What is D&D?

[Asmor]

A funny thing happened to me the other day. I was telling a coworker about how I was excited for D&D 5th edition, and she was surprised because she thought I hated D&D.

I corrected her and told her that I loved D&D, but I disliked previous editions... and that got me thinking. Actually, I don't like any edition of D&D prior to 5th. To be fair, I haven't actually played any editions older than 3rd, but I own many of the books and I know enough to really dislike the systems. I won't mention any specifics as to why, since it's not really relevant to this thread.

So what happened is I grew up always being curious about D&D. Then 3rd edition came out and I got into that. Then I fell out of love with it. 4th edition came out, I went fully into that, and also fell out of love with it.

So I find myself in this weird situation where I feel like I love D&D, but I hate every D&D rule set and wouldn't be willing to play any of them (not counting 5e, which is new enough that I feel this statement still stands).

I guess, for me, D&D is a concept that transcends the rule sets. Any time a ragtag band of strangers, who would never have anything to do with each other if not for bonds from beyond the fourth wall, get a map to a dungeon from an odd man in the dark corner of a tavern... that's D&D.

 

[evileeyore]

Classes, levels, Vancian magic, Orc and Pie.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

The Soul of D&D? Well ...

 

[Libramarian]

You sound like the perfect customer, always ready to buy a new edition

 

[Emerikol]

It's hard to define it down exactly but I can tell you some things that it is not.

1. It is not the unique monster names owned by Wotc in their D&D ip.
2. It is not the distinctive great wheel cosmology.
3. It is not Greyhawk or the Forgotten Realms or any other setting.
4. It is not the classic tropes like groups meet in a tavern and go into a dungeon.
5. It is not friends around a table.

If D&D has an identity it is embedded in certain rules concepts. I could list a few off but it would offend someone. Personally I think Pathfinder "feels" a lot like D&D even though Golarion is not a wotc setting.

So anything you ask the question "What is D&D?", I am assuming you want more than the legal definition which is boring a trite and only given as an answer mostly to be snarky since the question never seeks that answer.

 

[Mercurius]

So I'm confused. You seemingly "dislike" or "hate" every previous edition of D&D, but love D&D...as an idea?

Maybe you love the idea of D&D more than the actuality of it?

It also sounds like you enjoy an edition for awhile then "fall out of love with it." That happened with both 3rd and 4th edition for you...so what is to stop it from happening with 5th edition?

I know you say all of this isn't relevant to the thread, but I actually think it is. There is something you love about D&D that isn't tied to the rules - that isn't the rules at all. In fact, you seem to dislike/hate every version of the rules; one would think this fate will eventually befall 5th edition.

So maybe it is the story part, and D&D's rather specific gathering of tropes and ideas. It also makes me wonder whether you'd be better off playing a game system that you do like, but "D&D style." I know some folks do this with Savage Worlds.

But you like 5th edition, so ride that for as long as you can. But eventually...

 

[Jack Daniel]

I seem to remember the definition involving a "huge ruined pile, a vast castle built by generations of mad wizards and insane geniuses."