General RPG DiscussionDiscussion of all RPGs and non-system-specific topics. DM/GM/player issues, settings, etc. Rules discussion belongs in one the forums below.
I loved getting Dragon and Dungeon in the mail in the 80s, curling up on my couch in my internet-less living room, and reading them cover to cover. Sometimes my mom brought me orange juice.
I loved playing D&D in my 80s bedroom with Bard's Tale posters on the wall, comics and BB gun in the closet, and the whole neighborhood on my desk chairs, bed, floor, while I DM'd the hell out of any module I could find.
I loved playing D&D in college in the Student Union with cheeseburgers only two steps and a card swipe away. I loved making new friends through D&D.
I loved starting my first teaching job, mentioning D&D, and having a kid come up to me after class and say, "Hey, the social studies teacher plays too. You guys should hang out." We did. D&D is the best ever for making friends.
I loved going to my first Gen Con and feeling what it's like to be surrounded by 30,000 people who share your favorite hobby. I loved walking into the dealer's hall and hearing five adult men rush past me giggling about free t-shirts and dice like they were 10-year-olds running to the tree on Christmas morning... and I felt the same exact way.
I loved walking into Neutral Ground in New York with the gaming club from my all-girls Upper East Side school and watching every one do a double-take. I loved watching the most gung-ho student pump the air with her fist after a crit on a Living Greyhawk Keoland wight ("There are no undead in Keoland... at least not anymore!").
I loved writing for WOTC and walking into Borders and Barnes and Nobles and seeing my names on books on the shelves. I loved contributing to the game I love.
I loved that in the hardest times in my life the game has always been there. No matter how bad the day or week is, I can always work on the campaign. I can always look forward to the next game day.
I love that my current school has gamers who are just as enthusiastic as I am. I love seeing the next generation pick up the mantle, text me about their campaigns, and me text them back during our teachers-only game about how their math teacher just foiled the nalfeshnee's illusion trap. I love that one of them beats me to every thread that I want to post in, including this one!
I love that the community is filled with people like Kevin Kulp and Scott Rouse who give away free products - their hard work - to Vicars in Tutus who love D&D.
I love that the future is so bright. I've had a great life with D&D so far, and I don't even think I've seen the half of it.
This past Wednesday, I had the pleasure of entertaining the newest player in my campaign for a character creation session, prior to his first game with us next week. He hasn't played for years, and the sheer exuberance he displayed for the game, and his anticipation of getting round the table and rolling the dice... yeah, he loves it. As a DM, seeing him love it makes me love it even more.
__________________ "The last time I ran into myself, I kicked my own ass." Chasing the DM, a blog for DM's like me who really feel they should know what they're doing by now.
For DM's: 4E Dungeon Index (adventures, conversions, and sidetreks by level, last updated 16th Oct. through Dungeon #171).
I love D&D, in all its forms, and I'm sick to the teeth of edition wars and accusations of there being a "4th Edition crowd" and so on - it's like being in a cheesy high-school drama. In all honesty, I don't really care one way or another what Wizards do with their PDFs, so long as nobody gets hurt and I can still play D&D. My games shelf is now so dense with D&D 3.5 and 4e books (plus a few Saga Star Wars tomes thrown in for good measure) that the cat has become locked in orbit around it, and I'll be damned before I'd have it any other way.
(except the cat in orbit. I rather prefer him with four legs on the ground).
Yes, I've had bad experiences with D&D 3.5, and sometimes D&D 4e can feel a bit same-y (and space combat in Saga just refuses to be fun), and Wizards can sometimes be a pain. At the end of the day, though, I'll still be here rolling my d20s and strolling down to the FLGS to pick up a copy of Dungeon Delve or Monster Manual 3 because I love the game. Wizards have never done anything truly atrocious and I appreciate that the needs of the company sometimes don't coincide with the needs of the fan. So be it!
I've had a hell of a lot more fun than grief from D&D in my time, and my only real regret is that there aren't an extra six hours in the day for more gaming.
Last edited by Kiddo; 11th April 2009 at 09:44 PM..
Location: “Over the Hills and Far Away” - (TDY in Florida - "Home" is Michigan)
Posts: 1,542
I Love D&D!
Although it would be going to far to say my life would be meaningless without it, it would definitely be considerably duller if Misters Gygax and Arneson had not gifted us with their creation.
I Love D&D no matter what the edition, incarnation, or world.
Whether playing in my preferred edition...
Whether playing with friends in the current edtion...
Whether remembering past games in former editions...
Whether walking the lands of Faerun, or just trying to survive on Athas...
Whether running for my life in Ravenloft, or fighting the good fight on Ansalon...
Whether carving out a realm of my own on Oerth, or embarking on a tour of the planes from Sigil...
Whether just running a character, or running a world...
D&D has brought me together with many wonderful friends, and provided me with priceless and cherished experiences and memories.
Not to mention, D&D made being a Geek, Cool!
For all that, and more, I Love D&D!
__________________ Mark "El Mahdi" Armstrong - Semper Operor Verus
". . . after all, that is why we're here. Kill the last bad guy and then there's cake." - Major General Jack O'Neal
"Don't Just Do It, Just Do It Right!"
"Right, without Reason, is unmitigated Foolishness."
"If you make a mistake, Acknowledge It, then make it Right."
I grew up in a family where education and learning was not stressed as a virtue. I had no real incentive to learn. I was introduced to D&D in 5th grade in 1979. From that point on, I couldn't read or learn enough. I couldn't study history, or literature, or even mathematics and probability, enough. Thirty years later my degrees in History and English and Creative Writing can be traced back to what started as a fantastical trip to a place called White Plume Mountain. Just a couple weeks ago I was researching the anatomical makeups for various mammals for an upcoming "Ecology of . . ." article in Dragon. I get to be a kid with my kid and roll dice a couple times each month. A few times a year I get to sit at a table with total strangers and tell stories that I help create.
How could I not love D&D!? :-)
Shawn
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Check out my latest work!
D&D is the shyte. Although I agree with Aberzawhatshisname that you can still love D&D and bemoan the State of the Game, or at least discuss the possibility that the game is fading. I mean, it is our love for the game that makes us concerned. Plus, most gamers are liberals and (we) liberals like to whine.
One time, at band camp...these seniors were playing D&D and I was a curious freshmen. That was nearly 30 years ago, and D&D is still my favorite hobby. I generally think of other games as things I do to fill in time between D&D sessions.
I love D&D!
__________________ Nothing is true. Everything is permitted. Anything is possible.
"Let's look Death in the face and say, 'Whatever, man!'" - Hugo 'Hurley' Reyes
I've played 1st edition AD&D, 2E, 3E (which is the first edition I played), 4E, OD&D, Basic D&D - and I just want to say one thing: I Love D&D!
Who's with me?
Just omit 2E from that list (something having to do with Booze, Chicks and other controlled substances... a part of my life I want to forget), but heck yah, I love to play D&D. The feel of that 20 sider in my sweaty palm as I hope that my character can make that save and not die in a fiery pit of doom, or negotiations with a lich to exchange it's phylactory for the lives of the farmers in the nearby thorp (only to be betrayed later)... is hard to find in any other form of entertainment.
I've had a hell of a lot more fun than grief from D&D in my time, and my only real regret is that there aren't an extra six hours in the day for more gaming.
http://dungeon-crawl.blogspot.com
Tools & tips you can apply immediately to your D&D game! Encounters inspired by the movies, suggestions to speed up your game and reduce bookkeeping, and more!
Can't believe I've missed this thread so far! It's so cool to see the OP being showered with praise and gifts from so many! Enworld is dripping with winsauce. *XP for OP*
I must say that I've played several RPGs in the past. I've liked many. I've only ever felt love for D&D.
I quite WoW last year so I could spend more time playing p&p games. I got fed up with the grind & repetition and wanted to create my own stories.
I got a new group going made up of new and lapsed players. One of the new guys just got his copies of the rule book through the post as he wants to run a game.
We're having a blast & when we play the edition war feels very far away.
I've been playing 5 years this month, and the only that'll slow me down is starting Law School in the fall.
I too love D&D!
__________________ Some easy tips for speeding up 4E combat:
1) All monsters have 1/2 max HP and deal double damage on attacks, except minions.
2) Subtract 2 from each defense of all monsters and increase all damage die sizes by one. If the die is already a d12, simply add +2 to their damage.
I saw Prince Orcus sittin' on top of his throne
Skulls piled high, the thing was made of bone
My sword was glowin' strong
My mage was in the zone
An' I could tell it wouldn't be long
Till Orcus was dead, yeah, dead, and us singin'
I love D&D!
So put some more gold in the treasure, baby
I love D&D!
So roll another 20 and slay that fiend!
__________________ "Conversely, I'm amazed at the number of people queueing up to tell people that don't like 4e that they are wrong. Why can't people just agree to disagree, and get on with actually playing the game?" --Delericho
If there's one dragon, it's a solo monster.
If there's five dragons, they're standard monsters.
If there's a dozen dragons, either most of them are minions or your DM is tired of the campaign.
--Lizard
I love D&D! And have so for almost thirty years, now. (And other RPGs as well!)
I was pretty despondent because one of my regular groups seems to be splitting up (new kids, job advancement, and what have you), but after reading this thread I feel a lot better, and confident that I'll find a couple of new players and get on with it!
I love RPGs and particularly fantasy RPGs.
The name D&D has no special meaning there beyond historic significance.
Yes and no, BryonD. D&D will also have this special place in my heart for being my first contact with this hobby. And 26 years of experience have shown that it has a certain quality, almost all other RPGs lack: we'll come back to it any time we've spend some time with other games.
Oh, the other game with this quality is Call of Cthulhu. You just can't get enough of ol' temtacles...
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