Tell me about Dungeons and Dragons. I’ve never played, nor see anyone play. But I’ve been passively fascinated with this game for a long time.
I understand some broad strokes, but some paradoxes about those broad strokes bewilder me. The concept sounds open and freewheeling, like a creative writing exercise. But there’s a long rule book, which makes it sound much more rigid. It also sounds like something that would appeal to people who like theater, or more generally being the center of attention. But it’s famously popular in a community of shy outcasts.
What is this game actually like, when it’s played? Are there long silent pauses where people are concentrating, like in chess? Or is it more boisterous party-style game like charades? Do people like to stand at the sidelines and watch it being played, or is it boring if you’re not participating? Is there a video of people playing it I could watch?
Edit: What’s in the rule book? If you forget the rule book at home, can you get along or do you have to go back for it?
Most of the rule book is rules for character creation and combat. If you already have your character made up, you can get by with borrowing someone else’s book.
What the game’s like depends a lot on the Dungeon Master and the adventure he has prepared. It could be a lot of “roleplaying” that consists of your characters talking with NPCs with short bits of combat in between, or it could be a hack-and-slash dungeon crawl in which you kill monsters and take their stuff.
As for a video of people playing, although it’s not exactly what you asked for, I’d recommend this.
Edit: What’s in the rule book? If you forget the rule book at home, can you get along or do you have to go back for it?
If there’s no books at the table, it depends on whether your fellow players are willing to trust you to remember rules neutrally and if the DM is willing to adjudicate where no one can remember. There’s also the online version for most of the core rules, although not all the exotic extra classes and stuff.
The rule book is there to resolve conflict, mainly in terms of combat. If you’re familiar with the kid’s game of cops and robbers, it’s to make sure there’s no arguments about “Bang! I shot you!” “No, I should you first!”. The majority of mechanics are of this nature, and the rest of the book is less rules than a description of a fantasy world for players to build off of and improvise within.
In general it’s fairly boisterous, and the communal nature of the game means there aren’t a lot of gaps. You can do your thinking during the times other players are talking about their decisions or when the monsters are acting or when the DM is explaining, so if you’re playing with people who are experienced there aren’t a lot of long pauses. Watching from the sidelines is pretty unexciting because most people, while they put some effort into acting, aren’t that great, so if you lack the emotional connection with the characters and situations and achievements it’s just not that good.
Re: Shy outcasts. A lot of shy outcasts really enjoy the opportunity to act like NOT shy outcasts. DND is normally played in a safer environment where social experimentation is not just encouraged but pretty much required. Pretty much no one CHOOSES to be a shy outcast so much as they’re forced to inhabit that corner of existence by everyone else. Being the center of attention of a bunch of people who you respect and who respect you is a lot more pleasant than being the center of attention of people who are primed to mock and belittle you.
If you’re interested in experiencing what an actual D&D session is like without having to actually play in one, there are a number of actual play podcasts that are essentially recordings of peoples sessions on the internet.
My impression, from idly watching sometimes at a science fiction club, is that it’s fairly boisterous, and few watch from sidelines (certainly I didn’t understand what was happening, although if I had known the rules maybe I would’ve’d a better chance).
Tell me about Dungeons and Dragons. I’ve never played, nor see anyone play. But I’ve been passively fascinated with this game for a long time.
I understand some broad strokes, but some paradoxes about those broad strokes bewilder me. The concept sounds open and freewheeling, like a creative writing exercise. But there’s a long rule book, which makes it sound much more rigid. It also sounds like something that would appeal to people who like theater, or more generally being the center of attention. But it’s famously popular in a community of shy outcasts.
What is this game actually like, when it’s played? Are there long silent pauses where people are concentrating, like in chess? Or is it more boisterous party-style game like charades? Do people like to stand at the sidelines and watch it being played, or is it boring if you’re not participating? Is there a video of people playing it I could watch?
Edit: What’s in the rule book? If you forget the rule book at home, can you get along or do you have to go back for it?
Most of the rule book is rules for character creation and combat. If you already have your character made up, you can get by with borrowing someone else’s book.
What the game’s like depends a lot on the Dungeon Master and the adventure he has prepared. It could be a lot of “roleplaying” that consists of your characters talking with NPCs with short bits of combat in between, or it could be a hack-and-slash dungeon crawl in which you kill monsters and take their stuff.
As for a video of people playing, although it’s not exactly what you asked for, I’d recommend this.
If there’s no books at the table, it depends on whether your fellow players are willing to trust you to remember rules neutrally and if the DM is willing to adjudicate where no one can remember. There’s also the online version for most of the core rules, although not all the exotic extra classes and stuff.
The rule book is there to resolve conflict, mainly in terms of combat. If you’re familiar with the kid’s game of cops and robbers, it’s to make sure there’s no arguments about “Bang! I shot you!” “No, I should you first!”. The majority of mechanics are of this nature, and the rest of the book is less rules than a description of a fantasy world for players to build off of and improvise within.
In general it’s fairly boisterous, and the communal nature of the game means there aren’t a lot of gaps. You can do your thinking during the times other players are talking about their decisions or when the monsters are acting or when the DM is explaining, so if you’re playing with people who are experienced there aren’t a lot of long pauses. Watching from the sidelines is pretty unexciting because most people, while they put some effort into acting, aren’t that great, so if you lack the emotional connection with the characters and situations and achievements it’s just not that good.
Re: Shy outcasts. A lot of shy outcasts really enjoy the opportunity to act like NOT shy outcasts. DND is normally played in a safer environment where social experimentation is not just encouraged but pretty much required. Pretty much no one CHOOSES to be a shy outcast so much as they’re forced to inhabit that corner of existence by everyone else. Being the center of attention of a bunch of people who you respect and who respect you is a lot more pleasant than being the center of attention of people who are primed to mock and belittle you.
If you’re interested in experiencing what an actual D&D session is like without having to actually play in one, there are a number of actual play podcasts that are essentially recordings of peoples sessions on the internet.
My impression, from idly watching sometimes at a science fiction club, is that it’s fairly boisterous, and few watch from sidelines (certainly I didn’t understand what was happening, although if I had known the rules maybe I would’ve’d a better chance).