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<blockquote data-quote="Caliban" data-source="post: 7155592" data-attributes="member: 284">And platonic ideals don't exist in the real world.&nbsp;&nbsp; No game lives up to that ideal, no two gaming groups are alike.&nbsp;&nbsp; They are not all &quot;Friendship is Magic&quot; cartoons.&nbsp;&nbsp; Spending time with friends is one reason to play D&amp;D (and it's a good one), but it's by no means the only reason or the only valid reason. A lot of people turn to gaming because they have poor social skills.&nbsp; They need a structured environment to socialize with other people.&nbsp; If that structure is disrupted, they don't always know how to deal with the situation, and sometimes that's stressful and they leave to do something else. Others play for a more personal reason - they want something where they know the rules, where they know how the world works, and they know how to succeed.&nbsp; The game isn't so much about &quot;winning&quot; as about feeling successful at something (and that may be having their character able to do certain things, not necessarily &quot;winning at D&amp;D&quot;).&nbsp;&nbsp; Being sidelined hits them right where it hurts, because it means they failed.&nbsp;&nbsp; They may not want to hang around and have their nose rubbed in it.Others just want to play, and their friends aren't really into D&amp;D, or their schedule doesn't permit a regular game with their friends.&nbsp;&nbsp; Playing AL or playing online lets people play when they have time.&nbsp; But, you are generally playing with strangers or acquaintances, not friends.&nbsp;&nbsp; They may become friends eventually, but the game is the main reason they are together, not hanging out with semi-random strangers. People play D&amp;D for a lot of reasons. That's&nbsp; one of the great things about it.&nbsp; Being judgmental about how or why other people choose to play the game (or choose to leave a game) is just sad.&nbsp;&nbsp; It may not be something that you would do, but that's all it is - not something you would do.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Caliban, post: 7155592, member: 284"] And platonic ideals don't exist in the real world. No game lives up to that ideal, no two gaming groups are alike. They are not all "Friendship is Magic" cartoons. Spending time with friends is one reason to play D&D (and it's a good one), but it's by no means the only reason or the only valid reason. A lot of people turn to gaming because they have poor social skills. They need a structured environment to socialize with other people. If that structure is disrupted, they don't always know how to deal with the situation, and sometimes that's stressful and they leave to do something else. Others play for a more personal reason - they want something where they know the rules, where they know how the world works, and they know how to succeed. The game isn't so much about "winning" as about feeling successful at something (and that may be having their character able to do certain things, not necessarily "winning at D&D"). Being sidelined hits them right where it hurts, because it means they failed. They may not want to hang around and have their nose rubbed in it. Others just want to play, and their friends aren't really into D&D, or their schedule doesn't permit a regular game with their friends. Playing AL or playing online lets people play when they have time. But, you are generally playing with strangers or acquaintances, not friends. They may become friends eventually, but the game is the main reason they are together, not hanging out with semi-random strangers. People play D&D for a lot of reasons. That's one of the great things about it. Being judgmental about how or why other people choose to play the game (or choose to leave a game) is just sad. It may not be something that you would do, but that's all it is - not something you would do. [/QUOTE]

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