How has D&D affected your life

[Crasez58]

Ok guys I am writing a paper for my English class and I need your stories. I am trying to show that playing RPGs can be good for people from an imaginative escape to becoming more social. Any help is appreciated and I will give you full credit for your stories I'll let you all read before turning it in to make sure you are ok with me using you

How has dungeons and dragons affected your life?

[eliana]

In a few words...

Being Polish/Chinese... It enabled me to meet new friends an adapted to a new country(quebec, canada) and I also learned two new languages (french and english).

RPGs had very positive effect with my social anxiety issues that I kept battleling for years and it is getting better and better!

Éli,

[Crasez58]

In a few words...

Being Polish/Chinese... It enabled me to meet new friends an adapted to a new country(quebec, canada) and I also learned two new languages (french and english).

RPGs had very positive effect with my social anxiety issues that I kept battleling for years and it is getting better and better!

Éli,

I know what you mean with the positive effect on social anxiety I have always been shy but when I play It doesn't really bother me

Thank you for sharing

[Brightmantle]

Well, I hope this helps.
My family has a weekly " Family night" Fridays. Every Friday we get together and play D&D for quality time. We expanded our group to include our neighbors to widen his social circle and make friends with the neighbors son. The kid next door has adhd as does my son. Yes clinically not just hyper. So the two kids are learning to interact, develop empathy for one another, and better understand what the themselves go through with this. He was lonely and often withdrawn as he is kind of a spaz but this helps to fill the need for a pal and bring both boys out of their shells. My son has actually joined school sports this year (track and field) and expanded his social circle because he's more comfortable in his skin. It's interesting and heart warming to see the boys accept one another, and tolerate each others social and sometimes behavioral problems. They have sort of a touch stone to their own malady through one another. My son actually runs his own AD&D game now and I and my wife play as his p.c.'s. He's definitely overcoming his shyness and self consciousness about having adhd, and he's coming out of his awkward phase. He also better navigates social interaction and is doing well in school. Before he felt so much anxiety about it that he avoided all but surface relationships. He even has had a girlfriend now and I attribute that to an increase in his confidence in himself. He's a good kid, and always has been and he is beginning to come to a place of peace in who he is. I submit this post with his approval as he hopes other people can relate to this and enjoy the hobby as they grow as people the way he did and still is.
Me, I love this game. I love my son. It was only natural to introduce him to gaming at age 10. I didn't expect him to be effected so, just to share in all the fun and wonder I have had over the last 26 years.

[Cole]

Well, obviously it's effected my life tremendously. As you can see by the passion I have in a whole for the game. This site, hundreds of friends, travel and much more. I simply can't fit everything D&D has done for me in a simple posting. So I will do some high-lights in point form;

• Started playing at age 9 (1984)
  
  Won a large local tournament to be titled as "the next Dungeon Master" at age 12.
  
  1989 Began creation of Vastonia (the second incantation of my original planned world) at age 14.
  
  Met and played with most of my closest friends over those tender years as a teen (still my closest friends to this day).
  
  Created Vastonia's website in 1998 and consolidated it with the Dark Library in 2000 to give birth to PlanetADnD.com
  
  1999 begin work on my own RPG known as Warfare.
  
  Went to Gen Con in 2000 and met a long time internet friend Don who I helped work on the Dungeons & Dragons Movie official fan website with. Met most of the actors, had a great time and later met my boyhood idols Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, shared stories with both of them. Sat in on my first 3E game session. Later Gary invited myself and girlfriend to his private penthouse for drinks and more D&D stories.
  
  In 2002 PlanetADnD took on a whole new incantation and simply took over the D&D internet world. With over 4.3 million users a year, the site was booming, cash ads were making me a decent living while sponsoring WotC's new brand.
  
  By 2003 PlanetADnD became simply PADnD (named by the fans) and later that year ran into many hosting problems and financial problems as multiple hosts promised they could handle the traffic and content, yet failed to do so. These became the dark years of PADnD.com and I was eventually forced to shut the site down for over a year. I received 100's of emails from fans to try and get the site back up and running during these times but it just wasn't possible. Even more hate mail followed as fans grew to blame me for the sites downfall.
  
  In 2005, I finally found a host that could handle the fans that were left. Most fled to other sites, while others simply disappeared completely. We restored what we could, but limited downloads and interactive games as I was not sure the server could handle them all and risked closing the site again.
  
  2007 spawned new problems and challenges and we finally moved to our current host and have had no problems since. The site is beginning to grow again and we receive over 800k views this year.
  
  By 2008 the site is pretty much running perfectly. I've stabilized my career online and off and get married to a new gal I met only 6 months prior. She's not into D&D, but she supports my dreams and allows me to financially secure the website and the domain for the future generations of D&D fans.
  
  2013, the wait is finally over and I have again found a good group of local players, of various ages. A new world is born and Vastonia is put to into the archives. The realm of Arkuth is presented online and off to my new players.
  
  2014, with a group of loyal fans, several of which truly inspire the old me to poke through. PADnD.com spouts new wings, takes on the look of old and reintroduces several online games, our entire DB of downloads again, a flourishing gaming forum and much more.

D&D still inspires me over 30 years later. I have met countless players, have run countless games in multiple countries and provinces. D&D encouraged me to travel the world. I have been to Europe and toured several castles, heard the legends and seen medieval artifacts, weaponry and clothing first hand.

I collect D&D items of all sorts, have hundreds of modules, books and figurines mostly packed away in my own dungeon.

I have fought through Christian's banning their kids (some of my best friends) from my home because they think D&D is the game of Satan. I have lost loved ones because of this game. I have been threatened with law suits because of this site and it's content and/or fans. I have received thousands of hate mails, poor me stories and plenty of calls concerning fans and their trails in life. Have spoken publicly about D&D, have gone to conventions to share my thoughts with others and much more.

I have gained new friends over the internet, have seen places I never would have without these friends.

Shared drinks with D&D's finest, created 3 worlds and 2 RPGs of my own because of D&D.

I am now 39 years old, have a wonderful family, a beautiful home, all the toys a man could want and I live in the most beautiful place on earth.

My life was forged by D&D and I'm DAM proud of it!

[Crasez58]

BM: can I ask how old your son is now. Sorry if I am misinformed about ADHD, but has he been able to stay focused on the game as he has gotten older? If you would care to take this to pm that is fine I'm just fascinated at the use of D&D as a tool for therapy(I truly don't mean anything bad about this I would like to hear more though)

Cole: wow it's awesome to see someone who (for lack of a better term) live their dream and follow their passion thank you for sharing

All of these stories truly paint a wonderful picture of D&D and the gaming community in general. Thank you all and keep them coming

[Brightmantle]

BM: can I ask how old your son is now. Sorry if I am misinformed about ADHD, but has he been able to stay focused on the game as he has gotten older? If you would care to take this to pm that is fine I'm just fascinated at the use of D&D as a tool for therapy(I truly don't mean anything bad about this I would like to hear more though)

Cole: wow it's awesome to see someone who (for lack of a better term) live their dream and follow their passion thank you for sharing

All of these stories truly paint a wonderful picture of D&D and the gaming community in general. Thank you all and keep them coming

No offence taken bud. My son is almost 15 now. He began playing at age 10. As far as his focus on the game goes- Yes he is able to concentrate and he's actually a good D.M. ADHD affects the brain in such a way that he actually goes through the process of thought much faster than the average person. He is just a whiz kid at Games in general because of this. Especially video games which he just dominates at . He's also very smart he can do well in school with less effort than you or I because he can out think us and learn the concepts much faster, the issue he would have would be sitting down to actually study the material, he loses interest and "wings it" instead and passes with a B- and we study and get a B. The medication he takes actually slows his brain activity just a tick so he can concentrate rather than quickly switch gears. For people with ADHD stimulants that would speed us up like caffeine actually have the opposite effect. He's completely normal other than this and will live a normal adult life. When he fails to take his meds he is giddy, goofy, and forgets detail oriented tasks. Many people live their whole life with this and never even know they have it. He was tested my his pediatrician after he showed clear signs of ADHD and began to have trouble in school both with study habits and difficulty socially because of the frustration he was dealing with trying to communicate in meaningful ways with his peers. The test for ADHD is Called the TOVA test in case you want to research it. He is doing much better now that he's in his teens. My son is a good hearted, smart, and funny guy who is sure to do great things in this life. D&D sure has helped him to learn to socialize, harness creativity, exercise tolerance, and even take ownership over his ability to tell as story, and stay on task. This game has never done anything but good for him. One thing though -he can talk your ear off.

[Crasez58]

hmm all of this is very interesting to me can i use all of you guys to write my paper? i will give credit where due or not if you would prefer not

since i am asking you all your stories i guess i should share my own:

I started playing when i was about 12 or so playing with my cousins on weekends when we were all at our grandparents we saved pennies and bought a set of 3e books. we still play occasionally it has kept us from drifting apart like some families.
Another way D&D helped me was it provided an escape and still does a little. When i was 17 my mother died and it took me by complete surprise. I didn't really know how to deal with my grief( call it what you want) and ended up being diagnosed with major depression. Dungeons and Dragons helped me work through alot of my problems by providing an outlet and an escape (the thread gar made a few weeks ago about treating a player differently due to out of game situations came to mind i just dont normally share stuff). For me it was therapy and helped me get out of the rut i was stuck in. five years later i am perfectly fine no worse for wear. Sorry if my post got a little heavy i just thought i would share a little bit about my self and it all came pouring out.

[Brightmantle]

hmm all of this is very interesting to me can i use all of you guys to write my paper? i will give credit where due or not if you would prefer not

since i am asking you all your stories i guess i should share my own:

I started playing when i was about 12 or so playing with my cousins on weekends when we were all at our grandparents we saved pennies and bought a set of 3e books. we still play occasionally it has kept us from drifting apart like some families.
Another way D&D helped me was it provided an escape and still does a little. When i was 17 my mother died and it took me by complete surprise. I didn't really know how to deal with my grief( call it what you want) and ended up being diagnosed with major depression. Dungeons and Dragons helped me work through alot of my problems by providing an outlet and an escape (the thread gar made a few weeks ago about treating a player differently due to out of game situations came to mind i just dont normally share stuff). For me it was therapy and helped me get out of the rut i was stuck in. five years later i am perfectly fine no worse for wear. Sorry if my post got a little heavy i just thought i would share a little bit about my self and it all came pouring out.

Ya, I can relate. My Dad died of cancer when my son was 10 and my daughter was 1. Rough experience for the family. It was also when we found out he (son) had the disorder. That was a bad year. I give you props for having the nuts to mention that man. As you wrote D&D helped to provide an escape for me and my family to help to work through that rough time. " respect bro".

[Crasez58]

thank you its a pretty hard thing for me to talk about.

[Brightmantle]

Oh, I posted the story so you could use it. I payed a high price (persecution) to play this game and will do all I can to see it painted in the light it deserves.

[Crasez58]

Will do ill post it here after i have written it

[doomer]

I started playing in 1982, at age 10. I wanted to be DM, and convinced my friends to play. Being DM let me make my own stories, and develop an art for storytelling. I also learned how to teach people. I has to explain the rules to new players of different ages/levels of education and it taught me how to tailor an explanation to a target audience. My high school group remain my closest friends to this day. We had a girl in our high school group and I wound up marrying her, and have 4kids. D&D literally made me who I am today. My wife /kids wouldn't have been without it. I work as an engineer, and have had to train new engineers. Those same skills of learning to tailor my teaching to my audience, get used on the job every day. I have started playing with my kids to get them some of the same experience.

[Roxoff]

D&D has not just affected my life, it's been an integral part of it for some thirty years. Through playing games like this I've made friendships that have lasted all that time, and with some of those guys we still play D&D together.

I even met my first wife at the games table, so it's not all roses and happy endings. What a fuck up that was. And I've met some right shysters at the games table over the years, some I've ended up being friends with which didn't turn out too good.

D&D, for me, is like every other walk of life - it's packed with all kinds of people. The thing about playing the game, though, is that you get to see right under the skin. As a DM, if you're any good, you get to look right into their darkest fears and brightest joys. Dammit, you deliver it regularly enough.

[Crasez58]

You guys (especially bright) are gonna be my final paper in English thanks for the help