Did you know about D&D's reputation before buying?

[Anime Kidd]

I was wondering if any of you knew about D&D's reputation before you got into it?

Me? I didn't even know there was a Dungeons & Dragons game until my cousin brought it over one day. From then on I was hooked!

 

[Aaron L]

To tell ya the truth I don't really remember. I just wanted to play and finally found some people who did.

 

[Zappo]

What do you mean for reputation? I knew it was a fun game which was the basis for my favorite computer games.

If you mean all that suicide/satanism stuff, no, I didn't know, simply because it never had such a reputation in Europe AFAIK. I learned about it only with Internet. At a certain point, I even attempted to start a club at my local [ehm... how do you call a church-managed bar and social meeting area?], because the priest would give us a couple of rooms for very little money, and neither I nor the local clergy ever thought that D&D could have something bad about it. Probably not enough people playing to get a reputation, good or bad.

 

[Darkness]

What do you mean for reputation? I knew it was a fun game which was the basis for my favorite computer games.

If you mean all that suicide/satanism stuff, no, I didn't know, simply because it never had such a reputation in Europe AFAIK. .../B]

I concur with Zappo: What reputation do you mean, and if it's the "suicide/satanism stuff," that's applicable here in Europe...

 

[Zappo]

I concur with Zappo: What reputation do you mean, and if it's the "suicide/satanism stuff," that's applicable here in Europe...

You mean it's not applicable, I suppose? I have heard of only one case of a person suggesting that D&D leads to suicide in Italy, and that case died out within two or three days due to lack of interest by the public.

 

[arwink]

Nope. But people started me young. I was six when someone explained what a halfling was, told me they were lucky and tossed me down a hole after a carrion crawler. I didn't care much for current affairs or the world beyond my bedroom at that age, but for some reason gaming became something of a constant in my life after that.

 

[Blacksad]

You mean it's not applicable, I suppose? I have heard of only one case of a person suggesting that D&D leads to suicide in Italy, and that case died out within two or three days due to lack of interest by the public.

I think he means applicable.

I don't know wich problem Austria had, but France got several suicide cases, though those weren't really noticed, an accusation of tomb robbing and destruction that was latter revealed to be made by neo-nazi, but the reputation stick, and when their is a tomb robbing now the journalist ask if it was made by RPG gamer.

Also we had a TV emission that showed RPG as being a bad thing and such (by Mireille Dumas) but I haven't see it. Though it's effect are still felt today, when you say that you play RPG, many people ask if it isn't dangerous (a good answer to that is "yes.... if you swallow dices").

To answer your question, no I didn't know anything about this reputation when I began playing, nor my parents, though some of my friends parent's knew and believed the reputation (some other knew it and dissmissed it), they were forced to lie to be able to play.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Well as an old timer, started playing in 78/79 the game did not have a reputation. I guess in a way, my group trail blazed it, I can think of friends of my group that started playing after we did, now their kids play it.

 

[Wormwood]

Since it was 1980, the only reputation *I* was aware of was that D&D was popular with smart college kids.

 

[Buttercup]

Hmm. I answered yes, because I had known of D&D since the 70s and had heard various things.

The satanism stuff I ignored all along, since I never believe anything that religious fanatics say.

The stereotypes about the players I believed, because I had first hand experience when I was in college. You know, the ones about all D&D players being freakish, unwashed, socially crippled, scary, massively overweight guys.

I secretly wanted to play since about 1976, but all the people I met who did, scared the bejeezus out of me since they matched the description above. I have no doubt that over the years I interacted with many normal gamers, but never knew they were into the hobby.

Fortunately I know plenty of normal gamers now.

(edited for grammar)