Is there any substantive difference between a weekly gathering of Dungeons and Dragons geeks and Church?Let's find out!
- Does the weekly gathering involve getting together with close friends?
- Is the weekly gathering facilitated by one member who guides the discussion?
- Does the weekly gathering involve the use of a core group of dense and inscrutable books?
- Do the inscrutable books require multiple guides, addenda, compendia, rulebooks and explanations to facilitate understanding of the central books?
- Do some members of the weekly gathering support an extremely literal interpretation of the core rulebooks while other members advocate a more liberal and lax understanding of their tenets?
- Do the people in your gathering use arcane terms and strange sayings that an outsider would find odd?
- Does the weekly gathering involve 'serious' and occasionally intense discussions of invisible and/or magical beings?
- Do the people in your group pretend that they are involved in an epic struggle of good against evil?
- Does the group's epic struggle of good against evil involve magic and invisible beings, demons and spirits?
- Do the people at your weekly gathering actually believe that the magical beings and epic struggle you discuss are real?
If you answered 'Yes' to 9 out of 10, then your geekly gathering is called Dungeons and Dragons.
If you answered 'Yes' to 10 out of 10 then your weekly gathering is called Church.
Does this mean that by playing D&D I'm close to being a member of a church? Or are believers just table-top rpg players that take it one step too far?
ReplyDeleteI think they're table toppers who have taken their core rulebooks a bit too literally.
ReplyDeleteThis has got to be the funniest, most creative, most insightful thing I've read in a while. I miss playing D&D so much but I don't miss church at all. Funny how #10 makes all the difference in the world.
ReplyDeleteMe too. I think I need to add a disclaimer that I'm not making fun of D&D people - I did it for a long time myself.
ReplyDeleteHey Jeffrey,
ReplyDeleteConcerning the idea of a disclaimer...
A buddy of mine was giving me crap the other day concerning one of my posts. He said I didn't need to notify the readers that what I had written was a joke and that I need to trust the audience. In retrospect, he was right. If someone doesn't get the joke (and there will always be people who don't satire) a wee bit of controversy doesn't hurt a blog.
@ Andy,
ReplyDeleteI suppose that would kind of ruin the point. And actually this is only partly in jest. I really don't see that much difference between the two.
Hey guys,
ReplyDeleteI've never played D&D, but it does sound like fun. I have gone to church (CAtholic) and that was not fun. Entertaining post "J"
Kriss
Very much enjoyed. I presume the defining characteristic between church and D&D is no. 2; you'd be surprised how many D&Ders subscribe to 10!
ReplyDelete