D&D General What do you actually like about D&D?

[AnotherGuy]

The Genre (it is my favourite), the Nostalgia (good feels), the Community (we're everywhere in some way or fashion) and it helps that I know the system.

 

[heptat]

Gonzo fantasy!

 

[Li Shenron]

In some recent threads I began to suspect some people don’t like D&D. As in people who play it but almost only find fault or compare it to something else they simply like better.

Well, regarding to that, I have long had my legitimate suspicion that most of those critics do NOT play the game much but mostly just have the hobby of talking about it, which then manifests either as excessive praise of everything or excessive criticism.

Just curious what attracts others to D&D…especially since most online discussion are so focused on what is not liked.

When I started about 30 years ago, the fact that it was by far the most complex game ruleset I'd ever seen was itself attractive. It made it immediately feel like a game for people who liked to think a lot.

The cooperative nature of the game is actually the biggest selling point for me, since I've long grown tired of competitive games.

The unique duality between narrative and rules makes everything more interesting than games or hobbies that have only either of those.

Problem solving in general is something I find satisfying, and not frustrating even when we fail.

The OCD side of me also enjoys a good amount of resource management.

These are why I like D&D, but of course they are all general properties of all RPGs, so why is D&D specifically my favourite?

First, I generally prefer fantasy over sci-fi (too much open-ended, anything you can imagine gives me a feel of lack of safety nets or tethering for my reasoning and expectation) or modern (not enough escapism, possible risk of taking it more personally in case of failure) or historical (too afraid of my own ignorance of history) or postapocalyptic (too depressing). Fantasy is silly enough to give me good escapism without strings attached.

Among all fantasy RPGs, D&D is the least specific. Not as disorienting-ly open as sci-fi, but still large enough to allocate plenty of possibilities and infinite adventures. Narrow settings usually give me the feeling they'll be running out too soon.

And finally of course there's the history and nostalgia. It's been with me three decades, I like the idea of play an old published adventure that thousands of other groups have played before and share the experience, I saw the game grow better and worse in waves but I just know it, and when a really good campaign book, adventure or supplement is made, I know it's gonna stick around through future editions despite rules changes.

 

[schneeland]

I like it mostly for nostalgic reasons and familiarity. Strolling down the Sword Coast or wandering in the Dales, encountering Owlbears, Dragons and Beholders, casting spells like Magic Missile, Lightning Bolt or Fireball, and generally being a bunch human, dwarven or elven warriors, thieves, priests or wizards on a quest, that always feels a bit like come home. Or maybe, more accurately, going to a place you visited regularly for vacation in your youth.
I have many frustrations with D&D, especially the modern iterations, as a rule set and as a product. But conceptually it's still a thing that I like a lot. And even if I stopped playing completely at some point, it would probably always have a special place in my heart for all the memories attached to the game.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

What's not to like? It's an excellent TTRPG, and I love playing TTRPGs. It has tremendous scope, and its intentionally unfinished design (in terms of story and setting) is, for me, a feature rather than a flaw, since I love creating my own stories. It has a deep reservoir of available resources, dwarfing any other game, and it is so well known that it is relatively easy to find other players.And it was the first. You never forget your first.

I find the title of this thread a bit off-putting; it probably isn't intended that way, but the use of the word "actually" reads to me like it would be hard to find things to like about D&D. I have the opposite perspective: it is hard for me to find things I don't like about D&D. I love it.I have seen so many kids who built a friend group around D&D, and that alone makes me love it. It fosters imagination, creative problem solving, socialization, and even basic math skills. It helps people learn to look at the world from different points of view. I think D&D has made the world a better place. I wish everyone played it.

The “actually” is well qualified. You can see why I would say it. D&D gets drug. A lot. And I guess that is ok if it’s a fan that actually plays but it gets tiring because I am still excited by it!

I have been reading thread after thread of hate mail to D&D with a constant barrage of “it only sells well because of marketing,” and “you probably have not played other games if you like it,” and “game X,Y and Z do A, B and C better.”

I just needed to hear some sunshine about the game.

As far as myself, it’s the only rpg I care to play. I first played in the early 80s when some older kids took me under their wing as they were desperate for a player.

I took a rare day off from work yesterday…only to start kit bashing and making worg riders for the game. If I don’t find much to like, I have 10s of thousands of dollars invested and countless man hours I have squandered!

It (D&D) and it’s related hobbies (miniature collecting, terrain building) is my only hobby. I mean I liked swilling beer and going to concerts but am starting to give my liver a break…

So D&D for me…daily if it was possible…I am annoyed I have to go to work right now and would rather try to salvage my mini project I have sunk way too much money into…but they will come in handy when the goblin wars finally come to pass!

My wife is…tolerant…

 

[billd91]

The genre, the comfort, the ease of playing and running.

<snip>

It feels like there is something between 5e, Pathfinder 1e, and e6 that would be my sweet spot.

Similar reasons for me. 5e has been pretty easy to run so far as D&D editions go. There are enough tactical options for fun groups without being too cumbersome with it. And it's got a reasonable customizability to adjust the feel of the game I'm running.
I think 5e might be the sweet spot for me. I haven't found anything that fits it better to date.

 

[Oofta]

The pseudo-medieval setting is pretty familiar with a lot of people and does a lot of foundational assumptions for us. I can describe castles and fighters in shining armor and even if it's not historically accurate it still resonates with people. So that generic fantasy setting helps sell the game.

Meanwhile the core assumptions leave us with a lot of room to play. We don't have a single core setting that we're working from, we don't have to worry about established lore of the Jedi and an Evil Empire. If we want to create brand new worlds, brand new mythologies we can in the way that some other games would be less acceptable. In D&D it's standard that we have different worlds and different approaches, we aren't always (or at least almost always) fighting some eldritch horror like Call of Chthulhu. If I want a bit of eldritch horror I can use that as a background, or gothic horror, or pirates or dungeon delving. Frequently we mix things up in one campaign, sometimes in one session.

The heart of the game is the role playing free form imaginative side contrasted by the relatively simplistic combat (as opposed to what a real combat sim would be). The game gives us just enough rules to make those work without, for the most part, getting overly complicated.

Nothing is perfect of course, but I'm still laughing out loud one moment while having a tense moment the next and a silly one after that. I'm still having fun playing the game and DMing after decades. It's an escape from the real world for a while to get together with friends or make new ones.

 

[Retreater]

• Fantasy is familiar.
• D&D is the most popular RPG, so it's sort of a lingua franca for gamers.
• It's very well supported with adventures, settings, monsters, and player options (with even more through a robust 3PP industry).
• You're more likely to find reviews, rankings, and tips online than for less popular systems (even Pathfinder - which often doesn't even have guides and reviews for adventures)
• It doesn't have a default setting you're pulled into using (like Pathfinder, One Ring, Forbidden Lands, RuneQuest, Warhammer Fantasy, etc.)
• It's simple enough for newer players, complex enough for veterans to be able to have some fun with it. It's a decent middle ground in complexity.
• It has a long history that you can pull from, if you want to convert past publications.

 

[nevin]

The fact that my tables can play it our way an ignore all those "necessary fixes", changes in the new versions we don't like etc and play with a system that the internet keeps telling me is so old and broken it can't make it more than a few more weeks.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

I love the game. There are a few things that I think can be improved and feel the confidence to do it!

It made me laugh recently to know when I read D&D bashing threads (or just strings of comments) the typical result is that I just want to go play