dresden Files, especially, doesn't have violence in the game for the sake of violence (unlike several other games, including D&D.) It's violence with a nobler purpose, and the game often rewards players for avoiding violence altogether. Cover art portraying action sells the game, but that's the reality of business and hardly unique to tabletop RPGs.

My advice--don't push for a resolution at all, you're not likely to get one. There's a type of mind-set that is remarkably resistant to argument; proof means nothing, because you have to be willing to go back to first premises to analyze a proof.

Don't make it an issue--he'll see that as you either trying to 'recruit' him, or that you're being defensive, which he'll take as a sign that you might be someone who could be argued away from RPGs. Neither option is going to go well. Odds are that this could lead to escalation of the sort that makes the workplace incredibly unprofessional and unpleasant.

Instead, just be yourself. Act like you do every day. Don't hide the fact that you're still gaming, and talk geek talk on authors, movies and other stuff that doesn't directly apply to role-playing.

If HE brings it up again, then remain civil and logical about it.

A suggested tack: The game may be violent, but so is most fiction, and that's what this is. Fiction. Don't emphasize the gameplay aspect (it's too different from most typical board games for that to click for him); emphasize that it's essentially free-form improv acting. Compare it to Shakespeare (or at least, community theater), not Risk.

If he asks why it's got rules, then you can go into explaining how it's to prevent the Cops & Robbers "I shot you!" "You missed!" problem.

If he starts emphasizing the supernatural element, again point out that this is fiction, and add in that many games these days are either sci-fi or even realistic in nature.

If it starts going into suicide and the like, it's time to bring out the Pulling Report, by Michael Stackpole. Make it clear that almost all of the charges against roleplaying stem from one woman who, having suffered a tragedy of genuinely horrific proportion, latched onto a handy rationale, and then dug in in order to have something to blame. Speak of Pulling with compassion and pity, not anger--that'll just make it seem like you're being hostile to a grieving mother, and not get you anyplace.

I always just nodded at those people until they were done talking.

There aren't any. Let him be an idiot.

You can fix stupidity that comes from ignorance, if the other person is willing. But you can't fix willful stupidity.

Slight Monopoly tangent: no violence, you're just methodically eliminating the other players by leaving them homeless and destitute.

The thing to do isn't to change their mind. It's to change everyone else's so those people ate a fringe group.