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View Full Version : When Did D&D Become "Cool"?



1337_master
2007-05-12, 10:02 PM
I Was wondering when DND became Cool, 'cause I started Liking it around...Second edition, I want/need to know if its cool or not so I can say "I liked DND Before it was cool."

EvilElitest
2007-05-12, 10:03 PM
Do you mean cool by our personal standards or by the standards of teh general public?
from,
EE

Talya
2007-05-12, 10:05 PM
Geekery in general has become a fair bit more mainstream over the last few years with the rise of the Internet...although D&D generally still remains outside that mainstream by a slight bit.

jameswilliamogle
2007-05-12, 10:32 PM
well, theres several celebrities that play regularly now, and generaly play rpg's too, and 3.5 for all its flaws has made it a much more video-gamish game. people that go to every tourney are still geeks tho.

Seatbelt
2007-05-12, 10:32 PM
D&D is not cool, or I would have been able to find a group this year. D&D is merely acceptable. :P

de-trick
2007-05-12, 10:32 PM
since i started to play

Emperor Tippy
2007-05-12, 10:37 PM
It's not exactly cool but it has come far from the days when most people thought it was devil worship and wanted to "reform" you if you played it.

Yechezkiel
2007-05-12, 10:43 PM
When will D&D become cool?

Amphimir Míriel
2007-05-12, 10:45 PM
Yeah, tabletop roleplaying games has never been cool... In fact, if the name "Dungeons and Dragons" has gotten any sort of recognition, it is as a synonym of geekery...

Of course, being a geek nowadays its not as bad as it was on my day... On those days, no one could imagine that nerds could one day become millionaires and have trophy wives...

...and we had to go barefoot to the nearest hobby store, 10 miles! In the Snow!

Bah, who am I kidding, there's no snow in Mexico city:smallbiggrin:

Penguinsushi
2007-05-12, 10:51 PM
It's not exactly cool but it has come far from the days when most people thought it was devil worship and wanted to "reform" you if you played it.

For the most part, anyway... :smallannoyed:


Anyway, I think what you're seeing is merely the fact that D&D has come to be more accepted for what it is - "a game" - more than "some weird thing that smelly geeks do". I wouldn't say D&D is 'cool', just a bit more...understood.

I think things like the LoTR movies that have brought the genre into the mainstream spotlight have contributed to this a bit.

~PS

JadedDM
2007-05-12, 10:55 PM
D&D is not cool. It never was. Not from a mainstream point of view. The normal response I get when I mention D&D in public is, "What's that?"

PMDM
2007-05-12, 11:13 PM
The 3rd edition has seen it's own rise in popularity, but that's to be expected from such an intuitive system. I don't think D&D will ever hit the mainstream like it did in the 80s. ONly because it requires so much player effort to enjoy. The reason RPGs are so popular is because they have visual aids, and straight forward goals. D&D is the closest thing to that in a roleplaying game. That's why D&D seems to be so mainstream.

Cybren
2007-05-12, 11:16 PM
Never. You're a dork. A super dork since you know what "second edition" means in that context.

Jack Mann
2007-05-12, 11:23 PM
Like, dude, isn't second edition what they used to play before D&D?

doliemaster
2007-05-12, 11:37 PM
NO! If DnD was cool geeks wouldn't play it, you just think so because people don't hate us like they used to, and on a plus side few think us devil-worshippers, on the downside they think we are powderkegs ready to lose perception of reality and attack anyone who is mean to us.

Dhavaer
2007-05-12, 11:51 PM
When will D&D become cool?

Hopefully never. Cool = mainstream, and mainstream = lowest common denominator. Stay geeky, people.

Penguinsushi
2007-05-13, 12:00 AM
Hopefully never. Cool = mainstream, and mainstream = lowest common denominator. Stay geeky, people.

Good point. Anyway, I think that's what computer/console rpg's are for...

:smallwink:

~PS

Deepblue706
2007-05-13, 12:01 AM
Not even Vin Diesel could make D&D cool - so that pretty much means it'll never happen. Ever. Anywhere. In the entire universe. Or any others.

Krimm_Blackleaf
2007-05-13, 12:44 AM
D&D's always been cool! Everything else is just uncool.

de-trick
2007-05-13, 01:08 AM
the classic geeks are gone these day no coke bottle glasses suspenders look at me i play d&d 1 of the bes kids in gym chicks dig me on track team in my school besides the jocks and the preps the d&d nerds are a big group

Emperor Tippy
2007-05-13, 01:22 AM
the classic geeks are gone these day no coke bottle glasses suspenders look at me i play d&d 1 of the bes kids in gym chicks dig me on track team in my school besides the jocks and the preps the d&d nerds are a big group

The classic geek is a myth these days; no coke bottle glasses and suspenders.

Look at me, I play D&D, am one of the best kids in gym, chicks dig me, and on the track team in my school the D&D nerds are a large group - along side the jocks and the preps.

/Translated by Tippy Industries: So you don't have to waste any points in Decipher Script.

------
Yes, D&D and being a nerd has changed a lot in the past 15 years but D&D still isn't "cool". It is just not something that gets you beat up or causes the court to order a psych evaluation any more.

Pink
2007-05-13, 01:35 AM
The classic geek is a myth these days; no coke bottle glasses and suspenders.

Look at me, I play D&D, am one of the best kids in gym, chicks dig me, and on the track team in my school the D&D nerds are a large group - along side the jocks and the preps.

/Translated by Tippy Industries: So you don't have to waste any points in Decipher Script.

------
Yes, D&D and being a nerd has changed a lot in the past 15 years but D&D still isn't "cool". It is just not something that gets you beat up or causes the court to order a psych evaluation any more.

Ah, thank you Sir, I never did put any ranks in that skill.

As for DnD being cool....nah. It's acceptable, maybe neat to those who've heard of it but don't play, but like others have said, cool = mainstream, and mainstream it is not.

Viscount Einstrauss
2007-05-13, 01:49 AM
It's cool in certain circles. Being a geek no longer has the negative connotations it used to, so those that otherwise never would have touched tabletop gaming are starting to come in full force. Where I live only the trendiest play D&D, since it was started by a few of us as privledged and mildly popular children with an abundance of money, spare time, and imagination. It's grown since then so that you aren't really cool if you aren't invited to D&D nights with other cool kids, much like partying.

But our town is loopy anyway.

Latronis
2007-05-13, 02:20 AM
You Americans and you're 'Cliques'

a geek never had negative cannotations here

Piedmon_Sama
2007-05-13, 02:29 AM
The classic geek is a myth these days; no coke bottle glasses and suspenders.

Look at me, I play D&D, am one of the best kids in gym, chicks dig me, and on the track team in my school the D&D nerds are a large group - along side the jocks and the preps.

/Translated by Tippy Industries: So you don't have to waste any points in Decipher Script.

Okay, not to derail the thread, but I'm getting pretty sick and tired of people pretending that others' posts need "translating." Nobody who's smart enough to spell it right in the first place would have trouble understanding even the sloppiest posts on the board. :smallannoyed: To show precisely what I think of anal-retentive grammer nazis, I'm going to make this the last grammatically correct sentence I post on GitP.

sos this one times sees i haed a job workin there as a parkin attendant see.and i had to baskly waetch baskly a streetkronur 4 leik ayt hrs a day ok, and this grrl was w/me and we got 2 talkin an i mentund i leik 2 play d&d.so she gets all this big consurnd look on hr faes n she says she says "ono, iv herd a lot of peepul get in2 taht n tehy stops goin outseid n doin nrmal fings an tehy tink ter sum1 else" n im leik "y on erf wud u fink taht?" n she says she saw it on an epusoed of LIZZY MAGUIRE, sheesh.... i fink teh medya is doin a lot 2 bash "nurds" n in2lectual/imaganatif typs in genurul wich feeds in2 things leik teh sur-cuss w/teh Virginia shootins n dat Jack Tompson crctr tryin to portrae us as a dangr.i wudnt fink its a big deel but my X-pear-anses sho a lot of peeps rly do bai in2 dat....

Ragna
2007-05-13, 02:31 AM
In singapore, nerd culture is prevalent and from what I've seen, DnD has either neutral or positive reactions here. Haven't seen any "OMG! You play DnD! Satanic occultist" or anything like that. Thank god...

Summary: DnD rather mainstream due to commercial success of RPGs and prevalence of computer gaming here

AtomicKitKat
2007-05-13, 02:35 AM
Meh. Back in the day I used to not study, and still get decent grades. The kids who spent their time buried in schoolbooks come exam time tended to be the ones who would also want to convert you from "devil worship". "RPGs" and "Role Playing Games" were considered "dirty words".

Ragna
2007-05-13, 02:43 AM
@Piedmon

The main reason you see this grammar nazi phenomenon is mostly from one cause. People treating it like chat rooms. Furthermore its annoying to a significant population of people to see this warping of the language. For the fact that this is a forum, more time can be spent on writing the post. Thus, better grammar is expected from most people on the aforementioned forums.

Jack Mann
2007-05-13, 02:45 AM
Okay, not to derail the thread, but I'm getting pretty sick and tired of people pretending that others' posts need "translating." Nobody who's smart enough to spell it right in the first place would have trouble understanding even the sloppiest posts on the board. :smallannoyed: To show precisely what I think of anal-retentive grammer nazis, I'm going to make this the last grammatically correct sentence I post on GitP.

sos this one times sees i haed a job workin there as a parkin attendant see.and i had to baskly waetch baskly a streetkronur 4 leik ayt hrs a day ok, and this grrl was w/me and we got 2 talkin an i mentund i leik 2 play d&d.so she gets all this big consurnd look on hr faes n she says she says "ono, iv herd a lot of peepul get in2 taht n tehy stops goin outseid n doin nrmal fings an tehy tink ter sum1 else" n im leik "y on erf wud u fink taht?" n she says she saw it on an epusoed of LIZZY MAGUIRE, sheesh.... i fink teh medya is doin a lot 2 bash "nurds" n in2lectual/imaganatif typs in genurul wich feeds in2 things leik teh sur-cuss w/teh Virginia shootins n dat Jack Tompson crctr tryin to portrae us as a dangr.i wudnt fink its a big deel but my X-pear-anses sho a lot of peeps rly do bai in2 dat....

I'll admit that Tippy's translations are rather passive-aggressive, but I'm frankly about ready to stop reading de-trick's posts entirely. Only the fact that he's promised to try harder has kept me reading. I'm reasonably certain that you're being facetious with the second half of your post, but if you were seriously to start posting like that full time, I don't think I'd ever read another post of yours. I don't think I would be alone. It's each person's responsibility to make their point clearly. If de-trick (or you) aren't willing to do that, then there's no reason why we should care about anything you say. If you don't care enough about your posts to make them legible, then we shouldn't have to care enough to decipher them. By posting in that fashion, you're implying that we aren't worth the effort to communicate with. If you don't want to communicate with us, then don't post. If you don't want to play here, then find something productive to do with your time. Read a book. Get some exercise. Learn to cook. Or take the time to make yourself understood, as you've done in the past. But don't waste our time and yours by posting gobbledygook. It will only annoy people.

We aren't demanding perfection. We just want some effort to be understandable. Not even that much effort. A good spell check program would do wonders.

And think about those people who truly do have problems with English. Think about the people who have dyslexia. I have a friend with severe dyslexia. He has a hell of a time when other people make too many spelling errors. That's why he's very careful of what he types. He still makes mistakes, but he makes the best effort he can to be understood. Think about the people for whom English is a second language. They're already having to deal with our jargon on top of having to translate everything. They don't need to deal with chatspeak and persistent spelling errors too.

All we ask is that you think of others when you type. That's all.

Fourth Tempter
2007-05-13, 02:48 AM
Indeed; thank you Jack.

For the Record, English is not my first language--nor even my second.

Caewil
2007-05-13, 02:56 AM
In singapore, nerd culture is prevalent and from what I've seen, DnD has either neutral or positive reactions here. Haven't seen any "OMG! You play DnD! Satanic occultist" or anything like that. Thank god...
A fellow Singaporean! Great! I am finding it simply impossible to find a good D&D group. I tried to teach my friends how to play, but they got tired of it after one session (none of them read the SRD before hand, so I had to explain all of the mechanics - we barely got to play) So I've been mainly playing via e-mail, which is a pain. Also, the prices of books at Serene Centre suck. Do you know any better stores?

But, you're wrong about people not thinking it's Satanist. You've never been to an Anglican school. *shudders*

Still, most people are neutral about D&D.

Closet_Skeleton
2007-05-13, 03:53 AM
I Was wondering when DND became Cool, 'cause I started Liking it around...Second edition, I want/need to know if its cool or not so I can say "I liked DND Before it was cool."

You can't really. You need to have played first edition, or at least have some idea of having played something you think might have been first edition.

I would say DnD became "cool" when it stopped being played only by people who play wargames.

Kiero
2007-05-13, 04:42 AM
D&D was cool at some point in the 80s, if you're talking about mainstream acceptance. It certainly isn't cool now, just a part of a bizarre little niche hobby.

D&D stopped being cool for me when 3rd edition appeared and the game took a complete wrong turn for my tastes. Not especially relevant now since I wouldn't play any of the earlier editions either.

Green Bean
2007-05-13, 07:32 AM
It's not exactly cool but it has come far from the days when most people thought it was devil worship and wanted to "reform" you if you played it.

Wait, DnD isn't devil worship? I feel so betrayed! :smallfrown:


(:smallwink:)

Tengu
2007-05-13, 08:26 AM
Even assuming geek standards, DND was never cool, because there are so many games much better than it.

Pauwel
2007-05-13, 09:29 AM
Even assuming geek standards, DND was never cool, because there are so many games much better than it.

Quality has never been a decisive factor in what is cool and what isn't.

Tengu
2007-05-13, 09:38 AM
Quality has never been a decisive factor in what is cool and what isn't.

It is among geeks and other people with better tastes than the uneducated crowd.
Though I'd like to modify my statement - DND became cool when PHBII and ToB came out.

Eldpollard
2007-05-13, 10:32 AM
D&D has not become cool. Especially not in the UK, it's very much an "on the fringe" hobby. Which makes it seem more comfortable. If it were too mainstream the orignal fans would be put off.

lacesmcawesome
2007-05-13, 10:54 AM
...and we had to go barefoot to the nearest hobby store, 10 miles! In the Snow!


You forgot the part about going uphill both ways.

OT:
I'm not really looking forward to DND ever becoming mainstream, as doubtful as that is. As much as I hate the fact that I can never find a gaming group, I would hat to see dungeons and dragons become the next fad or what have you.

Malic
2007-05-13, 11:05 AM
I really don't think it will ever be mainstream, but it would be nice to gain some popularity in Mississippi and Texas.

Oh and about the whole vet DnDer thing. I'm playing a 1st Edition game on and off. :amused:

1337_master
2007-05-13, 11:06 AM
So...D&D was never "cool"...Just some "Cool" people play it, or it just became less "Uncool"...Duly noted...

bosssmiley
2007-05-13, 11:13 AM
Wait, DnD isn't devil worship? I feel so betrayed! :smallfrown:


(:smallwink:)

No, you're just not high enough level to learn the real spells and then hang yourself in a tragic fashion when your character dies (after Chick). :smallwink:

Oh, see websnark.com (http://www.websnark.com/archives/jack_chick/) on how Chick tracts and hard-core porn have the same visual vocabulary. :smalleek:

As for D&D becoming cool. It ain't. Never was, never will be. We're just another perverted little internet clique helping to normalise each other's furtive, sweaty-handed fetish. :smallbiggrin:

Green Bean
2007-05-13, 11:22 AM
No, you're just not high enough level to learn the real spells and then hang yourself in a tragic fashion when your character dies (after Chick). :smallwink:

Oh, see websnark.com (http://www.websnark.com/archives/jack_chick/) on how Chick tracts and hard-core porn have the same visual vocabulary. :smalleek:

As for D&D becoming cool. It ain't. Never was, never will be. We're just another perverted little internet clique helping to normalise each other's furtive, sweaty-handed fetish. :smallbiggrin:

Heh. I loved those comics. They were so... unintentionally funny. :smallbiggrin:

Quietus
2007-05-13, 12:43 PM
/Translated by Tippy Industries: So you don't have to waste any points in Decipher Script.

Wow... so THAT'S where those skill points went! I was wondering where I'd lost 4 points to, but I've always been able to read that kind of stuff - good to know!




Okay, not to derail the thread, but I'm getting pretty sick and tired of people pretending that others' posts need "translating." Nobody who's smart enough to spell it right in the first place would have trouble understanding even the sloppiest posts on the board. To show precisely what I think of anal-retentive grammer nazis, I'm going to make this the last grammatically correct sentence I post on GitP.

Just because we CAN understand crap that's been written horribly specifically to piss us off, or simply because the author has no sense of spelling/grammar, doesn't mean we WANT to. Of course, that's been elaborated on by others, so I'll leave my ranting at that.

de-trick
2007-05-13, 01:08 PM
dnd is not getting cooler the idea of dnd (eg dragons, orcs, elfs, dwarfs, sword fights, magic, quests) are getting cooler from online games like world of warcraft, diablo, and countless other games also many of the new movies are in the same idea lord of the rings, eragon, and others are making the idea of a magical place cool and since u cant go to an actual magical realm the only place u can see this stuff and go in deeper is dungeons and dragons

TSGames
2007-05-13, 01:14 PM
I Was wondering when DND became Cool, 'cause I started Liking it around...Second edition, I want/need to know if its cool or not so I can say "I liked DND Before it was cool."
DnD never became cool.

TheLogman
2007-05-13, 02:37 PM
This is a trick question, D&D was always "cool".

Also, I've liked it since first edition.

Viscount Einstrauss
2007-05-13, 08:23 PM
Come to think of it, I think Lord of the Rings has done a hell of a lot for D&D. Our attendance since Fellowship made it to theaters has been quite high. A lot of the preps that join our games have an early habit of reffering to halflings as hobbits and an unnatural love for elven rangers. Our jocks also love emulating Gimli.

AtomicKitKat
2007-05-14, 02:52 AM
Can't really do anything about the prices at Serene Centre. They're like the oldest RPG store around. I've been getting Dragon and Dungeon magazines from them more or less for free with the loyalty cards though. When the magazines end, I'll probably use the cards to lighten the cost of the books.

Epiphanis
2007-05-14, 03:42 AM
D&D became cool at 2:14 a.m. eastern time, August 29, 1997.

Wolf_Shade
2007-05-14, 09:04 AM
Hopefully never. Cool = mainstream, and mainstream = lowest common denominator. Stay geeky, people.
But being a geek has become cool. Paradox in the beginning stages of creation.

JackMage666
2007-05-14, 10:07 AM
Where I live, there's a Farm Supply Store called D&D. So, people don't get it when I say I play D&D. But that's because I live around hicks. Dungeons and Dragons is not cool here, even with the single person who could progress it to the point of being superbly awesome (that is, of course, myself) living here.

In my world, when someone says they play D&D, everyone withing earshot is permanently deafened, out of sheer awesome.

Telonius
2007-05-14, 11:47 AM
Very good question. I don't think it's exactly "cool," even now; but it's much more respectable and visible than it used to be. I think the improvement started sometime around the X-Files episode where the Lone Gunmen were playing a homebrewed version of D&D (and betting on the d20 results? :smallconfused: ) The Lord of the Rings movies helped tremendously, and so did EverQuest etc., to get people interested in geek-y stuff. It's gone semi-mainstream with some of the Colbert Report segments (though I haven't any D&D-related spots in awhile).

Ali
2007-05-14, 01:07 PM
For me personally it became interesting when I first heard of it and wanted to play it.

It became cool when me and some friends actually began playing it.

Now, I love it, to be honest. It is perfect for most people who are into fantasy.

Subotei
2007-05-14, 05:06 PM
If you have to ask whether something is cool, then it definitely isn't cool. Cool knows what is cool, and is cool with it.:smallcool:

Ragna
2007-05-15, 01:18 AM
@Arachnid
Odd how every Singaporean here purchases from serene center ain't it? Try borders over at wheelock place whenever they have a 40% discount. 50 bucks per boot * 3/5 = good prices

Anyway, to ensure that this post is on topic:
Nerd culture is actually more mainstream than it was in the past. We have so many references in modern times that its ridiculous. We have the Trekkies, the Roleplayers, the Star Wars Fanatics, the Otaku and so much more. Basically, nerd culture has influenced the world enough to become mainstream.

DnD on the other hand is something I find that people know about but don't try often.

PMDM
2007-05-15, 05:15 PM
After a week's worth of thinking, I think D&D will actually become a little popular over the next 5 years, WoTC just has to set it up right.

1) Make more sterotypical adventures. When new gamers start, they look for zombies, dragons, and goblins. Not for kick butt contruct player characters, and magic trains. I love eberron, but I'd be lying if I said it was for everyone. Wizards of The Coast is just starting to update classic adventures to 3.5. So far, it's working, but it takes time.
2) More emphasis on the other end of the market. This means setting up more local events for people to meet. WoTC usually just sells the book. They need to set up more gaming events and meet ups. I know most people enjoy playing in the privacy of their own room, but a system of meeting new players would be nice. Maybe a more comprehensive player meet up system online, or a special make a campaign day at special stores.
3) More Accessories (mispell, I think). I know that players will always buy more dice, but I also love having a dry erase board, or a few pieces of terrain taken from an old "Army Men play kit". There's only one DM screen, and I don't like it. Minitures are hard to find, and are not cheap. Wizards could easily sell all of these things. I would totally buy any gimmick that WoTC put out if it created something new for my party. I'm just sick and tired of books that specialize in only a few aspects of play that my characters may or may not use.
4) More helpful web tools. A downloadable dungeon maker and character sheet is just the start of it. A battle monitor would be cool. Or just some sort of tool that could monitor the players game, and occasionally give the DM ideas on what the players might not know about. If no one used the trip rules yet, and a battle in trap filled room is coming up, now would be a good time to mention it. Along with the bull rush rules. They've started taking a step in this direction, but many 3rd party companies allready jumped on this idea.

Overall, I just think that D&D needs to launch itself further into web 2.0, and create more online content.

Hefty Lefty
2007-05-15, 06:11 PM
DnD has never been "cool," but it has been popular, and still is, for quite some time now.

DnD is not cool, because cool means, like others have said, mainstream media. If DnD was cool, I could turn on MTV and see Sway and his giant turban face telling me "Fans are going crazy outside the Barnes and Noble in NYC waiting for the newest DnD book to be released." Then I could flip down to MTV2 and watch "The Real World: Eberron," where seven strangers play a campaign filled with drama, alcohol, sex, and very little substance otherwise. Trust me, we're not missing out on much.

DnD is popular, however, because, while many people don't play it, almost everyone knows about it. If I say "I play Dungeons and Dragons," people will know immediatly it's a geek-culture game. However if I say "I play World of Darkness," people won't know what I'm talking about; they'll think it's some new video game and be interested.

Ragna
2007-05-16, 12:25 AM
Then I could flip down to MTV2 and watch "The Real World: Eberron," where seven strangers play a campaign filled with drama, alcohol, sex, and very little substance otherwise. Trust me, we're not missing out on much.


About this bit, I'm not sure if this would happen even if it was mainstream. DnD players don't exactly go about searching for adventures to watch. They search for adventures to play.

Komarov
2007-05-16, 08:32 AM
About this bit, I'm not sure if this would happen even if it was mainstream. DnD players don't exactly go about searching for adventures to watch. They search for adventures to play.
I'm pretty sure I'd be more likely to see this on the station that always broadcasts poker - yes, I'm talking about ESPN. Or maybe that DirectTV station that featured the Video Gaming World Championships...

And if it was done in the style of OotS, as in, the characters speak for themselves but you'd still have "I ROLLED A 4 ON MY MOVE SILENTLY CHECK!' and so on, then that'd be kinda cool and might hold interest better than dice and paper.

Anyways, back on track, I don't think DnD's ever been "popular", although it's never been obscure; it's always had a fair player base, although it was advertised a lot more in comic books through around 1995. Recently, with the "geek" fad that swept American TV and fashion, I think it might've gotten a slight boost in how many people know about it, but not so much in the "how many people play" category. DnD, in my experience, requires too much knowledge and effort to get into; so, you either play it because you love it, you don't play it because it's "cool" and "trendy".

Ethdred
2007-05-16, 09:44 AM
D&D was cool at some point in the 80s, if you're talking about mainstream acceptance.

What? When? Dammit, was I in double maths when that happened? Because I never noticed D&D being cool in the 80s, and I was there.

Twilight Jack
2007-05-16, 04:37 PM
The only reason that D&D is not considered cool is that there are far more uncool people in the world than cool people, and therefore the uncool have been able to use their superior numbers to dictate that they are in fact cool. Now we, the cool people, are considered uncool.

The idea that D&D is uncool is just a myth perpetuated by The Man, to keep a brother DOWN!

doliemaster
2007-05-16, 04:51 PM
If DnD was ever 'cool,' it wouldn't have taken me a few years convince my parents buy me the books so I could play with my schoolyard chums, no DnD goes from one reason ignorant people fear it to another, It used to be satanists now it's Mass-Murding insane people, who knows what they will blame on us next? So no, DnD is not 'cool'.

Yiel
2007-05-16, 09:59 PM
I don't think D&D became "Cool"... but I think being a "nerd" or "geek" has become more socially acceptable in many places.

Jamie Fameflame
2007-05-17, 01:25 AM
I don't think D&D became "Cool"... but I think being a "nerd" or "geek" has become more socially acceptable in many places.

- I have noticed the same trend as well... The crime and action television series aren't about gun-toting idiots anymore (well, not to the same extent at least), but about mathematicians, scientists, etc. etc....

Shame that the quality is rubbish, but that's to expect.

Oh, and where are all the hot science-chicks??? I have never seen any, that's for sure. :smallconfused:

On the topic: Never was, likely never will. Unless it gets sort of a 'surfer' or 'skater' image. I don't see that coming :smallbiggrin:

Vuzzmop
2007-05-17, 01:35 AM
D&D isn't, and probably never will be cool. Geeks and nerds rule the world now, but I get picked on heaps simply because I play.

The majority of people may be uncool, but the majority of people are brainless idiots programmed by the man, and just say it's uncool because those who are cool say it is.

Hefty Lefty
2007-05-17, 05:11 AM
D&D isn't, and probably never will be cool. Geeks and nerds rule the world now, but I get picked on heaps simply because I play.

That's why I keep it on the DL.

Bender
2007-05-18, 08:26 AM
Where I live, D&D is neither cool, nor popular. Most people won't know what you are talking about. Among engineering students, there might be a larger percentage that know it, but even then mostly by name. I have never met someone who mentioned he/she plays D&D when I didn't know that already, and neither would I mention it, mostly to save time not having to explain why D&D doesn't make me an alienated freak. That also means there are probably more of us than meets the eye :smallwink:.

I don't think it will ever become cool, because it requires imagination and reading. I don't mind. The only problem is my girlfriend doesn't like it when I read in one of the books or prepare the next session (she'll have to live with it though :smallcool:)

Kelyss
2007-05-18, 11:02 AM
d&d has never been cool, but is still fun. i play it alot, and i still keep my reputation as a regular person. not a geek, or nerd as some may call them.

Vuzzmop
2007-05-18, 10:21 PM
In our gaming group, none of us are "cool", but there is a few people who you wouldn't consider nerdy.It's weird how everyone fits into a strangely familiar stereotype though. We have the metro one, the sarcastic one, the 6"8 nerd gaurdian, the one who probably needs a Ritalin drip (moi), too many stereotypes to call us all "nerds".

the_tick_rules
2007-05-18, 10:22 PM
D&D is cool?

Vuzzmop
2007-05-18, 10:35 PM
No

and it never will be. But since when did "cool" mean anything. All "cool" does is make idiots agree with you.

Viscount Einstrauss
2007-05-18, 11:47 PM
Hey, he who controls idiots controls the world. Just hand out guns and tell them to shoot anyone who disagrees.

RationalGoblin
2007-05-20, 10:33 AM
Hey, he who controls idiots controls the world. Just hand out guns and tell them to shoot anyone who disagrees.

The sad thing is, that probably works.

Anyways, on-topic. I have talked to at least 50 people about D&D, and not one of them has even heard of it. So no, it is not "cool". It is still unknown, which is good, as I can mold new players whatever way I want.

I knew I was making a point somewhere in here, but I don't remember it. :smallconfused: