Between my last three articles I have written about superheroes, religious institutions, and the arts. To fully round out the topics covered in my first month of articles, I decided to just expose my nerdiness in its full, unfettered glory:
I play Dungeons & Dragons. Not only that, but I run several groups of Dungeons & Dragons. I even considered starting this article with a list of reasons that playing the game wasn't a "nerdy" pastime, but quite honestly I couldn't keep a straight face while I was writing it. Because honestly it is nerdy. It's a bunch of people sitting around a table rolling dice and pretending to fight imaginary creatures. This is like Iron Man piloting the USS Enterprise to destroy the Death Star level of nerdy - and that's okay.
The game might be nerdy, but there's also a lot that one can learn from playing it, both deep and more entertaining in nature. Without further ado, here's the 7 top reasons I choose to spend free time playing Dungeons & Dragons.
1. It's Like Skyrim, But With Absolutely No Limits
If I start this off with a Mean Girls reference, does that sufficiently lower the nerdiness? No? Okay...
Lots of people enjoy playing Skyrim. Lots of people enjoy watching Game of Thrones. Lots of people enjoy watching Lord of The Rings (although as long as they are the better term may be experiencing Lord of The Rings). Dungeons & Dragons, in many ways, is no different than an interactive version of these franchises. The biggest difference, quite honestly, lies in the freedom.
Imagine a version of Skyrim where every single room in the entire world was available to explore. Where you could say whatever came to your mind, regardless of whether it was in a pre-typed dialogue box. Where plot points were more like recommendations, and rules more like guidelines. If you think this world sounds like a fun game world to explore, then you're in luck: that premise is the basic concept of Dungeons & Dragons.
Even games with an Open World Environment like Skyrim can only go as far as the programming allows them to. In Dungeons & Dragons, the players do whatever the heck they want and improvise the situation if one isn't planned. You aren't confined to what the rules lay out, but rather the rules are confined to what you lay out. Dungeons & Dragons is, in many ways, the ultimate Fantasy experience.
2. You Learn A Metric Crap-Ton About Your Friends
Money changes people. Even if that money is imaginary gold with no real value or purpose.
In the more surface level sense this of course indicates more how each player reacts to combat in the game: do they think it through tactically or just let loose and smash everything like a hyperactive Hulk? What I'm talking about, however, is a knowledge that goes far more deep. When a person creates a character, they almost always put in a little bit of themselves. If your best friend plays a character that always feels alone, there may very well be a reason. If your girlfriend (yes, females play D&D. It's shocking, I know) always makes characters that act as the moral compass, there may very well be a reason. If someone always plays characters that never think before they act, there's probably a reason.
No matter what the character is, there's always a reason behind the chosen backstory - and oftentimes people are far more willing to reveal their insecurities through parallels in a character than they are in outright discussion. The more you get to know the characters, the more you get to know your friends. There's something magical to consider in that.
3. It Lets You Escape Reality
Sometimes I think I wish the Matrix was real. Then I think: Hm, better not.
Life is stressful. Sometimes you just need to escape from the drama and the heartache and find a place you can let loose. Sometimes I need to be able to know that I can retreat to a quiet room with close friends, revert to a primitive state, and kill imaginary goblins in peace. There's something therapeutic about being able to imagine yourself in a completely different world as a completely different person (and now I'm talking like a Theatre Major again). At the heart of the pastime, it's still a game. People come to have fun, and to forget their issues. Very few games let you immerse yourself as thorough as Dungeons & Dragons.
4. You Learn To Understand Other Mindsets
Huh... Other people have unique thoughts too. Weird.
As stated above, when you start roleplaying your own character there are always similarities. With that said, there are almost always differences too. You view this imaginary world through the eyes of a completely different background, and you begin to understand why this character thinks and feels the way they do. As this practice takes hold, you begin to do the same with other characters, and then you even move on to doing it with other people. Empathy is a trait all-too often forgotten in modern society, and Dungeons & Dragons forces people to exercise it all over again.
5. The Game Actually Takes Strategy
Whether the strategy works or not is a completely different story...
When playing Dungeons & Dragons there's always one player given the role of Dungeon Master (DM for short), which basically means they create the world and storyline of the game. Any DM worth their salt will spend hours contemplating every possible route the players might take around a problem and plan accordingly. So when players come into a room, they are essentially improvising against hours of pre-planning from the God of the Gameboard himself. Sure, I could run in and start swinging my sword as fast as possible and hope I get lucky. I do that in Minecraft all the time, and it usually works out okay in the end. Of course, if I do that in Dungeons & Dragons I'll die the moment I walk in through the door. Oftentimes the game takes far more critical thinking to actually advance than you'd find in most basic math classes. In short, Dungeons & Dragons isn't just creative - it's also intellectual.
6. It Also Requires Teamwork
Again, results may vary.
Dungeons & Dragons is not usually a solo game. Sure I could sit down in a room and start running everything myself, but that's even more socially pitiful than the fact that I'm playing Dungeons & Dragons in the first place. This game was created as a social gathering, and it's meant to be played in groups. Planning, fighting, and conversing are all meant to be done in groups. Even more than that, these groups have to work together or they will die within minutes. As a general rule your characters are not strong enough to take on a monster all on their own. Dungeons & Dragons forces you to operate with a somewhat functional group dynamic if you hope to get anything done.
7. You Can't Make These Stories Up
Oh yeah, we just crashed a floating sky city by punching a dragon in the face. Typical Thursday night, you know?
When you put a bunch of nerds in a room together and tell them they're in an imaginary world with magic, weapons, and no rules, I promise you stuff is going to go down. Imaginary cities will burn, characters will die, and stories will be remembered for months or even years to come. When players really get into the game and play their characters for awhile, they may even get a decent amount of emotional attachment to facets of the game. Whether its unexplainable hilarity or unanticipated drama, this game will constantly leave you wondering what the heck just happened in the last five minutes. The game is crazy, but it's memorable, and it will leave stories that you'll look back on fondly for years to come. At the end of the day, that fellowship is the biggest reason anyone plays Dungeons & Dragons - no matter how nerdy it might be.
