What does d&d do to people, really?

[Nifft]

Vocab -- most excellent. D&D will help.

Math -- probably not so much, though you may learn more about probability distributions than you otherwise would have.

Economics -- actively harmful. Or rather, learning economics will hamper your ability to suspend disbelief about D&D "economics".

Mythology -- D&D can help.

Time to study -- actively harmful if you DM or try to write a story hour.

-- N

 

[palleomortis]

It seems now like only the smart kids will play. Dam i feel like a geek

 

[ThirdWizard]

I haven't had "grades" in almost 20 years.

They're called personnel assessments.

My grades were always good.

 

[Aust Diamondew]

I started playing when I was 14. Didn't really hurt or help. Just another thing to waste my time. I've always gotten above average grades (B average) but I could probably do better if I took more time to do assignments, study and homework out of school. Instead I devote it all to my personal enjoyment. Which is fine by me.
My point is d&d does hurt my grades but if I didn't play something else would hurt them instead in all likelihood.

 

[Mystery Man]

They're called personnel assessments.

My grades were always good.

I am Wally.

 

[MoonZar]

Grades are not good hehehe

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Gaming definitely encouraged a growth in my vocabulary (thanks to the Gygaxian school of writing) and a love of literature.

I won't say that it improved my math skills, but it kept them from being completely abyssmal.

 

[T. Foster]

By the time I starting getting "grades" in 4th grade I was already playing (and completely obsessed with) D&D. My grades through 4th-6th grades were pretty good but not spectacular (B/B+ average) and I suspect D&D had a slightly negative impact -- I cared way more about D&D than schoolwork and therefore spent so much time thinking about D&D that I didn't pay much attention in class, didn't always do my homework, etc. (I don't know that I necessarily would've been a straight-A student otherwise, but when I think back to all the time I spent drawing maps, planning adventures, sneaking peeks at rulebooks when the teacher wasn't watching, etc. I suspect that same amount of effort applied to my actual schoolwork would surely have made some kind of difference). But on the plus side of the ledger, in later years (7th+ grades) when I wasn't so all-consumingly obsessed with D&D anymore and started actually paying attention and trying in school I think my grades (A/A- average) were better than they would've been without D&D due to my increased reading comprehension, problem-solving ability, math/statistics skills, knowledge of history and mythology, etc. picked up (subconsciously, mostly) through the game. I'm sure I scored better on the SAT than I would've without D&D.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

No one shoot me.

How could we? You made us surrender our weapons when we got in. Damn you *shakes fist*

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

thanx, sniff. Once question, is your sig. from a movie called DUNGEON MASTER? That and there seems to be another guy called "DungeonMasterCal" that I would like to ask the same question.

Dungeonmastercal here. Are you asking if my sig came from the movie "Dungeonmaster"? If so, the answer is nope!

Dungeonmaster did feature Blackie Lawless and WASP (one of my fave bands of all time). Blackie was the inspiration for my very first created-on-my-own D&D character, an antipaladin.

To answer the question, my D&D experience began in college, where I was a mediocre student who was in and out of university for nearly 10 years w/out graduating. I was like that before D&D, and like that after. I suspect that if it weren't for the game, however, I might not have lived in that town as long as I did, which would've resulted in my not meeting my wife.

Kismet.