You are playing D&D wrong

[ssampier]

You're playing MONOPOLY wrong

The other day I decided to add combat, feats, and AoOs to my Monopoly game. Those neighbors are trespassing my property. I figured I deserved a AoO when leaving my property. I rolled that d20 for a fantastic hit. You'd be surprised at the expression on my friend's face as my dog decimated his thimble.

Needless to say none of my friends returned for a second game ...

((wonders if one space on the board can count as a five foot step))

 

[Nebt Bhakau]

As far as interchangeability is concerned, even if you used the rules as written and shared all interpretations you could have vastly different games. One game could have the the DM limiting treaure severly, in effect ban magic items from his campaign without changing any rule...

The rules quite explicitly state how much treasure, including magic items, each character is supposed to have at each level, and any DM choosing to ignore those rules will also be changing others - e.g., the way CRs are weighted.

 

[Treebore]

Here are examples of how to play the game wrong.

"you have an 18 and a 17? You are such a powergamer!"

"You have 500gp more than the DMG says you should have for your level? You must be cheating!"

"You don't want to be in my game because you don't like point buy character generation? You want to roll? Go away you munchkin powergamer!"

"You have max ranks in all your skills and selected most of your skills based on your highest stats? You are such a min/max powergamer!"


"you selected your feats to ensure you get the most attacks and deal the most damage possible in the most combat situations? You powergamer/munchkin/min/maxer you!"


"you have 4 dex and a mangled leg and your a thief? Your a "roleplayer", aren't you?


"Your house rules allow characters to do what? Your so monty haul!"


Basically it is being judgemental when you have no right to be. No matter what the playing style(s), the key to a good game is to be able to sit around a table and have a good time. Not take every chance to be judgemental and criticize anyone who doesn't play the way you think they should, or create their character the way you think they should, or criticize them because they like high stat or low stat characters, or because they like to roll play or to role play. We get enough of that judgemental, I know how to do it better than you crap in every day life. If the DM allows it, and the players are cool with it, then shut up, play the game, and let everyone have fun.

If not, go find a group of judgmental, better than thou, control everything gamers. Have fun criticizing and tearing each other down. Leave the rest of the "doing our own thing" gamers alone.

 

[Keeper of Secrets]

People who might want to join their group? People whose groups they join? People on messageboards or other internet fora to which they post?

Besides, if what defines D&D as D&D doesn't matter at all, why are you responding to my post so fast? On a Sunday morning at that?

I think Buttercup is right (I think that about a lot of things, actually).

In any event, I suppose you can certainly not play by the rules but nobody plays it 'wrong.' Therefore, you can probably surmise that 'playing by the rules' and 'wrong' within the context of an RPG are not equal terms.

 

[Doug McCrae]

In my experience, the game works best when all the players powergame equally. Whether that amount is 'a lot' or 'none at all'.

 

[The Shaman]

I don't think people play the game "wrong," but I know that some players and GMs are better than others.

Whether for in-game reasons (great characters, compelling settings, exciting adventures) or out-of-game behavior (organized GM, prepared players, provider of age-appropriate libations at game time), there are games I would join and games I wouldn't participate in if they were giving away free beer and lotto tickets.

Oh, and did anyone not see this one coming?

it isn't that most people are playing D&D wrong. it is that they aren't playing D&D at all.

OD&D(1974) is the only true game. All the other editions are just poor imitations of the real thing.

 

[WayneLigon]

Well, do you think there is a wrong way to play D&D?

In the sense that if your group is having fun playing however it is you play, no.

In the sense that I've seen some D&D campaigns that more closely resembled advanced miniatures combat, then yes.

 

[FireLance]

The other day I decided to add combat, feats, and AoOs to my Monopoly game. Those neighbors are trespassing my property. I figured I deserved a AoO when leaving my property. I rolled that d20 for a fantastic hit. You'd be surprised at the expression on my friend's face as my dog decimated his thimble.

Needless to say none of my friends returned for a second game ...

((wonders if one space on the board can count as a five foot step))

Imagine chess with AC, hit points, cover, flanking, AOOs and fireball.

Unlike most other games, where the rules are (relatively) simple, and even the variants are well codified, well understood and implemented consistently, the rules for D&D and RPGs in general are complex, are interpreted and used differently by different groups, and change with every new supplement. There is no international governing body that dictates how the game should be played and how the rules should be interpreted, so there is no definitive way to say when someone is playing it wrong.

Not to get too philosophical about it, but D&D does mean different things to different players. Some play D&D just to have fun. So, anything that prevents them from enjoying the game is wrong. Some play D&D for the roleplaying aspect. So, anything that resembles a miniatures campaign is wrong. Some enjoy the tactical and strategic aspects of the game. So, rules that are applied inconsistently or incorrectly are wrong. Some want to re-create great works of literature such as Conan the Barbarian and The Lord of the Rings. So, anything that does not fit the setting is wrong. There are as many wrong ways to play D&D as there are objectives of playing the game.

Not only that, it may mean different things at different times to the same person. Consider the game Bridge. I've played Bridge competitively, and there are aspects of competive bridge (such as doubling, redoubling, and calculating of points) that I wouldn't include in a simple casual game where a group of friends and I just want to play cards and have fun. It's the same with D&D. I've played (and DMed) RP-heavy, story-line intensive games, and I've played simple hackfests where the objective is simply to fight the monster du jour, and I've enjoyed them both. I am sure there are dedicated Bridge players who would not consider the simplified game that I play with my friends to be Bridge, just as there are D&D players who would not consider my simple hackfests to be D&D.

But so what? They can tell me I'm doing it wrong, but they can't stop my friends and I from playing it the way we want to. So, nyah!

 

[Look_a_Unicorn]

Anyone who has played to a 10th level magic user and not yet managed to unlock the secrets of real magic is playing it wrong. All the rituals are RIGHT THERE people!


*sniff* I miss Blackleaf. IT'S ALL MY FAULT SHE DIED!


Heh. Sorry if anyone thinks this is distasteful. I figure most people will get the humour

 

[fusangite]

I think this settles it. Since the rules themselves state that the DM can overrule the written rules, how can anyone state that houseruling does cause a game not to be D&D anymore?

If you people think that because of rule zero, someone can spend two hours covering their DVD player in coleslaw and, because they call it D&D, it therefore is D&D, there's nothing I can say here. But I suspect that you don't actually think this.

There must be some point at which the scale of the rule changes cause the game to cease being proper D&D. We can disagree about the location of the point but we surely cannot dispute its existence.