I found a site with information on the old  80''s group B.A.D.D., while doing reasearch for our movie. I remember this B.A.D.D. causing a living hell in our household when my mother got hold of some of their propoganda at our local church. The Game had to go underground for a little while, for my brother and I.
 Patricia Pulling founded B.A.D.D. after her son allegedly commited suicide becauce of D&D. The site (It my not even be operational) claims to sell literature and tapes about the bad influences of D&D. The one I'm most interested in is  #106   A  LAW ENFORCMENT PRIMER ON FANTASY  ROLE  PLAYING  GAMES. Are you kidding me with this one! Law Enforcment Primer's are what the police use to educate officers with trouble groups like gangs. They explain symbols, known hangouts, etc.. So along that line of thinking next time you see a suspicious white van parked across from your local game store, have no fear it's just the FBI on a stakeout. You'd better also check those pizza delivery boxes for wire taps.
Those D&Der's are up to no good I tell you!

LINK:
http://www.holysmoke.org/wb/wb0017.htm

We have a digest size booklet titled "A Christian Response to Dungeons & Dragons: The Catechism of the New Age" (1987 by Dominion Press). It is worth a few laughs.

Here is the best refutation of B.A.D.D. out there.  

Michael Stackpole made it his personal crusade to inform the public about just how UN-informed Patricia Pulling was.

Michael A. Stackpole: The Pulling Report

Carl

Around 1981 or so we had to change the name of High School Club from Military History Club to something ridiculous...I can't even remember...Then around 1986 or so, I heard they had to eliminate the club entirely because of parent complaints.

I graduated in 1982, so I don't know all the details, but the complaining parents had no kids that were in the club!

Now this was never a very large group, maybe about 10-15 people any given year. And we played AD&D, but we also played micro armor and WWII naval battles (w/minis). We played Fridays after school (which sucked during football season because I had to be at the field by 5 p.m.

Anyway, the people in the club were for the most part geeky. No denying it. But they were also generally in the top 20% of their class, as far as grades went. Several were in the top 10 every year. Most played at least one sport. Yet it was this group that got attacked by moronic people who never took the time to look at the facts.

Seems to me they could have spent more time going after the real problems that persist in high school - bullies, snobs, burn-outs, etc. But lets attack the kids who are involved and staying away from drugs and crime by making them go out and find other things to do.

Side note: That satanism arguement is a joke and always has been.

On the flip side. . .  even though he had no interest himself, my dad used to love that I played Dungeons & Dragons.  He thought it was great how involved I got in reading, creating maps and adventures and how much it increased my vocabulary.

As counterpart to all the allegations against what D&D does to "young impressionable minds" - here is a short list of things I learned from Dungeons & Dragons.

- HISTORY: There is no way to list every way that D&D benefited me in this regard.  Suffice it to say:  we all know about ancient & medieval arms, armor, & equipment.  Then there are tactics of warfare, governmental organizations (feudalism, monarchy, etc.) & titles of royalty/nobility (I believe the order is Baron, Viscount, Count, Marquis, Duke, Archduke & King - perhaps Emperor next).
 Let's not forget about castles and engines of war: we all know what a trebuchet is, a mangonel, murder holes, barbicans, crenelations, etc. etc.

MYTHOLOGY & FOLKLORE:  Again, we could probably talks for hours about this subject.  We likely all had a more detailed and complete understanding of different mythologies by age 13 then most people have in their entire lives.  Not to mention the creatures, stories and peoples of legend - just grab your Monster Manual!

GRAMMAR, WORD ORIGINS:  Without even realizing it, we all greatly increased our vocabulary.  Think of the thousands of words that you know well because of Dungeons and Dragons.  

CARTOGRAPHY - GEOGRAPHY: Maps are very cool!!! We all know that - I am sure that most of you have spent hours designing and creating maps. . . This in turn sparks interest in actual Geography and a desire to create realistic worlds.  

CREATIVITY:  This needs no real explanation.  Obviously, D&D fuels creative and inventive thinking.  It sparks further interest in reading and writing and increases our ability to conceptualize and visualize images related through words.  We learn to create both settings and personalities that grow and assume a life of their own (just like a good book!)

I am sure this is just a tiny bit of what D&D has to offer.  Anyone with a little bit of knowledge would see how greatly positive an effect D&D can have on a young person.  If you are worried about the violence. . . well, I guess I'd rather pretend to kill someone with an axe then fear I will be damned to the fires of hell (not quite as many bad dreams that way. . .)

I don't think we were ever affected in Australia by all that BADD stuff.
Certainly I didn't come across it till later and the majority of people I've played with through the years have been Christians. Kind of went along with being a geek at my school.

Nev

The US is a religious backwater - at least the Midwest portion of it - and thus you have a lot of fundamentalists finding it necessary to continuously find windmills of modern culture to attack.

Unfortunately, they have (mostly) moved on from D&D and now are trying to outlaw the teaching of Evolution in the public schools.

Carl

It also works on creativity, problem-solving, imagination, quick thinking, and even social skills if the DM is really good. There are a million ways it is beneficial. Plus you can bang tavern sluts.

Any belief, whether it is religious, political, sexual, whatever it is, becomes a liability when you choose to ignore the fact that others may not share your beliefs. Take India, for example. People starve to death while cows walk the streets unmolested. If it were me, there'd be frigging steaks a'broiling long before I emulated Ally McBeal. But they have different beliefs, and I have no problems with that, as long as they don't impinge on me.

Traveller wrote:

And don't forget the poster child of anti-D&D BS, Dark Dungeons.

I can't stop laughing . I think they need an additional supplement in order for their D&D group if their going to be casting real spells. I forgot about these Chicks's. Are you kidding me………..I don't know what to say. From the hot comic book style dungeon mistress (I don't remember any DM like that) to the girls "life in shambles"……Some of these frames should become T-shirts. We've already considered printing a few T's with the B.A.D.D. logo to wear at GenCon next year. It's ought to cause a few laughs. It's such a blast from the past remembering that feeling of how ridiculed some people made you feel as a youngster for playing D&D. 30 years and still kicking HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!! It's going to take a lot more than a pamphlet to stop us!    

Invincible

Additional supplement the Dark Dungeons group needs to play:

eBay