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from the would-you-play-differently-online? dept.
Wizards of the Coast, the parent company of Dungeons & Dragons, reported that 8.6 million people played the game in 2017, its biggest year of sales in two decades. That mark was eclipsed in 2018, when D&D sales reportedly grew 30 percent. All of those D&D consumers are snapping up the Fifth Edition, a new rule set released in 2014 that emphasizes a flexible approach to combat and decision-making. New players don’t need to learn as many arcane rules to get started, and sales of D&D starter kits skyrocketed.
Adding to the newfound popularity are thousands of D&D games broadcast on YouTube and the live-stream service Twitch. “Critical Role,” a popular livestream and podcast, features actors playing the game.
[...]What makes D & D[sic] different is that we can never forget about the human beings behind the avatars. When a member of my group makes a bad choice, I can’t look into his face and shout insults the way I would if we were playing online. He’s a person, and my friend, even if he also inexplicably decided to open an obviously booby-trapped trunk, get a faceful of poison and use up my last remaining healing spell.
My 50th-level Magic-User Ferrick the Magnificent scoffs at these neophytes...
(Score: 2, Interesting) by ShadowSystems on Tuesday April 09 2019, @03:35PM
My son & I trade off DM roles as we send each other through various adventure sessions.
Last time I was a Half Elven Ranger in a land full of Kobolds, trying not to get my guts handed to me on a platter while I worked as a Trail Guide shepherding my charges from point a to point b.
I've just started him off as a Kobold Bard who will be trying to keep his head down in a world full of Kobolds that want to kill him for being a silver scaled freak, & I intend to have my previously mentioned Ranger make cameos as an NPC.
We keep lists of adventure ideas to run the other through, then implement the next idea on the list when it comes our turn to be DM.
I've got a semi regular sessions (Play By Email) with another group & I'll often use my son as a sounding board for various situations in that game.
As in, I might find a box I'm supposed to open but can't figure out how, so I'll bounce ideas off him to brainstorm ways my character might accomplish his goal.
(My DM has given his approval of this tactic as long as I don't overdo it.)
My son has a regular gaming group he gathers around a table to play, and he often retells the session details to me via email.
(I'd rather be there in person, but we live 2.5 hours drive away.)
He bounces ideas off me as well, or asks for advice on how to mess with their heads.
He's a K~6 teacher & has often used D&D as a means of teaching his students to think creatively, critically, & out of the box.
He creates adventures appropriate for their ages, non violent & as educational as possible, to capture their hearts & minds.
(I was especially proud of the "You're all a bunch of detectives trying to find out who stole Idaho." adventure where he taught them the States while getting them to research all the different ones. He actually had students from other session-tracks coming in after school to ask if he would do something similar for them!)
I play 3.5E, he does 3.5E with his table session & 5E with the kids.
We've both played Pathfinder, I even encorporate some of the various races in some of my adventure ideas for him.
I also play ShadowRun 4th edition.
The son of my last GM is starting his own PBE game & asked me to join.
I'll be drawing up an SR4 character later today in preparation.
RPG's like D&D & SR are great ways to foster creative, critical, imaginative thinking & should be encouraged as much as possible.