1. In your experience what is the typical composition (e.g. gender, age, race, etc.) of the players?
In my current gaming group we have a very diverse group including 2 women (17W, 2xAsain) 4 men all white (38, 26, 23, 35)
2. A common D & D stereotype that I have heard is that those who play D & D are under achievers. For example, still live with parents, don’t have a job, or just don’t want to “grow up.”
In our group this stereotype would only apply to my daughter who is still in high school. Otherwise most of us work for a large telecommunication company, one is an IT professional, and one works for an insurance company 3 of us are married with kids.
3. What role does religion play in the D & D culture?
I have never had any problems with my religious views or any of the religious leaders that I have been associated with. The only time any religion was a real problem is when others hassled me because I game.
4. What thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and/or values are most important in the D & D culture?
Teamwork, creativity but gamers are just like any other group of people
5. Is their another culture that the D & D culture seems to have difficulty with? What is the nature of this difficulty?
I have never had this problem; in fact it has been just the opposite for me. I have been to many different countries and some times the only thing I had in common was D&D. I was in Botswana and was reading a copy of Dragon magazine while waiting for a local bus I was taking to the house I was staying at for the summer. A group of local teen age boys came up to me and started asking questions about my game in the US. They then invited me to one of their games at one of their house and we started playing biweekly together. These young men would have never talked with me or opened their houses and culture to me had it not been for that connection we had with each other.
6. Are there ways that the D & D culture are discriminated against? What ways?
7. Have you personally been discriminated and/or stereotyped due to your involvement in the D & D culture? If you have been please explain.
Yes, I had brought a dungeon magazine to work, the issue number escapes me but it was one with the woman and all the spiders on the cover and was reading it during my lunch in our break room. I was approached by our local HR professional and she asked me to come to her office so I could talk with her. When I arrived I was greeted by her and my supervisor and they asked me about the “pornography” I was reading in the break room. I was a little shocked and did not make the connection until they asked to see the magazine. I showed it to them and pointed out that the drawing on the cover was covered more than the picture on her Cosmo that she was looking at. My supervisor then looked at both magazines and told her that this was silly and a waste of his time and we were done.
I also when I was younger in the 80’s during the high times of the anti-D&D religious movement was chased out of the library where we were playing and then they threw Holy water at us, at the time we all joked about how much damage we took from the water and made Monty python references back at them.
8. What strengths does the D & D culture have?
It is very opinionated and passionate about what they think about subjects and are not shy about letting you know.
9. What weaknesses does the D & D culture have?
It is very opinionated and passionate about what they think about subjects and are not shy about letting you know.
10. How are disagreements or conflicts resolved in the D & D culture?
In our group, a d20 at 10 paces, no really just like any other small group, loudly and often with some hurt feelings but often not. Most people acknowledge that the GM has the final word in the game but will listen to arguments for and against.
11. Many in the “Christian” culture believe that D & D is “of the devil” and “sinful.” How would respond to this?
Well, I usually do not care about what people think and just ignore them now, not so much in the past but with age comes wisdom.
12. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
If you have any other question contact me at kjbrown911(at)GMAIL(dot)com