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    Canonfire :: View topic - What's In It For YOU?
    Canonfire Forum Index -> Welcome to Greyhawk!
    What's In It For YOU?
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    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Aug 22, 2004
    Posts: 28
    From: Michigan

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    Sun Sep 19, 2004 9:15 am  
    What's In It For YOU?

    My curiosity tends to get the better of me, there fore:
    What do you get out of gaming? Why do you game? Why do you GM?
    This is just a kind of polling question, but without the poll. I play primarily for the fun of it. You just can't go out and hack and slash, and meet all kinds of different races. Society would get a little uptight should I arm myself with my sword (yes I actually have one!), go out and slice up something. So, with my barbarian, I have fun, release a lot of tension, and have social contact of a common nature with a group of people.
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    Adept Greytalker

    Joined: Aug 10, 2003
    Posts: 337
    From: Harker Heights, TX

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    Mon Sep 20, 2004 4:19 pm  
    Why I game

    Well, I can only answer from my own perspective.

    I DM to get away from the real world for a while. I am hip deep in getting my advanced degree and I need an outlet for my creative streak (as well as some peace of mind). I like reading and writing about fantastic stuff. Having a common world is good to base my writing off of, not only for my own references but to give it to an appreciative audience.

    And heck, I have fun doing it! Been DMing since I was a kid, and I guess it keeps me young at heart. Remember, you are only young once, but you can be immature forever!

    O-D

    (just kidding with that last bit)
    Journeyman Greytalker

    Joined: May 13, 2004
    Posts: 200
    From: MS Gulf Coast

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    Mon Sep 20, 2004 5:26 pm  

    Gaming for me is a stress reliever. I love the game for what it is, a fantasy roleplaying adventure. It's the same for me as O-D said. A chance to escape the real world for a time. Where I can have some down time away from the stress of a two year old, and a nine year old, bills, etc, etc, etc. Though the nine year old is showing a great interest in D&D and is in the beginning stages of learning the game.

    I still haven't decided if I enjoy playing or DMing more. I really do like being DM. I just find it exciting to be in control of everyone's precious little characters. Wink
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    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Jun 11, 2004
    Posts: 15
    From: MS Gulf Coast

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    Tue Sep 21, 2004 9:00 pm  

    Well, I've been gaming for over 25 years now. And have no intrest in stopping anytime soon! I've always enjoyed gaming because it's like being an actor (or actress Wink ). But you get to pick the part you want to play. And I've noticed through the years my story telling skill have improved 200 percent! I ran a game once for call of cthulhu for a buch of guys I knew. I had dimmed the kitchen light to set the mood. And half way through the game they turn the light all the way back on because they had the creeps so bad!

    Please, I don't want anyone thinking that I'm tooting my own horn. I'm not at all. But it's a very good feeling to know that your story telling skills give grown men the heebie jeebies Happy . I honestly believe I do it to entertain and watch everyone else enjoy what you've created. It's kinda like the director who puts his heart and soul into a movie so everyone else can enjoy and share in his idea. If I scar some part of their mind or leave a memory they will always remember. Then I believe I've done my part as far as stretching their imaginations. And for me, That's my reward! Wink
    Forum Moderator

    Joined: Feb 26, 2004
    Posts: 2590
    From: Ullinois

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    Tue Sep 21, 2004 11:33 pm  

    Good topic. I have always enjoyed DMing over playing. I tongue-in-cheek tell friends that I 'hate playing D&D', when I mean literally being a player instead of DM. On a side note, I know back when I was a kid in school, my math, reading, writing, comprehension and artistic skills all were above average b/c I played the game and had to exercise my brain more. I shudder to think how my American education would've been without D&D.
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Jun 11, 2004
    Posts: 15
    From: MS Gulf Coast

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    Wed Sep 22, 2004 8:04 am  

    Same here. My reading, writing, & comprehension skills all sky rocketed after my first year of gaming. And from using my imagination through the game more than I had in the past, My book reports and term papers always scored excellent grades. I agree with you 100 percent, Mortellan. Gaming did help my grade point average. That's why I'm hoping mine and Tedra's children take to it. Laughing
    Novice

    Joined: Sep 15, 2004
    Posts: 3
    From: Australia

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    Thu Sep 23, 2004 6:41 pm  

    roleplaying lets me be someone else for a while and becuase of who i am i like to do that often and this isnt just dnd i play many rpg's in many settings from D&D to completely different systems and worlds but in theory the concept is all the same and i enjoy it equally.
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Aug 06, 2003
    Posts: 119
    From: The FAIRest VIEW in the PARK

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    Wed Sep 29, 2004 1:29 pm  

    For me, it's simply the chance to get away and do something fantastic! I've been doing it for some 16 years or so, and I will never give gaming up. It's the simplicity of commraderie, adveture and a game. No other hobby gives me such joy!

    ...................................Omote
    FPQ
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    Grandmaster Greytalker

    Joined: Aug 05, 2004
    Posts: 1446


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    Sun Oct 03, 2004 10:15 am  

    For me, its like a train set or a doll house or an erector set, or Legos or an elaborate wargaming sandbox. Its a world I get to control, tinker with and play with to suit myself, with the added fun of others (players and people I talk to about it) being able to participate and even alter my original thoughts. Over time, it becomes a communal thing. I started it as DM but it then evolves with player actions, conversations with other GH fans or DMs and, now, with people online. This makes it live in ways the other comparisons above do not. I love DMing. Playing is for me second best. (A)D&D is like every game and fantasy rolled into one. It is literally everything and anything you make it.

    GVD
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    GVD
    Journeyman Greytalker

    Joined: Aug 01, 2004
    Posts: 252
    From: Nyrond

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    Mon Oct 18, 2004 2:44 am  
    A realization

    Hello Everyone,

    I believe there comes a time in each of our lives that we realize that we will not be a world figure, change the course of human history or be anything more than we are now. Our place or role in contemporary society is or has been solidified. To some degree, DMing allows us to do the one thing we may sometimes feel powerless to do in reality; make a difference.

    DMing also allows us to be the center of attention without being the center of attention. A specific scenario or adventure may focus on a single character rescuing their family, but the story can't unfold without the DM guiding the adventure. We get the opportunity to truly direct events or at least move them along. As a DM, we can make a difference. Then again, where would the DM be without the players Cool

    I Miss the Wild Coast
    Dwarf from Nyrond

    Playing in an RPG has nothing to do with us keeping in touch with our inner child Wink
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Aug 02, 2004
    Posts: 36
    From: New Orleans, LA

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    Wed Nov 24, 2004 9:29 pm  

    I DM mostly, and the creativity of the process was the initial draw back in the halcion days of 1981. I had started playing when several of my friends talked me into it.

    Gaming has given me a consistent creative outlet, as well as a platform to meet an interesting cross section of people.
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    "The trees are our ancestors."----Otto Von Bismark
    Novice

    Joined: Aug 07, 2004
    Posts: 3
    From: Australia

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    Wed Dec 08, 2004 1:29 am  

    I've been DMing for 18 years - over half my life. My party of 4 players consists of two guys I went to school with (and discovered D&D with), my 12 year old son and his mate.
    Me - I get a chance to watch two new players discover the joys of this great game, and I get to relive old war stories with two very good friends while working on new war stories.
    This game is like that, it enriches your life with good friends and great memories. That's what's in it for me!
    [/quote]
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Feb 19, 2004
    Posts: 147
    From: Edmonton, Canada

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    Wed Dec 08, 2004 8:52 am  

    Great topic. Gaming has been something I have loved doing even before D&D. I have been Role-playing since 1980 and from the moment I started I loved it. Nothing has come close to tapping into my imagination more than the role-playing-D&D. I grow up pretty much playing on my own as a kid growing up in semi -rural Canada. There were few families near me that I could play with so the world I played was pretty much of my imagination. So when D&D came along, well, it was a prefect fit form me. I was usually the DM because I was so willing to devote my time to creating or adding to the adventures for the players. But I also love to play as a PC. I have not played as much as would like and still do not. Trying to find all the right people can be difficult. Also I have only started really playing again after I left last profession five years ago (chef-hospitality industry) to computers. Now I seem to have more time.
    D&D has done wonders for my reading and writing. I am a horrible writer as I suffer from mild dyslexia and also affect my ability to read aloud. My love of D&D has pretty much made me in a subconscious way challenge these things and plough straight ahead. I hope that my kids will take up D&D/role-playing as well.
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    Unless you are a Greyhawk Heretic.
    Master Greytalker

    Joined: Jul 13, 2002
    Posts: 1077
    From: Orlane, Gran March

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    Thu Dec 09, 2004 8:39 am  

    I like to bash things, and burn them with gouts of fire. And after the event with our dog, my wife thinks D&D is safer. Wink
    Journeyman Greytalker

    Joined: Jun 18, 2004
    Posts: 218


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    Fri Jan 28, 2005 12:38 am  

    I'm a control freak, and DMing allows me to manipula- er, is this mic on?

    Well, ahem. Embarassed

    I really don't know, although I get something out of it that I don't in my day-to-day life. I believe it's adventure, since I've been an adventure junkie since testosterone first hit my bloodstream. I think Dwarf got something right, that it gives us the chance to dream again.

    My friends who don't play, don't get it. The disconnect between us on this is one of those things that I don't understand, either. As a former ex-gamer, I feel that there is a social divide there that is really hard to cross.

    Obviously, I don't have a cohesive long answer, so I'll go with a short one: I like creating and telling stories, and having them appreciated.

    Telas
    Adept Greytalker

    Joined: Jul 12, 2001
    Posts: 465
    From: Ithaca, New York

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    Fri Jan 28, 2005 10:57 am  

    I like to play god. Also, I like playing with concepts, and D&D gives me a structure within which to explore different concepts.

    When I play, it's mostly a stress-reliever sort of thing. I warn all my DMs that I'm a terrible player -- I have a short attention span and a craving for the spotlight, and I only play two kinds of characters -- big tough fighters/clerics or wizards with big tough spells, or illisionists/bards (usually gnomes) with snappy patter, strong imaginations, and poor impulse control. Most people think roleplaying the gnomes is "more roleplaying-ish", but I think both can be challenging; it's just that the gnomes have more overt interaction with just about everything.

    Illusionists are fun -- nothing makes a DM's jaw drop like the first time you break out the conga-line lizards.

    Cheers
    Nell.
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Feb 15, 2005
    Posts: 16


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    Wed Feb 16, 2005 12:38 pm  

    Cool topic!

    As a site NewB and a holdout against all that is 3.0 or greater, this is refreshing!

    The cooles thing for me is seeing people posting "I have been gaming for 20+ years" or "I have DMed since the early 80's". Man, I feel so much better being surrounded by fellow nerds! No offense if it doesnt apply. Wink

    I DM cuz it is my one creative outlet. I cant draw, paint, write, sculpt or even use tools to save my life. This is my one, lone creative outlet. It is the best feeling to have someone tell you, "That dungeon/island adventure/mine/cloud castle/ whatever was amazing!" That, my friends, is what it is all about, IMO.

    My wife also just started gaming, and like another poster wrote, she is the best of the bunch. Her creativity, and ability to role play is the best in the group. In fact, she recruited a friend of mine's wife to play and she is second best. The guys are getting booted to the back seat....and it is cool to see.

    This is a great break from the stresses and pressures of the "Real World", I am so glad to see this many supporters of a great game.
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