50 Reasons I ❤️ Dungeons and Dragons
My Celebration of 50 Years of D&D Reasons #26-#50
First off, welcome to my humble newsletter about ttrpgs. I hope you enjoy what you read enough that’t you’ll say, “I’d like more of this every week” and you’ll subscribe.
If you’re coming into this late, these reasons are not in order or importance so feel free to go and read the my first 50 reasons here.
❤️ I love that this hobby allow me to meet new people, which is weird, because, some days, I’m not a necessarily a big fan of people, including myself, but it’s easier for me to like people when they like ttrpgs, I think.
❤️ I love all the opinions this game spawns. I don’t agree with a lot of the opinions, but they make the hobby more diverse and interesting. Heck, I’ve even learned a thing or two by listening to someone else’s opinion. Who knew!?
❤️ I love the branches D&D has created. Some say this is bad but think about a family tree, a family tree that grows straight up, with no branches is inbred and not good. So, if whether you love OSR, WotC, ODD, 1e, 2e, 3e, 3.5, 4e or Shadowdark, you’re still part of a big, beautiful tree but remember, trees will always have a few nuts in them.
❤️ I love going to used bookstores and hunting down those ancient and elusive D&D books like a lion hunting gazelle’s. It’s all about the hunt!
❤️ I love that there so many Discord channels around the hobby and I can drop by any of them, ask a question, and mostly, get a non-snarky answer.
❤️ I love learning about new branches of the hobby. If there are ttrpg games coming out, that interest me, I will try to find a group that’s playing and see if I can jump in.
❤️ I love running my favorite hobby online. Yes, I’m a big fan of in person games and prefer them, but I’ve found, at least running games online, none of the magic is lost for me. We still have pre-game and post game banter and if there’s Evolving Characters, Passionate Story Telling, Inspired Creativity and Celebratory Moments, that’s what makes the game E.P.I.C. online or off.
❤️ I love that this hobby encourages me to create my own stuff. Whether I’m using Canva to create a sandbox or index cards to build a town, both digital and physical creations allow my imagination to run wild.
❤️ I love new starter boxes. Each new box brings new teaching tools like cards and maps as well as new adventures. I also love unboxing them.
❤️ I love all the flavors (genres) of my hobby be it fantasy, science fiction, post apocalyptic or spy and intrigue.
❤️ I love the zines, all the zines. I love reading them, reviewing them and working on one of my own.
❤️ I love daydreaming about where my hobby could lead me both in the real world and the fantasy world.
❤️ I love handing out luck points, hero points or inspiration for bad puns.
❤️ I love that I was able to hand down this hobby to, at least, one of my kids and their friends. They now play and run their own games.
❤️ I love being the DM. I do get to play from time to time but DM is more rewarding, for me.
❤️ I love the challenge of being a DM regardless of system or edition because it keeps me mentally sharp.
❤️ I love a game where what the players are thinking can be completely different from what the DM is thinking. Player ideas > DM ideas.
❤️ I love a game/hobby that teaches people they can explore different sides of themselves though play.
❤️ I love that dnd can be both portable and minimal. Grab some dice, drop a few stats on an index card and name and you have a character ready to be fleshed out. You can play in the luxury of a private room of your game store or on a subway.
❤️ I love improv and the back and forth between PC and NPCs. It can lead to crazy things.
❤️ I love saying, “You meet in a tavern”
❤️ I love a hobby that I can improve and get better at.
❤️ I love drawing on flip mats, the smell of the markers and erasing the map, preparing it for new worlds to explore.
❤️ I love prepping for a game, sometimes more than running it.
❤️ I love that this hobby I can grow older with. It’s less aggravating than golf and less strenuous than pickle ball.
So, those are my 50 reasons I love Dungeons and Dragons, what are your reasons?
Leave a few in the comments and don’t forget to subscribe.