For me, it was kind of opposite: my interest in mythology (specifically Greek, Norse, and Egyptian) led first to fantasy reading, then to D&D.
Although my involvement in D&D and Pathfinder has led to reading even more mythology.
Much like this except I noticed mythology, fantasy, science and science fiction at much or less the same time, when I was starting to read at late 4 and early 5.
Did an interest in D&D now, Pathfidner, lead you to be interested in other subjects?
History? Mythology? Literature? Statistics? Martial arts? Science? Military history? etc?
Absolutely. All of the above, and more. Cultures, language, even astronomy. Many books and adventures have alluded to things that piqued my curiosity to learn more about them.
The first edition DMG taught me i.e., et. al., ibid., and many other Latin abbreviations.
Growing up, I was fascinated with the space program (I became cognizant of it during the tail end of the Apollo Project). That led me to science fiction-- particularly re-runs of Star Trek, Space: 1999, The Thunderbirds, and Lost In Space that the local UHF TV station played on Saturday mornings. Then, I remember watching this weird Rankin-Bass TV special about some kind of gnome-creature-guy called a "hobbit." I remember loving the show (well, except the terrible music), and then found the book the show was based on by some old English guy with a three-initial first name. I checked it out of the library, and became an avid reader of science fiction and fantasy.
It was a few years later that I discovered that there was this game you could play where you got to pretend to be a character in a fantasy story! More than thirty years later, I'm still playing!
The first edition AD&D books (particularly the Dungeon Master's Guide greatly improved my vocabulary. It introduced some basic concepts of economics. It had three pages describing different forms of government that you could use when designing your campaign world. And it had an extensive reading list in the back-- many books I hadn't yet discovered.
The medieval seting got me interested in actual history-- which is one reason I majored in European history in college, with a concentration on the Middle Ages. I read period literature, such as Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Song of Roland, and the Prose Edda.
So, yes, D&D did help inspire my interests in other related topics.
While an interest in mythology and fantasy led me to D&D and other RPGs, I would say they also in turn encouraged me to learn more about the things I was interested in to begin with. For example, I love mythology, but I might not have researched Egyptian mythology as much as I did at one point because I played a Bubasti character in the old World of Darkness.
RPGs have also gotten me interested in things like older eras of engineering and weaponcraft, although I can't say I am deeply knowledgeable of these things, I have sought some information out because of RPGs.
For me, it was kind of opposite: my interest in mythology (specifically Greek, Norse, and Egyptian) led first to fantasy reading, then to D&D.
Although my involvement in D&D and Pathfinder has led to reading even more mythology.
same here.
I'm actually far less interested in sci-fi and fantasy literature than I was then. But my love of history, archaeology, mythology, and the natural world was already deeply ingrained in me by the time I first began playing AD&D 1e (1985. I just shy of my 22nd birthday). Today I still use my love of those subjects and related studies when creating and fleshing out my homebrew world and adventures.
History? Mythology? Literature? Statistics? Martial arts? Science? Military history?
Yes.
Honestly, I couldn't tell you which came first, the chicken or the egg. I learned to read when I was quite small, read The Lord of the Rings for the first time in the 5th grade, learned D&D at about the same time (Basic Box Set, Erol Otus art), and never looked back. I still play D&D/Pathfinder, still read fantasy/SF, in addition to non-fiction on most of the above-listed subjects. I guess some guys just never grow up -- :D
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History? Mythology? Literature? Statistics? Martial arts? Science? Military history?Yes.
Honestly, I couldn't tell you which came first, the chicken or the egg. I learned to read when I was quite small, read The Lord of the Rings for the first time in the 5th grade, learned D&D at about the same time (Basic Box Set, Erol Otus art), and never looked back. I still play D&D/Pathfinder, still read fantasy/SF, in addition to non-fiction on most of the above-listed subjects. I guess some guys just never grow up -- :D
A bit weird when people forget this is an international site.
How old is the 5th grade?
About 10.
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First grade is 6-7, so I guess fifth would be more like 11-12.
Besides my learning of Latin:
I loved stories from the moment I popped out of the womb, or so my parents tell me; I was a voracious reader before kindergarten (5-6 for our int'l brethren), found The Wizard of Oz, The Wind in the Willows kiddie versions of Greek mythology and The Hobbit by 2nd grade and D&D by 3rd.
This would be in, oh, 1984-85.
Oh, to answer the question instead of just showing off:
No, it never led me to new interests, but it has vastly expanded my horizons in previous interest.
Although I still haven't read the Kalevala.
About 10.
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First grade is 6-7, so I guess fifth would be more like 11-12.
By minimum age:
1st - 62nd - 7
3rd - 8
4th - 9
5th - 10
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D&D really sparked my interest in satanism.
JOKE, people. Unbunch those panties.
About 10.
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First grade is 6-7, so I guess fifth would be more like 11-12.
By minimum age:
1st - 6
2nd - 7
3rd - 8
4th - 9
5th - 10
I was too busy reading D&D books to figure out math.
War gaming and DnD motivated me to overcome the barriers I faced to reading and writing. Gary, Dave, Steve and Ian, I own them a lot.
I thought about it some more and here are some interests that players of mine, who live more exciting lives than I, have developed since we started playing D&D again a couple of years ago:
--making mead
--mulling wine
--growing weed (well, that one might not have had anything to do with D&D, but he had been playing a druid)
--becoming a Buddhist monk
--glass-blowing
--archery
--making an atl-atl
--blacksmithing
--raising chickens
It had three pages describing different forms of government that you could use when designing your campaign world.
Oh, I had forgotten that! And I am now remembering different charts with the world's noble titles: margrave and herzog and caliph and what not!
And it had an extensive reading list in the back-- many books I hadn't yet discovered.
I still haven't gotten round to most of them!
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My degree in Classics and Ancient History was influenced by my interest in D&D.
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Those charts in the back of the DMG did definitely expand my vocabulary, but my interest in sci-fi and fantasy was spurred by my mom, who had a huge collection of same (with a bias towards female authors like Anne McCaffery, Andre Norton, Tanith Lee, etc., but plenty of Tolkein and Niven and stuff, too).
Thanks to Gary's fascination with lists, I discovered Three Hearts & Three Lions, Jack Vance, etc.
I wish I'd discovered Villains & Vigilantes earlier. It might have helped me learn more about math, which was about the only thing that D&D didn't really stir.
Math sucks.
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I long had an interest in History, then Mythology, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, then the occult. Music was another added factor. All of these things sparked my interest in RPG's especially AD&D (Been playing since Sept 1979) that and the fact it was said Only the "Brainy" People played it. I never saw myself as a "Brainy" person, but others did once I started playing it.
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Did an interest in D&D now, Pathfidner, lead you to be interested in other subjects?
History? Mythology? Literature? Statistics? Martial arts? Science? Military history? etc?
Like many in my age group, it was more the other way around. My father was a big sci-fi/fantasy reader, which I also picked up. By age 10 I'd already moved on from the "kids/young adult" stuff (the Oz books, Chronicles of Narnia and Pyrdain, The Hobbit, etc.; yes, I consider The Hobbit to be a young adult book) and started reading the "grown up" sci-fi/fantasy novels like the Dragonriders of Pern (the first three had some pretty adult scenes/concepts), The Lord of the Rings (and the Sillmarillion), the Riddle Master of Hed trillogy, H. Beam Piper's Terro-Human Future History (of which Little Fuzzy is probably the most well known) and Paratime stories, etc., as well as real world history, mythology, and science (diverted mostly into computers as the PC revolution hit). Literature came as part of the history and mythology (as much of literature is based on either history or mythology).
RPGs caught my attention in the early '80s as a way to actively participate in a story, instead of merely passively reading about it or simply watching TV/movies. The ability to model an idea in my head with system mechanics, even as imperfectly as it was with the early RPG systems, was pretty engrossing. The mental disciplines required with reading comprehension, symbolic manipulation, and math were also useful outside of RPGs. Playing led to DMing/GMing and campaign world building, leading to research into geology, sociology, and other sciences. Military history was a small part at the time, mostly from a wargaming/mechanics standpoint on how weapons and tactics work together on a basic level. It wasn't until I joined the military that I've come to realize how important preparation (logistics and training) really is.
Since the '80s, I've more or less continued on the same path, simply expanding the scope of my interests into related fields (for example, current events/politics, which make a bit more sense when you know some of the cultural and historical factors involved), adding depth to to the fields I'm already familiar with, and trying not to let things get boring/stuck in a rut. If anything, it's easier for me now to see the big picture and how various pieces can fit together to achieve certain results than it was when I started.
I'd say that table-top RPGs, if you take them in the spirit intended (IMO) instead of trying to "beat the system/win," are a great way to become a "Renaissance Man" or well-rounded person. RPGs can teach interpersonal skills, reading comprehension, math, science, history, mythology, literature, etc. to least some degree, all of which can be pretty important in real life.
Discovered mythology, Arthurian legends, and The Hobbit in the 4th grade. D&D came shortly thereafter. Then it was history, other cultures, languages, geography, geology (wanted to know what all the stones that things in D&D were made of looked like), etc, etc, etc.
Did an interest in D&D now, Pathfidner, lead you to be interested in other subjects?
History? Mythology? Literature? Statistics? Martial arts? Science? Military history? etc?
Absolutely! It used to be derigor that serious GMs/DMs/Refs would get smart on sciences that impacted on gaming situations.
Check out old school gaming.
Like a lot of long time DMs studied plate tectonics, languages, history, etc.
In service,
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Absolutely! It used to be derigor that serious GMs/DMs/Refs would get smart on sciences that impacted on gaming situations.
Especially those that got into building their own campaigns or game worlds! Coming up with, if not 'realistic,' at least 'versimilitudinous'* cultures and societies and races and nations and environments and ecologies and geography required a *ton* of reading about anthropology and history and who ate what and how coins were made and all sorts of funky stuff!
*Versimilitudinous is totally a word. I was an English major, so I'm allowed to make up words. Really.
Did an interest in D&D now, Pathfidner, lead you to be interested in other subjects?
History? Mythology? Literature? Statistics? Martial arts? Science? Military history? etc?
Role Playing games did play a part in developing my interests, yes. My very first exposure to fantasy was reading The Hobbit in my early teen years. This led me to game books (Fighting Fantasy, Way of the Tiger) and then role playing games, which sparked a deep interest in mythology, ancient history, and bladed weapons. I probably own as many books dealing with those topics as role playing game books.
Playing Call of Cthulhu brought me to the works of H.P. Lovecraft and August Derleth and I credit the game for creating my interest in the horror genre.
I was pretty much already interested in things like mythology, other cultures, science, and especially history when I started playing RPGs. What RPGS add to that mix was inspiring me to ask "Why?" a helluva lot more about all things.
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I suppose they did in a round about way. I grew up with D&D being played around me since I was born. I wanted to know more about the creatures in the monster books and the types of characters being played by everyone. So my mom started teaching me about mythology and fantasy.
I learned to read because I wanted to read the books on my own and read about the creatures in lots of other books. I still have a deep love for mythology and fantasy. I simply expanded it to sci-fi and cryptozoology.
Absolutely! It used to be derigor that serious GMs/DMs/Refs would get smart on sciences that impacted on*Versimilitudinous is totally a word. I was an English major, so I'm allowed to make up words. Really.
Tis!
In the game "Og" players have a very limited vocabulary, and players actually roll randomly which words they know.
Most are words you can imagine being quite useful, e.g., hungry, big, etc., but one of them is verisimilitude -- very funny aside by the game designers.
In service,
Rich
de rigueur [/pedant]Absolutely! It used to be derigor that serious GMs/DMs/Refs would get smart on sciences that impacted on gaming situations.
Il n'a rien dit à leur sujet étant capable d'épeler correctement.
Psycho killer? Qu'est-ce que c'est?
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