Why do you play D&D?

[Orak]

Personally I play D&D to hang out with friends, eat lots of greasy food and drink caffienated beverages. We tell lame jokes, talk about the weeks events and even play a bit of D&D. The company of good friends is what Dungeons and Dragons is to me.

I try to make each campaign memorable with my choice of character. This time happens to be an Elven Bard. I have picked out theme music that plays every time he strums up one of his bardic songs (Eye of the Tiger by Bon Jovi is the song for Inspire Courage). I like a light and fun game, some times we triumph and sometimes we get smeared but everyone goes home happy. Dungeons and Dragons is about having a good time.

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

My reasons are nearly identical to yours. But I also play because it's the one thing I find that still really makes me satisfied with my weekends. When I don't play D&D whenever I visit friends, I just feel like it was at least a little bit wasted. Come to think of it, that's kind of sad... I need a life.

[Dhavaer]

Because it's the least frustrating way for me to indulge my creative impulses.

[lacesmcawesome]

to express my creativity, hang out with friends, and because I LOVE getting immersed in this imaginary world.

[the_tick_rules]

cause it's fun, and the real world can suck.

[ocato]

So far it's the only setting where 'learn an instrument, chicks dig musicians' has actually worked with any success?

That's a joke there. I play for the friendship, the fun, the free mountain dew, and the long-running jokes about spiders laying eggs in your small intestine.

Fun!

[OzymandiasVolt]

It's an extremely fun and flexible creative outlet.

[Ranis]

I pride myself in writing stories. D&D lets me do that and hang out with friends at the same time.

[dyslexicfaser]

Because if I rolled up with a group of friends and put the torch to some random town in real life, there would be consequences.

DnD? Conscience-free. No matter what the paladins say.

[Raum]

Why do I play? For fun & relaxation of course. Though some days I think older systems were more fun. Nostalgia.

Eye of the Tiger by Bon Jovi

Did Bon Jovi remake the song? I probably still have it some where...in one of the 80s collections if not on the original Survivor CD.

[Counterpower]

I play D&D for the world I can create. The stories I can tell. And the comic relief from my insane, deeply perverted D&D group.

[dragonwings]

Only in D&D can I glare evilly at my buddy and blast the ever-lovin' crud out of him with an eldritch spear.

Thank heavens for "friendly" arena competitions.

Actually, like most, I like the creative outlet.

[Zincorium]

1. It's the only social activity I've found where I can go, hang out with other people, and not be bored.

2. A lot more freedom than any video or board game combined with more spontaneity and external input than writing, with the fun of both.

3. It's an accepted outlet for pretending you are something you aren't, such as an elf or gnome.

[SpiderKoopa]

Because d&d is the only game where I can go from animating a legion of undead, to unleashing a wave of arcane might, to shamanistically following the will of Anubis (we use his 1st ed alignment of lg), to slicing of heads with a vorpal sword of holding.
Oh yeah, hanging out with friends and being creative is cool too.

[Vazzaroth]

Tabletop: All of the above, hanging out and drinking Mountin Dew.

Play-by-post: An amazingly nerd-tastic outlet for my hardcore RPing that surpasses the other DnD players in my area. Also, the leveling up is satisfying. That's about why I like RPGs more than any other genre. The leveling.

[Vaniel]

What else is there to do?

...

:D

[de-trick]

have a world changing event that million dies, drinking some dwarfen ale, have some troll weed, burn down the town all in the comfort of my friends basement

[Lord_Kimboat]

I've been playing a long time - more than 20 years now. I find that if I don't get my fix I start to feel cranky and unpleasant. So I guess it is a little addictive although I'm not a power gamer really at all.

To me, it's the story that matters. A creative process where I can create a being that, while not terribly realistic, is at least believable and consistent with the world that he she is in - using nothing more than my imagination and a few reference books. My characters have pasts, aspirations, desires and give me the opportunity to see things from their point of view. Something that actually helps me in real life.

If I'm running a game I have a whole world I can create! History, cosmology, theology are all up to me to create - it also gives me organizational skills, lets me know about deadlines as well as letting me express my social and presentation skills.

Basically, I play D&D for the fun and the expansion of my mind.

[I_Got_This_Name]

I like to design things, characters, worlds, etc. Nowhere else can I design an entire functioning world and not have to write a detailed story for it.

The company of friends (sometimes; some of my group members aren't worth hanging with for anything else).

The thrill of seeing a good build fall into place; of seeing that one crucial spell turn the tide of the battle; of planning something and seeing it work.

[RaistlinandPals]

1. Because I can light things on fire to actually solve problems without legal consequence.

2. I can die and come back to life

3. I can piss of friends to the point that they would try to kill me (in game) and laugh about it on the way home.

4. Wholesome family values...and the joy of defeating your enemies.

[LotharBot]

A friend of mine once described a set of things people normally want from games:

Relaxation -- basically, unwinding, doing something pleasing but not strenuous. This is the sort of enjoyment you can get from a movie.
Challenges -- facing down tough challenges. Stretching your mind or body to its limits, as in many competitive games.
Variety -- adventures, puzzles, new environments.
Social interaction -- basically, interacting with others.

D&D is one of the few games (or, rather, RPG's are one of the few genres) I can think of that gives you all four. Building a character and killing a bunch of mooks is relaxation. The boss fight is a challenge. The dungeon on the way there gives you variety. And you're doing it all with a group of peers you're hanging out with the whole time. And if you're the DM, you get all of it too -- it's a challenge to come up with good dungeons, your players' actions give you plenty of variety, you can relax and enjoy yourself while they spend 45 minutes arguing about whether or not to push the red button, and of course it's social.

The specific part of that I most enjoy is the creative problem solving aspect. It's a very different sort of challenge from any other game I've played. It's not a pure logic challenge, it's not a challenge of reflexes, it's a challenge of balance and creativity and storytelling and using the game mechanics to create. And the process of overcoming the challenge, whether as a DM or as a player, is a rush.

[Psiwave]

I'm just in it for the pizza. and the funny dice with too many sides are pretty cool.


Seriously, it's the escapism and the freedom of choice that you can't get in PC/console games. or in RL for that matter.

[Tengu]

I don't play DND.

However, I play other RPG games.
Because I love to create a great story.
But what I love even more is when my players give comments like "woah, that was an awesome session!" after we finish.

Yeah, I'm mostly the GM.

[Dungeonmeister]

The sheer pleasure of spending time with old friends, making new ones and plotting their horrible, horrible dooms...

[The Prince of Cats]

I play D&D because it is the only system my group can agree on. I would much rather play Vampire and Mage. That said, D&D is easy on the brain and requires little or no deep thinking. Nice easy maths (I play with hypercubes in my head for fun), with black and white morality.

Actually, if I am honest, Amber is my favourite system. Sadly, my wife owns too many dice and so diceless systems confuse and scare her. I have tried to explain how diceless systems work and it gets ugly, so it is one of the banned subjects in our life. (it may be the single banned subject, now I think of it)

[Lòkki Gallansbayne]

I think it's a mixture of the escapism that comes from pretending to be fantastic magical heroes battling the forces of evil (the last session I played we killed a god ) and the social interaction: sitting around with a bunch of friends, playing some games, having some snacks, making lots and lots of very nerdy jokes. Good times.

As for why D&D over other systems, well, I can't really say as I haven't had much opportunity to play other games (although Wushu sounds like a hell of a lot of fun), but I think I'll always have a soft spot in my heart because the books that got me into fantasy were based on a D&D campaign setting (DragonLance) and it was the first RPG system I was ever particularly familiar with.

[DrummingDM]

Because I'm too lazy to actually write a book, and D&D lets me focus on writing the stuff I like, and letting the PCs fill in the rest.

[Narmoth]

to be a hero, something that I can't be in the real world, or let others be heroes.

[Tormsskull]

I'll second the creative outlet thing. D&D is a chance to sit around with friends and have a good time. I specifically enjoy making memorable characters and capturing that "omg" feeling. Even today, 3+ years after the best campaign I have been in, the players still talk about it.

[Indon]

It's way more interesting than card games.