D&D has been around for a long time now, and it is the subject of its fair share of myths and misunderstandings. I feel it is my duty to debunk six of the more common myths right here, before your very eyes, using only this blog and the time I should be spending on my finals.
6. It's Antisocial
I may have
mentioned before that D&D is an inherently social game. Either you're playing with a group of friends or you're meeting new people by playing with them. D&D is basically the opposite of an antisocial activity; unlike, say, videogames, it forces you into social interaction. And if you really get into it, it forces you into
regular social interaction.
5. It's a Sausage Fest
Of the 33 people I have ever played D&D with, 14 of them were women. That's a little over 40%. In my
most recent campaign, four of the seven players were women, and in the one before that five of the six players were women. Now that might not be typical of
your gaming group, but I think it's probably more typical than many D&D players would think, and definitely more typical than the layman would assume. It's not a guy's club. Enjoyment of fantastic adventure is not a trait unique to the Y chromosome.
4. You Dress up and Talk in Funny Voices
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| RalfHuels (photographer), Anja Arenz, Chris Kunz, Dossmo, Niamh, Paolo Tratzky, Svenja Schoenmackers. via Wikipedia |
Nope. For the most part, you just wear normal clothes (a hilarious t-shirt) and talk in your normal voice (like unto the dulcet tones of Morgan Freeman). The GM might do voices for different characters, in the same way an audiobook reader might, but that is entirely up to the play-style of the DM. The people in the above picture are Live-Action Role Players (or LARPers), which is a whole different thing.
I doubt the average GM owns so much as a cape, and players need not don a single pointy hat in order to play their game.
3. You Have to Invest a Lot of Money in It
Don't get me wrong: you can totally spend a lot of money on D&D books and dice and accessories. That's what I do. But you don't have to. I've
talked before about getting started with D&D. All you really need to play is the Player's Handbook (or Core Rulebook for Pathfinder) and some dice. The GM needs a bit more than that, but it doesn't have to be much more. And there are loads of resources out there to help save you money in your quest to play D&D. If you want to play 3.5 Edition D&D, go to the
d20 SRD, which has all the open game content released by Wizards of the Coast, including most of the content of the Player's Handbook, the Dungeon Master's Guide, and the first Monster Manual. If you want to play Pathfinder, go to the
PFSRD, which has basically everything printed in all the Pathfinder books, plus a lot of 3rd party publishers' stuff. And if you are looking more additional content, the internet is full of all sorts of
awesome websites that give you
gaming advice,
new weapons, and even
homebrewed monsters!
2. It's Only for Nerds
Let me start off by saying that the word 'nerd' has lost practically all meaning by now. I mean, when someone can call themselves a 'sports nerd' with a straight face, the old 'jocks vs. nerds' mentality can no longer be considered relevant. But the 80s are not so far off that 'nerd' has lost all cultural resonance. You know what I mean - the stereotypical image of a D&D game is a group of people sitting around in a dark basement arguing about die rolls and Lord of the Rings canon. Again, I have to say that any world where Lord of the Rings and superhero movies can make billions of dollars is one where 'nerd' has lost all pejorative meaning. That being said, you don't have to play D&D in a basement (although I heartily encourage it). I would hazard a guess that - far more often - it is played around a dining room table. And you don't have to have read the Silmarillion or memorized the major and minor houses of Westeros to enjoy D&D.
Here is a comprehensive list of things you need to like to enjoy a game of D&D:
- Storytelling
- Adventure
- Hanging out with friends
- Imagination
[Fair warning: there is a tiny bit of math involved]
1. It Teaches You How to Cast Spells and Summon Demons
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| via Chick Publishing. I'm not linking to it here. |
Absolutely false. Trust me, I've been trying really hard and I haven't summoned a single imp.
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-your snopes-worthy d20 despot
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