tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post8132684372951436234..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: The NumberAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-70077930796087455402015-04-20T15:42:38.595-06:002015-04-20T15:42:38.595-06:00Algol,
My book How to Run has 'modifying the ...Algol,<br /><br />My book <a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/alexis-d-smolensk/how-to-run-an-advanced-guide-to-managing-role-playing-games/paperback/product-21715730.html" rel="nofollow">How to Run</a> has 'modifying the game for players/DMs' as one of its principle themes.<br /><br />I'm encountering the same arguments you describe. And I think it is great!Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-60646456827867300072015-04-20T14:52:28.012-06:002015-04-20T14:52:28.012-06:00The default assumptions have definitely shifted I ...The default assumptions have definitely shifted I would say. My group has an average age of 25 and there are three main differences I've seen when compared to playing with older GM's and players. <br /><br />The first one is yes, the internet. People getting into d&d never ask what books, modules, or magazines they should get. They always ask what forums and blogs give good advice. There's a sort of unspoken assumption that any pre-made adventures or rules are either given for free or "internet free" on the pirate bay. The size of someones physical collection seems tied to their age, not just due to the detritus of buying books building up, but due to the idea that "d&d costs only as much as you want it to, there's no real reason to EVER spend money on the hobby." Things like game mats and dice are viewed as more important to buy than rulebooks are. Cause hey, you can have the basic rules explained to you and it's somewhere for free on the internet if you look hard enough.<br /><br />the second is that I've never seen someone under 25 say a d&d game is supposed to go like a book. Movies seem to be a bigger influence on younger folks but the biggest change is video games. I know a lot of people like to say how terrible this is. The main way I see d&d explained to new people though is "It's like skyrim but 100% more realistic, way more depth and it's more open ended. D&D is what sandbox rpgs wish they were." <br />Every gm I've met who started running in the 90's runs brutally railroaded adventures with dull game mechanics so it's a welcome change to compare it to video games rather than a novel. <br /><br />The third big change I've seen is an embrace of collaboration between GM and players when deciding setting details. Aside from the concept of a zero session, there's that players assume if they bring a point up, as long as it's not conflicting with canon, it'll be considered by the GM. It's hard to explain but it's the idea that the player can bring outside knowledge into the game such as "I read some cool goblin lore on the net where goblinoids are born without teeth so they jam bits or rock or humanoid teeth into their gums. So could my goblin replace his teeth with shards of iron?" It is a bit "uppity" compared with the idea of GM's having 100% control of setting details like that. The degree varies but younger players seem to come with the assumption that players will have a degree of input into the setting with their ideas at least being considered. <br /><br />This wanting to have a degree of input into the gm's world comes in large part from a simple fact. People under 30 are currently the most highly educated generation in american history. ime, when a player calls bullshit on something the gm is doing they often have taken classes on the matter and are very willing to speak with authority on it. It naturally ends with players having "spheres of influence" on things with the pre-med major somewhat seizing control when he describes what the herbs the party has do in the real world. Or the guy with a comp sci degree half creating the computer security for the ship in a sci fi game. That higher ratio of people with some higher education leads to a greater willingness to speak with authority on subjects during player/gm disputes. <br /><br />I'm fairly optimistic about the state of role playing. Newcomers to the hobby are open to new styles, to experimentation. A copy of ad&d got shown around once. There was respect for it but when someone brought up playing it, we grew increasingly uneasy reading it(We could barely make sense of the rules and the drunkard organization didn't help) and somewhere around race/class limitations and "Why are all gnomes illusionists?" the phrase "This is dogshit." was used.Oswaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07001773664829033815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-86980529591961153332015-04-17T22:42:51.939-06:002015-04-17T22:42:51.939-06:00Ah, but my point is that the 'default assumpti...Ah, but my point is that the 'default assumptions' are shifting from company/small group to the whole internet.<br /><br />I do expect D&D players to continue to accept the default assumptions - but what will those be now?Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-66985514829829996932015-04-17T22:20:57.083-06:002015-04-17T22:20:57.083-06:00"I just mean, I'm not very concerned abou..."I just mean, I'm not very concerned about D&D players."<br /><br />Goodness, would you really paint D&D players as outside-the-box non-doctrinaires? The folks who gave rise to From the Sorcerer's Scroll, Sage Advice, and the OSR?<br /><br />(Again, probably conflation, as you meant people who actually play the game.)<br /><br />You have the good fortune/design to have players and a daughter with an acceptable level of skepticism and cognition, but you might have some availability bias, particularly since you were a bright iconoclastic kid.<br /><br />You remember what most people in high school were like, you've posted about it ... <br /><br />(And I think your main irritants were how athletics were rewarded over intellectualism, where I still seethe over class issues.)<br /><br />I think it's a fairly small percentage of D&D players who question the default assumptions about the game. It may be better than in the mass culture analogs, but it's never seemed that much better.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09027050864450321406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-38856347168162112282015-04-17T21:57:52.993-06:002015-04-17T21:57:52.993-06:00I just mean, I'm not very concerned about D&am...I just mean, I'm not very concerned about <i>D&D players</i>.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-73709733027207807052015-04-17T21:49:19.656-06:002015-04-17T21:49:19.656-06:00Conflation, Scott.Conflation, Scott.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-10456712189253670242015-04-17T21:33:16.728-06:002015-04-17T21:33:16.728-06:00"Thank gawd for fanatical young people. They..."Thank gawd for fanatical young people. They don't care about how it was done or why it used to be done that way and they really don't give a crap about corporations, tradition or bottom lines."<br /><br />Young people, bright and dull, are prime marks for indoctrination. They're pleasantly willing to reject the mainstream but unpleasantly willing to become the most close-minded and shrill doctrinaires for truly stupid "outsider" causes. There's a reason that cults hand out their lit on college campuses.<br /><br />Most teens (like most "rebels") are reactionaries, not rebels. Visceral reaction against tradition is the opposite of not caring about it.<br /><br />We need more skeptical teens, not fanatical ones.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09027050864450321406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-23338130259957116372015-04-17T20:10:53.171-06:002015-04-17T20:10:53.171-06:00I would just like to say that I love this post. Th...I would just like to say that I love this post. The thousands of gaming experiences, systems, and idiosyncracies that I have had access to are a major part of what I love about the game.<br /><br />rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13846657068320670784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-42448518560917862092015-04-16T07:04:20.503-06:002015-04-16T07:04:20.503-06:00That's an awesome chart.
I'm torn. It irr...That's an awesome chart.<br /><br />I'm torn. It irritates me to no end the ignorance of younger folks who blithely ignore (or don't care about) what has gone before. It reminds me of Huxley's Brave New World or something.<br /><br />But I suppose I'm old, and doomed to be swept away by the younger generation anyway.JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03263662621289630246noreply@blogger.com