10 Business Lessons I Learned From Playing D&D

Esther Schindler writes "Those hours you spent rolling dice in your youth weren't wasted according to my 10 Business Lessons I Learned from Playing Dungeons & Dragons. Playing fantasy role playing games did more than teach the rules of combat or proper behavior in a dragon's lair. D&D can instruct you in several skills that can help your career. Such as: 'One spell, used well, can be more powerful than an entire book full of spells' and 'It's better to out-smart an orc than to fight one.'" What other wisdom have you gained from your time sequestered with various RPGs?

Comments

Real Life

[sopssa]

To be honest, this seems a lot like just made to work out from D&D. These are pretty much general principles in life that apply everywhere, and hence its not a surprise that they apply in *roleplaying* games aswell.

If you take it further, the same general principles that also works in business also works with women, or for that matter, any stuff. This can be something along the lines "dont be afraid to be yourself and be convinent when saying your say, because it works a lot better". It works the same way in RPG's, real life, women, business and for that matter in everything. Its just general human philosophy.

Like said, RPG games tend to reflect real life a lot. You just take different character. That's why the stuff is pretty much the same.

Re:Real Life

[Feyshtey]

Or maybe the author was just having a little light-hearted fun for fun's sake. Kinda like when you play an RPG.

Something I learned from D&D : Just because the NPC has 10 minutes of prepared dialogue doesn't mean that the NPC actually has anything of interest to say. Maybe he's just wasting your time. And maybe he's doing it on purpose...

Re:Real Life

[2names]

I learned that you NEVER, NEVER, NEVER try to put a Portable Hole into a Bag of Holding...

Re:Real Life

[prefec2]

I would say people act braver in RPG than in real life, because most of the stuff you can do in a game is beyond your normal capabilities. And even more important: If you die you can start all over. Beside a depression that your character died, nothing of consequence happens. IRL you have to face the real consequences. If you trick your chef or a customer, this will come back to you. And all behavior patterns (protocols in certain situations) can be learned IRL even better than in RPGs. This is because RPGs are only a model of a world, which is beside some fancy features as dull as the real one, but only a model. The real thing is much more complex, and challenging, and rewarding. Think of it: You collect 1000000 of currency X in game. However, IRL using the same time to collect 100000 $/EUR/Pound would be more rewarding. And think of real relationships vs. RPG-relationships.

What I learned

[nizo]

What other wisdom have you gained from your time sequestered with various RPGs?

D&D: the more you played the less likely you were to get laid.

(Queue up the, "but I only gamed with hot vixens back in high school!" responses)

Oh and I also learned that playing D&D makes you sarcastic and bitter.

Re:What I learned

[sbeckstead]

Not getting laid makes you sarcastic and bitter, playing D&D is just a bonus.

Re:What I learned

[OctaviusIII]

Can't say I ever played with vixens (at least, none that were single), but I can say that I was seduced by a D&D playing siren.

Actually, D&D taught me how to interact with my fellow males. I'd largely forgotten in high school, and my college years were significantly richer for the extremely intelligent, down-to-earth and wise people I had around the gaming table.

Oblig. "Jose Chung's From Outer Space" quote

[elrous0]

Well, I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons and not learn a little something about courage.

Smaller does not mean less dangerous

[Clueless Moron]

Stepping on a d4 hurts a hell of a lot more than stepping on a d20.

Re:Smaller does not mean less dangerous

[omris]

D4: the caltrop of the dice world.

Not always applicable!!

[rts008]

What other wisdom have you gained from your time sequestered with various RPGs?

Always loot the corpse!

I learned all about Tedium and Red Tape

[dmomo]

In a dungeon, I just wanna pull out my Dwarf's Double Blade Axe, lop the head off a goblin and escape with the gold. At work, I just wanna go into the php file, remove the fucking ampersand, roll it out and go home. Either one however, requires sign-off and verification from multiple parties.

They'll try telling you that you "can't do that without creating a subversion branch first". Or "You can't do that without a level 6 Ring of Hurt".

Either way, you're better off just going to Home Depot, buying a real axe and running down all the goblins that stand in your way.

Everything I really needed to know re: Real Life

[Geoffrey.landis]

These are pretty much general principles in life that apply everywhere....

Sure. Just like, "Everything I really needed to know about life I learned from playing Tetris"

Re:Wisdom?

[Feyshtey]

As are assumptions. For instance, assuming that D&D is a video game.

Re:Rolling the dice

[decipher_saint]

I knew a few players who were just in it for the game mechanics and they got bored with it too. If you're playing an RPG correctly that number crunching system is merely the "how" and not the "why".

I mean, the last group of players I was playing with weren't optimizing statisticians, they were people who wanted to contribute to a great story and have some fun in the process. We had more than one session where dice weren't rolled at all, or if they were it was out of combat.

That's role playing.

Real lessons from gaming.

[Animats]

1. The little people are expendable. If you have to kill or lose a few thousand orcs or zombies, no prob. It's the major characters that matter.
2. When in doubt, kill it. There are no noncombatants.
3. The purpose of life is to acquire power. Self-explanatory.
4. Having a thief around to steal from the little people is a useful asset. Grinding is for losers.
5. The most aggressive player runs things. Just like high school.

This is a losing strategy in real life, or even real war. (Roman saying: "The legion is not composed of heroes. Heroes are what the legion kills.")

How to Barter !

[cbelt3]

Seriously. Growing up in the US suburbs, the concept of 'bartering' is foreign, and considered impolite at best, and offensive at worst, to the point where you will be banned from a shop for it. Fast forward a decade after my D&D experience and I found myself alone for half a year in a middle eastern country. And shopping in the bazaar for supplies. Almost immediately the bartering skillset I had learned playing D&D for the better part of five years raced to the forefront. While spells and armor were not available (but automatic weapons were) , I still made out just fine, and never had to roll the D20 I kept in my pocket. Yes, I still have that talisman some 30 years later, it's a useful decision making tool.

Landscape construction, of course...

[(H)elix1]

*I* know what a gazebo is.

Re:Rolling the dice

[fishbowl]

"Other than the content background which I can get from reading novels, playing RPG's is about as exciting as moving numbers around a spreadsheet."

Because you said "reading novels" and not "writing novels", it's pretty clear why you don't get it.