Why do we roll dice and pretend to be elves?

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Here's a thought that's been pawing at my back a bit:

Why do we play D&D?

Now, obviously, the "answer" is "because it's fun." But if that's the case, why don't we do more "fun" stuff? Watch movies, for example. Drink. Listen to music. Collect stamps. Make fun of nerds. There has to be a certain something that makes not just basic role-playing fun, but more importantly, D&D. There must be a certain appeal about taking the role of a fantasy character. Otherwise we'd would be doing something else more... "fun."

Here are some of my thoughts.

-Escapism. Yeah, this is a pretty catch-all term. RPing on a big scale provides this, but it can easily be provided by narcotics, movies, just about anythingas well. So I speculate it's only part of the answer.

-Touch with the past. A bit. Many of us have a pechant for swords, bows, and other archaic weapons (Freud would have a field day with us... swinging around long, hard, metallic objects). However, D&D is extraordinarily defiant of history and the past, being more of a fantasy than historical setting. D&D provides some contact with the past, but not much.

-Touch with the unknown. Dragons, Wizards, Knights, and so on. Those are the stuff of the fantastic and supernatural. As humans, we clearly have some fascination with them. Yet this only goes so far. Dragons, evil spirits, even magic can be dissected into numbers and figures. Many times, the allure of the unknown is stripped by D&D, simply because we D&Ders like to know all there is about a certain being or thing. Because it is a game with rules and statistics, D&D cannot provide the full fascination of the unknown and hidden. Although the X-Files sure fills this niche well.

So, I'm interested, what are your thoughts on why we roll dice and pretend to be elves?

 

I think it's because we liked to play with LEGO, Playmobil and other stuff when we were children and now we just want an excuse for doing that again.

 

First of all, I don't pretend to be an elf. I might roleplay one more or less coherently for a while, but not as my PC. I'm not a dice fanatic either. In fact, the least we have of numbers in play, the best the play. Of course, events considered accidental in real-life are to be rolled, so is damage if delivered and how much of it, the quality of results of your various attempts etc etc... but it's very bad if too much depends on the dice. I especially dislike total character randomisation enforced by some DMs. Or making checks for things easily done in life. Come on, who of us exceeds level 3? And things we do aplenty. In some cases it's also so artificial that it spoils the atmosphere and the fun of gaming. Personally I'd leave much of that stuff at the DM's discretion.

Last but not least, I just like fantasy. Grew up on legends from a toddler, continued with history and literature, fantasy books etc, board games and roleplaying games were simply there. For me it's an alternative to reading fantasy or writing fantasy - and a nice one since I get a bit of both and even some more.

So sayeth the humble paladin chevalier, Bastard of Inner Circle, Truly Incaffeinated, Seeker of Proof, Grand Master of the Most Renowned Order of Everfull Chalice and Glorious Bean

 

We could get into something deep here. For me it is a chance to be something I can't be in real world. Fantasy gets away from the mundane world. Magic and/or the supernatural have fascinated humans since early time. Why midevilish times? Maybe a simpler time. Our lives are complicated. Could go on for a long*** time.

 

Why do people like sports and games like Quake??

P.s: I am not changing the topic, just answering a question with a question..

 

Quake is for kids who can't appreciate the real gore we're having in our roleplaying! That's why we play

 

I've been through all of those. Thinking back, Escapism being the worst period. It wasn't bad as thinking of spending time, but when thinking back and trying to find some sort of quality life-time, it seems a waste.

And definitely the touch with the unknown Why I love sci-fi too. Anything that pushes our boundaries of reality somewhere longer away.

 

For me, it's a chance to live the adventures of the characters in the books I've read. To create my own adventures as if somebody else were to read the story of them.

It's also an intellectual challenge, much more involving than watching TV, or playing some mindless FPS game.

 

You just described my life. (Except for the collecting stamps)

I actually never thought about this. I don't think I play for any of the reasons Oaz mentioned. I think it is just the group I play in what makes it fun. We have been friends for a long time, and I probably wouldn't want to play in a different group. Sometimes we even forget we are playing and discuss things like stand-up comedy, cartoons from the 80's or the last episode of Dark Angel.

 

I think Chev hit it for me. I like D&D because I like fantasy in general (or vice versa, I can't really tell) I mean to me, fantasy is something very basic and something I've loved since as long as I can remember. When I was little I loved the Disney movies like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty -- classic fantasy material. And to me playing D&D is just another form of fantasy, just as writing, reading, and watching movies are. But I also got into D&D because my Dad was (still is) and he and I are really close, so playing D&D with him when I was younger was a way I got to spend time with him.

*shrug* I guess there aren't really any full answers to why people like fantasy though. I think it's just that everyone deep down inside wants to be a superhero, have magical powers and be able protect themselves from enemies. So people like fantasy because they like the idea of having magical powers (same reason why so many people love Harry Potter and superheros like Batman) and D&D is another aspect of fantasy and role-playing. Leastways that's my guess

 

How many of you actually are hardcore players? Have a usual group that meets on a set day, or at least once a week?

 

Me and my fellas are not hardcore players, but we do meet once in a week....