Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lonely Tylenol" data-source="post: 4737596" data-attributes="member: 18549">Too true.  The themes and devices that are used in D&D adventure design are never humorous, but are in fact a wry parallel to the choices and struggles we face in our lives every day.If you don't pull the lever, it disarms the trap.  If you do pull the lever, it sets it off.  This Catch-22 is an obvious reference to the novel by the same name, which is often mistaken for a work of sarcastic humour.  In fact, it is a double-sarcastic work of meta-irony that only serves to highlight the horrors of the inevitable death of the reader in the fullness of time.  Any enjoyment derived in reading such a book is not the intent of the author, and--in certain literary circles--is a moral offence on the level of orphanage arson.Of course, D&D is traditionally "played" by those who assume the "rôle" of a character in order to explore serious themes (primarily those on the absinthe-soaked domain of existential philosophy), in order to provoke and/or invoke Angst in the player in order to allow them to see the zero-sum "game" that society has become as a consequence of the stark realities of economics and power inbalances.  Which is of course why it is called a "rôle-playing game".  These power imbalances can manifest themselves in the game in many ways, such as the domination of combat by wizards, who use no weapons, compared to fighters, whose whole purpose is to dominate combat through the use of weapons--a pithy irony!Certainly these themes change over time.  For example, in 1st Edition, poison was an instant-kill effect, and a player's life was always one needle trap away from extinction.  This symbolized the impermanence of existence and the indifference of the Ineffable, as represented by the Dungeon Master.  In 4th edition, poison is merely one more source of damage among many, which pulls the player into an engagement with the metaphysics of ennui.In conclusion, Dungeons and Dragons (another essay could be written on the title alone!) is serious business.  Anyone who finds humour in its dark topics, or really even so much as cracks a grin at the game table, is DOING IT WRONG.  If they want to have "fun" playing their "games" they should take up a carefree, froo-froo hobby like soccer or Halo Wars, and leave true Rôleplaying Gamers to the maudlin introspection that is necessary for real enjoyment of life.</blockquote>

Verification