Why do you play D&D?

[evileeyore]

Well I see no one else is gonns fess up to the truth so I'll say it:


MORE BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!!!!


Oh wait thats why I play WarHamster...

 

[Ulrick]

I play D&D to...


CRUSH MY ENEMIES!

TO SEE THEM DRIVEN BEFORE ME!

AND TO HEAR THE LAMENTATIONS OF THEIR WOMEN!



or...

I play D&D as escapism. I enjoy reading a good story or watching a movie. Often when I watch a movie I think to myself "Man, that'd be cool to that" Or "I wish I was Conan."

RPGs are the only way I can think of that allows a normal Joe-Schmoe like me to take on the role of a hero like that in a great story or movie.

And I like to be DM so I can tell the stories, good stories that my players can remember forever. I like to entertain.

Ulrick

 

[Zhure]

It's many reasons.

Mankind is a storytelling beast. Before the printed age, stories were told word of mouth, around the campfires, so there's an instinctive love of stories. It speaks to the primal part of us.

After printing, books sort of filled this niche, but slowly, as did the electronic versions of radio, television and motion pictures.

I think deep down that's the reason everyone who plays RPGs does so. The other things, adventure, excitement, escapism, all are secondary considerations

Greg

 

[Howling Coyote]

I have a creative mind, and RPGs are a great way to put it into good use and socialize with interesting people at the same time.

 

[Psyduck]

I play for several reasons:

1. I started playing since I was around 8, and ever since it's been a tradition. (I'm 19 now)

2. This is a really great game. To keep me hooked for this long, it must be good. D&D is never the same thing; different DMs have their own flair, and adds their own twist to the game.

3. I am currently in college and work part-time. Same thing with everyone in the group. D&D is what keeps us in touch. Everyone is always out and about during the week, but every Saturday we meet up and have a nice long session.

4. It is an escape from reality, responsibility, and everything else stressful in life. D&D lets you forget your troubles, if even for a moment, and fill your mind with adventure.

These are the best reasons to play D&D.

 

[gothwalk]

I don't know if this may figure into your paper or not, but I had a minor epiphany recently. The Gaming Table and the Gaming Convention have replaced the Elk's Lodge or Moose Lodge gatherings that was very prevalent from the 1950's to the 1970's. Whereas the post-war community had clubs and lodges to foster community and friendship, the information age has bred gamers, sci-fi fans, and hobbyists of all sorts who form community bonds all their own. I know of very few families in my area whose children and grandchildren have become new Moose Lodge or Elk Lodge brethren. It is a brand new form of community organization, but has a form totally different from what came before, and one more open to membership by all races, creeds, and genders. The common bond in this case is not war or blue-collar background, but a love of sci-fi or fantasy. [/B]

You might like to take a look at http://www.urbantribes.net/ - it's a concept that ties into this, and I think many gamers are members of tribes in this context.

Drew

http://www.badgerofthelord.net/

 

[Henry]

You might like to take a look at http://www.urbantribes.net/ - it's a concept that ties into this, and I think many gamers are members of tribes in this context.

His is a fascinating article, and in fact, if he expanded his definition of the "urban tribe" a bit, it might fit well with the D&D phenomenon. The fact is, I myself feel much more at home with an RPG player, than I do a non-gamer. It's a common reference point that is shared that tends to make it easier to "open up" to. It's not always the case - I have met some gamers whose personal habits or preferences I could not abide by, or who just struck me as "off" - but it holds for me more often than not.

I have also found that a gaming group often has a marriage of "marrieds" and "non-marrieds" in it - and it only rarely affects the ability to still be a member of that group. If a person's spouse doesn't accept that their S.O. is a gamer, it often leads to broken homes, as well as broken gaming groupsm which has more to do with knowing your spouse than being part of an "unhealthy" group.

As one of my history professors put it, the "lodge" concept grew with blue-collar workers, specifically after World War II. In the 50's this concept blossomed tremendously - Everyone who ever watched an episode of The Honeymooners or The Flintstones knows what a "lodge" is. My father was a member of The Loyal Order of Moose for almost 30 years until his death - then again, so was a third of the town, and you never saw such a turnout for a "small-scale" funeral.

I never once wanted to join - it was largely a bunch of 40-somethings to 70-somethings with whom I had nothing in common, and apparently most everyone else my age felt the same - Nobody over age 12 ever showed up on a "family" day.

My friends were all D&D players - or computer gamers, and many of those played RPG's at least once, thanks to me. As I grew older, I found a group of RPG players that I became friends with, and through them I met 3/4ths of the people I ever gamed with on a regular basis. Now, most of the gamers I game with I met from previous jobs, but I still have contact with most of those friends from previous days. The bonds there are stronger than those with all of my own family.