Dungeons and Dragons: The revival of a 'geeky' pastime
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But also don't expect your first games to look anything like it; voice actors who've played the game a lot create a very different dynamic to many game groups.
The cast of Critical Role are incredible — Matthew Mercer is a brilliant Dungeon Master and also one of the most humble and likeable personalities I've watched online.
If you have time to watch his Q&A here it's well worth it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCBfJBf-t2Y. I've never seen anyone open up and speak candidly to the internet quite like he does. (Summary: the video starts as an open Q&A about Critical Role and D&D and evolves into a pouring-his-heart-out reflection on his upbringing, his life, and what others can learn from his story.)
I do like some of the heavy duty role /character generation side of it. I do like the character generation side of roleplaying and coming up with an interesting background.
It was commented back in the late 70's that dnd players that came from traditional war games where much more into I habiting a different role that those that just started with DnD
Mat is a great DM I have found my self making notes whilst watching I currently do some DM of starfinder
Where every hit is described in exquisite detail and one combat encounter feels like watching 9 innings of baseball.
Seriously, if it takes longer to "buy a torch" in a game than in real life, you're doing it wrong.
Felicia Day could play solitaire and I'd probably watch.
Wil Wheaton can never atone for Wesley Crusher, so there's some common ground.
I know this is more or less a Trekkie meme, but to be fair, Wil Wheaton didn't create Wesley Crusher or write his lines, he just had to make due with being Gene Roddenberry's Gary Stu.
“The murdered victims were in a church. If prayers did anything, they'd still be alive, you worthless sack of shit.”
He’s more despicable than the character he played.
Despicable? He broadcast an emotional outburst and apologized for it later. That doesn't make him despicable, only human.
And besides, I think he's right.
And you left out the context[0] - that "someone" Wil was replying to was Paul Ryan. Calling for prayers for the victims of gun violence when you oppose attempts to address that violence in any practical manner is an insult to both the living and the dead. To me, that is despicable.
[0]https://twitter.com/wilw/status/927284357609353218?lang=en
You and Wheaton.
The only "wrong way" to play a game is when people aren't having fun. If people in a D&D game are super into the mechanics and roleplay of torch-buying, as a DM I'm going to run them a torch-buying game. Hell, I'd build an entire campaign around the growth and tribulations of a torch buying player empire.
I am not affiliated with them in any way.
I'm not affiliated with them, just good fun.
https://soundcloud.com/chapo-trap-house/unlocked-episode-76-...
Now we're in our 40s and technology makes it easier to get back into it. For example, there's a healthy gaming community in Google+ and hang outs are great for playing without moving from home, because finding a group to play in the same room is one of the factors that made me drop off.
Then there's all the DIY part of it, with lots of people releasing new games and modules. I guess that creativity was already there back when I started, but now is easier for people to share it.
One of the best communities in Google+ is "The Gauntlet". Look for it.
So you get Stephen Colbert making D&D references, and Dan Harmon writing it into Community, Vin Diesel talking about getting Judi Dench to play while making a film, etc. And for every high-profile person like Colbert or Harmon there are probably a few people on their writing staff with a similar gaming background.
Then it all stopped when we started getting busy with work, getting married, transferring interstate etc.
But last year, one of our group passed away suddenly from cancer, and we were all at his funeral. We agreed then that we should start up the regular gaming nights again, even though we are all in our 40s and 50s now. Just last week we set up a Facebook group to start organising the games and to start planning characters for the next D&D night. It is good to play like carefree kids again.
Some of them got quite involved, with full-page printouts with all kinds of stuff on there. I even rented a booth at one of the early cons and attempted to sell them. (Along with another program that made custom crossword puzzles)
D&D was a happy part of my late childhood. Many good memories.
Most of the people I have played with were like that. Some branched out into tabletop boardgames, others just wanted to play the rules to "win" and the rest mostly gave up. This is the whole narratology vs ludology debate.
There are also some flat out nonsense rules i.e. I am standing next to some one on the floor holder a gun/heavy x bow - I am at a disadvantage to hit them!
Hell, trying to build a P&P RPG that focus on storytelling effectively kills the spirit of the game. Turning it into a game to tag team game masters.
There are one-shot games like The Mountain Witch that are absolutely fantastic.
Later editions seemed to lose that, turning characters into game pieces and focusing far more on combat, tactics, and optimization and leaving less room for the roleplaying.
5th edition is bearable and much less "play with minis" oriented than 4th was. 3/3.5 was the munchkin's wet dream.
If I want a storytelling game I reach for Burning Wheel/Torchbearer/Mouse Guard though -- depending on what kind of game my group wants to play.
And if people want high action, it's better to just run something else like Shadowrun, Feng Shui, or oldschool WoD games.
Simply having access to all the materials and content destroys one barrier to entry, the character builders streamlining and simplifying the arduous character creation process with all the Handbook & DMG content available for free. I love that with Beyond DMs can purchase various sourcebooks and share their books out to members of their campaign, unlocking different classes and content. It's reminiscent of everyone bringing their random modules/bootleg PDFs and getting doe-eyed over some new variant. With Roll20 there are so many groups from all skill ranges looking for players/DMs and while not as bonding as sharing a table loaded with snacks, It's enough to get a foot in the door.
If you're curious about RPGs start with something simple and easy to learn the rules of such as Modempunk or Paranoia. Get some friends together, chuck on the Hackers Soundtrack and unleash your inner Joey [1] :)
(Page 27)
[1] https://1d4chan.org/images/e/e8/JnJ_Modempunk_rightways.pdf
And that's the entire crux of why D&D is special, it's not just grinding along squashing mobs and ripping through dungeons it's creating that shared experience in novel non scriptable ways. I feel like Paranoia takes this to a extreme where I can DM sessions where only a handful of die are even cast and the rest is all interactive storytelling!
A DMs style must fit the player, this is one thing that will make or break a players RPG experience.
My friend group pooled our money in middle school to get a single copy of the 3.5 players handbook, and boy did we make use of it. I loved that you could play nearly anywhere, we usually played in the library (the librarian was nice and let us chat quietly) because we were broke though. We made some amazing stories, and still joke over all the dumb stuff we did that had ridiculous consequences (ie, "remember that time you forgot that burning hands had an area effect and got the whole team killed b/c you angered the Ranger's pet and then it started attacking everyone?")
I actually still play with two of those friends every week, more than a decade later. It kinda stinks to have to use Skype, but it's better than not playing at all. So yeah, Dnd is a wonderful, friendship strengthening hobby that I recommend to anyone with some patience and creativity.