| Is it like D&D? Steve Hatherley (Published in The Last Province, #4, 1993) "Is it like D&D?" The question stumped me. I had just been called upon to describe the home-grown campaign that I was playing in. It was a Friday night and we were setting up at the games club, waiting for the other players when the lost soul wandered in. He must have been about sixteen. Inwardly, I groaned, remembering what I was like at that age. A real treasure-lover and monster-basher of an adventurer. A munchkin, munchie, tick, or whatever. In my one-second appraisal I suspected he wouldn't fit it. But I could've been wrong. Anyway, the campaign (we couldn't agree on a name but the GM's favourite was Ragnarok) was set on Earth several millennia in the future. The greenhouse effect had taken hold and society had fallen back to the 17th century. I was playing a shaman's assistant seeking a new homeland for the tribe after climatic changes had forced us away from our traditional lands. As we searched we encountered feudal villages, mysterious ancient artifacts, genetic aberrations, and a very strange enemy. But was it like D&D? How did I know? I've only ever played in a brief AD&D
adventure, and it didn't make much sense at the time. I don't even know what the
difference between AD&D and D&D is beyond the word Advanced. Anyway, this campaign
was certainly nothing like the short-lived crusading adventure I participated in then. I
thought of what "Well," I said, "There are no character classes, no wandering monsters, no alignments. Oh, and almost no magic." That just about summed up my knowledge of the most popular RPG in the world. That apparently sufficed and the chap wandered off to play something else, but it was not a satisfactory answer. After all, what did the question "Is it like D&D?" really mean? Did it mean "Are you using the D&D system?" We weren't (it was based on Runequest) but did that matter? The system is merely a set of rules to hang a background on, after all. And when it comes down to it, only the GM really needs to know the rules. It is helpful if the players know them as well, but not essential. I know I didn't. (Mind you, when I'm GMing I don't always know the rules either, so I guess I'm not one to judge.) Then again, was he asking if the campaign used all the traditional fantasy trappings that D&D employed. In other words, was it the familiar TSR background? Elves, dwarfs, unicorns, dragons, treasure, or whatever it is that TSR publishes. It did not, but we were playing in a game-world that was as interesting as anything I've seen published, if not more so. It was certainly close enough to generic fantasy to be able to slip into it without much difficulty. Or did the questions mean (as I suspect) "Are you playing a game like I'm used to playing?" Which is quite ridiculous. How would I know what sort of game he -or anyone else- was used to playing? D&D, like any RPG, is what the GM and players make of it. From "hack & slayers" to "proper rÜle-players" we all play a different game. Using just one set of rules we twist and alter the game to the style we prefer. Just saying "I play D&D" is far too vague. My D&D would probably be radically different to everyone else's. And naturally this goes for any other game - Runequest, Dream Park, Chill, Shadowrun. Anything. So much depends on the chemistry between players and GM. It is possible that no matter how awful the game sounds, the bond between players and GM is such that legendary games are born. You can't describe that, you can't even plan for it - it just happens. Of course, if his question was lacking then my answer was far from perfect. It was offhand, and undoubtedly my prejudices at work. There was no reason for me to assume that he was no better than I was at his age. I should at least have given him a chance. "Is it like D&D?" "I don't know. Why don't you join in and see?" four letters at random - games - tales of terror - freeforms - friends |