I'm Busy Reading....

[gill216]

I'll post it to you when I've finished it.

[clvrlad]

well im off to worship wee jas

Took me a while to realise that you didn't mean you were off to spend a penny.

who says i wasnt

lol for those not in the know she is one of the many gods and godesses in d&d

[Bunnylump]

This Dungeons and Dragons thing is completely new to me. The only thing I thought about it before was that it was mainly men with beards that played it whilst at university. I'm obviously wrong!!

[clvrlad]

This Dungeons and Dragons thing is completely new to me. The only thing I thought about it before was that it was mainly men with beards that played it whilst at university. I'm obviously wrong!!

well the average person who plays in my experince is late teens to late thirties white male which basically puts it in the scifi camp there are lots of exceptions but its the stereotype and like most stereotypes its the stereotype cos they are the most comon ones involved

i know some women, some non whites, some younger and some older who play
even know gay and straight people who play so even though it does find good support at college/university (cheap rooms to rent for student activities with new people while away from home and it can be a reativlely cheap way to entertain yourselves)

[Bunnylump]

Do the women have beards, too?

[clvrlad]

well you'd better go ask giraffe and co they are playing it well a cut down version lol

[giraffe]

[SparkOut]

You must have read some Discworld stuff though, surely? Everyone knows that dwarf women have beards. Not sure about the rest of clvrlad's demographic.

[clvrlad]

well im more tolken-esk and dont think he mentions it........

[giraffe]

I've never read diskworld or Tolkein. I don't really do fantasy.

[gill216]

Giraffe, I'd start reading them now if I was you.
Scurra did say unexpected hints would crop up in strange places didn't he? Here is the first.

[Bunnylump]

Oh carp

[giraffe]

You too?

[gill216]

Well maybe not read them but a bit of research may stand you in good stead

[LAT]

Oh dear! I've read Lord of the Rings but no discworld. Will Wikipedia help?

[clvrlad]

well think modern parody but using medevile tech and some magic

so yes the guards have bean known to try and shoot the lock of a door off with his crossbow

[gill216]

There are lots of sites which will help (including wiki) but I'm off to find the site address of the one you really want to avoid. It lies.

I shall edit this message when I've retrieved the offender.

Edit: Do not trust www.fictiondb.com/co.uk? its very misleading.

[MBH]

I've never read diskworld or Tolkein. I don't really do fantasy.

You mean your poor kids never got to see 'Shrek'? (These films fit perfectly into a D&D world) The whole of Harry Potter could have been derived from a more modern based D&D session.

If I'd been online yesterday I would have confirmed that dwarven women do indeed have beards and are very proud of them.

You must have read some Discworld stuff though, surely?

I only made one brief attempt at Discworld and didn't get anywhere with it. Far too silly and disjointed - unlike Tolkein and fully running D&D sessions.



For those still puzzled by the 'operation' of the game, think of a table of players each taking the role of a character {the 'Party'} PLUS one person who is the Dungeon Master (DM) {sometimes referred to in other evnironments as the Games Master} In the case of the Scenarios thread - this would be clvrlad.

DMs are usually arrogant, egotistical characters with a GOD complex - but a good DM makes for a great playing environment.

The Party all have different knowledge, skills, and abilities (think of all the races you've seen in Lord Of The Rings). The aim of the game is to gain 'Experience' which will allow you to advance in your personal role (Fighter, Magic User, etc) and get better at what you do... Gandalf was not a beginner

The DM has the plan of everything - maps of the dungeon / castle / caves, etc, that the party will venture through. He describes to the party what the can 'plainly see'. Then individuals can say what they are doing (looking behind overturned table.... trying to open the door in the North wall.... etc) and the DM tells them what happens. Was there a magic scroll behind the table, or did a hairy arm reach out and drag the character in? Did the door open to show a glittering treasure room? Or a hoard of deamons? Or as they touched the handle did a poison dart shoot out of the lock into the characters hand?

In fights, dice rolls are used to determine who manages to do what to who. The stronger character has numerical advantages over the weaker, but almost anything is possible - even the insertion of your wand up the nostril of an ogre

As I said - a good DM can 'make' this environment. His job is NOT to kill off everyone in the party (although the poor ones sometimes think of it as a competition in this way). If he wants to guide them along the story path when the Party try to wander off, then he can engineer cave-ins, troop movements, etc to keep them on track. By the same means - if a fight situation means that a vastly superior monster SHOULD wipe everybody out he will modify the dice rolls to allow the Party to escape.

It's basically interactive, real-time storytelling... at one time I took to writing down the sessions from my character's point of view. If I'd started earlier (before we all broke up) there could have been a couple of publishable books there.

Games machines are a poor imitation - Lara Croft, et al - where the programmed DM takes you along the path of the story, but we of a D&D background look at certain scenes and think "Why doesn't she try to....." but it's not programmed in

Individual D&D stories can be 'Hack & Slay' - full of monsters to kill or sneak past, or at the other end they can be very puzzle based where intelligence and wisdom will succeed where brute strength will fail. It all depends on the nature of the players of the game.

Floor maps, character figures, out-and-out ACTING can all come into it, but none of that is necessary - it is all about enjoying the story and being a part of it. Certain scenes stay with you for ever (much like THE THREAD over on DVP) - I smile every time I meet someone called Norman.

OK - that made no sense - so.....

Trying to get into a certain 'big house' in a city and there was this Hulking Brute standing outside keeping people out. After a couple of direct attemps we tried for 'distaction'.

Me: Hey Norman.
DM (quickly making a decision): *Scraches head* How you know me called Norman?
Me (slowly backing away at an angle): Well it stands to reason... it's the only way you got this job... your obviously Nitwit Norman the Dimwit Doorman *run away with him following while the rest of the party get inside*


Hope this helps

[eirian]

Do the women have beards, too?

Well, I didn't last time I looked and I've been roleplaying for about 30 years....
But I suppose I was brought up with faerie stories and other fantasy books, and since roleplaying (D&D) is just telling your own fantasy (or sci-fi or, I suppose, any kind of) story with a group of mates, it's a natural extension.

(sniped by the much more thorough explanation of MBH)

[giraffe]

think of all the races you've seen in Lord Of The Rings

or not seen. Motor Races? (now I'm starting to get interested. )

Yes they've seen Shrek, but I don't think I've seen the 2nd or 3rd ones. I've not seen any of the Star Wars films,and avoid Dr Who like the plague.

I didn't like HP until the fourth book was out, I read them so that I knew what K was so enjoying, but found them very confusing and had to reread them when another was due out because I couldn't remember what had happened in them.

I did enjoy the Time Traveller's wife (I think that was what it was called) and I read a lot of John Wyndham at one time.