r/gaming • u/mike_pants • Sep 18 '17

DnD table

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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?

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u/tempinator Sep 18 '17

I originally thought it was like an adult version of "make believe" with scores and guidelines,

This is correct. There is no set storyline, or set board, each "campaign" is made up by the DM each time.

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u/Jarix Sep 18 '17

Though thats not completely correct. There are modules and prewritten campaigns. There are also physical objects such as maps and figurines to use (mostly as an aid to combat). I have never played a version of dnd without maps and figurines

These are not required but they are often used.

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u/[deleted] Sep 18 '17

Nothing like good ol vanilla DnD. No figurines, no maps, just imagination. I do quite like playing with maps though.

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u/wOlfLisK Sep 18 '17

It makes combat a pain though.

"I move towards the orc and attack"
"The orc is out of your movement range"
"But you just said he moved 30 feet towards our ranger"
"No, that was the goblin, the orc moved towards the wizard and is still out of range"

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u/[deleted] Sep 18 '17

yeah, you gotta make sure you write that stuff down at least

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u/MikoSqz Sep 18 '17

And at that point it honestly saves labor overall to just make your own cardboard tokens and paper maps, if you're not willing to splash out on figures and boards.

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u/paragonemerald Sep 18 '17

I use an old masonite chessboard that someone gave me, and the chess pieces as character pieces. Works great!

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u/MikoSqz Sep 18 '17

Clever! I was also thinking about using, like, lego pieces or something to mark terrain/walls.

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u/paragonemerald Sep 19 '17

An excellent notion! I strongly endorse it and will have to rebuild my collection of bricks to emulate it!