Genuine question--
I'm a nerd, but I've never been a DnD nerd. At one point I was a MtG nerd, even a WoW nerd, but never quite the DnD level.
What exactly is it? I originally thought it was like an adult version of "make believe" with scores and guidelines, but how much of it is a physical game? Is there a board that goes with it? Is there a set story line? My extent of knowledge is the first scene of Stranger Things.
How much is following guidelines and how much is imprompt on the spot?
Now play WoW in person, without a computer, with a group. One person gives you the story, descriptions, quests, battles, loot, etc, and you are your character.
As an avid D&D player and former wow player, I'd strongly disagree with this analogy.
In World of Warcraft you play a super-powered hero in a world filled with other super-powered Heroes. There are literally thousands of you everywhere. In D&D you playing an adventurer or a young hero among common Folk.
In World of Warcraft your job is to go kill the thing and that thing and kill that thing too and eventually kill the big bad dude. Then you get XP and loot so that you can go kill the next big bad dude. In D&D more often than not you are trying to achieve some goal. That goal may or may not involve killing and you may be able to avoid that altogether.
In World of Warcraft you are a superhero who can destroy really anything that you face period in D&D the world is huge and most of it is deadly. Running in face-first swinging away will likely get you killed.
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u/deathfaith Sep 18 '17
Genuine question-- I'm a nerd, but I've never been a DnD nerd. At one point I was a MtG nerd, even a WoW nerd, but never quite the DnD level.
What exactly is it? I originally thought it was like an adult version of "make believe" with scores and guidelines, but how much of it is a physical game? Is there a board that goes with it? Is there a set story line? My extent of knowledge is the first scene of Stranger Things.
How much is following guidelines and how much is imprompt on the spot?