Someone I know recently said that gaming is a waste of time, a useless hobby where nothing is accomplished except the use of time. I've though about this a bit, and truly, I can't agree with his assesment. Below I have written a list of the things that I think I have gained from gaming, not in any order of importance. I would invite anyone reading this to feel free to post what they feel gaming has given to them.
1. A greater knowledge of creative problem solving. Lets face it, if gaming teaches one thing its how to think outside the box. Unlike videogames (not offense intended) your only limitation to how to deal with a situation is your imagination. I think that after years of gaming I have come to be a little more imaginative with how I deal with problems in my day to day life.
2. A greater ability to understand others. When we game we often take on the persona of characters who are entirely different than ourselves. We do our best to get inside these characters heads and think like they do and act like they would. I think I've come to have a greater ability to empathize with other people and at least understand where they are coming from.
3. A greater appriciation for the art of story telling. Yes, I do belive that this is an art form, though it has taken may different forms over the years, from plays to books to movies and even just sitting around the camp fire spinning yarns, the basics are still the same. Humans are suckers for a good story and roleplaying is about telling stories. Action, drama, romance, comedy roleplaying is home to them all and after years spent developing characters, plots and settings I think that I've gotten a little better at this art form.
4. A greater ability to express myself. While this ties into number 3, I think it deserves mentioning. Years of GMing, describing sceenes and acting out characters has given me a greater mastery of my own language and greater powered me to express my thought and opinions.
5. Less fear of public speaking. The more comfortable I get with sitting around pretending to be an elf, the more comfortable I am with expressing my opinions about things that I really care about in public. Not that I don't still have fear of public speaking (who doesn't really) but I think I've gotten better over the years.
Wow, thank you for making this thread, Sel Carim (and nice avatar, by the way ; )).
I have to say my group doesn't fully appreciate the freedom of D&D. Many of them continue to play it as though it were a videogame and the only thing that matters is getting more powerful, beating the boss, and getting to that next level.
But if nothing else, we have learned to function as a team, at least most of us. The healer is the healer, the thief is the thief, etcetera. Of course, with a group of up to seven players like mine, it can be hard to be diverse. But at least we TRY. And that's the beauty of D&D. It's not a main character, it's a party of characters. No one deserves more attantion, and it ruins the game when the DM focuses on one player. A wise man once told me, playing D&D is like playing in a Dixieland jazzband; every part has its place, and its importance at certain points (even the director).
Anyone who says playing is a waste of time just needs to play a good game, not a powergame. And if that doesn't work, a good punch in the head will do just fine.
nam out
I've experienced everything you mentioned, and more. Some of my own include:
1. A greater appreciation and understanding of history. In trying to make a better game, I have asked many questions about how things used to be done, and how they have evolved into their modern forms over the years. This gives greater insight into how the complex world we live in works.
2. A greatly expanded vocabulary. I've always had a knack for words and a large repetoir to choose from in my head, but playing D&D exposes one to so many terms and words that are otherwise completely obscure and archaeic (sp?) to most people.
3. A greater understanding of the world. This ties in to number one, but isn't simply confined to history and is worth mentioning by itself. In exploring making my own world more and more developed and believable, I have learned so much about cultures, people, politics, geography, economics, etc. It's really amazing how much you get out of this game.
4. A sense of pride, confidence, and community. I feel good about DMing D&D. Early on, and some of my friends continue this through to today, I would drop my voice when standing in the lunch line at school talking about D&D, because it was geeky, and nerdy. I've sense developed a lack of concern for those who would be so shallow and ignorant as to throw around labels so quickly, and talk boldly of not only the plans for my sixth level elf wizard, and how I got his spell save DCs to where they are, and what I plan to find in the Caverns of Darkness, but also of anything I wish, be it politics, academia, or otherwise.
And it's a great social bonding tool. Sometimes I think some of my friends and I would have drifted apart throughout my years in high school, from which I will be graduating in just over two weeks, but D&D has given us a common bond to keep being friends and find new ways to appreciate each other. The game isn't the only thing holding us together, but an agent that helps thicken friendships and attachments.
5. Greater comprehension of abstract thought and increased speed and conpetence when dealing with simple math in my head. Though the processes are simple, the sheer fact that I can remember five different modifiers, add them together, make adjustments based of each other and various outside factors, all while sleep deprived at three A.M. and spazzed out on soda, and in less than 15 seconds, is quite impessive.
There are so many other things that D&D has done for me that it's hard to think of them all. Sometimes the benefits are major, like those listed above, and sometimes they're miniscule, but the fact remains that I truly believe I am a better, mentally healthier person for playing D&D.
It improves your Boggle skills. You find words like Ale, Mead, Grog, and greaves that non-gamers don't know.
Let me see...
1. The *VERY* nice job that I now have is directly related to knowing a gaming buddy. Without him, I doubt I would have been able to get it.
2. When my ex- took a cultural geograph course in college, I was saying "So? That is new?" because my gaming used a lot of that material. (Thank you Sid Meyer for Civ I-III.)
3. An expanded love for history and travel. I would have had it anyway, but my gaming made me appreciate travel so much more!
4. It helped me realize that there are oftentimes more than one solution to a problem.
5. My social circle has also been expanded beacuse of gaming. I also realize that people from all over the world are not that different thant me.
6. My sense of humor has been expanded as well by all the gaming related jokes.
Now, on the negative side, if I could only take a lot of the time I have spend playing video games, I would have my Phd or masters by now! :-(
Game on!
Kevin
It improves your Boggle skills. You find words like Ale, Mead, Grog, and greaves that non-gamers don't know.
Not to mention Menzoberranzan...or do place names not count?
Ya when you think about it, D&D helps with alot more than you would imagine. People skills, big vocabulary (I love being the only one that can understand shakespear), humor, and...MATH!!! D&D has helped me with that and more. I have always appreaciated art and the like, now I appreciate it more. I'm glad my friend showed me to the game. At first nerdy, then it evolved to a way of life on free weekends. And I am proud to talk loudly about D&D while in the lunch line or any other place in public. Yay for D&D and it's glory!
~GtG
Gaming has lead me to my curent business. I started playing RPGs at about 11yrs old. and D&D at about 15. When I started playing D&D, I started doing character sketches for each of my PCs, and then when I started DMing, my NPCs too. Each was unique with interesting costumes and armors. Two and a half years ago, I found myself layed off from my job with unemployment running out, when a friend of mine suggested that I try and sell my art work one Ebay. I told her that I didn't think it would work, but it did give us an idea that did. I started making corsets, armor and masks out of leather (My father had done leather working when I was a child, and I remembered most of it.) So what started off as a few masks and corsets on Ebay has since turned into a booming internet business, with our Ebay store listing almost a hundred items in two years, and I'm now making more than I did working a 9-5 job that I hated. I also do tons of custom work. (Ebay user name blackdragondesigns)
The humor of my story is that my father hated D&D and told me that it was a waste of time and energy. Little did he know.
|
Gaming has lead me to my curent business. I started playing RPGs at about 11yrs old. and D&D at about 15. When I started playing D&D, I started doing character sketches for each of my PCs, and then when I started DMing, my NPCs too. Each was unique with interesting costumes and armors. Two and a half years ago, I found myself layed off from my job with unemployment running out, when a friend of mine suggested that I try and sell my art work one Ebay. I told her that I didn't think it would work, but it did give us an idea that did. I started making corsets, armor and masks out of leather (My father had done leather working when I was a child, and I remembered most of it.) So what started off as a few masks and corsets on Ebay has since turned into a booming internet business, with our Ebay store listing almost a hundred items in two years, and I'm now making more than I did working a 9-5 job that I hated. I also do tons of custom work. (Ebay user name blackdragondesigns)
The humor of my story is that my father hated D&D and told me that it was a waste of time and energy. Little did he know.
Hook us up with a link to your stuff and all.
FH
Have you seen the movie "Spellbound"? It's a docu-drama about these kids going to a national spelling bee. It cracked me up how many of the introductory rounds were sprinkled with 'manticore', 'demonomicon', and the like.
I would agree that the game trains the mind to think of math problems in creative ways. I took a non-Euclidian geometry class in college and easily pictured most of the problems in the book. Odds/percentages/calculating area or volume came so much easier.
Ahhh, yes, through gaming I've learned about massacres- they're NO good! (Although, refreshing, when bored.)
I've learned that potions aren't always what they seem. Yes, I'm talking to you Dr. Pepper. You're no doctor, someone should slap you with a lawsuit for practicing without a license. (Will my anus ever heal?)
I've learned that when you see a monster walking around, it may not always be your level, it may massively outclass you, and you were supposed to avoid it. (metaphorically of course.)
I've learned that dungeons aren't always underground, sometimes they're in our hearts.
I've learned that you can get fat really quick by being a nerd. I've gained like, 10 pounds.
I've learned that magic isn't always bad, especially when it delights the children (undead CR 3 zombie children with enscribed flame sigils).
I've learned that liches aren't the bad guys that everybody makes them out to be. They're just dead, it's not like they're illegal immigrants anything, sheesh!
Finally (well, not really but who wants to keep reading all this bullcrap, gotta end sometime), I've learned that it's not the spells or the weapons that make the man, it's how many damn Wizards of the Coast source books you own. I've got WEAPONS OF LEGACY! What do you got?!
Gaming has lead me to my curent business. I started playing RPGs at about 11yrs old. and D&D at about 15. When I started playing D&D, I started doing character sketches for each of my PCs, and then when I started DMing, my NPCs too. Each was unique with interesting costumes and armors. Two and a half years ago, I found myself layed off from my job with unemployment running out, when a friend of mine suggested that I try and sell my art work one Ebay. I told her that I didn't think it would work, but it did give us an idea that did. I started making corsets, armor and masks out of leather (My father had done leather working when I was a child, and I remembered most of it.) So what started off as a few masks and corsets on Ebay has since turned into a booming internet business, with our Ebay store listing almost a hundred items in two years, and I'm now making more than I did working a 9-5 job that I hated. I also do tons of custom work. (Ebay user name blackdragondesigns)
The humor of my story is that my father hated D&D and told me that it was a waste of time and energy. Little did he know.
Hook us up with a link to your stuff and all.
FH
Ask and you shall receive.
http://stores.ebay.com/Designs-By-Blackdragon
Someone I know recently said that gaming is a waste of time, a useless hobby where nothing is accomplished except the use of time.... Below I have written a list of the things that I think I have gained from gaming...
Ya'll are much nicer than I am. I prefer to go on the offensive:
"Yeah? Sorry, I missed the memo on your Nobel Prize nomination. Now shut the #$%@ up and leave me alone until YOU'RE doing something with your spare time a little more productive than spending 20 hours a week watching the latest batch of reality shows because YOUR life is SO pathetic you'd rather sit around watching OTHER people be bored!"
...of course... maybe that's why my circle of friends tends to be small. :)
Go Tiger Lilly!!!
What did I gain from gaming?
Helped me learn English, having picked up the game only one year after immigrating from Germany as an 11 year old.
Unlocked my imagination and gave my creativity a major outlet and boost.
Breezed through land navigation and map reading in PLDC (Army course for people about to make E-5)
Kept me and a bunch of other very bored and very broke teenagers out of trouble by giving us something to do when we had no money, no car, no ride and it was 105 degrees outside in the summer.
Everything about gaming is better than anything on television, except for a very few select things.
Problem solving skills. Looking at life through another person's viewpoint became easier, much easier.
Helped improve my social skills...really, I think it did.
Better vocabulary, able to carry on conversations with adults like an adult at a pretty early age.
Apparently F2K you're psychic too...you posted a minute before me and said a lot of things i was going to say...so ditto!
Seriously though, as an immigrant to North American it really did it help me assimilate better...improved my english tremendeously...sparked my imagination...got me into reading...taught me a lot about history, culture, etc...improved my social skills...made a lot of lifeling friends...and although my parents to this day still don't understand it, it did keep me out of trouble all those teenage years.
Its a life long hobby, and I look forward to teaching my kids one day inshallah =)
Be safe all.
Everything everybody has said is 100% true (tho' some of them don't apply to me, such as the immigrating part). "Do you play D&D" was the best pick-up line I could wish for when hopping from base to base when my dad was in the Air Force. My bestest and closest friends (you know, the kind that don't just help you move, but will help you move bodies) are all gamers. Nothing has been a better spur for my creativity, nor has anything come close to capturing the feeling when all the players and the DM are on the same page - John Woo ain't got nothin' on my players. When "that moment" happens and you see it in a movie playing in your head - that's beautiful.
Goodness knows gaming saved me from bored nights at home and long summers of "yawns" - I'd much rather spend them gaming with friends rather than relegated to those strange youth activities some parents try to force you into during the summer. (Though my other half tells me that he was introduced to gaming and sci-fi books through Boys & Girls Club; rather neat, really.) As my brother and I were able to keep ourselves occupied with gaming - yay us!
I am slightly biased in this, though - I gained a fantastic person I look forward to spending my life with through gaming. Yay Battletech night!
... I look forward to teaching my kids one day inshallah =)
I don't have kids (yet), but I do look forward myself. :-D
On a funny note, a friend who hasn't gamed showed up at the Star Wars (d20) game I play in and begged me and my other half for a spot at the table. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeease! Save me from my roommates and their World of Warcrap obsession!!!" (My other half GMs the Star Wars and I play a Jedi in it; I run the D&D Forgotten Realms campaign and he plays in it...works out well, we rotate game nights every other week.) "I neeeeeeed to game again!" It was very amusing!
But again - everything that has been mentioned, thumbs up!
|
What I learned from D&D?
1. Listen to people until the've finished!
2. I became a lot more tolerant!!!
3. Learned to talk and write english.
4. Not exactly learned, but met a lot of nice people, even if not face to face sometimes (internet, boards, etc.).
5. My vocabulary did get...hm, what's that word again...??? ;)
6. That sometimes its better to deny you're a geek (especially when applying for a job). I didn't get the jobs where I talked about my gaming hobby. When I didn't do it, I got the job! Sad, but true.
7. That some people still think of D&D as a game coming straight out of hell...
8. I learned to rely on this community here, when I need advice!
9. That only dreamers will reach the stars!!!
10 ... (intentionally left blank) ;)
Well, beside such things covered by others (like learning English even to the extent I use it now) RPG background comes up in unexpected places...it was rather funny experience to watch film Alien with bunch of gamers, pointing out the ways the characters did major screw-ups in field of basic xenobiological hygiene...frankly, they deserved what was coming, if we would have been there we would have been hell of a lot more careful. I mean, does word "quarantine" mean anything to these people?
Since gaming is an attempt to build a model of the world, it works both ways: real world becomes much more understandable when you can use game terminology...how someone failed their WILL save or had to make a sanity roll ("Sanity roll!" has become quite useful and popular shorthand exclamation to express that we have just seen or experienced something we probably shouldn't have...).
I love moments like this:
After a heavy night of partying, bar-hopping and killing weak brain cells prior to a friend's (gamer) wedding in Phoenix, we all woke up and were fixing breakfast while moaning and nursing our hangovers.
"Man, we all picked up a couple of hobby boxes in carousing last night," one of my gaming friends groaned.
Everyone grunted assent. (Stuff like this cracks me up and it's a peripheral thing that we've all "gained" from being gamers).
On the way home from the same wedding, our car full of gamers were driving through heavy rain east of Tucson when saw a car in front of us lose it and flip over.
"Dex Save!!" one of us yelled at the driver. Not "watch out" but our driver reacted flawlessly. It wasn't until after we had helped the accident victim out and the state police was there that we all stopped and looked at the passenger and said "Dex Save?"
My dad is fully supportive of my hobby. He knows the basics of what the game is about, what the players do and what the DM does. Although he has no clue what in the world I'm saying when I start going on about the DC on the Mind Flayer's psionics is. One of the things that amazes (and pleases) him the most is that it can keep a group of eighteen (and one seventeen) year old enthralled from the afternoon well past midnight, without anyone getting in trouble, doing anything illegal, breaking bones, etc. Gaming really goes a long way to saving a lot of people from making a lot of really bad choices.
1. D&D names make great passwords.
ROFL!! Very very true...how many times can you type "mordenkainen" correctly???
Well...
Gaming prevented my imagination from drying up as I went through adolescence into adulthood. It kept me mentally versatile, and provided much needed escapism from work and school. In fact it still does.
I was always amused by those who thought we were wasting our time doing this. They don't say anything to me anymore, other than shake their heads and wonder how I can switch from my very serious job (I fix brain aneurysms via an endovascular surgical approach and treat other serious brain diseases) to my other pasttime. Very simply, it's fun, and it makes me think.
Also, it is really the only excuse me and fellow high-school friends have to keep in touch, even if it is only every 6-12 weeks or so.
I did have to laugh though...the other night I was painting miniatures while "40 year old virgin" was on. My wife began to laugh hysterically when it showed "the virgin" painting miniatures too. I was really quite funny.
1. A greater knowledge of creative problem solving. Lets face it, if gaming teaches one thing its how to think outside the box. Unlike videogames (not offense intended) your only limitation to how to deal with a situation is your imagination. I think that after years of gaming I have come to be a little more imaginative with how I deal with problems in my day to day life.
While I agree with, and whole heartedly approve of most of your post, I feel I have to put this statement in to perspective.
When dealing with problems in the D&D world you have many extra things to bring in to problem solving, magic being the biggest one. Supernatural talents also come to mind. Sure, you are able to think "outside of the box" within the game world it really doesn't do much to help you outside. Unless, of course, you are capable of fireballing everyone at your next staff meeting.
Unless, of course, you are capable of fireballing everyone at your next staff meeting.
I wish...there are several people I work with that need a good crisping...
I often find that the people who want to tell me that D&D is a waste of time are the same people who watch 80 hrs of TV a week. Albert Einstein once said "Imagaination is more important than Knowledge." This is something that I believe with all of my soul. Our world is full of short sighted shallow people.
D&D allows me to occupy my mind almost every waking minute of my day. It improves critical thinking, abstract thinking, deductive reasoning, and verbal skills (Though my spelling still sucks). THe game keeps my memory sharp, my mind sharp and my tongue even sharper (Snappy one liners take a lot of skill when DMing).
I wish...there are several people I work with that need a good crisping...
*sigh* Too true.
I agree with most of what people have posted here about what I have gained from gaming...
However, I didn't start gaming because of those reasons. I doubt any of us started gaming to improve our vocabulary or problem solving skills (possible exception of the ESL gamers in regards to the vocab though)
I game because I have fun doing so. I enjoy both playing the game and spending time with my friends.
I play because I find it is good entertainment. Same reason I play/watch hockey, soccer, and video games; or watch movies or read books.
What else do you want from a hobby? ;-)
|
|
I find that in my group, I seem to be slightly below on the intelligence scale but in society in general I tend to be WAY more intellegent than most people. I also seem to be more tolerant of people's differences in regards to creed, race, social behavior, etc. I find that the average non-gamer is a fairly bland person (usually) who rarely exercises their mind and has trouble imagining different circumstances.
just my observations.
FH
Thanks for the posts guys, I've really enjoyed reading them! Anyhow, I was looking through some of my stuff and found something that was fairly on topic. The Wheel of Time RPG setting book has a foreward from the Robert Jordan, author of the book series The Wheel of Time. I'm not sure how many of you have read Jordan's books, but I have, and have enjoyed them a great deal. More to the point, Robert Jordan was once a GM for his son and his son's friends and in the foreward of the D20 book based on his setting he talks about what he feels those people he ran games for gained from the hobby. I've typed up some of it here for you guys to read.
"The stacks of D&D books are long gone from our house now, given to others to enjoy. Will (Jordan's son)is thirty-two and a painter. His friends have gone on to diverse careers. Museum curator, salvage consultant, product manager for a major pharmaceutical company, and another painter, among others. They thought they were playing a game, and they were, but they learned a few things along the way, about working together, about thinking things through. It might have been just a roleplaying game, but I tried to make it real for them, to make it seem that was the world they had been born in, and so they gained something else. They have been adventuring where the monsters are, adventuring where their wits are as important to survival as their physical skills. That spirit of adventure remains with them even if they don't realize where it came from." Robert Jordan
|
|
Thanks for the posts guys, I've really enjoyed reading them! Anyhow, I was looking through some of my stuff and found something that was fairly on topic. The Wheel of Time RPG setting book has a foreward from the Robert Jordan, author of the book series The Wheel of Time. I'm not sure how many of you have read Jordan's books, but I have, and have enjoyed them a great deal. More to the point, Robert Jordan was once a GM for his son and his son's friends and in the foreward of the D20 book based on his setting he talks about what he feels those people he ran games for gained from the hobby. I've typed up some of it here for you guys to read.
"The stacks of D&D books are long gone from our house now, given to others to enjoy. Will (Jordan's son)is thirty-two and a painter. His friends have gone on to diverse careers. Museum curator, salvage consultant, product manager for a major pharmaceutical company, and another painter, among others. They thought they were playing a game, and they were, but they learned a few things along the way, about working together, about thinking things through. It might have been just a roleplaying game, but I tried to make it real for them, to make it seem that was the world they had been born in, and so they gained something else. They have been adventuring where the monsters are, adventuring where their wits are as important to survival as their physical skills. That spirit of adventure remains with them even if they don't realize where it came from." Robert Jordan
It has always seemed a bit odd that D&D andRPGs have such a geeky reputation. At the end of the day, they are team activities like sports (not remotely geeky) and much more sociable than, say, sitting around playing WoW. For me, the main benefit of D&D now is that it is a social outlet, with generally very nice people. What is wrong with that?
What I gained from playing D&D?
EVERYTHING!
Vocabulary Skills (I'm pretty good at explaining things)
Reading Skills (After reading the first edition, everything I read now is very clear to me)
Interpersonal Skills (Oracle Skills and Teamwork)
Math (from algebra to geometry)
English (Just wow!)
Geography Skills (Just how many people I know in my immediate surrounding that can't read a simple map amazes me)
History (got me interested, anyway)
Problem Solving (Man, if you can beat the Tomb of Horrors, you can beat anything they throw at you at work!)
Drawing Skills (who has never tried to draw his character?),
Incredible tolerance to beer (no comment),
And the list goes on... Man, ss I stated in posts before; I'd be nowhere without roleplaying! This stuff should be tought in schools everywhere.
Ultradan
Many of the above points apply here, too. To add my two farthings:
--Having a common interest with my son--our ongoing campaigns are part of a shared fantasy that keeps us in touch in a way that doesn't always happen between teenage kids and their dads.
--The usefulness of roleplaying as a learning exercise. I have my students do historical roleplaying exercises, and they really learn a lot from them, once they get over the initial "what am I supposed to do?" phase. It's great for creating teamwork and helping people empathize or see things from a different point of view. Their teacher learns something new from every session, to. (I'm not sure I exactly learned this from D&D, but it made the whole thing much more natural).
--It's a great outlet for the imagination. Who needs TV?
...
--Having a common interest with my son--our ongoing campaigns are part of a shared fantasy that keeps us in touch in a way that doesn't always happen between teenage kids and their dads.
...
I'll agree with this, but from the other side of the table. (So to speak)
My Dad and Uncle started playing D&D in college, and later on I remember being a little kid and wanting to stay up and sit around the table when their group played at our house. To a little kid, watching/listening to a D&D campaign was even better than watching TV. Yes, even better than Transformers ;-) And I have fond memories of being 6 or 7 and looking through not only the game books, but Dungeon and Dragon as well, which led to reading LOTR (and the Gord series & the Crystal Shard, which led to more D&D stuff, etc)
And later on, I actually got to play D&D as my dad ran a campaign for myself and my younger brother, as well as some of our friends. The best man at my wedding and myself have been playing RPGs (not just D&D) together in the same group since we were 12 or so (and we are 26 now), and my brother isn't far behind us for continous years in the group.
And now that my wife and I are expecting, we've been joking about having a multi-generational gaming group... and my wife may be joking, but its something I'm looking forward to ;-)
|
When dealing with problems in the D&D world you have many extra things to bring in to problem solving, magic being the biggest one. Supernatural talents also come to mind. Sure, you are able to think "outside of the box" within the game world it really doesn't do much to help you outside. Unless, of course, you are capable of fireballing everyone at your next staff meeting.
If only....
One of the things I learned from DnD was how to control or dominate a group - in other words to be a leader.
I'm female, and I was always the DM from about age 17 on. Do you know how hard it can be to be the one female in a group of 8-12 guys? And the "boss" of the group? You learn techniques for getting and retaining their attention, administering discipline (in a subtle way) and time management, etc... that have stood me in excellent stead throughout my life.
I'm a librarian and teacher now; I write my own course materials (plan adventures!), manage class groups from 2 to 20 people (run the game session!) and more; I blame all my success on my early career as a DM.
And I still play - with my parents, my spouse, and my two best friends, among other folk. There's nothing better than DND or RPGs in general for crossing generational barriers and bringing family and friends together.
|
|
I have to say my group doesn't fully appreciate the freedom of D&D. Many of them continue to play it as though it were a videogame and the only thing that matters is getting more powerful, beating the boss, and getting to that next level...
...Anyone who says playing is a waste of time just needs to play a good game, not a powergame.
Do you think this view is exacerbated by the current rules?
Time was, a level 1 fighter needed 2000 xp to level up, and a goblin was worth 10xp, therefore it took 200 goblins EACH for fighters to reach level 2.Now, I'm not suggesting we all should go back to that system, or that anyone who doesn't is a munchkin power-gamer, but it did explain
1) why relatively few people took up adventuring,
2) why those who did were considered 'special' (in all senses of the word),
3) why wizards were rare (try earning 2500xp with ONE spell/day, yes, you heard right, ONE spell/day. No bonus spell for high Int, no school specialisation until 2nd Ed.)
4) why town guards/militia/soldiers were mostly level 1 fighters, with a few level 2/3 sergeants for variety,
5) why level 9 was considered High Level (that being the level at which one settled down, built a castle, & attracted followers), WITHOUT need for a Leadership feat. You didn't need one; you got to level 9, you were that damn special that 80 heavy infantry would not only have heard of you, but would slog cross-country to some god-forsaken wilderness, for the pleasure of taking your orders.
All the above contributed to gamers being a very strange, dedicated breed of people, who were prepared to devote years to one character, in the hope that they might attain powers that are now considered ho-hum by the new generation of players.
Levels 1-5 are now officially designated 'Low-Level'. I can picture the scene at the army recruiting office...
"So what can you do?"
"I can soar through the air, flinging balls of fire 40 feet across."
"Pfeh, come back when you can do something out of the ordinary."
Levels 6-10 are now 'Mid-Level'?
"So, you want to re-open the abandoned temple? How do we know you're a real priest?"
"I have witnessed the mysteries of creation; I have broken the final barriers of the heavens. I hold in my hands the miracle of life itself. I can raise the faithful from the dead"
"Yeah?"
"Well, as long as they still have their major organs, and they haven't been dead more than 10 days, yes"
"Go **** yourself, amateur. I said we need a REAL priest!"
I'm sure we've all been cornered at the store by the geek who wants to tell you ALL about his 30th level character. In the past, you could dismiss them out of hand, since there was NO WAY anyone could possibly have been playing long enough to have achieved this legally (unless, of course, they'd happened to know some guy called Gary at Lake Geneva in the mid-70's). Now though, you have to take care, as they may be genuine. With 8-hour sessions and/or multiple sessions/week, they could easily have done it inside a year.
It seems as if the writers of the game think the lower levels are a complete waste of time, and want to get them over with as quick as possible, to get to the 'real game'.
Finished an adventure? Have half a level for story award!
Set off a trap? Have 1000 xp! (Make sure you share it with the folk who were cowering in the next room, now...after all, they earned it too!)
Did you sneak past a sleeping minotaur? Have 1350xp! (Despite it effectively having a negative Listen score.)
Did you have a nice chat with the 7th level wizard? Have 3600xp!
In such a climate, is it any wonder the game often feels like a videogame? How else could it feel?
Whilst I am enjoying the Shackled City path very much, the speed of advancement seems ridiculous to me (as a player, I might add, NOT as DM). At level 3, I picked new 2nd-level spells, including one from my speciality school. I went to level 4 in one day (game-time; it was 4 sessions real-time) without ever casting it. I managed to cast it, just the once, before I went to level 5, and got access to level 3 spells. This is my chosen school, my signature spell, this is how I am defined to the outside world, and I barely got to use it before extra powers got shovelled on top.
|
|
Having a common interest with my son--our ongoing campaigns are part of a shared fantasy that keeps us in touch in a way that doesn't always happen between teenage kids and their dads.
That is truly beautiful...(sniff)
I'm a dad of two (girl, 2&half, and boy, 11 months), and the things I look forward to are the day they're interested in what I'm playing, old enough to follow a simple plotline, mature enough to play well with others and handle potential failure, and (a long way off) coordinated enough to paint miniatures.
Sophie loves my dice, and likes to count them and make towers out of them (6 high being her record). If that's not gamer genes, I don't know what is!
I ran in to a friend who's son I tought to play D&D when he was in elemetary school. He played all through high school. SHe told me that D&D had made him a good story teller and thus a good writer and his writing skills got him scholarships for college.
My point: Playing D&D can get you in to college.
I have learned to manage a meeting of up to nine creative individuals lasting as much of four hours, on a weekly basis. I have learned to keep these indivdual creative and diverse minds focused on a common goal while pursuing thier own interests in the meeting. I have learned to be prepared for these meetings how to get things going and how to cap off the meeting with all sides feeling satisified.
D&D has given me the opportunity to practice management and leadership skills.
|
|
What I learned from gaming is how I got past the ages of 11 to 18. My parents moved a lot when I was younger and I used gaming to find friends. I would get into a new post every 2 to 3 years and they always had postings on the rec. boards for people looking for players. It allowed me a shy kid to find people and to have something in common to talk about. I think back now and how it helped fend off the fear of losing all your friends and the aloneness that that brings. So I am very thankful that I started gaming and am sorry I got away from it during the 2 ed days but I am back in full swing now.
lots of friends, and I mean lots of them (around 36)