Would I enjoy D&D?

[Sanji]

Some of my friends have invited me to join one of their new D&D campaigns with them, but I'm starting to wonder if I would enjoy it. Help this complete newbie out.

Okay, let's get some background information here. I hate roleplaying. I don't mean I want light roleplaying in my games, but that I have absolutely no interest in it. My preferred character backstory is "Me Wizard". I have no interest in the lore, world, characters, or plot. In fact, a plot consisting entirely of "The president has been kidnapped by ninjas. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue him?" is far preferable to me than something as good as "A Song of Fire & Ice". Fantastic books, but not in my gaming.

The idea of playing a game with a group of friends and working together to advance through a dungeon and putting our heads together to defeat enemies and bosses is what is appealing to me. Working together as players rather than characters. A bit of light roleplaying wouldn't kill me, but I'm starting to wonder if I should drop out. Do you think this anti-RPG gamer would have any fun?

 

[jonesy]

My advice is not to drop out until you've tried it. You might surprise yourself. Go into it without expectations. Just a game with your friends.

 

[Nagol]

I think it'll strongly depend on what game is being played.

D&D can be played the way you suggest you prefer. It can also be played in ways you suggest you dislike.

The only one who knows how he expects the game to go is the DM. Even he can't be certain; the group as a whole will drive the game play and focus.

Talk to the group. Explain what you like and prefer to pass on. See what they like and how they think the game will evolve.

Then make your decision to play or not.

 

[IronWolf]

I think a lot is going to depend on the group you are playing with. If they are heavy into roleplaying then you are apt to not have much fun. On the other hand if they are the "beer and pretzels" type group then you may have a great time with friends.

I'd say talk to them a bit more about the game or at the very least let them know your reservations, but that you are willing to try it out for a few sessions and then re-evaluate.

 

[clip]

The short answer is the obvious one.

The long answer is - you have identified the type of game you like, yet you don't know if the one you are thinking of joining (or not) fits that type. The easy thing to do is to tell your friends that you'll play for a couple of sessions just to make sure everyone is on the same page. If you don't like it, then no harm done. Worst case scenario, you waste a few hours; but you will have seen the type of game you don't like in action- so you'll have something to compare to if you give it another go elsewhere.

Good luck.

 

[I'm A Banana]

You'll be fine, as long as your group likes what you like.

That is, dungeon crawling.

Which can be a lot of fun. It's basically what the game revolves around anyway. Even games that delve deep into story have that at their core.

Just make sure your DM/players are on the same page, and you'll go swimmingly.

Welcome to the game, and to ENWorld!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

D&D is a game that can support a wide variety of playstyles...and if you're in a good group, the campaign itself can contain multitudes.

For example, I tend towards a more roleplayerly stance towards RPGs of all kinds, and that extends all the way from PC design forward.

OTOH, I'm in a group with (among others) a guy who plays as close to a sniper/ranger archetype in every RPG I've ever seen him in, and another guy who has played wizards that are as close to identical in terms of spell selection in campaigns going back to the mid-1980s (except the 10% of the time when he plays something non-Wizardly).

For those guys, D&D is more like a miniatures wargame than an RPG, but we still get along just fine, and our PCs have no problem meshing together in play.




Which is all just a long-winded way of echoing clip's advice above.

 

[Herremann the Wise]

It sounds like you want a computer game translated as directly as possible to the pen and paper game table without the "ickiness" of actually having to act anything out. D&D can be played like this but from my experience generally isn't because as it says on the lid, it is a roleplaying game. [A computer "RPG" is usually not an rpg at all].

If the group you play with is similar in motive to you, you can most likely all make it work and work exactly how you want it. Otherwise, if you have a group that is looking to roleplay, you are going to feel very awkward.

We had a guy play in our game once who seemed exactly like you in terms of what he was looking for. Only wanted to speak as the player and never as the character. No interest in the story, just the power ups for his "character". If there was roleplaying, he would simply not get involved. It took a couple of sessions before everyone agreed that it was not working and that he was best to stick with computer games or D&D minis which he also played at the time along with other mini games.

I'd suggest giving it a go and at least try to get into the game how the other players are getting into it. This will produce the most harmonius result but at the same time, you'll quickly know whether your tolerance for has evaporated.

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

 

[Hungry Like The Wolf]

As long as your friends have similar ideas of what they like then you'll have yourself a lot of fun. I guess, only you can make that judgement so go for it.

The worst thing that'll happen is you won't go back for a second session.

 

[Timeboxer]

Here's my possibly-horrible advice.

First, as other posters have suggested, give it a try with no expectations to see how much you enjoy/hate the roleplaying aspect of it, honestly. The thing to realize is that plot etc. tends to actually be a retroactive thing -- at the time, you're just making choices about what to do. The "story" is an artifact of this, in that decisions and events are rationalized afterwards. Also, D&D is big enough to include non-combat problem-solving (detective work, diplomacy and politics, and so on), if you enjoy that sort of thing.

Second, if you end up liking combat but don't like the roleplaying so much, then D&D is still a fun option, but it only works if you're in a group that tolerates multiple playstyles. My group, for example, is very much "If you don't roleplay you can't make that Diplomacy check", which would not be the right kind of group for someone who doesn't roleplay.

That said -- try not to go in saying "I won't roleplay." Not all parts of the game are equally fun for everyone, but no reason not to give it a fair shake.