Life's Lessons from Dungeons & Dragons.

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Some random thoughts on what can be learned about life from playing Dungeons & Dragons...

• A good plan executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.
• A very effective strategy is "Let us have a fight between you and them".
• Act on the promises you make.
• Actions speak louder than words.
• All people are "Chaotic Neutral" no matter what else they may claim to be.
• Analog can be more reliable than digital; paper and pencils do not need batteries.
• Be nice to the people in charge.
• Bring a backup on any adventure.
• Collaboration is better than competition.
• Consensus makes everything easier and more fun, but it is nothing without personal initiative.
• Diversity rocks.
• Draw a map as you go.
• Everyone has a purpose.
• Experimentation without investigation can be very painful; learn to ask questions.
• Friends matter.
• Get everything possible out of the tools you have now.
• Hope is never to be surrendered.
• If something does not work, get rid of it.
• If you fall into a habit, the universe will bite you.
• Imagination is king; imagine the other, the better, the possible in every situation.
• It is not the degree of the atrocity committed that incites your emotions; it is the intimacy with which you experience those wrongs.
• It is better to outsmart an enemy than to fight one.
• It is okay to run away; there is no shame in a well-managed escape.
• It is the wrong assumptions that can kill you.
• Learn from defeat.
• Learn from others' mistakes as well as from your own.
• Life can get better.
• Life is 99% frustrating drudgery and 1% glorious victory.
• Never throw away the documentation.
• Never underestimate the power of negotiation.
• Never forget your dice.
• Never rely on assumptions, particularly in a world you do not already know.
• No matter how detailed and prepped you are, you will not use it all.
• Not every outcome can be preordained.
• One simple act, executed well, can be more powerful than an elaborate plan.
• Patience is vital.
• People are more interesting when they are flawed.
• People need a sense of purpose, of direction even just for the sake of ignoring it.
• Practice, train, endure defeat, try again, and you will level up.
• Questioning your foe before filling it with arrows might get you valuable information.
• Remembering the goal keeps you involved.
• Rewards are their own reward.
• Rules as Written and Rules as Intended are trumped by Rules as Played.
• Rules exist to be tested, not broken.
• Say what you mean, do what you say.
• Simple and internally consistent is more fun than random.
• Sometimes, you must give up something important to achieve something more important.
• Teamwork counts: Never scatter the party unless that is what you want to have happen to your character's body.
• The best quests require a mixture of skills in the party.
• The referee is not a character in the game -- player characters do not know the referee.
• There always needs to be a balance between conflict, roleplay, and puzzle-solving.
• There is always another way.
• There is no end, there is no victor, there is no loser, and the plot does not wrap up neatly; there is just the continuing story and the next adventure.
• There is no shame in defeat; only in accepting defeat.
• There is always a chance.
• Treasure is not always what you expect it to be.
• Try, fail, try again; never give up.
• Unique tools and weapons tend to identify the heroes in the room.
• Weirdness counts.
• When all else fails, make up a new rule.
• When selecting a weapon or tool, bigger is not always better.
• When you have achieved victory, do not forget to inform those whom you have defeated.
• You can do great things if you take risks and have the courage to risk failure.
• You cannot force others to play the way you want.
• You create your own traps.
• You do not have to read all the books.
• You must cultivate the perfect poker face.
• You live by the narrative you create for yourself -- make it a good one.
• You will have to improvise nearly every encounter.
• Your life's experiences are built upon seemingly random encounters.

You'll eventually stop rolling 1s.
You can't count on rolling a 20 when you need to.

Sometimes the crazy solutions involving twenty barrels of gunpowder, a bait shop, and the corrupt governor's yacht works.
Usually, the boring but practical solutions work better.

Also, I like you alphabetized the list!

• "Don't Fear the Reaper" is not just a good song title, it's a basic philosophy of life.

• A little generosity goes a long way.

• A ten-foot pole has a multitude of uses besides not touching things.

• Ability is quantifiable.

• Anything worth doing is worth doing well, and anything worth doing well is worth being paid well to do.

• Arguing with those in authority always gets results; but not always the results you wanted.

• Dice never lie, people do; the only question is about what.

• It really is important to get along well with others.

• It is simply impossible to keep everyone happy all of the time.

• Loot first, then burn.

• Lots of little hurts can be just as lethal as one big hurt.

• Never go it alone while there are others there to support you.

• Never leave anything to pure chance.

• Never run from anything immortal; you will only attract its attention.

• No matter how hard you try, you just can not fix stupidity.

• Once you have everything working right, stop trying to make it work better.

• One simple act, executed well, can be more powerful than an elaborate plan.

• Only one person can be the center of attention at any given time.

• Power in the hands of a fool ruins everything for everyone, especially the fool.

• Preparation, planning, perseverance -- choose any three.

• The best way to learn what do is to do it with people who have done it before.

• The laws of physics can and will be used against you.

• The longer it all goes according to plan, the bigger the disaster at the end.

• The older you get, the less time you have for play.

• There is more going on in the world than you can ever know.

• Those who have failed to plan, by default, have planned to fail.

Words of wisdom.

Funny to come across this. I have a giant old timey crate filled with my late brothers role playing games. Mostly D&D and MERP (middle earth role playing). My son is 6. I’ve been wondering what is the minimum age to make him-Er, I mean let him play.

A good quarantine activity!

I miss D&D.

Wow, I'm surprised you like D&D, Fnord.

ahhhhh ...... crud just when i thought this poster had ; NO; redeeming qualities , then he goes and writes something like this..... dammm........!

Now i understand Why
A Name 'Dungeons And
Dragons'
No
Do
of
Sing
Or Dance
Only All That Naked
Comes After 'Breathe Free'...
Fine Examples of CuLTuRaL Clothes...

InTeResTinG Yes..

me three.............?

From the perspective of the goblins and orcs, we're most certainly the monsters.
Especially when you have a party of overly enthusiastic young men.