palleomortis
First Post
Ok, I know that there are the people that absolutly HATE D&D and other rpg's, but the thing I don't know is WHY? How did it start that gave them such a bad rep?
How Did It Start?
- Thread starter palleomortis
- Start date
palleomortis
First Post
OOOOoooookkkk. But what about all the other things, I don't even know anyone that gets mad enoghe to start rumors like *It will make you kill youself and your parents* and crap like that. Hey, quick question, How long are you on a day man (Crothian)?
Goddess FallenAngel
Explorer
Do you mean hate the RPG genre in general, or specific systems (“I hate D&D” or “I hate White Wolf”)?
If it’s the specific system….
The people I've talked to who have hated "such-and-such" RPG in particular always seems to boil down to bad experiences had while playing, not necessarily the system.
For instance, one of my good friends hates D&D, although he will play any other RPG system out there. His reason? “It’s nothing but hack-and-slash, no roleplaying.” However, the last session of my weekly D&D game (I’m a player, not the DM) was nothing but 11 hours of solid roleplaying. Yes, I said 11 hours. We called the game after watching the sun come up. When I pointed this out to my friend, his only response was, “Well, every time I played it, we did nothing but roll dice.” That’s not the system, dear, that’s the DM.
If it’s the RPG genre in general….
Well, I think the concept just scares people – and it’s not helped by some movies that portray gamers as anti-social freaks. (There was one in the 80’s whose name I can’t recall in particular that turned people off D&D.) That and the stupid rumors – I hate having to explain to people that no, I do NOT get dressed up and run around pretending I am so-and-so. Those are called LARPers, and I think that they are a little weird too. (At least the VTM LARP group I’ve met was – they were ALWAYS “in-character”, and would call the Storyteller’s cell phone at 3 am on a weeknight (and non-game night) to tell him that they think so-and-so broke the Masquerade. Yes. Really. The Storyteller was my roommate. No doubt there are LARPers out there with a sense of reality – all I’m saying is that I haven’t met one, but I’ve only met six, and thought they were a little weird.)
If it’s the specific system….
The people I've talked to who have hated "such-and-such" RPG in particular always seems to boil down to bad experiences had while playing, not necessarily the system.
For instance, one of my good friends hates D&D, although he will play any other RPG system out there. His reason? “It’s nothing but hack-and-slash, no roleplaying.” However, the last session of my weekly D&D game (I’m a player, not the DM) was nothing but 11 hours of solid roleplaying. Yes, I said 11 hours. We called the game after watching the sun come up. When I pointed this out to my friend, his only response was, “Well, every time I played it, we did nothing but roll dice.” That’s not the system, dear, that’s the DM.
If it’s the RPG genre in general….
Well, I think the concept just scares people – and it’s not helped by some movies that portray gamers as anti-social freaks. (There was one in the 80’s whose name I can’t recall in particular that turned people off D&D.) That and the stupid rumors – I hate having to explain to people that no, I do NOT get dressed up and run around pretending I am so-and-so. Those are called LARPers, and I think that they are a little weird too. (At least the VTM LARP group I’ve met was – they were ALWAYS “in-character”, and would call the Storyteller’s cell phone at 3 am on a weeknight (and non-game night) to tell him that they think so-and-so broke the Masquerade. Yes. Really. The Storyteller was my roommate. No doubt there are LARPers out there with a sense of reality – all I’m saying is that I haven’t met one, but I’ve only met six, and thought they were a little weird.)
Henry
Autoexreginated
I think palleo's talking about the "RPG's are satanic" type business - Is that correct, Palleo?
Look up (google the terms, that should do it) the terms "Pat Pulling", "D&D" and Mazes & Monsters" and "BADD" and that should give you a ton of info. Most of the media hype began around the disappearance of a guy named Dallas Egbert, who was experiencing some home problems, and ran away for a while. The Private Detective his mother hired to find him discovered he played this new game called "D&D", and the implication was questioned. Later, he committed suicide, and when the urban legend kept growing, D&D was worked into the story.
Look up (google the terms, that should do it) the terms "Pat Pulling", "D&D" and Mazes & Monsters" and "BADD" and that should give you a ton of info. Most of the media hype began around the disappearance of a guy named Dallas Egbert, who was experiencing some home problems, and ran away for a while. The Private Detective his mother hired to find him discovered he played this new game called "D&D", and the implication was questioned. Later, he committed suicide, and when the urban legend kept growing, D&D was worked into the story.
Goddess FallenAngel
Explorer
palleomortis said:
Because people need something to blame for when stuff goes wrong. "Oh, look, that kid shot up a school - but he was so normal! Wait, he played D&D? Well, no one else did, and THEY didn't shoot up a school, so it must have been D&D!"
Same reason rock music used to be considered Satanic. People just want a scrapegoat.
Edit: I think Henry pretty much nailed it...
Dr Awkward
First Post
palleomortis said:
http://www.theescapist.com/basic_gaming_faq.htm#badthings
Hope that helps a little.
- DocAwk
Goddess FallenAngel said:
I have the same question. The only people I know that hate RPGs are other gamers that don't like a particular system. And even then, hate is too strong a word for the people I know in person. It mostly just applies to anonymous people on the internet. I think if I asked 10 people at random on the street if they hated RPGs, I'd be surprised if any of the 10 would know what I'm talking about.
On the topic - I saw a guy at lunch today wearing a Games Workshop T-Shirt. I wanted to go over and say "uh, this is d20 turf buddy, we don't want your kind around here" which I thought would be hilarious just by virtue that he's probably used to no one even knowing what the shirt's about. Then again, if he spends a lot of time on the internet he'd probably pull a knife on me. And until they change the artwork I don't think d20 is worth getting stabbed over.
Last edited:
palleomortis
First Post
Henry said:
YES!!!! What's with all that?
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