D&D Online

Playing pen and paper has always confused me lol.  I think it sounds fun, but with all the MMOs out today I can't see why anyone would want to do it pen and paper style.

The p&p strongest side is that theres only one limit: your imagination! Online-games cant even begin to be as satisfying as a good p&p round. Go out and try it, ideally with an experienced GM, you wont regret it, Im certain.

Ive been playing and GM'ing since the early 80's (p&p, wargames, 'puter) and nothing is as satisfying as an evening which passes in a moment and where ppl several days after call to tell you, it was one of the best games ever.

Dont think for a moment that because theyre calle MMORPG's, theyre like p&p roleplaying, theyre not. They cant be, not yet anyway. Dont get me wrong, I liked playing EvE, WoW, DDO etc, but they are different games in their own right. The should be called MMOG's, really. 

There was a time years ago when friends had to leave their home to be social. Now we have computers and need not open our front door except to pay the pizza boy.

Originally posted by Stellos

Playing pen and paper has always confused me lol.  I think it sounds fun, but with all the MMOs out today I can't see why anyone would want to do it pen and paper style.

I've played a fair share of both PnP games and MMO's and I think I know them both well enough to form a decent compairison of both.

1) A very strong plus for MMO's is that you actually see the world your interacting and playing in as in a PnP game you need to use your imagination to envision what you see. The downside to the MMO is that you are only seeing one person or one groups vision. PnP allow you to create your own vision of the world and its places and people.

2) There is a lot more actual interaction with other players in PnP game than there are in MMO's. This human interaction is something that I sorely missed while playing MMO's. It's great that you can play the same game with someone in Australia or the UK but that interaction is very limited. Also if your character does something against another person's character in a PnP game, your going to have to deal with the characters player who is sitting with you in the same room (and have to deal with the GM as well) as apposed to the relative safety of being behind a computer screen and being hundreds or thousands of miles away. PnP make you seriously consider the consequences of your actions....in most cases anyway. Of course in PnP game you have to contend with  some peoples personality traits. For example, I use to play FASA's Star Tek PnP with a guy we'll call Dave from Philly. I soon found out that Dave from Philly was a complete loonie who got his kicks from being as disruptive of a player as he could be. (think the Comic Book Guy from Hell) As much as I liked playing a Trek PnP I soon dropped out of the game. I had the misfortune of running into Dave from Philly at a gaming convention a few years later. We were playing a D&D game and this young girl was GM 'ing for the first time. Needless to say Dave from Philly saw a pime opportunity to be as big as as a@@ as he could possibly be and totally ruined this poor girl's game. I really felt sorry for her and even told her about Dave and said it wasn't her fault that the game tanked.

3) PnP games are an event of sorts. To me it's like Poker night is for other folks. The PnP game that I play gets together 2 times a month so there is a sense of anticipation for the next time we'll get together. MMO's are convenient in that they  are as easy to get to as a flick of a power switch and a few clicks of the mouse. But this convenience  makes them a bit common-place and in turn make joining in a bit uneventful.

These are just my views on the the PnP and MMO debates. Others may share my views...some may not.

P.S. Sorry about any typos, I wrote this at about 3:30 in the AM.

Actually, today's MMOs don't hold a candle to the old Pen & Paper D&D games.  Yeah, they're pretty and you can play for hours and hours and hours anytime from the comfort of your home... but the old P&P we much more fun, much better quests, and anything could happen.