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D&D Is 30

mainframemouse writes "For those who have not seen the Beeb article, Dungeons and Dragons is 30 years old. After many years of role-playing is wonderful to see the mother of all RPG's given respect and mention in the national press. There's even a note about the false accusations of the 80's." And for the record - flanking & attacks of opportunity in 3/3.5 Edition still irritate me. Combine a familiar with Master Tactician and some rogue levels, and you're off to the races.

39 of 763 comments (clear)

  1. The flagship... by danielrm26 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ah, D&D -- the flagship of geek hobbies. Many people do video games or comic books and want to include themselves in the group, but until you've re-written your character sheet 15 times, had discussions about what makes a good DM/GM, and carried around a fuzzy bag full of expensive dice, you aren't the real deal. :)

    --
    dmiessler.com -- grep understanding knowledge
    1. Re:The flagship... by neilcSD · · Score: 4, Funny

      god...those were the days. eating hohos until 4 in the morning, listening to the same cursed ace of base cd over and over and over...arguing over who gets that uber sword of leetness +1...rerolling and rerolling until you get that leet starting stat list...doing stupid things that piss of your GM and wreck the storyline...woop! great times!!

    2. Re:The flagship... by SoTuA · · Score: 5, Funny
      My first d20 dice is almost a perfect sphere from wear! does that count?

      Ooops... failed my "Burning Karma" saving throw...

    3. Re:The flagship... by Paul+Lamere · · Score: 4, Funny

      BTW, Unrounded D4s are definitely the most deadly. One of my most painful memories is stepping on one of those buggers.

    4. Re:The flagship... by Arker · · Score: 4, Funny

      I used to keep my character sheets in a nifty little program me and my cousin wrote together on a TRS-80 model 1. It did saving rolls, to hit rolls, and damage rolls for us too. Go ahead, try to beat that. ;)

      --
      =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
      Friends don't let friends enable ecmascript.
    5. Re:The flagship... by Newander · · Score: 5, Funny

      The ever popular caltrop +1.

      --

      Jesus saves and takes half damage.

    6. Re:The flagship... by qengho · · Score: 5, Funny


      Unrounded D4s....One of my most painful memories is stepping on one of those buggers.

      I guess you missed your Dex throw against the Caltrop of Mighty Hopping.

    7. Re:The flagship... by haystor · · Score: 5, Funny

      Now you know the reason they were flattened on their corners. In the 70's, before consumer safety laws, they were razor sharp, needle points and tipped with poison.

      --
      t
    8. Re:The flagship... by forgetmenot · · Score: 4, Funny

      The only way the d8 could possible hurt you more than the d4 is if it was standing end-to-end along the longest axis which isn't very likely. Any other position it's still inherently unstable and will probably rock when you stand on it so that you step on a long dull 'edge' rather an a pointy corner. The stable little d4 just naturally falls anywhere with a pointy corner aiming straight up. It hasn't got anywhere to go but into your foot no matter how flat the corners are. What's even more readily apparent however, is my need for a life. Mine has sucked ever since my friends grew up and stopped playing D&D. Now all I do is spend my days waiting to argue with people about dice on slashdot. *sigh*

    9. Re:The flagship... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Also you have the ability to use your imagination more and drink beer and hang out with cool friends

      ...Surley you jest.

    10. Re:The flagship... by Gurp · · Score: 4, Funny

      There's a certain "aura" around the D&D "lifers" that no video game, regardless of how close to the rules it sticks can ever match.

      A shower could probably deal to it, though.

    11. Re:The flagship... by coyote_oww · · Score: 4, Funny
      Unrounded D4s....One of my most painful memories is stepping on one of those buggers.

      I guess you missed your Dex throw against the Caltrop of Mighty Hopping.

      Wait till you're hopping around on one foot and hit it again!

  2. D&D is 30 and.... by ThePlague · · Score: 5, Funny

    It still hasn't kissed a girl!

  3. 3 Decades! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    And still proudly living in the parent's basement!

  4. Yep by EpsCylonB · · Score: 5, Funny

    And for the record - flanking & attacks of opportunity in 3/3.5 Edition still irritate me. Combine a familiar with Master Tactician and some rogue levels, and you're off to the races.

    Yep you are a nerd.

  5. Ask the girl out on a date! by teamhasnoi · · Score: 4, Funny
    'I'm sorry, the girl makes a saving throw against your 1st level charm spell. You really need to work on your CHR.'

    'Is there any Mountain Dew? Can I have one?'

    1. Re:Ask the girl out on a date! by grub · · Score: 5, Funny


      I'm sorry, the girl makes a saving throw against your 1st level charm spell

      My ex-wife fell for my 1st level charm spell but it turns out she was Chaotic-Evil and when we split up she took all my GP.

      --
      Trolling is a art,
  6. I had a discussion... by dijjnn · · Score: 5, Funny

    The other day with a friend about which type of dice hurt the worst to step on. we decided that, while a d4 was bad (the worst if you step straight down hard), that a d8 was really the worst because it rolled with your foot.

    My girlfriend immediately said, "oh my god, i'm dating a nerd."

    Thank you D&D.

    --
    ~dijjnn
    1. Re:I had a discussion... by maxpublic · · Score: 5, Funny

      My girlfriend immediately said, "oh my god, i'm dating a nerd."

      I didn't know they made talking RealDolls.

      Max

      --
      My god carries a hammer. Your god died nailed to a tree. Any questions?
    2. Re:I had a discussion... by D-Cypell · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yeah, I have noticed this lots recently, its like guys read threads about how slashdot is full of sexually frustrated geeks and want to prove that they can play happily in both worlds (and make all the true 'significant-other-deficient' geeks jealous)...

      My and my girlfriend both hate posts like that..

  7. Ah, D&D by Hanna's+Goblin+Toys · · Score: 4, Funny

    It really works, you know.

  8. Don't you mean... by glpierce · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...Ex-girlfriend?

    --
    G
  9. Military Potential of D&D by handy_vandal · · Score: 5, Funny

    It was even a cult at a Wisconsin naval base. "At one time every nuclear submarine had a D&D group," says Arneson.
    - from the article

    Nuclear submarines? D&D groups?

    My God ... do you think the Commander-in-Chief knows about this?

    -kgj

    --
    -kgj
    1. Re:Military Potential of D&D by The_Mystic_For_Real · · Score: 5, Funny
      Wisconsin naval base

      I can't imagine they had much else to do while at a naval base in Wisconsin.

      _____________
      It was just a joke, please don't hurt me.

      --

      _____

      Thank you.

  10. Re:Ugh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I wish I had your mother. Mine was "progressive" and just let me go ahead and play. Now my soul belongs to Mephistopheles and I can look forward to an eternity in boiling excrement.

  11. Re:Congrats! by Analogy+Man · · Score: 5, Funny

    Isn't yours the 4" one handed sword?...and haven't you been playing with it enough already?

    --
    When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.
  12. Re:House rules? by Dark+Lord+Seth · · Score: 5, Funny
    If they players are abusing the rules, nerf them!

    Not only is it fun to retaliate on abusive players, it's also fun to get back at players who use annoying, stupid and or nonsensical rules. Or, players who are generally idiots.

    Ingham: I summon a mindflayer and order it to use psionics against the enemy.
    DM: A red dragon eats you.

    Adellon: I cast "Hold Person" on Illandria and grope her breast!
    Illandria: HEY!
    DM: A red dragon rapes you.

    Illandria: What? My attack missed!?
    DM: Yes.
    Illandria: You just said that because I'm a girl!
    DM: A female red dragon kicks your ass.

    Suffice to say, dragon rock as plot elements.

  13. Karma Whore by handy_vandal · · Score: 5, Funny

    Another trait of geeks is obsessive hairsplitting. I mean my god, man.

    Who cares about the obsessive hairsplitting? The important thing is the successful karma whoring.

    -kgj

    --
    -kgj
  14. Re:Logic, Logic -- Who's Got the Logic? by Uncle+Gropey · · Score: 5, Funny

    Are you sure? The act of observing disturbs the observed. Until you have looked, you must consider D&D to be both 30 and not 30.

  15. here, have this -1 cursed post... by samhalliday · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...of no content.

  16. Re:Borrowed very, very heavily by Tackhead · · Score: 5, Funny
    > D&D takes a *lot* from Tolkien. This shouldn't be all that shocking -- Tolkien's stated goal with LOTR and middle earth was to create a sort of modern mythology, and he did so sucessfully.

    And sometimes, D&D gives back:

    ~wavylines~

    "A balrog!" Gandalf rasped. "I might have known!"

    Pippin hauled out his well-worn copy of the Monstrous Manual, while Merry peeked over his shoulder. "I don't see 'Balrog' listed in the index anywhere."

    "Of course not, foolish Took," the high-level mage chided him. "The copyright to the 'Balrog' name is owned by the Tolkien estate. Gygax had to call it 'Balor' or a 'Type VI demon' when he put the MM together."

    Merry quickly thumbed to the Demon section, only to recall that in 2nd Edition, "Demons" and "Devils" had been renamed Baatezu and Tanar'ri, although he never could remember which was which. He cursed the Fundamentalist Christian parents' groups who had threatened to boycott TSR for creating a "demonic" game, and which had forced that particularly stupid name-change upon them. Finally, though, he located "Balor" in the Tanar'ri section, grateful that they weren't among the discontinued demon listings like Orcus and Demogorgon.

    "They're only 13 hit dice," Merry dutifully reported, "But they can cast dispel magic every round at 20th level, so watch yourself, Gandalf!"

    "That also do 4d8 damage if they make a to-hit roll with their whip and drag you close to their bodies," Gimli noted. "I'm outta here!" He turned and ran at his full movement rate of 9 (12 if he wasn't wearing armor).

    "Leave him to me," the mage intoned. "They're worth 46,000 experience points apiece, and if I kill him by myself, I get *all* of those points!" He strode toward the Balr-- er, Balor, and blocked the 10-foot-wide corridor leading out of the room. "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!!!"

    LOTR as written by others - as a D&D novel.

  17. Remember when D&D was BAD? by Jethro · · Score: 5, Funny

    Anyone remember when mainstream thought D&D was evil and was corrupting our young minds? Apparently anyone who played it couldn't tell the difference between Fantasy and Reality and ended up killing themselves.

    My father (by chance a paranoid hypocondriac) read or heard one such article. This is when I was 18, and not living with him, which of course made him even MORE worried. He tried to sit me down and discourage me from my Evil Ways, and said that he read an article where someone said that people who play D&D can't tell fantasy from reality.

    I told him that that's nonsense, and if I ever see the person who wrote that article I'd cast a fireball at them.

    So he tried to get me into counselling.

    Oh, did I mention my dad has NO sense of humour?

    --


    In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is kinky.
  18. Re:Some classic Christian D&D FUD by mojotooth · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've seen theologists write PhD thesis'

    Holy CRAP you need to get out more.

    --
    -- Mojo Tooth : exploring our world as only an idiot can.
  19. As a representative ... by burgburgburg · · Score: 5, Funny

    of Mephistopheles, I'd like to point out that the excrement is kept boiling due to Federal regulations. I'd also like to point out that the AC will not, in fact, be spending all eternity in the boiling excrement. Every 10 years, the vats of excrement are switched out. During the 15 minutes that this procedure involves, the AC (and all similar clients) will be kept in a pit of superheated beaver vomit. Again, this is the mandated Federal procedure.

    1. Re:As a representative ... by Ubergrendle · · Score: 4, Funny

      Just because you have all the lawyers doesn't mean you have to talk like them.

      --
      John Maynard Keynes: "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do?"
  20. Top 35 Similarities between RPG'ing and pron by jcayer · · Score: 5, Funny

    1. The typical customer is male, unattractive, and socially handicapped
    2. Both are frequently enjoyed in dark basements
    3. The size of your collection is obscene
    4. It's not a good idea to talk about either on a first date
    5. Both revolve around fantasy and obtaining the unobtainable
    6. The artwork depicts images impossible in the real world
    7. When purchasing either in a store, you always ask for a bag
    8. It may be fun to make your own at home, but rarely turns out as good as the professionally produced stuff
    9. If you saw a woman buying either, you'd probably want to ask her out
    10. Extra excitement can be added with the use of props and / or costumes
    11. Low quality versions of both can be found for free on the Internet
    12. Countless Usenet groups are dedicated to both
    13. In either case, a gang of heavily-muscled men in leather with whips spells trouble
    14. Everyone uses a silly, made-up name
    15. It is not uncommon for participants to assume the opposite gender
    16. Both are frowned upon by the conservative right
    17. You usually take interest in both around age 13
    18. New purchases are usually looked at once, then put on the shelf
    19. The best and worst examples of each was produced in the '70s
    20. The German versions of each are the most bizarre
    21. Both are plagued with bad dialogue
    22. You usually spend a lot more time enjoying each alone than with a group of friends
    23. Everyone's called in to work sick at least once to stay home and enjoy one or the other
    24. Both make excellent bathroom reading
    25. There's always a big finish when you get to fire your gun
    26. Hollywood's attempts to mainstream both have been largely unsuccessful
    27. The hero's prized possession is his big, black gun
    28. Plots are often present only to serve the action scenes
    29. The story can be set anywhere from spaceships to dungeons
    30. While the person directing the action is usually blamed for a bad experience, it's usually the fault of poor writing
    31. Characters can have either high APPEARANCE or STAMINA, but rarely both
    32. You can tell the climax is imminent when the characters start screaming
    33. Candles and music enhance the mood
    34. You can meet your favorite B-list stars at the annual convention
    35. One word: Dwarves

  21. Re:D&D spawns STDs! No! Really! by ultramk · · Score: 4, Funny

    I don't know... I imagine D&D has done more to prevent the spread of STDs then anything in history...

    m-

    --
    You catch enchiladas by picking them up behind the head and holding them underwater until they don't kick anymore -VeGas
  22. Check the source code, and roll for initiative! by dexter+riley · · Score: 5, Funny

    you can not get Array out of Bounds errors on pen and paper D&D

    You enter a 10 x 10 array. You see a Null Pointer Exception guarding an Object of type Chest. What do you do?

  23. What everyone else does by empaler · · Score: 5, Funny

    Whine that it's all MS's fault and reboot.