Poll: Should I play D&D?

[SharPhoe]

If you have a group of friends who will play, a schedule that will allow for all of you to consistently get together, and an imagination, it's awesome.

The last one is the most important part. If you don't have an imagination, it will be harder. Make sure your DM has an imagination. (Also, if possible, get a DM who has played D&D before. Makes everything go more smoothly)

This is actually grand advice. I know very little about the rule set of D&D, so I'm constantly having to ask questions. Luckily, all of my friends are knowledgeable about these things, so I usually get a quick answer, and the fun continues.

 

[UltimatheChosen]

It takes a while to get into D&D. Unlike many games, it's fairly difficult to jump right in and learn as you go. However, if you can find a good, patient group, you'll learn fairly quickly.

 

[dstryfe]

I say yes, but...there are two amendments I have for that.

First, play with a group of friends who won't take the game too seriously. There's no bigger kill-joy than a rules nazi...especially considering the multitude of rules D&D is based on.

Secondly (and this is almost as big as the first point), you might not want to invest too much into 4th edition. It strikes me as a effort to compete with WoW, which has dumbed the system down a bit...and turned it into a miniatures-reliant game. I liked 3.5 better, despite the numerous flaws it had.

Finally, as an anecdote, my group has always been pretty evil. While I was DMing, the PCs stumbled upon a hoard of gems (among other things), and sold them off to a vendor, from whom they got roughly a quarter of the gems' worth. Not realizing they had been ripped off, they went about their business, but by the next day, talk around town was that some adventurers had been chinsed out of money to help rebuild the town. Furious, they went back to the vendor (a jeweller, as it were), and quickly killed him, drafted fake writs of ownership, and took up the business as their own. They reduced the prices by a third, finding that they still turned a profit, and the assassin of the group began systematically killing off those who questioned their ownership of the store, and their chief competitors in town (this was a trade hub, so there were multiple jewellers in town). The paladin, who by now had become a blackguard (i.e. lost his holy...ness), ran the store front, whilst the wizard busied herself with keeping up appearances, and the rogue (not to be confused with the assassin) dealt with security issues, and trade partners. This life constituted much of the campaign, but eventually they were discoved to be mass-murderers, and were run out of town (barely surviving), with a paladin who had previously looked up to them serving as a new recurring villain.

While this is by no means a funny anecdote, I hope it served to show the system's versatility. It's not all about hacking down monsters.

 

[Crimoire]

I'd recommend trying it at least once.

It spurs the imagination, is a great outlet for said imagination, and allows players to engage situations in as many ways as they'd like, such as with diplomacy or sword diplomacy. The roleplaying aspects make for amusing game sessions, and if your players aren't as into it at the start, slowly introduce them into it. They will flesh out their characters and will become more comfortable.

In addition, D&D game day, sponsored by WotC, is coming up on May 23, where they demo a campaign to players and hand out some goodies. I'd recommend it if you're looking to learn, locations can be found on their site.

 

[MrNades]

I say yea. Me and my friends play and have fun with it, just don't go completely serious. We just play it and hang out, and you can have a lot of fun in the game. Just give it a try with some friends.

All Hail the Ale Whale!!

 

[Alex_P]

Alex_P will be along at any moment, I sense, to recommend 3:16 Carnage Among the Stars, which I just picked up and actually think will be a lot of fun with the right people.

I do, indeed, love the hell out of that game. It is a thing of beauty like so few others. But you beat me to the punch. So, here's something else...

Go grab Lady Blackbird [http://www.onesevendesign.com/ladyblackbird/]! It's free and it's absolutely glorious -- some of the most elegant ideas from the last half-decade of indie RPG design distilled into a nifty little nine-page thing that you can just pick up and play right now. I can't wait for this to turn into a nice, short book.

-- Alex

 

[NeutralDrow]

With the right group of people (i.e. people who don't take the game too seriously, but aren't hyperdistracted idiots either) and the right DM (someone who know what they're doing...or at least can fake really well, if the group is laidback enough), absolutely try it out.

 

[quack35]

Yeah, dude. DnD is fun as hell.

 

[McClaud]

Alex_P will be along at any moment, I sense, to recommend 3:16 Carnage Among the Stars, which I just picked up and actually think will be a lot of fun with the right people.

I do, indeed, love the hell out of that game. It is a thing of beauty like so few others. But you beat me to the punch. So, here's something else...

Go grab Lady Blackbird [http://www.onesevendesign.com/ladyblackbird/]! It's free and it's absolutely glorious -- some of the most elegant ideas from the last half-decade of indie RPG design distilled into a nifty little nine-page thing that you can just pick up and play right now. I can't wait for this to turn into a nice, short book.

-- Alex

Stop feeding my filthy habit, you RPG pusher!

Aaaaarrrgh, now I have another game to absorb and read!

Make sure you have a rather skilled DM.

I can't stress that enough with the new edition. I found that the real fault in 4e is that if you want in-depth play, you have to have a skilled DM who understands how to take what little is given and give that depth. Flatly giving a paragraph about what to expect in an encounter with a few target numbers can make it hard for new DM's to come up with ways to add to it. Or to ad-lib it when players do something the module had no intention of them doing.

 

[About To Crash]

I've been a DM for about 5 years, and only now I'm learning how to not suck. So, I'd say play it, but be sure that you understand that to play it and have it feel like an epic fantasy world takes a time commitment from the players and the DM.

 

[Falconknight06]

I'm president of Ohio University's paper and pencil roleplaying game club. We have a blast playing but it does take a time commitment, but it is well worth it. You might want to do some research on 4th edition and 3.5 ed as they're very different systems. Just be sure to find a good group and you'll love it.