Why do you play D&D? (DMing or as a player)
Would you say that D&D is an outlet for your creativity or are you creative for the sake of playing D&D?
Follow-up: Why create through D&D? Why not write a story? Or create through some other outlet? What does D&D offer that appeals to you or is unique to itself?
In your opinion, who owns your past campaigns / adventures that you’ve DMed?
follow-up: Would whether or not you ran a published adventure affect your answer?In your opinion, who owns your past PCs?
follow-up: Would whether or not you were run through a published adventure affect your answer?When playing (DM or PC) are you more impressed with originality or familiarity in the story? Why? (something you’ve never seen before or a clever reference to other stories, mythology, popular culture, etc.)
Granted that D&D is a game with rules and so on, how do you win? (good storytelling? killing the monsters? getting phat lewt?)
In your view, what is the point of a game system’s rules?
What is your favourite D&D memory and (more importantly) why? (Though I’m interested in creativity and storytelling, don’t feel limited to that. I’m interested in...
1) I play D&D as a social medium, an excuse to gather with friends. In addition, I play to relax through the medium of beating up the bad guys. I also enjoy playing to portray someone else, a person that lacks my limitations and can react to situations far differently from myself. In other words, for the social and escapist aspects.
2)RPGs are an outlet for my creativity in that I can write stories based on the characters I createand create characters just to write new stories.
3) Some of my writing is not related to D&D at all, but RPGs give me a framework to work from in the form of worlds with existing geography and people, as well as rules (game mechanics) for said world. To be fair, most of my writing is influenced to some degree by RPGs. RPGs are a means of cheating on my writing by giving me something to "hang" my story on. When I was younger, my sketchings were similarly influenced (i.e. often my characters).
4) Past campaigns I've DMed are always owned by the group, not the DM or the players alone. If an adventure was published, then the legal rights go the creators, but the adventure itself is my own, because as DM I put my own spin on things no matter how strictly I adhere to rules or story contained in a module.
5)My past PCs are my own creations as well as my DMs, but how much each contributed is a matter of opinion. I don't run pre-made characters, but modules are seldom run by our GMs.
6) I'm more impressed with original ideas usually, but occasionally a new reinterpretation will turn my head. New ideas just interest me more.
7)You win by having fun. For me, that's usually with a great story, but the occasional round of monster-slaying is good for a one-night win.
8) Rules exist to provide a common base of reference for all of the people at the table. Other uses exist, but that's for others to decide.
9) My favorite memory? So many! Of them all, the most recent was the fight against jarl (described in another thread). To be fair, my fave memories are attached to favorite characters. And all memories of fave characters are faves!
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Hey all,
I'm in the process of writing a university paper on tabletop RPGs, creativity, storytelling, and authorship, and I'm wondering if you fine folks would mind answering some questions I've written up to help direct the paper.
I'm interested primarily in the creative aspects of D&D, so answers concerning creativity or storytelling are certainly a plus, but do not feel limited by that. I'm more than aware that not everyone plays for the opportunity to tell stories - some want to fight monsters, some want to hang out with friends, etc.
I know that there are a number of questions, so feel free to answer as many or as few in as much or as little detail as you'd like. Frankly, any and all input will be appreciated.
Note: I use D&D to stand in for tabletop RPGs in general, do not feel limited by the game system in your responses.
1. Why do you play D&D? (DMing or as a player)
2. Would you say that D&D is an outlet for your creativity or are you creative for the sake of playing D&D?
2.5. Follow-up: Why create through D&D? Why not write a story? Or create through some other outlet? What does D&D offer that appeals to you or is unique to itself?3. In your opinion, who owns your past campaigns / adventures that you’ve DMed?
3.5 follow-up: Would whether or not you ran a published adventure affect your answer?4. In your opinion, who owns your past PCs?
4.5. follow-up: Would whether or not you were run through a published adventure affect your answer?5. When playing (DM or PC) are you more impressed with originality or familiarity in the story? Why? (something you’ve never seen before or a clever reference to other stories, mythology, popular culture, etc.)
6. Granted that D&D is a game with rules and so on, how do you win? (good storytelling? killing the monsters? getting phat lewt?)
7. In your view, what is the point of a game system’s rules?
8. What is your favourite D&D memory and (more importantly) why? (Though I’m interested in creativity and storytelling, don’t feel limited to that. I’m interested in...
1. I play D&D to spend time with good friends, and at the same time, have an outlet for my creativity and a chance to exercise my mind.
2. D&D is definitely an outlet for my creativity. The people I game with are all artists, writers, poets, and actors, and the mingling of ideas really helps all of us.
2.5 Honestly, I don't know. I guess it's just an existing way to create the above mingling of ideas. Plus, it's fun!
3/3.5. I own my characters, adventures, and scenarios. Even if the character was pregenerated, or the adventure was written by someone else, each person lends their own personal touch to the stats as written, bringing to life a completely unique individual creation.
4/4.5. Again, characters are their players' creations, whether they were pre-gen or not. It's the personal touches that lend a sense of reality to the characters, not the stats.
5. Originality, definitely. I want to see things that I haven't seen before, and have to react to new situations. Of course, it can't be too "out there," or the game will quickly become incomprehensible, but originality, along with ease of understanding, are what make the game.
6. Combat and loot are great, but the real driving forces behind the game are story and character relationships.
7. The rules exist merely to provide a system in which to advance the story and characters. Without rules, deus ex machina would rule the roost, and the game would get very ridiculous very quickly. With rules in place, the game advances within set parameters, and is thus comprehensible.
8. --- continued in separate post.
Note: I use D&D to stand in for tabletop RPGs in general...
Really.. don't do that.
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8. My favorite D&D memory. Hmmm...
Alright. A couple of years ago, our regular DM was one or two adventures into a new campaign (which, now, is nearly at its conclusion). The group of four level five PCs were as thus:
- NG male human paladin / artificer (me)
- CG female human barbarian
- LN male half-elf wizard / psion
- N male human ranger
- N male dwarf fighter
At the time, we were traveling through a blasted desert waste, and had discovered the entrance to an ancient tomb created by a banished demon lord. After finally breaching the massive iron and brass door, the party was confronted by a horde of rag-draped advanced skeletons.
The ensuing battle was one of epic proportions, filled with quick one-liners, great inter-character teamwork, and plenty of demonic skeleton-slaying. The skeletons were finally vanquished, and the party proceeded to uncover a massive pile of treasure (leading to more one-liners and inter-character banter), along with clues leading to the discovery that the supposedly "banished" demon lord was planning a return to the Prime Material. Our characters left the tomb with a sense of purpose, ready to pursue the fiends back to the hell they were spawned from.
Since then, there have been some good moments, but that fleeting sense of purpose and greatness has seldom been felt. A couple of people have left the group, left town, or fallen out of touch, but the main core of the group has stayed friends. (As an aside, the woman playing the barbarian left town for a while, but came back a few months ago. We're dating now.)
This one Sunday afternoon, in essence, is what the game should be, in my mind. Each time I start calling people, ready to get together and waste another night in my friend's loft, I get that anticipatory feeling. Maybe this time, just maybe, I'll be able to get that feeling again.
Anyway, that's my stand on the subject. I hope I've been of help.
- Dave Mallon, the Eldritch Mr. Shiny
You may want to look into the archives as this exact question has been asked and answered at least five time that I can recall.:-)
Tensor, you KNOW we've all go no attention spans to anything except the most crass, crude, overhyped media-driven drivel. How could we POSSIBLY remember that this exact suite of questions has been asked before, hmm? Besides, it might be interesting for us to go back and see if our answers have changed over time. I reserve the right to NOT do research except where my degree is concerned, anyway! So there;p
I previously didn't answer the last question real well, so let's see if I can come up with a favorite memory.
Darley: Darley is an alu-fiend wizardess (a diviner nowadays, but this version was an enchantress) I've had for ages. I can recall that I was part of an adventuring party in Greyhawk. I think we were ultimately trying to prevent Iuz's restart of the Greyhawk Wars in that campaign, but I'm not sure at this point. I kept my race a secret through my inherent polymorph self ability, but as is inevitable in such campaigns, the secret got out (an antimagic shell was involved). After the fight that generated said antimagic shell, I was confronted by the party (which included a paladin, a rogue, a fighter/mage, and a cleric of some god I can't remember) about my, well, existence. In particular, the paladin was convinced that he needed to be smiting me now, asking questions of my corpse later (he was from the Shield Lands, as I recall, and rather strongly anti-Iuz). We had an intense session, back and forth, with me trying to prove my "innocence" (I was actually just as lawful good as the paladin, but more tolerant and relaxed about it) and the paladin advocating my death or banishment. His detect evil failed to work (because I wasn't evil), which made him yet more suspicious. I eventually told him that I was trying to stop Iuz as well, which got a derisive snort, and followed that with the revelation that Iuz and I were siblings. I almost lost my head over that one, because the cleric could tell that I wasn't lying (detect lies spell, go figure). What finally ended the stalemate was my dropping my spell components and weapons to the ground, dropping to my knees, and grabbing the paladin's holy sword in my bare hands and setting the point of it at my throat, telling him that if he really didn't think he could trust me, I would let him kill me. I think he was persuaded by the fact that the blade didn't burn me, but the additional offer to surrender to the party probably didn't hurt matters either. It was great, discussing the nature of good and evil on the fly, fighting for my very life with words instead of spells . . . too bad the campaign ended not too long after.
More recently . . .
More recently:
The party has undertaken a quest to slay the lich known as The King Immortal, ruler of the nation of Sheenosek to the south. We traveled north to the frozen wastes of the north, where we hoped to get help from the cloud giants. We found a cave and camped for the night after we made friends with its occupant, a genasi sorcerer. Around the fire we exchanged stories, including the one detailed here under my spoiler tag:
The table grew quiet as I told my story in Morag's words (but minus the pitch: I'm a baritone, not an alto). Everyone was quiet, player and DM alike, all through the tale, from start to finish. When I concluded, there was meaningful silence for the span of several seconds until my best friend piped up, in character, "Wow, you sure know how to kill a mood."
I am not one for taking the spotlight, but for that evening at least, it was great. I think I earned my role-playing XP that night. The experience of bringing a character to life in our own home, in our world-that is what made that whole night memorable.
Why do you play D&D? (DMing or as a player)
I play D&D because it is a great chance to test my storytelling capabilities, whether I'm a player or a DM. It also gives me story ideas. Finally, it is worth it just for the laughs.
Would you say that D&D is an outlet for your creativity or are you creative for the sake of playing D&D?
I would say the former, since I enjoyed writing before I started playing.
Follow-up: Why create through D&D? Why not write a story? Or create through some other outlet? What does D&D offer that appeals to you or is unique to itself?
D&D is social. There is nothing that can compare to sitting at the table/keyboard, laughing at some joke, trying to guess what's going to happen, and looking forward to the next game/update.
When playing (DM or PC) are you more impressed with originality or familiarity in the story? Why? (something you’ve never seen before or a clever reference to other stories, mythology, popular culture, etc.)
I think the latter. However, they both have merits.
Granted that D&D is a game with rules and so on, how do you win? (good storytelling? killing the monsters? getting phat lewt?)
There isn't really any 'win'. However, I would say that good storytelling is the most important part of the game.
In your view, what is the point of a game system’s rules?
Without rules, anything could happen. Rules impose realism.
What is your favourite D&D memory and (more importantly) why? (Though I’m interested in creativity and storytelling, don’t feel limited to that. I’m interested in the reasoning as much as I’m interested in the moment)
There was this one time, at a game con, that I was playing with a bunch of people. I was playing an evil kobold rogue, who was extremely rude to the others. At one point, he started insisting on more gold for himself a bit too much, and he ended up locked in the nearby sarcophagus. 6 Strength on a Small character seemed like such a good idea at a time, but grappling SUCKS. We couldn't stop laughing. That moment has stayed with me ever since.
Of course, it would have been even FUNNIER if there had been some sort of undead in there. heh heh...|
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I've been playing and DMing D&D for the last 24 years. Some of my answers might come off as offensive, but no offense is intended. My answers are based on my personal feelings and my personal experiences in gaming across the US and the UK. I've colored my responses in ooc-blue.
Why do you play D&D?
Would you say that D&D is an outlet for your creativity or are you creative for the sake of playing D&D?
Follow-up: Why create through D&D? Why not write a story? Or create through some other outlet? What does D&D offer that appeals to you or is unique to itself?
In your opinion, who owns your past campaigns / adventures that you’ve DMed?
follow-up: Would whether or not you ran a published adventure affect your answer?
In your opinion, who owns your past PCs? follow-up: Would whether or not you were run through a published adventure affect your answer?
When playing (DM or PC) are you more impressed with originality or familiarity in the story? Why? (something you’ve never seen before or a clever reference to other stories, mythology, popular culture, etc.)
Granted that D&D is a game with rules and so on, how do you win? (good storytelling? killing the monsters? getting phat lewt?)
In your view, what is the point of a game system’s rules?
What is your favourite D&D memory and (more importantly) why?
Tensor, I guess he/she will be sending the same questionnaire to some other forums too, so using material from old threads can be a bit problematic from academic point of view.
"Why do you play D&D? (DMing or as a player)"
It is mainly a social activity, though I am also somewhat fascinated with collective storytelling where several people get together to form a lengthy storyline.
"Would you say that D&D is an outlet for your creativity or are you creative for the sake of playing D&D?"
I'd say it is more an outlet; if I didn't play RPGs I would seek out other things.
"Follow-up: Why create through D&D? Why not write a story? Or create through some other outlet? What does D&D offer that appeals to you or is unique to itself?"
I mentioned this, I am interested in collective storytelling. I have taken part in some things like this also without RPG structure but that's what D&D and other systems give you, a structure.
"In your opinion, who owns your past campaigns / adventures that you’ve DMed?
follow-up: Would whether or not you ran a published adventure affect your answer?"
Mainly DM, also players to some extent; this varies a lot from campaign to campaign, some have been very loose structures where player action has shaped the story at least as much as DM, and some where the story is written by DM for the players.
For prepublished adventures and settings, the author is of course also part of the deal, though DM still chooses what to do with the published material.
"In your opinion, who owns your past PCs?
follow-up: Would whether or not you were run through a published adventure affect your answer?"
Mainly the player, or in case of pregenerated characters player and author. Again, some local variation occur, how much have other players and DM shaped the character...
"When playing (DM or PC) are you more impressed with originality or familiarity in the story? Why? (something you’ve never seen before or a clever reference to other stories, mythology, popular culture, etc.)"
A combination of both: new twists to something I can connect with is my favorite.
"Granted that D&D is a game with rules and so on, how do you win? (good storytelling? killing the monsters? getting phat lewt?)"
By having fun. Glorious failures can be more entertaining than lukewarm victories.
I also enjoy board and card games, and there too I tend to enjoy more a good game than winning for its own sake...
"In your view, what is the point of a game system’s rules?"
As said before, they give a structure for storytelling. And the dice provides random elements to seed new actions.
"What is your favourite D&D memory and (more importantly) why? (Though I’m interested in creativity and storytelling, don’t feel limited to that. I’m interested in the reasoning as much as I’m interested in the moment)"
Hmm, there are several...let's see, I could pick this one, not on D&D but on contemporary world with some weird things added...
Upon searching for some things we happened to come across a monster Which Should Not Be There Or Even Exist. However, the presence of the said monster did fit perfectly on some ulterior and secret motives my character had, proving that my secret goal was indeed achievable. This made me, the player, start to laugh.
Now, rest of the group, pretty upset about the presence of said monster, assumed that my character was somehow responsible about it and conspiring against them, and started to get peeved. This of course made me almost literally to ROFLMAO which made them even more angry, and I couldn't stop laughing to try to explain anything...
And yes, it was assumed that my character was acting the same way which made rest of the group very suspicious, even after I managed to give some kind of vague explanation what I was finding so funny (they of course didn't believe me).
Why do you play D&D? (DMing or as a player)
I enjoy a game that emphasizes creativity and allows me to immerse myself in a fantasy setting.
Would you say that D&D is an outlet for your creativity or are you creative for the sake of playing D&D?
Definately a creative outlet. I would be creative in other ways if D&D wasn't available.
Follow-up: Why create through D&D? Why not write a story? Or create through some other outlet? What does D&D offer that appeals to you or is unique to itself?
D&D is easier than storywriting. D&D will also pleasantly surprise you since it is a shared imporvisational game, even the DM doesn't always know how the story is going to turn out.
In your opinion, who owns your past campaigns / adventures that you’ve DMed?
follow-up: Would whether or not you ran a published adventure affect your answer?
If I created the campaign, then it's mine. If I ran a published adventure, theirs. There is a lot of yoinking that goes on in D&D, where you unbolt a section off another's ideas and strap it on to your own, but I feel this happens in any creative medium, such as art or literature.
In your opinion, who owns your past PCs?
follow-up: Would whether or not you were run through a published adventure affect your answer?
If the concept/stats of the PCs was published (i.e. the Pathfinder iconics), the publisher. If not, the player. Running through a published adventure wouldn't affect this in my opinion.
When playing (DM or PC) are you more impressed with originality or familiarity in the story? Why? (something you’ve never seen before or a clever reference to other stories, mythology, popular culture, etc.)
It's a tossup. I enjoy original settings when playing, but there is also something very fun about exploring a setting from literature or gaming history. The tradition of dropping in little references to literature, pop culture, or gaming history (Easter eggs) is a hallowed one in gaming, and a lot of fun when they are discovered.
Granted that D&D is a game with rules and so on, how do you win? (good storytelling? killing the monsters? getting phat lewt?)
I never feel like you can win. You can defeat challenges, but the only real winning is having a good time. I don't think I've ever had a character who retired into a castle, so the concpt of winning in a D&D game is like winning at improv theater to my mind.
In your view, what is the point of a game system’s rules?
Game rules provide a framework to tell the story. Without random chance, you might as well read a book. Rules allow you to interact with the setting and characters.
What is your favourite D&D memory and (more importantly) why? (Though I’m interested in creativity and storytelling, don’t feel limited to that. I’m interested in the reasoning as much as I’m interested in the moment)
My favorite D&D memory isn't really a particular scene, it's more a time and place. When I was in high school me and two other friends used to run a game where we would sleep over on the weekends at each other's houses. The games were all thud and blunder, kill kill kill the orcs, etc. But it was the comradery, the getting together to exercise our creativity that was important. Fighting sleep while trying to get one more room cleared in Demon Mountain was what it was all about. That and discussing the many subjects near and dear to adolescent boys.
Why do you play D&D? (DMing or as a player)
Because it's fun. I'm sure I could come up with lots of complicated reasons and whatnot, but really that's what it comes down to.
Would you say that D&D is an outlet for your creativity or are you creative for the sake of playing D&D?
I think it's an outlet for my creativity. I wrote stories and drew and did theater before I ever knew RPGs existed.
Follow-up: Why create through D&D? Why not write a story? Or create through some other outlet? What does D&D offer that appeals to you or is unique to itself?
There really isn't any other outlet that lets you combine so many different aspects of creativity. Plus, it's interactive. You never really know what's going to happen. I love the excitement of never really knowing what happens next.
In your opinion, who owns your past campaigns / adventures that you’ve DMed?
follow-up: Would whether or not you ran a published adventure affect your answer?
If it's your own world that you made up all the details for, I would say that you do. A published adventure/setting, well, those bits belong to someone else, but you have permission to use them.
In your opinion, who owns your past PCs?
follow-up: Would whether or not you were run through a published adventure affect your answer?
The events may be a collaboration, but the character itself belongs to the person who created it.
When playing (DM or PC) are you more impressed with originality or familiarity in the story? Why? (something you’ve never seen before or a clever reference to other stories, mythology, popular culture, etc.)
Finding something I haven't seen before is pretty rare and can be an interesting change of pace, but what really impresses me is making something interesting and fun even if it's totally cliche.
Granted that D&D is a game with rules and so on, how do you win? (good storytelling? killing the monsters? getting phat lewt?)
There is no win. Everybody wins if they show up and have a good time.
In your view, what is the point of a game system’s rules?
To give an idea of what the expectations and limitations are.
What is your favourite D&D memory and (more importantly) why? (Though I’m interested in creativity and storytelling, don’t feel limited to that. I’m interested in...
So our party leader (and my character's love interest) gets snatched by a wyvern who then takes off. And the swashbuckler pulls out his grappling hook, actually manages to catch the wyvern's tail with it, and he's dangling from the end of the rope trying to climb up to rescue the other guy while the wyvern is flying over the treetops. Meanwhile the rest of us are running after them trying to keep up on the ground. And at the table everyone was laughing and having a good time as this impossibly cool scene is playing out.
Primarily I play because it is fun.
I have always enjoyed the genres of science fiction, fantasy, superheroes and pulp. It started with Star Wars and the Hobbit, and all the sword and sorcery blasters and babes movies of the 80's. My exposure and taste has expanded and refined a little over the years, but this love of the fun has always been a large part of it.
Gaming allowed me to experience these genres not as an observer but as part of an interactive experience that combined the pure fun of stick sword fighting with drama and real story elements.
I've done "serious" gaming, beer and pretzle dungeon crawls, LARPs, games that were more like an ad lib drama troupe, games where people laughed so hard they wet the chair, and once so scary the girl left the game and would not play in that story again. Through all these experiences my goal has been not only to entertain but to explore the genre to the best of the medium's ability. My games give the players a chance to play the hero, to live their fantasies, to experience pain and catharsis, and see their actions change the very world.
I play to experience this with friends.
Why do you play D&D? (DMing or as a player)
Would you say that D&D is an outlet for your creativity or are you creative for the sake of playing D&D?
Follow-up: Why create through D&D? Why not write a story? Or create through some other outlet? What does D&D offer that appeals to you or is unique to itself?
In your opinion, who owns your past campaigns / adventures that you’ve DMed? follow-up: Would whether or not you ran a published adventure affect your answer?
In your opinion, who owns your past PCs? follow-up: Would whether or not you were run through a published adventure affect your answer?
When playing (DM or PC) are you more impressed with originality or familiarity in the story? Why? (something you’ve never seen before or a clever reference to other stories, mythology, popular culture, etc.)
Granted that D&D is a game with rules and so on, how do you win? (good storytelling? killing the monsters? getting phat lewt?)
In your view, what is the point of a game system’s rules?
What is your favourite D&D memory and (more importantly) why? (Though I’m interested in creativity and storytelling, don’t feel limited to that.
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Here goes:
RPGs in general hooked me at a young age, I had never experienced anything like it. Open ended, with the only “winners” being those who had fun? Wow, blew my mind after “Chutes and Ladders” and “Sorry”!
Would you say that D&D is an outlet for your creativity or are you creative for the sake of playing D&D?
Most definitely. D&D focused my interest in drawing and writing into one fun, functional place.
Follow-up: Why create through D&D? Why not write a story? Or create through some other outlet? What does D&D offer that appeals to you or is unique to itself?
The collective effort aspect of the creativity hooked me, as well as the functionality I referenced above. Actually getting to share my creative efforts in a fun, social way was an amazing find.
In your opinion, who owns your past campaigns / adventures that you’ve DMed?
follow-up: Would whether or not you ran a published adventure affect your answer?
I wrote most of my own material for my home brew, so I definitely own that. I basically rewrite published material to fit my home brew, so I guess “co-owner” would fit there.
In your opinion, who owns your past PCs?
follow-up: Would whether or not you were run through a published adventure affect your answer?
My PCs are my PCs. The game may have given me the framework for expression, but I brought them to life and made them “real”. Whether we used a published adventure or not has no bearing on this.
When playing (DM or PC) are you more impressed with originality or familiarity in the story? Why? (something you’ve never seen before or a clever reference to other stories, mythology, popular culture, etc.)
A little of both, I suppose. Of course, I have a somewhat different definition of “originality”. There are no new stories, just different ways to tell them.
Granted that D&D is a game with rules and so on, how do you win? (good storytelling? killing the monsters? getting phat lewt?)
You “win” when everyone, at the end of the game, had a good time and felt the time was well spent.
In your view, what is the point of a game system’s rules?
Rules are meant to give a framework in which to tell the stories, and are to be ignored, changed or followed as the game and gamers dictate. Nothing is written in stone.
What is your favourite D&D memory and (more importantly) why? (Though I’m interested in creativity and storytelling, don’t feel limited to that. I’m interested in the reasoning as much as I’m interested in the moment)
My favorite memory was convincing a couple of topless dancers to join my game, and them telling me that they had a lot of fun. I figured if my DMing entertained that tough an audience, I must be doing something right. It definitely pumped my confidence in my ability up, and I have no problems DMing for complete strangers and knowing they’ll have fun now.
If you've gotten this far, I'd like to thank you for your time. It's very much appreciated.
You’re welcome, I hope you do well on your paper!