Why We Play - PADnD Article Discussion

[Cole]

"Why We Play" is the first of many new role-playing articles presented by greenknight and the staff of PADnD. Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments here about this topic.

The main article can be found here;

http://www.padnd.com/whyweplay.php

[Athenius]

So no one has taken to this yet? Incredible. I'll go for it then.

I think the reasons people would want to play were pretty well described in the article itself. It is a good escape from the everyday drab of life. When things seem too ordinary and boring, you can always spice it up with a little roleplaying. And depending on your mood, as a DM, it can be deathly serious, or utterly rediculous, or any combination in between, maybe even in the same session.
Playing, and running a game such as D&D encourages the use of intellect and free thinking. Everyone knows that some games have been worthing of being printed as a book. So in many aspects, playing D&D might even be considered healthy for a persons mind. Puzzles, storytelling, resourcefulness, abstract and concrete thought, planning, strategy, the list goes on and on. And excorcising your brain is always a good thing.

People like a challenge, and they like it even more when they overcome the challenge. It gives a kind of pride to a person when they accomplish something they knew would be difficult.

Myself. I would have to say I play for most of the reasons anyone could mention here. It is a good escape. I like being creative. I like being challenged from time to time. I love it when a group of people can use genuine teamwork to accomplish something that could'nt have been reached any other way. In a game of D&D, with a good DM, every member of that party can be an asset to the others, and be respected for it, just as a group of friends should be.

Most of all I guess, given the large combination of reasons I like the game, I think its fun. Go places that dont exist, see things that will never be, and do things that you cant do in real life. Find fame and fortune, power and notoriety, magic and comraderie like nothing you'll ever see in this world. And have fun doing it! Who would pass up such a thing?

[Tempest]

You know, I originally started playing DnD back in second edition, and the only real reason was that I fell in with a group of boy scouts in high school who played. When the dungeon master for the group graduated, I ended up being drafted to fill his role. I've been running games ever since then.

Growing up, I always loved books. I loved how reading could transport me to somewhere marvelous. Watching movies did the same thing. There goes William Wallace, riding down the lines of his Scottish army, inspiring them to courage. See the gladiator as he is lifted from the field of battle by the collective hands of Rome. Watch out Ripley, the alien is on your escape pod!

I think for me, the best part about role playing games is easy to sum up. I'm William Wallace. I fight for Rome as the gladiator. And I match wits with an alien in deep space. Not only that, but the story isn't pre-programed, and the same every time I watch it. Its free flowing based on my actions, and the actions of the other players around me. Thats why I love role playing games. Unlike any other imaginative medium, unlike video games, movies, or books, this medium has the grandest possibilities, its only limited by what your mind can dream up.

[Jenara]

One word: Escape.

Why be you when you can be anyone, what was the old TSR tag line "Products of your imagination"???

I've played most games, hell I even had a back story for my Ultramarines... We all have constraints, things we will never achieve, but in games there are no limits.

I've been playing since the late 80's, bought my first players handbook (that became so old and tattered I was thankful the Black Covers came out).

You play because its fun, because you get together with people you don't always agree with and sometimes throw dice at, but that rag tag group almost represents an adventuring group itself.

Thats just me.... what does it mean to you

[Aresdestroyer]

i believe we play for that sense of excitement of whats around the next corner, a beast of some sort? something so different only the greatest of imaginations can comprehend? I also agree with jenara, role playing takes you away from your hectic or sometimes stressful life. It is a very relaxing pasttime, until your told to make a save against something you don't know about, WHILE the DM is grinning evily

[Lukafio]

You can also now see the same article here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/PADnD-The ... nfo&ref=mf

[Rune]

I play dungeons and dragons for so many reasons.

First , and most importantly ... the people I play with. I love being together as a group and doing something productive and social. All people do these days is sit in front of a computer click click click or text message and watch tv. I love opening my mind and thinking behind our limiting boundries , I love having the ability to make my own "t.v" show with my imagination.

I can create worlds , entire civilizations and their histories , I can destroy these worlds or I can watch them flourish and take shape with people I love. I am free to express who I could be , or what I could be , and it allows me to explore who I am far better than the common activities other people do.

I am smarter, far more imaginitive and creative, better trouble-shooting and problem solving , far more well rounded and far more aware of who I am and what I dream of , Thanks to dungeons and dragons.

[glossop]

I think i would go insane if i didnt let all these ideas out of my head somehow....!

For me.gaming -. Friends.. good friends and thankfully long time friends,

For me as a DM - The challenge.. Make it engaging intriguing interesting
deadly and difficult but fun for everyone. Never happier when I can see
the players are all hooked and loving it..!. Unless it's when i'm in plotting mode

..eerm yes I do like plotting...you know.. playing out ambush combat
possibiilities or secret door riddles in your head instead of listening to the bosses speach sort
of thing.. aarh Its a lovely place to drift off too this world of fantasy we
create for ourselves.

Stirring the imagination and switching off the real world brain for a while
is a great release and a great battery recharge as one of my players says.

And it sure beats trying to find something good on tv...!

[Shao Khan]

We play to escape reality. Maybe take out some aggression and split some wigs or do things we can't accomplish in reality. That's why no one wants to hear about RL drama like hospitals or dead babies and shit.

I belong to sites that say "NO DRAMA" and I know why.

[Cole]

Anyone else have some thoughts on this?

[rredmond]

I definitely enjoy the comraderie as well as the nostalgia of playing AD&D 1E.

I have to re read the article. Also good to know there's a Facebook page!

--Ron--

[Halaster-Blackcloak]

I agree with the article totally. For me, what makes pen and paper AD&D so superior to video games is that it's a social interaction with real people. Nothing beats laughing and yelling and whooping it up with friends in a real world situation. The excitement is shared, the thrills and challenges are shared. It's not an impersonal computer simulation. It's also more flexible, more creative, more challenging and more interesting than a computer or video game. More options. More fun.

[namenlos]

I play D&D because whenever I play a video game with fancy graphics the story is usually lacking. I always run into a door, or alleyway, etc. that I cannot enter or a person I cannot talk to(plus the conversation limits). Another reason is that my "mind graphics" usually blow a games out of the water... Reality is so limiting