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Roleplayers traditionally view their hobby as one divorced from "the real world", a second life lived in imaginary worlds, with little regard for societal issues outside the game. A few issues, however, have special relevance (and history) within roleplaying, requiring gamers to deal with the issues as gamers.

The interaction of the roleplaying hobby and the society around it is more complicated than advocacy and opposition; in many cases, there are differing views among roleplayers themselves. This category collects resources from all sides of an issue, as well as media references about gamer issues.

Advocacy

Sites and Resources trying to get Roleplaying general accepted by the Society.

Crime

There are no crimes specifically targeting roleplayers; the crime issue faced by gamers is the public perception that roleplaying encourages criminal behavior in gamers. This perception generally expresses itself in one of two ways: media reports that criminal suspects were influenced by roleplaying, or by law enforcement authorities mistaking legal game activity for actual crimes.

Religion

Many roleplaying games contain references to the traditional trappings of fantasy literature, including magic and evil monsters. Beginning in the early 1980s, Christian groups concerned with occult influences on children claimed that roleplaying encouraged devil worship and other nefarious activities. Some groups went so far as to actively lobby schools and local governments to regulate or prohibit roleplaying games.

Although many of those groups have disbanded or redirected their efforts to other cultural concerns, the assault on gaming (and its lingering effect on public perceptions of roleplaying) is still an emotional issue for many gamers, including a vocal minority of Christian roleplayers attempting to reconcile what others believe to be irreconcilable differences.

Women

Roleplaying (like its immediate ancestor wargaming) has historically been a male-dominated hobby. Efforts to increase female participation in roleplaying have led to discussion of both sexism among gamers and of potentially sexist content in the games themselves.

• Open Directory Society: Issues

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