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<blockquote data-quote="DrNilesCrane" data-source="post: 2736514" data-attributes="member: 7652">Edena, interesting posts &amp; interesting responses.&nbsp; I definitely agree with Umbran's post (creativity unchanneled doesn't make for a enjoyable evening of gaming for most groups).&nbsp; I don't think there is a magical something to help the hobby &amp; in a sense, I don't think the hobby or the rules (such as the archtypes of the core classes) themselves are a problem.&nbsp; The game is reliant on the social skills of the players, which means getting a group of at least two (and more likely 4 or 5) people together who can not just communicate reasonably well, but are willing to share the spotlight, cooperate at least as players, and check their personal issues and egos at the door -- plus you need a DM who can do all of this in spades, knows the rules well, has time to prepare...whew...&nbsp; It's a tall order to fill.&nbsp; I think unfortunately a lot of groups don't think that part of the equation through: many groups I've seen are of the &quot;hey, show up and bring a friend - we'll play!&quot; variety (and end up with mismatched personalities, wasted evenings, etc.).&nbsp; The most successful groups I've been a part of in my experience are created, with one person seving as anchor and bringing together a group based on the player's personalities and commitment to the game.Unfortunately, I think a lot of people who might really flourish in a D&amp;D game, people who might not never think of even trying role-playing or expanding their creativity, are turned away by the kind of behavior of some players StupidSmurf has outlined.&nbsp; Even worse, the misperception of D&amp;D still held by the general public is a huge limiting factor on the hobby expanding and bringing in more players who might have the kind of social skills to form good gaming groups.For example, the story about D&amp;D from NPR this weekend (<a href="http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org/programs/index_20051112.html" target="_blank">http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org/programs/index_20051112.html</a> ) starts with the two hosts discussing the negatives of D&amp;D without any kind of serious counterarguement or even basis in fact.&nbsp; From my experiences, most of the general public views D&amp;D as &quot;that devil worshipping game from the 80's&quot; if they even know what it is.&nbsp; What's my point?&nbsp; Hell if I know.&nbsp; I guess I don't have much to add other than it's an interesting discussion that I hope continues.&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

[QUOTE="DrNilesCrane, post: 2736514, member: 7652"] Edena, interesting posts & interesting responses. I definitely agree with Umbran's post (creativity unchanneled doesn't make for a enjoyable evening of gaming for most groups). I don't think there is a magical something to help the hobby & in a sense, I don't think the hobby or the rules (such as the archtypes of the core classes) themselves are a problem. The game is reliant on the social skills of the players, which means getting a group of at least two (and more likely 4 or 5) people together who can not just communicate reasonably well, but are willing to share the spotlight, cooperate at least as players, and check their personal issues and egos at the door -- plus you need a DM who can do all of this in spades, knows the rules well, has time to prepare...whew... It's a tall order to fill. I think unfortunately a lot of groups don't think that part of the equation through: many groups I've seen are of the "hey, show up and bring a friend - we'll play!" variety (and end up with mismatched personalities, wasted evenings, etc.). The most successful groups I've been a part of in my experience are created, with one person seving as anchor and bringing together a group based on the player's personalities and commitment to the game. Unfortunately, I think a lot of people who might really flourish in a D&D game, people who might not never think of even trying role-playing or expanding their creativity, are turned away by the kind of behavior of some players StupidSmurf has outlined. Even worse, the misperception of D&D still held by the general public is a huge limiting factor on the hobby expanding and bringing in more players who might have the kind of social skills to form good gaming groups. For example, the story about D&D from NPR this weekend ([url]http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org/programs/index_20051112.html[/url] ) starts with the two hosts discussing the negatives of D&D without any kind of serious counterarguement or even basis in fact. From my experiences, most of the general public views D&D as "that devil worshipping game from the 80's" if they even know what it is. What's my point? Hell if I know. I guess I don't have much to add other than it's an interesting discussion that I hope continues. :) [/QUOTE]

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