D&D Is 30

mainframemouse writes "For those who have not seen the Beeb article, Dungeons and Dragons is 30 years old. After many years of role-playing is wonderful to see the mother of all RPG's given respect and mention in the national press. There's even a note about the false accusations of the 80's." And for the record - flanking & attacks of opportunity in 3/3.5 Edition still irritate me. Combine a familiar with Master Tactician and some rogue levels, and you're off to the races.

The flagship...

[danielrm26]

Ah, D&D -- the flagship of geek hobbies. Many people do video games or comic books and want to include themselves in the group, but until you've re-written your character sheet 15 times, had discussions about what makes a good DM/GM, and carried around a fuzzy bag full of expensive dice, you aren't the real deal. :)

Ugh

[TheRealMindChild]

I spent way too much of my life on this game. As stupid as it sounds, I am thankful for my mother thinkng D&D was a satanic cult and grounding me for weeks for playing it. Else, I would be ... not the person I am... and I don't mean that in a good way.

Re:The flagship...

[greenhide]

What about playing Neverwinter Nights? That counts, right?

Congrats!

[FortKnox]

Now it can finally use the +8 TwoHanded Sword of Thirtysomething!

D&D is 30 and....

[ThePlague]

It still hasn't kissed a girl!

If you know what THAC0 is...

[Anonymous Coward]

you are a nerd.

3 Decades!

[Anonymous Coward]

And still proudly living in the parent's basement!

Yep

[EpsCylonB]

And for the record - flanking & attacks of opportunity in 3/3.5 Edition still irritate me. Combine a familiar with Master Tactician and some rogue levels, and you're off to the races.

Yep you are a nerd.

Re:Has to be said...

[night_flyer]

quit fooling yourself, it was a "dork thing" back then as well...

Ask the girl out on a date!

[teamhasnoi]

'I'm sorry, the girl makes a saving throw against your 1st level charm spell. You really need to work on your CHR.'

'Is there any Mountain Dew? Can I have one?'

I had a discussion...

[dijjnn]

The other day with a friend about which type of dice hurt the worst to step on. we decided that, while a d4 was bad (the worst if you step straight down hard), that a d8 was really the worst because it rolled with your foot.

My girlfriend immediately said, "oh my god, i'm dating a nerd."

Thank you D&D.

Logic, Logic -- Who's Got the Logic?

[handy_vandal]

For those who have not seen the Beeb article, Dungeons and Dragons is 30 years old.

Even for those who have *not* seen the Beeb article, Dungeons and Dragons is 30 years old. My state of having seen the article or not has nothing to do with the content of the article.

Sorry to nitpick, but dammit -- illogical writing leads to fuzzy thinking, which results in irrational behavior. And God knows we could use more rational behavior.

-kgj

Ah, D&D

[Hanna's Goblin Toys]

It really works [chick.com], you know.

phirst:

[Anonymous Coward]

First "D&D is 30, and still [hasn't gotten laid | moved out of their parents' basements]" joke!

Re:The flagship...

[Qrlx]

What about the "gold box" SSI games? Those were awesome!

"Bit 'o Moander" was one of the most fearsome beasts EVAR!!

Don't you mean...

[glpierce]

...Ex-girlfriend?

Bah

[SCSi]

I bailed out of D&D when they made all of my 2nd edition books obsolete with v3.0.. Then turned right around and screwed me again by making v3.5..
Though you know you're a geek when you watch 'kill bill' and say "that sword must be at a vorpal sword +2" and people laugh.
*sigh*

Military Potential of D&D

[handy_vandal]

It was even a cult at a Wisconsin naval base. "At one time every nuclear submarine had a D&D group," says Arneson.
- from the article [bbc.co.uk]

Nuclear submarines? D&D groups?

My God ... do you think the Commander-in-Chief knows about this?

-kgj

All-Time of All-Time favorites

[the0ther]

Ah Stipe, I remember thee well! Thorin and Flagg! Ye died honorably enough! Cedric, thieving and laughing! If I could quit my job and DM all day long, I'd do it!

Hats off to you

[SavedLinuXgeeK]

I just realized that I know nothing of this nerdery, must I return my membership to the Geek Squad.

Mother of all RPGs?

[Rosco P. Coltrane]

is wonderful to see the mother of all RPG's given respect and mention in the national press.

Well quite, but I must say I prefer throwing high explosive devices than slinging D&D books at monsters in Quake, it's more efficient...

Re:The flagship...

[neilcSD]

god...those were the days. eating hohos until 4 in the morning, listening to the same cursed ace of base cd over and over and over...arguing over who gets that uber sword of leetness +1...rerolling and rerolling until you get that leet starting stat list...doing stupid things that piss of your GM and wreck the storyline...woop! great times!!

Re:Military Potential of D&D

[The_Mystic_For_Real]

Wisconsin naval base

I can't imagine they had much else to do while at a naval base in Wisconsin.

_____________
It was just a joke, please don't hurt me.

Re:I AM THE KING OF THE PESSIMISTIC PEOPLE

[Mmm coffee]

If you really were king of the pessimistic people, wouldn't you be saying "YOU WILL STOP ME"?

Re:I had a discussion...

[maxpublic]

My girlfriend immediately said, "oh my god, i'm dating a nerd."

I didn't know they made talking RealDolls.

Max

Re:Some classic Christian D&D FUD

[GoofyBoy]

"The goal of the game [D&D] would be to see who could obtain the most erotic pleasure"

No, thats the Internet.

Re:I had a discussion...

[D-Cypell]

Yeah, I have noticed this lots recently, its like guys read threads about how slashdot is full of sexually frustrated geeks and want to prove that they can play happily in both worlds (and make all the true 'significant-other-deficient' geeks jealous)...

My and my girlfriend both hate posts like that..

Re:I had a discussion...

[dijjnn]

Try choosing Slashdot over cuddling Trading Spaces on TLC. Brother, that's a world of hurt.

Re:Takes me back a bit

[spellraiser]

Hehehe - I am reminded now of this [darkholmekeep.net] little comic strip. It's outrageous, in more ways than one.

If D&D is 30...

[Reverend Beaker]

That puts it in an age catigory of 4, upping the challenge code to 13.... Sweet! If I get one more RPG and I'll make level 4!

Re:The flagship...

[SoTuA]

My first d20 dice is almost a perfect sphere from wear! does that count?

Ooops... failed my "Burning Karma" saving throw...

Re:Ugh

[Anonymous Coward]

I wish I had your mother. Mine was "progressive" and just let me go ahead and play. Now my soul belongs to Mephistopheles and I can look forward to an eternity in boiling excrement.

Yeah, but at least ...

[burgburgburg]

it's not still living in it's folk's basement like that ST:TOS.

Re:D&D is 30 and....

[Feathers McGraw]

It still hasn't kissed a girl!

That's just because everyone always uses the character generation method where you lower your CHA score to raise your STR.

Re:Congrats!

[Analogy Man]

Isn't yours the 4" one handed sword?...and haven't you been playing with it enough already?

Re: D&D is 30

[photomic]

. . . and still lives at home.

Re:Hats off to you

[Anonymous Coward]

How is that flamebait? teens have committed suicide and countless others had to go thru counselling because of that game.

MOD PARENT UP!

Re:Yep

[Anonymous Coward]

<nerdy voice>
Actually, standard familiars don't provide a flanking bonus, as they have a reach of 0 ft! *waves with book of rules*
</nerdy voice>
;)

Re:Ask the girl out on a date!

[grub]

I'm sorry, the girl makes a saving throw against your 1st level charm spell

My ex-wife fell for my 1st level charm spell but it turns out she was Chaotic-Evil and when we split up she took all my GP.

Re:House rules?

[Dark Lord Seth]

If they players are abusing the rules, nerf them!

Not only is it fun to retaliate on abusive players, it's also fun to get back at players who use annoying, stupid and or nonsensical rules. Or, players who are generally idiots.

Ingham: I summon a mindflayer and order it to use psionics against the enemy.
DM: A red dragon eats you.

Adellon: I cast "Hold Person" on Illandria and grope her breast!
Illandria: HEY!
DM: A red dragon rapes you.

Illandria: What? My attack missed!?
DM: Yes.
Illandria: You just said that because I'm a girl!
DM: A female red dragon kicks your ass.

Suffice to say, dragon rock as plot elements.

Karma Whore

[handy_vandal]

Another trait of geeks is obsessive hairsplitting. I mean my god, man.

Who cares about the obsessive hairsplitting? The important thing is the successful karma whoring.

-kgj

Re:Logic, Logic -- Who's Got the Logic?

[Uncle Gropey]

Are you sure? The act of observing disturbs the observed. Until you have looked, you must consider D&D to be both 30 and not 30.

here, have this -1 cursed post...

[samhalliday]

...of no content.

Re:ah the nostalgia

[WormholeFiend]

the fact that you are not telling us the results of your rolls seems to suggest that you rolled "snake eyes" often...

Re:I had a discussion...

[isotope23]

I guess you'll have to upgrade now won't you?

Re:Takes me back a bit

[cei]

Yeah, but if you're trying to discourage people from the occult, is it really a good idea to tell them that mind control spells on their parents actually work?

Re:Borrowed very, very heavily

[Tackhead]

> D&D takes a *lot* from Tolkien. This shouldn't be all that shocking -- Tolkien's stated goal with LOTR and middle earth was to create a sort of modern mythology, and he did so sucessfully.

And sometimes, D&D gives back:

~wavylines~

"A balrog!" Gandalf rasped. "I might have known!"

Pippin hauled out his well-worn copy of the Monstrous Manual, while Merry peeked over his shoulder. "I don't see 'Balrog' listed in the index anywhere."

"Of course not, foolish Took," the high-level mage chided him. "The copyright to the 'Balrog' name is owned by the Tolkien estate. Gygax had to call it 'Balor' or a 'Type VI demon' when he put the MM together."

Merry quickly thumbed to the Demon section, only to recall that in 2nd Edition, "Demons" and "Devils" had been renamed Baatezu and Tanar'ri, although he never could remember which was which. He cursed the Fundamentalist Christian parents' groups who had threatened to boycott TSR for creating a "demonic" game, and which had forced that particularly stupid name-change upon them. Finally, though, he located "Balor" in the Tanar'ri section, grateful that they weren't among the discontinued demon listings like Orcus and Demogorgon.

"They're only 13 hit dice," Merry dutifully reported, "But they can cast dispel magic every round at 20th level, so watch yourself, Gandalf!"

"That also do 4d8 damage if they make a to-hit roll with their whip and drag you close to their bodies," Gimli noted. "I'm outta here!" He turned and ran at his full movement rate of 9 (12 if he wasn't wearing armor).

"Leave him to me," the mage intoned. "They're worth 46,000 experience points apiece, and if I kill him by myself, I get *all* of those points!" He strode toward the Balr-- er, Balor, and blocked the 10-foot-wide corridor leading out of the room. "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!!!"

LOTR as written by others [umd.edu] - as a D&D novel.

Re:House rules?

[drkich]

Personally I find that combat in Call of Cthulhu to be the best.... You run away. :)

Remember when D&D was BAD?

[Jethro]

Anyone remember when mainstream thought D&D was evil and was corrupting our young minds? Apparently anyone who played it couldn't tell the difference between Fantasy and Reality and ended up killing themselves.

My father (by chance a paranoid hypocondriac) read or heard one such article. This is when I was 18, and not living with him, which of course made him even MORE worried. He tried to sit me down and discourage me from my Evil Ways, and said that he read an article where someone said that people who play D&D can't tell fantasy from reality.

I told him that that's nonsense, and if I ever see the person who wrote that article I'd cast a fireball at them.

So he tried to get me into counselling.

Oh, did I mention my dad has NO sense of humour?

Re:Yep

[BillyZ]

No... that'd be me. 'Cause i'm going to prove him wrong.

Tiny and smaller creatures do not threaten an area and therefore do not provide flanking. So no, you cannot flank with your toad familiar.

Re:The flagship...

[Coltman]

LOL That and when you get a perfect sphere from a d4 then your talkin!! hehe

Bah!

[Art_XIV]

REAL geeks also play Third Reich, w/o even having to look at the rules. ;)

only 30???

[DoctorDeath]

I must in some kind of a time warp. I thought I started playing D&D as soon as it came out but that would mean I was only 7! My mom said I was wasting my money on all the books and dice and notebooks to keep up with everything. But I think it made me a far better person. Now where is that battleaxe I need for the staff meeting?

Re:Some classic Christian D&D FUD

[mojotooth]

I've seen theologists write PhD thesis'

Holy CRAP you need to get out more.

Re:House rules?

[SlayerofGods]

Adellon: I cast "Hold Person" on Illandria and grope her breast!
As dorky as that sounds, with a D&D chick, it counts as foreplay ;)

Re:The flagship...

[Paul Lamere]

BTW, Unrounded D4s are definitely the most deadly. One of my most painful memories is stepping on one of those buggers.

Shield spells vs bullets

[Anonymous Coward]

Some kind got shot. Seems he tried to cast a shield spell and his other friend tested the spell with a gun. My mom was all worried reading the story, came to my group and told us about it.

Of course my friend smirked, "what an idiot, he should have used a 'Protection from normal missiles' spell."

My mom turned pale. The laughter gave the joke away and she left us alone after that.

Re:The flagship...

[Arker]

I used to keep my character sheets in a nifty little program me and my cousin wrote together on a TRS-80 model 1. It did saving rolls, to hit rolls, and damage rolls for us too. Go ahead, try to beat that. ;)

Dork Thing???

[couch_warrior]

You say "Dork Thing" as if that was BAD... Popularity has RAISED D&D to the status of a "Dork Thing". Today a dork is someone who is just a little brighter and less socially adept than average. Back in the day, D&D was a game for anti-social psychotic sociopath losers. In 1978, our DM stopped going to classes, hid in his dorm room, and didn't bathe for a whole semester. Then he dropped out of school over the summer, and was institutionalized. But while he was still nominally sane, he came up with some gnarly dungeon levels. Best played at night by candle-light. Today's mountain-dew sipping, haven't lost their baby-fat, give up to play Xbox kiddies are just poseurs.

Re:Military Potential of D&D

[DavidBrown]

Nuclear submarines? D&D groups?

I wanna cast magic missile!

Oops...

As a representative ...

[burgburgburg]

of Mephistopheles, I'd like to point out that the excrement is kept boiling due to Federal regulations. I'd also like to point out that the AC will not, in fact, be spending all eternity in the boiling excrement. Every 10 years, the vats of excrement are switched out. During the 15 minutes that this procedure involves, the AC (and all similar clients) will be kept in a pit of superheated beaver vomit. Again, this is the mandated Federal procedure.

Re:Ah, D&D

[iopha]

That's Darque Dungeons [epsilonminus.com] for those in the know. :D

iopha

Re: Ugh

[lobsterGun]

From the review...

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For some reason I find that particularly funny.

Top 35 Similarities between RPG'ing and pron

[jcayer]

1. The typical customer is male, unattractive, and socially handicapped
2. Both are frequently enjoyed in dark basements
3. The size of your collection is obscene
4. It's not a good idea to talk about either on a first date
5. Both revolve around fantasy and obtaining the unobtainable
6. The artwork depicts images impossible in the real world
7. When purchasing either in a store, you always ask for a bag
8. It may be fun to make your own at home, but rarely turns out as good as the professionally produced stuff
9. If you saw a woman buying either, you'd probably want to ask her out
10. Extra excitement can be added with the use of props and / or costumes
11. Low quality versions of both can be found for free on the Internet
12. Countless Usenet groups are dedicated to both
13. In either case, a gang of heavily-muscled men in leather with whips spells trouble
14. Everyone uses a silly, made-up name
15. It is not uncommon for participants to assume the opposite gender
16. Both are frowned upon by the conservative right
17. You usually take interest in both around age 13
18. New purchases are usually looked at once, then put on the shelf
19. The best and worst examples of each was produced in the '70s
20. The German versions of each are the most bizarre
21. Both are plagued with bad dialogue
22. You usually spend a lot more time enjoying each alone than with a group of friends
23. Everyone's called in to work sick at least once to stay home and enjoy one or the other
24. Both make excellent bathroom reading
25. There's always a big finish when you get to fire your gun
26. Hollywood's attempts to mainstream both have been largely unsuccessful
27. The hero's prized possession is his big, black gun
28. Plots are often present only to serve the action scenes
29. The story can be set anywhere from spaceships to dungeons
30. While the person directing the action is usually blamed for a bad experience, it's usually the fault of poor writing
31. Characters can have either high APPEARANCE or STAMINA, but rarely both
32. You can tell the climax is imminent when the characters start screaming
33. Candles and music enhance the mood
34. You can meet your favorite B-list stars at the annual convention
35. One word: Dwarves

Re:The flagship...

[Newander]

The ever popular caltrop +1.

Re:The flagship...

[qengho]

Unrounded D4s....One of my most painful memories is stepping on one of those buggers.

I guess you missed your Dex throw against the Caltrop of Mighty Hopping.

Re:House rules?

[Minwee]

That's true, but you just can't go wrong with a redneck tree. [somethingpositive.net]

Fights over Dice

[ironwill96]

You have not truly reached the pinnacle of geekdom until you have fought over dice.

One of our players has a tendency to "acquire" other player's dice whenever we play. Eventually his collection grew quite large and other players began to notice and demand their dice back. He was quite adamant that the dice were his until one of the other players pointed out the "Bicycle" stamp on their D6's indicating that he had been stealing their dice.

I doubt that he was doing it on purpose, but it was still quite hilarious that we were arguing over hundreds of pieces of plastic.

You never can get enough D8's though in those pound-o-dice bags off E-bay. Anyone else have that problem? (You need them for playing Star Wars D&D especially as every weapon does D8 dmg usually).

Re:The flagship...

[binary paladin]

Yeah, I felt like I lost something when 3rd came out too. No more fucking THAC0! I miss it in the same sense that I would miss a huge black boil removed from my ass by a local physician.

Re:D&D spawns STDs! No! Really!

[ultramk]

I don't know... I imagine D&D has done more to prevent the spread of STDs then anything in history...

m-

Ask the cat

[Embedded Geek]

So, you say D&D is 30, whether or not the reader has observed the BEB article. This, however, implies no interaction between observer and observed. Schrodinger's Cat [phobe.com] would disagree... if it weren't too busy trying to lie down on my copy of the DMG while I was reading it.

Re:The flagship...

[haystor]

Now you know the reason they were flattened on their corners. In the 70's, before consumer safety laws, they were razor sharp, needle points and tipped with poison.

Re:D&D is 30 and....

[DjMd]

Don't Lie.
D&D players don't have CHA or STR!!

Re:House rules?

[wirelessbuzzers]

Yep. In my experience, newbie rogues tend to be the worst about it. From a slave-escape campaign I recently DMed:

DM: You run out the door, and see your master standing off against these guys with a dagger and a lightning-gun.
Joe: I'll use my pickpocket skill to try to disarm him.
DM: You sure about that?
Joe: Yes.
DM: He stabs you in the gut, then shoots you with the lightning gun. You're at [rollroll] -3 hit points.

(later, the slaves execute a brilliant ambush against two pursuers, and are now looting the bodies)
Jim: Anything else of interest on the bodies?
DM: You've taken everything but their clothes, hats and some minor trinkets.
Jim: Hmmm... are these guys about my size?
DM: One of them is.
Jim: I take the clothes, hat and trinkets and put them on.
DM: OK. This takes you a few minutes. You begin to hear hoofbeats in the distance.
Jim: I get up on the guy's horse, and adjust my hat. How do I look?
DM: [rolls disguise check] Just like him... except you're black.
Jim: Oh, shit.

Re:As a representative ...

[Ubergrendle]

Just because you have all the lawyers doesn't mean you have to talk like them.

Re:The flagship...

[forgetmenot]

The only way the d8 could possible hurt you more than the d4 is if it was standing end-to-end along the longest axis which isn't very likely. Any other position it's still inherently unstable and will probably rock when you stand on it so that you step on a long dull 'edge' rather an a pointy corner. The stable little d4 just naturally falls anywhere with a pointy corner aiming straight up. It hasn't got anywhere to go but into your foot no matter how flat the corners are. What's even more readily apparent however, is my need for a life. Mine has sucked ever since my friends grew up and stopped playing D&D. Now all I do is spend my days waiting to argue with people about dice on slashdot. *sigh*

Re:The flagship...

[Anonymous Coward]

Also you have the ability to use your imagination more and drink beer and hang out with cool friends

...Surley you jest.

Re:Borrowed very, very heavily

[morgajel]

... I know this isn't your fault, and I know I should care, and I know that was probably based on 2nd edition rules... but.....
must...resist....
DWARVES AREN'T ENCUMBERED BY ARMOR.

gah, no! ..damn... stupid nitpicking....
I'll be in the corner hanging my head in shame.
if someone can, please prove me wrong so I don't have this on my concious....

Check the source code, and roll for initiative!

[dexter riley]

you can not get Array out of Bounds errors on pen and paper D&D

You enter a 10 x 10 array. You see a Null Pointer Exception guarding an Object of type Chest. What do you do?

Re:The flagship...

[sharkey]

Stone knife which instantly stoned an enemy on a succesful hit

Mangar's not here, man.

Re:Some classic Christian D&D FUD

[mlush]

The problem Christians have with some RPGs is not so much the potential for evil within the environment, but the gaining of supernatural powers for the sake of self-exaltation. The dividing line for Christians is whether the actions taken by the player glorify himself or glorify God. It becomes a problem when the fantasy realm drifts into the desires of the player to have powers that would make him/her feel more powerful, as opposed to the grace of God, which is perfected in weakness.

That, and D&D gives stats to Gods and if you give stats to something, some PC somewhere will kill it

Re:The flagship...

[Gurp]

There's a certain "aura" around the D&D "lifers" that no video game, regardless of how close to the rules it sticks can ever match.

A shower could probably deal to it, though.

Re:The flagship...

[MadHobbit]

In our group, d4s are more commonly known as 'magic missiles', primarily because the DMs have a predilection to throw them at high speed towards plot-destroying players...(and of course the damage of a MM is 1d4+1)

Re:I had a discussion...

[ultramk]

I guess you'll have to upgrade now won't you?

I'm not sure I would call that an upgrade...

m-

Repent! You $@!#!@$ D&D Sinners!

[codefool]

Jack T. Chick has spoken! [rpglibrary.org]

What everyone else does

[empaler]

Whine that it's all MS's fault and reboot.

Re:Has to be said...

[Dun Malg]

* e.g. ... &cetera.

Use of weird linguistic formats, e.g. "&cetera" instead of "etc."

Re:The flagship...

[coyote_oww]

Unrounded D4s....One of my most painful memories is stepping on one of those buggers.

I guess you missed your Dex throw against the Caltrop of Mighty Hopping.

Wait till you're hopping around on one foot and hit it again!

Re:Ask the girl out on a date!

[grub]

No, she took that too. A nice LaserJet 5 series.

D&D and Satanism

[Magickcat]

When I first started playing D&D in the 80's, my Catholic school thought it was Satanic as per the hysteria and tried to discorage us from playing it.

Thanks be to my Awesome and Unholy Masters Cthulhu and Baal that this was all just hype and it blew over.