Slashdot Mirror
Dungeons and Dragons Game Day Next Weekend
Thanks to Wizards.com for the information on next week's Worldwide D&D Game Day, celebrating the game's 30th Anniversary. "Saturday, October 16, 2004, participating game stores will present two adventures well stocked with hapless monsters to slay. Bring some friends to adventure with or meet some new gaming buddies at the event. The mini adventure, Lair or the Mad Alchemist, provides a great introduction to D&D, while The Forgotten Forge offers the thrill of a full-scale adventure set in the exciting new world of Eberron." If you're interested, here's a handy list of participating stores.
D&D, like all form of recreation, appeal to some people and not to others. I've played D&D with people who went on to become scientists, graphics designers, special forces soldiers, animal trainers, writers, musicians, security experts, & ministers, among other things.
I've played with punk rockers, fundamental Christians, hippies, bookworms, anarchists, stoners, jocks, Wiccans, conformists, non-conformists, assholes, Bhuddists, & Joe-Sixpack kinds of guys & girls.
At its best it can be like live improvisational theater, a source of plesant memories among friends for years to come, and a way to build social ties among groups of people who might normally hang out with each other.
Sure, you can make the stereotypical jokes about the insecure, pimply-faced nerds who kill thier parents in the night in order to gain some "magic treasure", but in my experience, a large majority of D&D players are down-to-earth "normal" folks, who enjoy engaging their imaginations with some creative fantasy from time to time. Kinda like reading a book, only more immersive.
I just came back from a game of D&D, and I'm not a broken down fool, I am a happy geek.
Sounds like you never had a good GM or group to be in.
Are you stupid, ignorant or just seriously lacking in anything remotely related to insight? Why are people so fascinated with movies? Why are people so fascinated with books? Maybe they've all got retarded imaginations. Why are people so fascinated with sports? Maybe it's because they're so fat and unathletic. Seriously, man, think before you speak. D&RPGs are a hobby like any other. Sure, there's people that are a bit too obsessed, but I'm sure a much greater percentage of sports fans could quote the statistics of 20 years worth of players in football, baseball and basketball than there are RPGers who could even tell you the names of all the monsters in the most recent Monster Manual, never mind their statistics.
I am still surpised at the number of people who automatically associate D&D with the "lesser half" shall we say, of society. RPG'ing is an experience rich in entertainment value, as well as being beneficial for energizing youth's imagination. This is one area where Pen & Paper games surpass their video counterparts without much argument. And dont overlook the educational value. A good friend of mine is enrolled in a Senior HS level class that is requiring it's students to create scenarios and scripts for mini campaigns. Even the people in the class who would never pick up dice are excited about the project - and I can guarentee that there will be some excellent Ideas and creative thinking associated with the project. Congrats on the anniversary, and here's to another year of D20 fun!
Physics is nothing like religion. If it was, we'd have an easier time trying to raise money!
Make sure you pack some extra rubbers if you're heading to one of these events. They're poontang magnets.
WotC's stores could have really helped push RPGs toward the mainstream. They had great locations, yuppie-friendly decor, large floorplans, etc.
Instead, they put all the RPGs in the back corner, which was sometimes out of view of the entrance. In the early days, computer games (and computers to play them on!) had more shelf space than WotC's own products. Pretty much everyone I knew said the stores were thought up by designers who "just didn't get it".
The closure of WotC's stores (combined with dropping all other games a couple years earlier) probably set gaming back 5-10 years. A lot of stores either closed or stopped carrying RPGs because of WotC.
Here's a better link for Worldwide DnD Gameday:
0 722x
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/2004