How do you describe D&D?

[steeldragons]

First off, HAPPY NEW YEAR ENWorlders! Here's to hoping for a fantastic year to come of gaming fun and frolic for us all!

But to the point of the thread...

My significant other is interested in "understanding" my interest/liking for D&D. I've tried to explain how the game is played and some of the history of its evolution...but it doesn't seem to make sense/resonate.

"Fantasy" as a genre is understood...and supernatural/magic stuff is cool...but the whole pencil/paper game thing just can't seem to be grasped.

I talked about imagination and creativity and all of that...got a somewhat confused look..."Oh! So are there pieces? It's like a board game?"

I don't do the miniatures thing, so...no. That's not the D&D I play/fell in love with in my childhood. (Though I did explain that it could be played like that.)

I am loathe to compare it to a "video game" but since he doesn't play those either, I don't think that would help anyway. And that really isn't speaking to "what I like about/why I like it."

I know everyone has their own reasons and their own favorites things about the game and various editions...I don't think edition is really relevant to "getting it" so I'll take any/all suggestions.

So, 1) How do you describe D&D and/or the "why you like D&D" to a non-gamer?

and 2) What is it you like about D&D/Why did you start (and keep) playing?

Maybe one/some of you will have something or put it in some way I hadn't thought of yet.

Thanks.
--Steel Dragons

 

[Gilladian]

I usually start by asking if they played cops and robbers or cowboys and indians as a kid. Then I say that roleplaying games, especially tabletop ones, are kind of like that. You become, for the duration of the game, a cop or a sherrif or a whatever, and then the dungeon master makes up a story, which all of the players then get to experience. Each person's character makes decisions that will change how the story plays out. Those decisions and their results are influenced by a lot of factors; dice being one, the "character type" being another.

Sometimes that's all I say. If they're not interested in understanding more, that ends the discussion. If they are, we go on to talk about genres in the games, about race and class or character building, etc...

OR, if the person is really just wanting a VERY brief understanding of the game, I just say "It is like being in a play without a script. We make up the script as we go along, while the director just keeps telling us what the sets look like."

On one or two occasions, I've actually narrated a very brief adventure for a couple minutes for a person. Along the lines of "imagine you are a young, strong warrior. You're out hunting for food when you stumble on a cave. You remember a legend that a cave near here holds great treasure. Are you interested in hunting for it?"

 

[Piratecat]

I tell people it's a lot like starring in your own fantasy novel. Imagine the best adventure story you've read, then replace the main character with you, making up decisions and story as you go along. That's what D&D should feel like. If you've ever watched a movie and yelled at the screen "No, you idiot, don't do that!", then the game is for you.

 

[ValhallaGH]

So, 1) How do you describe D&D and/or the "why you like D&D" to a non-gamer?

My preferred option is to make them watch The Gamers 2: Dorkness Rising.

If that wouldn't be practical then I have to start talking.

"It's a game, which I play with friends, for fun. It's a fun hobby. You know how some people collect coins, others spend all day on Facebook, and some people skydive? Those are hobbies. I play pen and paper role-playing games as one of my hobbies.
"It is a bit like being the star (or director) of an improvisational TV series. The situations are created already but the characters can do whatever seems best to them. Sometimes that means they play the big hero, other times they play the villain, and some times they say "to hell with this" and go to the bar to get drunk and pick up floozies.
"It's strange, creative, unpredictable, and a lot of fun."

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

It's like playing a computer game that accepts a complete range of voice commands to do anything you can think of, except that the game universe is larger, there's more to see and find and do, the plot dynamically updates in real time to cope with any action you take, and the monster AI's significantly better. The experience improves with time, too: you'll find that after a few sessions, your imagination has better graphics than your monitor, you'll make real life friends and meet imaginative and articulate members of the opposite sex, and it's cheaper per hour than computer gameplay.

The downsides are that you aren't allowed to play in your underpants, personal hygiene is not optional and you have to share your munchies.

 

[Chainsaw]

Much like P&P, I usually describe it as a richer, fuller version of a CRPG (because everyone pretty much knows what that is) and then provide a very short, simple example of gameplay (describe a situation, ask them what they'd do, indicate where dice would be rolled, etc). Where I know someone wouldn't be familiar with CRPG's, I have used Piratecat's approach.

 

[steeldragons]

Pixie spit!

Someone XP Piratecat for me. "You must spread some experience around..." PPPPPP.

Dagnabbit.

Thanks to all for the responses. Hopefully at least some of this will help him "get it."

Happy New Year, all.
--SD

 

[lamia]

It's like playing a computer game that accepts a complete range of voice commands to do anything you can think of, except that the game universe is larger, there's more to see and find and do, the plot dynamically updates in real time to cope with any action you take, and the monster AI's significantly better. The experience improves with time, too: you'll find that after a few sessions, your imagination has better graphics than your monitor, you'll make real life friends and meet imaginative and articulate members of the opposite sex, and it's cheaper per hour than computer gameplay.

The downsides are that you aren't allowed to play in your underpants, personal hygiene is not optional and you have to share your munchies.

This is why you should try to convince the SO to let you run a solo for them! I can't tell you how fabulous it is to DM in a bathrobe!

 

[SoulsFury]

This is why you should try to convince the SO to let you run a solo for them! I can't tell you how fabulous it is to DM in a bathrobe!

This. While you are bored one day, laying around, run a simple adventure that is rules light. Keep dice rolling to a simple 11+ success, 10- failure. This is basically how I got my girlfriend to give an actual game a chance. Well, that and the fact that we live together in a one bedroom apartment and she got tired of leaving or sitting alone while we played lol.

 

[kitsune9]

I try to make describing the game very simply, because I find if I spend anytime longer than three minutes, I've created instant boredom in the listerner:

D&D is a game where you assume the personality of a fantasy character such as a wizard or a dwarf. You assume this personality much like an actor would in a play; however a referee of the game presents a series of acts such as fighting monsters, exploring dark dungeons, and saving the day. Unlike a play which is scripted, you get to make your own choices and dice are used to determine failure or success. To win the game is to have fun with your other players and accomplish the goals presented.

Now, this definition is obviously woefully accurate of the full potential of an rpg, but it gets the job done in being succinct and quick and I'm using everyday language that the non-gamer will understand.

Good luck with the SO thing!