Sorry to resurrect an old topic, but had to jump in here as a frequent player and occasional DM.
I see tabletop RPGs as essentially story co-creation, with dice added for randomness and probability mechanics.
I think like anything enjoyable, it can be idolized. The human heart is a factory for idols, as someone said once.
I did have a difficult case where I was able to share the Gospel with more than one person in a former gaming group at one point. My wife and I were the only Christians in this group. We enjoyed everyone’s company and were just building those genuine friendships. Then, our DM shot himself. He shot himself in the early morning hours of Mother’s Day with a Ruger. We all sat down hard. He was a former Army intelligence officer who was a company commander. He delivered the briefings about suicide. He was the most patient and kind person you’d ever meet and had a photographic memory. He was also a hardcore, committed atheist, which sounds weird to say. Basically, he was not particularly depressed, he only wanted to end his life on his terms, because he did not like the idea that some deity or other external control factor would determine his demise.
I know, hardcore stuff. The group took it pretty hard. We all did. We went to his funeral. It was presided over by some weird new-age priestess who said his energy went back to the stars or something weird like that. It was the most profoundly sobering and heartbreaking thing I’ve ever seen. As an aside, strangely enough God used that experience to increase my zeal in the pulpit.
Anyway, the group sort of dissipated for a while, and then started getting back together for potlucks. Eventually we gamed again, and I ran things for a few sessions before people left (it’s a military community). In the in-between I was able to have some tough discussions with more than one of the participants about issues of First Importance, and I hope by God’s grace, “deliver my soul of their blood.”
Today I game (D&D5e) with another group. One of the members is a “lapsed Baptist” who professes paganism. Because of this shared interest in RPGs, I have been able to exchange materials with him and offer some pointed spiritual critiques as a friend. It is possible that he would never hear the Gospel from another, who can tell?
All I know is that storytelling is part of what it means to be human. I enjoy D&D, Pathfinder and other RPGs. They have led to some dear friendships, some heartbreaking devastation, and amazing, unscripted openings to share the Gospel.