What's right with D&D?

[Raven Crowking]

Is the question in the OP aimed at D&D in general, or at this incarnation of D&D? Both have good points, and there is definitely overlap, but they are not always the same good points.

RC

 

[Quartz]

It's fun!

 

[greywulf]

- the level of support. If Rock/Paper/Scissors had two excellent magazines, a fantastic community of players, sourcebooks, hardbacks and adventures from lots of companies, we'd all be playing that instead.
- it's fun!

D&D is like a well made sweater. It all hangs together and looks just fine, but if you start to pick at the threads............ and, like a well-made sweater, it's a good comfort zone that a lot of gamers can relate to.

Heck, the rules don't really matter all that much, do they?

 

[Odhanan]

What are some of the things that D&D 'got right?'

It's a perfect combination between having fun for the sake of having fun and pretending to be someone else. It doesn't try to "tell a story": it's about the adventurers exploring dungeons, about the thrill of the adventure itself rather than telling it. It's a great balance between rules and background. It is generic enough as to allow millions of DMs to come up with their own stuff, yet focused enough to have its own style and provide the tools for the DMs and players to do so. It is not pretentious. It's very subject is absolutely excellent. You can bash monsters, live the "hero's journey" to plunder the depths of the Oerth... no matter how you understand it, it's still going down the dungeon and exploring it.

 

[Marchen]

It's fun.

 

[MerricB]

D&D allows heroic play within the structure of a game that emphasises fun.

What 3e (in particular) does right is allow for distinct approaches to the game through its mechanics, with a large amount of variety available.

Cheers!

 

[Wik]

I play because it's an excuse to get my friends together and hang out. For us, we can't just say "hey, wanna come hang out once a week for no apparent reason?". We need a REASON. Plus, there's a lot of fun watching your characters grow and develop. And as GM, you know you're always gonna be surprised. And that's fun.

 

[3catcircus]

The one thing that is "right" about D&D is that it has the market share and familiarity factor.

It is kinda like the Beta vs. VHS format war. Other RPGs may be better in the technical aspects (realism, verisimilitude, ease of learning, etc.) but D&D is what most people play because they already know the basics of the rules.

Despite my disdain for the lack of DM control to prevent the PC power level from spiralling exponentially out of control in the current version of the game, the current version *is* more player options-friendly. For a younger generation, this difference in the "feel" of the game as compared to previous versions certainly contributes to its popularity and success.

 

[Aeric]

I like the sheer volume of rulebooks for D&D. D&D has always been really well supported by both the publisher and other companies. With so much stuff (rules, classes, monsters, etc.) to choose from, it's easy to make a world that's different from the next guy's. I think that's why D&D is still more popular than, say, Earthdawn, which is locked into a single campaign world/setting. D&D is like the GURPS of fantasy gaming. Add to that a long list of adventures, many of which are really well-crafted. It's just not something you see for other games.

I specifically like 3rd edition because 99.9% of the rules were solidified into a single mechanic--d20 roll plus modifiers versus a target number (DC). Gone are the days when you aimed high for to-hit rolls but low for saving throws. That drove me crazy.

 

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

For me it's all the choices I have as a player for my character. I really can build just about any kind of PC I want.

As a DM the same is true: I can craft NPCs and encounters that are a blast to play, and model just about any situation within the rules.

J. Grenemyer