We purposely use the word ‘Saga’ in our name to hearken back to the heroic tales of historic literature. Tolkien’s Middle Earth was inspired by Icelandic stories such as the Sagas and Prose Edda. These heroic tales give us a foundation for forming the moral imagination in the context of tabletop gaming.

Using The Tabletop Hobby For Fellowship

Imaginative fiction provides tie-in hobbies such as tabletop gaming.

Tabletop gaming is an interesting hobby in that you spend hours together each month, usually in face-to-face games. Unlike a video game, the visual focus tends to be on each other rather than on a computer or monitor. You have a lot of time before and after games for fellowship. In many games, the players end up being great friends. Such fellowship allows for conversations on spiritual topics that preserve our Christian heritage. 

Tabletop gaming is a hobby oriented around fellowship that is attractive to those who like franchises like Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Firefly, and other imaginative worlds. It is ‘sticky’ and gives children and adults something fun to do and can be a hobby which leads to years of enjoyment even after the kids leave home. By choosing genres with built-in themes of good and evil (consider the themes of Middle-earth and Star Wars), you have built-in worldview topics that engender discussions about moral themes, goodness, and spirituality.

What Do You Mean By ‘Heroic’?

By ‘Heroic’ we mean fiction and games which reflect, even if indirectly, a universe where a higher power is active, moral issues are considered, and you have a venue to discuss the polar opposites of Good and Evil. In such settings, characters have the opportunities to act Heroically and champion moral virtues.

Consider games such as The One Ring and the older ‘Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game’ (from West End Games) both have game mechanics that enforce a Heroic framework (an essentially Judeo-Christian universe) where:

  • We are all part of something bigger  
  • A higher power is at work
  • We are men, not angels (even the best of us can fall)
  • Extraordinary things can come from unlikely places
  • Heroes leave room for acts of God 

Even if ‘God’ is not mentioned, if mythic themes are present and it provides the quality of afterthought that can lead to fruitful Christian discussion. We consider such works to be ‘Heroic’.

Heroic Hobbies For The Family

Pursuing fellowship while gaming in such Heroic frameworks is a worthy alternative to losing yourself or your children to the alternative hobbies where ‘non-heroic’ and increasingly immoral themes are being force-fed to us from secular entertainment producers. Consider by contrast a video game like Grand Theft Auto which immerses players into characters who act out sexual themes, drug use, racism, nudity, language, drunk driving, and violence (against civilians and law enforcement officers). 

We need to find worthy, enduring hobbies for ourselves and our children to replace and counteract the increasingly detrimental entertainment of the world. The Saga Society’s goal is to fill the need of those interested in imaginative hobbies.