Dungeons and Dragons. Read. Discuss. Download. Play. (First, post, evar)
Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 08:26PM Dungeons and Dragons is a big part of my life. It's been my greatest creative outlet for nearly a decade, and it's a rare day that I don't shrink some real-world event into something manageable enough to capture it on the page and in the rules. Does game design come naturally to me? Not really, but it numbers among my few passions. The D20 rules occupy a sizeable piece of my gray-matter real estate, and as D&D 4e looms I wonder how the gaming culture will react. That is one question I want to explore on this blog.
I hope you are visiting Unnatural20.com because you enjoy the game, or maybe because you're willing to learn about this nerdiest of passtimes, labels for players being an issue all their own. But I won't shy away from those issues; how we gamers define ourselves, and how we're defined, is worthy of exploration and illumination. For now, suffice to say that Dungeons and Dragons is fun, and you should try it if you haven't.
D&D has a bad reputation, and while I see a surge of general intelligence surrounding the hobby, the abundance of bad press is both hilarious and disturbing. No, the game doesn't espouse demon worship. No, players don't actually cast spells. No, the game is neither un-Christian, anti-Buddhist, or counter-Muslim. The game is what the players want to make it, which is also D&D's greatest strength. And again, I'm not going to deal with all of that now (but I hope to, later).
Before we get into all of that, how do you like the current edition? Are you going to adopt the 4th edition? What other games are you playing? How do you feel about the rules for the fireball spell? How do you find a new group? Where do you start if you want to play? How do you deal with problem players? Do you prefer running the game, or playing in it? What do you feel is missing in the ruleset? Have you ever played a diceless game? What are the keys to being a good roleplayer? What is your favourite D&D moment ever?
Over the next few months, Unnatural20.com is going to grow into a meeting place for anyone interested in tabletop roleplaying, particularly D&D. Here we will share ideas, dispel myths, provide hints and tips, and help nurture the hobby as a whole. We are set to tackle the issues that players and DMs are facing, whether they've been playing for thirty years, or a paltry ten, like me. We are going to answer these questions, and so many more, as we explore the deepest hobby out there.
This is going to be an exciting ride. I'm glad you're along for it.
Reader Comments (1)
Hey, good luck to you with your project. It sounds exciting, but you've got your work cut out for you competing with the WotC and Paizo machine.
Love the name! I'll be watching the site as it develops.