10 Business Lessons I Learned From Playing D&D

Esther Schindler writes "Those hours you spent rolling dice in your youth weren't wasted according to my 10 Business Lessons I Learned from Playing Dungeons & Dragons. Playing fantasy role playing games did more than teach the rules of combat or proper behavior in a dragon's lair. D&D can instruct you in several skills that can help your career. Such as: 'One spell, used well, can be more powerful than an entire book full of spells' and 'It's better to out-smart an orc than to fight one.'" What other wisdom have you gained from your time sequestered with various RPGs?

Real Life

[sopssa]

To be honest, this seems a lot like just made to work out from D&D. These are pretty much general principles in life that apply everywhere, and hence its not a surprise that they apply in *roleplaying* games aswell.

If you take it further, the same general principles that also works in business also works with women, or for that matter, any stuff. This can be something along the lines "dont be afraid to be yourself and be convinent when saying your say, because it works a lot better". It works the same way in RPG's, real life, women, business and for that matter in everything. Its just general human philosophy.

Like said, RPG games tend to reflect real life a lot. You just take different character. That's why the stuff is pretty much the same.

Pick up groups suck

[rgviza]

Always try to work with people you already know.
Playing as a team works better than being out for yourself.

let's see...

[Anonymous Coward]

1. Violence solves everything.
2. The only thing that trumps violence is more violence.
3. Wholesale slaughter is good and right as long as the race you are slaughtering has green/grey/orange/etc. skin.
4. Nothing wins an argument like a Rod of Silence.
4a. ...except for the Great Big F***ing Sword of Silence. (see 1 & 2)
5. "Your mom" jokes are a bad idea around dragons. Their moms are always bigger and meaner.
6. Charisma is a dump stat.
7. People will forgive any transgression if you can dish out the pain.

I quit. Anyone else?

Re:This list is horrible

[Feyshtey]

Or maybe Slashdot recognized some light-hearted fun and went with it. Maybe the author and /. just chose to take a moment to reflect on things, and point out some obvious truths we sometimes take for granted in a fun way.

As a great prophet once said : "Lighten up Francis."

What did I learn?

[mraudigy]

Don't piss off the DM. Best life lesson ever.

Nothing new

[OrangeMonkey11]

These are all things that can be trace back to books written hundreds of years before our time. for example The Book of Five Rings and The Art of War, these two books have pretty much the blue print on problem solving. You can pretty much apply them to business, school, games, women, etc..

Re:Rolling the dice

[gurps_npc]

Sounds like you either: 1. Had some really bad players/DM's and/or 2. Are stupid enough to think that people that like things you don't like should be insulted, as should the things they liek. How DARE they enjoy something you dislike? They should be taken out and SHOT. And you certainly have the right to make fun of them and insult them.

Re:This list is horrible

[gurps_npc]

I find your analysis to be faulty. Sure people could have learned them from other places, but this particular guy claims that he learned them from this game. Maybe he would have learned them later - like say after he got fired. Better to learn things when you are young BEFORE it really matters. That by the way is the reason why all mammals play. It is learning without consequences. It lets the cat learn how to stalk without starving in the first month. It lets the wolf pack learn how to cooperate, so they can take down bigger game, without getting into huge dominance battles right before you hunt.

Re:Rolling the dice

[SloppySevenths]

Much like WOW and Everquest are inefficient database clients.

Real lessons from gaming.

[Animats]

1. The little people are expendable. If you have to kill or lose a few thousand orcs or zombies, no prob. It's the major characters that matter.
2. When in doubt, kill it. There are no noncombatants.
3. The purpose of life is to acquire power. Self-explanatory.
4. Having a thief around to steal from the little people is a useful asset. Grinding is for losers.
5. The most aggressive player runs things. Just like high school.

This is a losing strategy in real life, or even real war. (Roman saying: "The legion is not composed of heroes. Heroes are what the legion kills.")

Other things learned

[Krishnoid]

What other wisdom have you gained from your time sequestered with various RPGs?

For one thing, that wisdom is different than intelligence. I'm still not sure what the difference is, but at the time I read the rules, I assumed that someone wiser (or is that smarter) than me had written them, so he probably knew what he was talking about.

Re:Real Life

[prefec2]

I would say people act braver in RPG than in real life, because most of the stuff you can do in a game is beyond your normal capabilities. And even more important: If you die you can start all over. Beside a depression that your character died, nothing of consequence happens. IRL you have to face the real consequences. If you trick your chef or a customer, this will come back to you. And all behavior patterns (protocols in certain situations) can be learned IRL even better than in RPGs. This is because RPGs are only a model of a world, which is beside some fancy features as dull as the real one, but only a model. The real thing is much more complex, and challenging, and rewarding. Think of it: You collect 1000000 of currency X in game. However, IRL using the same time to collect 100000 $/EUR/Pound would be more rewarding. And think of real relationships vs. RPG-relationships.

Re:Lesson learned

[Beardo the Bearded]

I learned that Rust Monsters are as annoying as fuck.

That would teach you both about the importance of a maintenance schedule and the futilty of all work. Everything that we do will eventually wear out and crumble to dust.

Or, put more poetically, "in spite of us, Nature wins."

Re:What I learned

[Evil Shabazz]

...which is actually precisely how capitalism, the US, etc, predominantly works. All of the rules apply, unless you have enough money that you can give to the guy who makes the rules - then the rules bend as much as the money allows.

Re:Nothing new

[Ironica]

These are all things that can be trace back to books written hundreds of years before our time. for example The Book of Five Rings and The Art of War, these two books have pretty much the blue print on problem solving. You can pretty much apply them to business, school, games, women, etc..

So what *you* learned from D&D is, pay attention to the lore... the answer is already there.

Re:Rolling the dice

[Chabo]

I forget where I heard it, but someone recently said something to the effect of "Many math nerds have lost plenty of money because they saw the stock market as a simple system of cause and effect."

Re:Rolling the dice

[fishbowl]

"Other than the content background which I can get from reading novels, playing RPG's is about as exciting as moving numbers around a spreadsheet."

Because you said "reading novels" and not "writing novels", it's pretty clear why you don't get it.

However, Real Life as Real Consequence

[Anonymous Coward]

So isn't it good to ***play*** and work out what Real Life holds for you ***in the future*** rather than wait until you get there and work out the rules?

What is play for but to try out the rules of Real Life?

And as for nizo's comment later, I gained a hot (if slightly older) girlfriend at D&D. Didn't stay, but that wasn't D&D's fault.

Re:Lesson learned

[Anonymous Coward]

If I see one of those around my neighborhood, I am totally going to be ready for them. Eat Kevlar, motherfucker!

You: Eat Kevlar, motherfucker!
(The kevlar turns to rust.)
You: WTF? Kevlar doesn't rust. It doesn't even have metal in it.
God: Hey, only one of us is the DM here, and I'm pretty sure it's not you.

Re:Rolling the dice

[Jesus_666]

The numbers don't simulate, they arbitrate. Essentially everyone does just sit around and tell a story; the numbers only come in once you need to know whether someone is really strong/smart/adept at pottery enough to do the task they intend to. You can, of course, decide to use every rule in the book at every opportunity... but if you don't your game is going to run much smoother.

Besides, you don't even need dice. Some systems (like World of Darkness) avoid random elements wherever possible; there a skill check just means comparing your skill value to the target number.

Or you go with completely freeform gaming... Forum RPGs tend to do this. Unfortunately they also tend to show why most gamers prefer having rules and stats around - they keep people from declaring every ridiculous action their character takes to be successful (and all attacks on them to be ineffective).

Re:Real Life

[Anonymous Coward]

After many years of gaming my friends and I developed this mantra:

If it's alive, kill it.
If it's dead, bless it.
If you don't know, kill it then bless it.
Only then do you loot the corpse and raise it to join your army.

I guess it the real world this taught us to never assume you accomplished your goal until you had tested that accomplishment.

Re:Most valuable lesson...

[Anonymous Coward]

If it works, it's the best pickup line EVER. You just landed yourself a D&D geek girlfriend with perfect breasts! ;)

Re:What I learned

[chiguy]

You can abstract it some more, and say that the ability to affect the written rules with money (power, sex) are also part of "The Rules".

It's all the same game.

Re:let's see...

[Landshark17]

"CHA is the only stat that matters in real life."

Charisma has a short shelf life. Every charismatic person I've ever met seems interesting at first, but within about one to three years turns into an asshole.