D&D Discussion: Are you doing it wrong?
I used to post these updates over on my own site (www.vanitygames.com), which started out as a totally D&D DM blog-centric site. I was attempting to support my spouse, who had some vague aspirations towards game design, so I got into D&D so my spouse’d have a cheerleader on the sidelines.
Well, that totally fell apart (both the marriage and the game design aspirations). I was left a little adrift after that, but time did what time does, and eventually I was able to focus on the things I really love (comics). Still, the urge to run D&D never left me, and I found that despite questionable motives for getting into the game, I really enjoyed it.
But according to some (my ex included) I enjoy it for all the wrong reasons. I can’t count on both hands and feet the number of times I’ve been told I’m doing it wrong.
I’ve never argued the point. It’s never bothered me that I’m doing it wrong. Normally the phrase “you’re doing it wrong” is meant to evoke shame, to correct behavior, to mold someone into the right way to perform or think or create. I won’t deny that I’m “doing D&D” differently, certainly non-traditionally, but I refuse to feel shame for what I do.
Although maybe I should. Both my ex and myself like to create things out of the rulesets for D&D, but here’s the key difference: if we liken D&D to a set of really awesome legos, with all the bits there to assemble some really interesting things, then it’s the ex that loves doing just that–putting all the pieces together in new and interesting ways. I am the malcontent who refuses to be satisfied by that.
I’m the person that takes the pile of legos and sees what happens when you throw it in the microwave. Which means I can see a person’s point when they tell me I’m doing it wrong–I’m breaking all their toys, adding in toys from different sets (mixing my legos and my action figures, my D&D and my FATE, etc etc). I’m constantly fiddling with the system, seeing what happens when you take pieces out, add extra bits in, mix up the editions, mix up the lore, and basically run amok amok AMOK with everything about it.
I’m a tinkerer at heart. In another era I’d've been in my garage with mechanical pieces strewn everywhere, a workbench full of well-loved tools and jars of screws, trying to build a better lawnmower. I just find it impossible to feel shame about that.
It can be argued that the second you deviate even one iota from the published ruleset, you’re no longer playing D&D. I’d argue against that mindset until the end of my days–it’s what I love best about the game, that it’s meant to be tinkered with, that the long, rich history of “splat books” and third party resources and mountains of community-created content speaks this DIY mentality. Personally, I believe that so long as you have a D&D character sheet in front of you and a d20 in your hand, you are pretty much playing D&D, no matter what other modifications your GM has made to the rules. That, I’m content with.
RPGBN
You sound sooooo much like me! Wayyyy back when I first started D&D, I kept wanting to muck with everything, and I did. My mind kept going on and on with the possibilities of worlds. What if this … and what if that … and what if the other … one of my favorite games that I ran took people from our era, and then transported them back in time into the world of Dragonlance (because I was in love with Dragonlance at the time).
Some people called me a ‘munchkin gamer’ and other not-so-nice things, but I just kept plugging on and everyone had a load of fun.
I remember reading in a sourcebook, I think it was a WoD sourcebook, (paraphrasing, now) that your game is yours to do with what you please. Digest the rules, understand them, then if you don’t like them or want to change them – do it! I looooved that. :)