Being called a "Heretic" and a "Cultist" in the Indonesian TTRPG scene
In this blogpost, I will share my experience as an Indonesian TTRPG player who have been referred to using these two religious terms with negative connotations: a Heretic and a Cultist.
Painting by Francisco de Goya, "The Inquisition Tribunal."
HERETIC
The year was 2018. I joined an Indonesian D&D Discord community. My first Indonesian player found it and said we should join, so we could find more players to play with.
At that time, I was craving to run Call of Cthulhu, since I know the people in that community are only familiar with "the world's most popular roleplaying game." I checked the rules, asked the mods, and I was allowed to run a Call of Cthulhu one-shot. I ran The Haunting.
I posted the LFG post. Got my players, but also complains. The active, "senior" members of this community were furious that I promoted a non-D&D game in a D&D-centric server. They called me and my players "HERETICS."
They reported me to the mods. The mods said I didn't break any rule, since there were no rules against running and talking about non-D&D games. But these people were still unhappy, and requested that all non-D&D games discussion to be isolated in a single text room. The mods complied. If I remember correctly, the room is called "THE HERETIC ROOM." I'm not a part of that community anymore. But those who are still there mentioned that the room still exists even to this day.
Fast forward to 2026 and "HERETIC"" is now a term used regularly by the Indonesian TTRPG scene, referring to someone that plays non-D&D games.
CULTIST
The year was 2025. I had been a member of an Indonesian TTRPG Discord server, who claimed to support any TTRPG, for a few months by that point. I have been immersing myself with the OSR style of play and the blogs since 2024. I find a lot of great things about the OSR. So I shared what I know about the OSR, which isn't much. I ran OSR games there, among other games of different styles and cultures.
The active, "senior" members weren't happy about it. They believed that what I shared wasn't important and not relevant to what they were running. It's true, they weren't running OSR games. But the advice, guides, and tips are pretty much relevant to various cultures, not specific the games they play.
They didn't like it. From their perspective, I was too preachy. They called me a "CULTIST."
Now the term "CULTIST" is spreading in the Indonesian scene, referring to someone who passionately talks about non-D&D games.
Is it Religion or just Nerds being Nerds?
For context, Indonesia is a religious country. There are six religions that the government recognizes: Islam, Protestant Christianity, Catholic Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism. Additionally, various local beliefs fall into the umbrella term of "folk religion."
Diagram of Indonesian religions from Wikipedia. The numbers come from the Indonesian Ministry of Home Affairs.
Indonesians are required to put one of the officially recognized religions in their identity card. Religion is basically seen as part of your identity by the government and society. Religious intolerance is also quite high among Indonesians. Especially towards "cults" that branched off the main religions.
I won't be surprised if a significant amount of people from the Indonesian TTRPG scene sees their game/system/style/culture of choice to be a part of their identity. Sometimes in my own local community, people would joke and claim themselves as "Aku Trad/I'm Trad," and other variations of that. And to make it clear, for my LFG friends who read this, I honestly have no issue with that. I honestly find it amusing, and I admit I sometimes joke about it too.
But when do these jokes stop becoming jokes? When do these jokes become part of one's identity? Or worse, when do these jokes become harmful to the scene?
And how and why do these terms become rooted in the local scene? Is it because Indonesians' association with religion as their identity, hence why it extends to something they are passionate about, in this case TTRPG? Is it because nerds being nerds and they play Warhammer 40K or some stuff, and in those games, people call others who don't share the same beliefs/ideologies as heretics and cultists?
I sometimes feel bothered being called a "HERETIC" and a "CULTIST." I do find these terms to be a case of othering.
So, should we, Indonesian people who play non-D&D TTRPGs and passionately talk about them, reclaim them? Or should the use of these terms be stopped?
I don't think it will stop being used. I think there are more important things to focus on in this scene. And I believe, being open-minded and wanting to try new things will actually help the local scene.
There's part of me who wants to reclaim these terms. Is it the correct stance? I don't know.
But right now, I am a "HERETIC" and I am a "CULTIST." Yeah, I play non-D&D TTRPGs. I love them. And I won't stop playing and talking about them, because I am that passionate about them. So what?