Introduction
Hi there! My name is Michael and I'm exploring the idea of running a Christian-themed role playing game in a similar style to Dungeons and Dragons played-by-post or on chat together as a group. The goal of this game would be to sharpen our understanding of biblical truth, practice defending our faith in a relatively peaceful environment, and just have some plain old fun with like-minded people
.
Overview
The story I have in mind would definitely be fictitious in several aspects of the actual game world, such as the idea of "the veil" between the physical and spiritual realm being accessible to certain people (if you've seen the movie Constantine with Keanu Reeves, that would be similar but not always so dark). The plot would be roughly focused on a group of individuals (you the characters) who are introduced to the state-of-affairs in the modern day world. While you would be normal people to begin with, an supernatural event gives you your first glimpse of what exists behind the veil where spiritual forces of sin and salvation are at work in the lives of everyone, including yourselves. A choice is given to those who wish to put on the full armour of God in the service of Christ and take arms against the tide of wickedness or to go on living the relatively more simple life of being a living testimony to the power of the cross.
For those who have never role played or gamed before, not to worry! I would be focusing mostly on the role playing aspect of things first to give everyone a chance to really understand how the gaming system will work (which would include dice rolling to find out the results of things like skills you can use to combat you may encounter). I am totally open to beginners and even encourage it.
How will this RPG be more appropriate for Christians compared to D&D and similar systems?
Any questions or concerns on biblical legitimacy of my story should read the following. Here are the main theological points that I consider non-negotiable when it comes to the statement of beliefs that will be upheld in the game:
[HR][/HR]
God
There is one God, who is infinitely perfect, existing eternally in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Jesus
Jesus Christ is true God and true man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He died upon the cross, the Just for the unjust, as a substitutionary sacrifice, and all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood. He arose from the dead according to the Scriptures. He is now at the right hand of the Majesty on high as our great High Priest. He will come again to establish His kingdom of righteousness and peace.
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is a divine Person, sent to indwell, guide, teach and empower the believer, and to convince the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment.
Bible
The Old and New Testaments, inerrant as originally given, were verbally inspired by God and are a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of people. They constitute the divine and only rule of Christian faith and practice.
Sin
Humankind, originally created in the image and likeness of God, fell through disobedience, incurring thereby both physical and spiritual death. All people are born with a sinful nature, are separated from the life of God, and can be saved only through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The destiny of the impenitent and unbelieving is existence forever in conscious torment, but that of the believer is everlasting joy and bliss.
Freedom from Sin
Salvation has been provided only through Jesus Christ. Those who repent and believe in Him are united with Christ through the Holy Spirit and are thereby regenerated (born again), justified, sanctified and granted the gift of eternal life as adopted children of God.
Christian Living
It is the will of God that in union with Christ each believer should be sanctified thoroughly thereby being separated from sin and the world and fully dedicated to God, receiving power for holy living and sacrificial and effective service toward the completion of Christ's commission.
This is accomplished through being filled with the Holy Spirit which is both a distinct event and progressive experience in the life of the believer.
Healing
Provision is made in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ for the healing of the mortal body. Prayer for the sick and anointing with oil as taught in the Scriptures are privileges for the Church in this present age.
Church
The universal Church, of which Christ is the Head, consists of all those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, are redeemed through His blood, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and commissioned by Christ to go into all the world as a witness, preaching the Gospel to all nations.
The local church, the visible expression of the universal Church, is a body of believers in Christ who are joined together to worship God, to observe the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, to pray, to be edified through the Word of God, to fellowship, and to testify in word and deed to the good news of salvation both locally and globally. The local church enters into relationships with other like-minded churches for accountability, encouragement and mission.
Life after death
There shall be a bodily resurrection of the just and of the unjust; for the former, a resurrection unto life; for the latter, a resurrection unto judgment.
Second Coming of Christ
The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is imminent and will be personal and visible. As the believer’s blessed hope, this vital truth is an incentive for holy living and sacrificial service toward the completion of Christ's commission.
[HR][/HR]
Other than these statements and facts, I will be playing around with other mechanics of the gaming world. I will mimic real life drama, which is not always hunky dory, and I also have no rejection of supernatural ideas or forces in my game. If I say there is a inky black demon thing attached to a person's spinal column causing paralyzing pain, I don't want a big theological debate on whether or not that is accurate. Such descriptions would be for fun only and do not necessarily reflect my personal view or understanding of the real physical and spiritual world. Most important in my desire of this game is to both challenge and strength our faith while enjoying a fascinating story that is more appropriate than contemporary novels and tales out there, from Game of Thrones to the Walking Dead.
Will it be perfect? By no means!!! Do I encourage input and accountability? YES, Absolutely!!! Again I will emphasize that the theme and statement of beliefs as expressed above are key in my expression as a storyteller. Anything beyond that is obviously meant as fiction and should be taken as such.
Mechanics / Gaming System Possibilities
System: New World of Darkness, Old World of Darkness, or d20 Modern
Client: Christian Chat Forums/Chat (if CC approves), or other if need be.
Character Limitations: Human; while I am exploring the existence of alternate races like were-creatures, vampires, etc., I would prefer to keep the players in the context of humans who have the image of God and whose salvation is assured by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. That being said, the state of your soul and the relationship you have with God is totally up to you. Play an atheist, a Jew, or Hindu if you want, but my world will not consider them valid views for salvation in the world's cosmology (just as I don't consider them valid in reality). I myself used to be an atheist and have no problem putting myself back into that mind set to play the world's antagonists and non-player characters. That being said, the context of the story will focus heavily on Christian theology and may challenge your character so be aware of that when considering your background.
[HR][/HR][HR][/HR]
More detail than this will follow any interest there may be. I am looking for no more than a dozen people (and prefer a smaller group of 6 players), so If you have interest in playing or have questions, please feel free to respond here or simply send me a private message.
Thanks and God Bless!
Hi there! My name is Michael and I'm exploring the idea of running a Christian-themed role playing game in a similar style to Dungeons and Dragons played-by-post or on chat together as a group. The goal of this game would be to sharpen our understanding of biblical truth, practice defending our faith in a relatively peaceful environment, and just have some plain old fun with like-minded people
.Overview
The story I have in mind would definitely be fictitious in several aspects of the actual game world, such as the idea of "the veil" between the physical and spiritual realm being accessible to certain people (if you've seen the movie Constantine with Keanu Reeves, that would be similar but not always so dark). The plot would be roughly focused on a group of individuals (you the characters) who are introduced to the state-of-affairs in the modern day world. While you would be normal people to begin with, an supernatural event gives you your first glimpse of what exists behind the veil where spiritual forces of sin and salvation are at work in the lives of everyone, including yourselves. A choice is given to those who wish to put on the full armour of God in the service of Christ and take arms against the tide of wickedness or to go on living the relatively more simple life of being a living testimony to the power of the cross.
For those who have never role played or gamed before, not to worry! I would be focusing mostly on the role playing aspect of things first to give everyone a chance to really understand how the gaming system will work (which would include dice rolling to find out the results of things like skills you can use to combat you may encounter). I am totally open to beginners and even encourage it.
How will this RPG be more appropriate for Christians compared to D&D and similar systems?
Any questions or concerns on biblical legitimacy of my story should read the following. Here are the main theological points that I consider non-negotiable when it comes to the statement of beliefs that will be upheld in the game:
[HR][/HR]
God
There is one God, who is infinitely perfect, existing eternally in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Jesus
Jesus Christ is true God and true man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He died upon the cross, the Just for the unjust, as a substitutionary sacrifice, and all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood. He arose from the dead according to the Scriptures. He is now at the right hand of the Majesty on high as our great High Priest. He will come again to establish His kingdom of righteousness and peace.
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is a divine Person, sent to indwell, guide, teach and empower the believer, and to convince the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment.
Bible
The Old and New Testaments, inerrant as originally given, were verbally inspired by God and are a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of people. They constitute the divine and only rule of Christian faith and practice.
Sin
Humankind, originally created in the image and likeness of God, fell through disobedience, incurring thereby both physical and spiritual death. All people are born with a sinful nature, are separated from the life of God, and can be saved only through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The destiny of the impenitent and unbelieving is existence forever in conscious torment, but that of the believer is everlasting joy and bliss.
Freedom from Sin
Salvation has been provided only through Jesus Christ. Those who repent and believe in Him are united with Christ through the Holy Spirit and are thereby regenerated (born again), justified, sanctified and granted the gift of eternal life as adopted children of God.
Christian Living
It is the will of God that in union with Christ each believer should be sanctified thoroughly thereby being separated from sin and the world and fully dedicated to God, receiving power for holy living and sacrificial and effective service toward the completion of Christ's commission.
This is accomplished through being filled with the Holy Spirit which is both a distinct event and progressive experience in the life of the believer.
Healing
Provision is made in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ for the healing of the mortal body. Prayer for the sick and anointing with oil as taught in the Scriptures are privileges for the Church in this present age.
Church
The universal Church, of which Christ is the Head, consists of all those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, are redeemed through His blood, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and commissioned by Christ to go into all the world as a witness, preaching the Gospel to all nations.
The local church, the visible expression of the universal Church, is a body of believers in Christ who are joined together to worship God, to observe the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, to pray, to be edified through the Word of God, to fellowship, and to testify in word and deed to the good news of salvation both locally and globally. The local church enters into relationships with other like-minded churches for accountability, encouragement and mission.
Life after death
There shall be a bodily resurrection of the just and of the unjust; for the former, a resurrection unto life; for the latter, a resurrection unto judgment.
Second Coming of Christ
The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is imminent and will be personal and visible. As the believer’s blessed hope, this vital truth is an incentive for holy living and sacrificial service toward the completion of Christ's commission.
[HR][/HR]
Other than these statements and facts, I will be playing around with other mechanics of the gaming world. I will mimic real life drama, which is not always hunky dory, and I also have no rejection of supernatural ideas or forces in my game. If I say there is a inky black demon thing attached to a person's spinal column causing paralyzing pain, I don't want a big theological debate on whether or not that is accurate. Such descriptions would be for fun only and do not necessarily reflect my personal view or understanding of the real physical and spiritual world. Most important in my desire of this game is to both challenge and strength our faith while enjoying a fascinating story that is more appropriate than contemporary novels and tales out there, from Game of Thrones to the Walking Dead.
Will it be perfect? By no means!!! Do I encourage input and accountability? YES, Absolutely!!! Again I will emphasize that the theme and statement of beliefs as expressed above are key in my expression as a storyteller. Anything beyond that is obviously meant as fiction and should be taken as such.
Mechanics / Gaming System Possibilities
System: New World of Darkness, Old World of Darkness, or d20 Modern
Client: Christian Chat Forums/Chat (if CC approves), or other if need be.
Character Limitations: Human; while I am exploring the existence of alternate races like were-creatures, vampires, etc., I would prefer to keep the players in the context of humans who have the image of God and whose salvation is assured by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. That being said, the state of your soul and the relationship you have with God is totally up to you. Play an atheist, a Jew, or Hindu if you want, but my world will not consider them valid views for salvation in the world's cosmology (just as I don't consider them valid in reality). I myself used to be an atheist and have no problem putting myself back into that mind set to play the world's antagonists and non-player characters. That being said, the context of the story will focus heavily on Christian theology and may challenge your character so be aware of that when considering your background.
[HR][/HR][HR][/HR]
More detail than this will follow any interest there may be. I am looking for no more than a dozen people (and prefer a smaller group of 6 players), so If you have interest in playing or have questions, please feel free to respond here or simply send me a private message.
Thanks and God Bless!