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View Full Version : Holy God, D&D Helped Me IRL



Deth Muncher
2010-04-09, 10:04 AM
So, my basic question to you all is this- has any knowledge you've gotten from a game you've played helped you in some way in real life? The story that spawned this question is thus:

I was just taking a Russian test, and we had to read an advertisement and figure out what it was saying. There was a word surrounded like <<so>> which means, as far as I can tell, a non-Russian word spelled in Cyrillic. The word was Полиглот. Which, by the way, if you don't read Cyrillic, is "polyglot." I kinda looked at it for a sec, and then my mind went here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/feats.htm#polyglot). So thanks D&D, for telling me this advertisement was about learning languages.

Gorbash
2010-04-09, 10:10 AM
Well, that isn't really a D&D term...

Dust
2010-04-09, 10:15 AM
Only last week I was enjoying a delicious Dr. Pepper and reading some hella sweet MS Paint Adventures when I was attacked by a Bodak. Luckily, years of playing D&D reminded me to avert my eyes from their deadly gaze attacks and to pull open the curtains, since I knew Bodaks are vulnerable to direct sunlight. It burns their impure flesh.

JeenLeen
2010-04-09, 10:17 AM
I've learned a few words through D&D.

The only one that comes to mind that I am sure I learned through D&D is geas, although I imagine some others--simulacrum, disjunction (and the adjectived disjoined), and some others have been learnt.

Furthermore, D&D's mythology isn't great, but you can learn some things which could give you an insight when reading literature about the mythological.

Rules lawyering can also help you learn logic. :smalltongue: (Though, seriously, I've had a lot of fun comparing internal consistencies of a system which I think will be useful exercise for when I try to apply it to real-world philosophy, religion, or just logical looking-at things.)


Only last week I was enjoying a delicious Dr. Pepper and reading some hella sweet MS Paint Adventures when I was attacked by a Bodak. Luckily, years of playing D&D reminded me to avert my eyes from their deadly gaze attacks and to pull open the curtains, since I knew Bodaks are vulnerable to direct sunlight. It burns their impure flesh.

Yes, well, obviously that's a use.
Still, I wouldn't trust D&D's advice too far. I question if vampires have all the weaknesses stated in D&D. Maybe it's undead propaganda, at least some of it.

shadow_archmagi
2010-04-09, 10:20 AM
Only last week I was enjoying a delicious Dr. Pepper and reading some hella sweet MS Paint Adventures when I was attacked by a Bodak. Luckily, years of playing D&D reminded me to avert my eyes from their deadly gaze attacks and to pull open the curtains, since I knew Bodaks are vulnerable to direct sunlight. It burns their impure flesh.

I hate when Bodaks come for my Dr. Pepper.

I'm not sure how they keep getting into the house though.

Ossian
2010-04-09, 10:21 AM
Polyglot, as the word suggests, means many tongues. D&D helped you in a class? Thats all good, Amen bro. Amen.
:smallbiggrin:

Dr Bwaa
2010-04-09, 10:23 AM
I'm not sure I've learned anything lexicographically from D&D, but I certainly have from MtG. Though I also come up with things that aren't words except in that context, and I don't remember where they came from, which gets me in trouble in Scrabble.

Deth Muncher
2010-04-09, 10:34 AM
Well, that isn't really a D&D term...

No, you're absolutely right. But were it not for D&D, the chances that I would have known that word were astronomically small.

Optimystik
2010-04-09, 10:39 AM
I'm not sure I've learned anything lexicographically from D&D, but I certainly have from MtG. Though I also come up with things that aren't words except in that context, and I don't remember where they came from, which gets me in trouble in Scrabble.

This. M:TG broadened my vocabulary considerably.

Talon Sky
2010-04-09, 10:58 AM
I started breaking down RL events to D&D logic, like when a friend of mine slipped on an ice patch, I teased him for failing his balance check. Or when someone does something very awesome, I say they rolled a nat 20.

I dunno if this is necessarily helpful, but it is certainly funny to me and my friends. People I'm not friends with have no idea what I'm talking about, and sometimes when someone does recognize a vague d20 reference, I make a new friend ;p

Swordgleam
2010-04-09, 11:06 AM
Not the game directly, but the people I've met in the online gaming community have been pretty helpful for a bunch of different things, including my career.

Grommen
2010-04-09, 11:09 AM
I honestly learned how to study a text book from reading my D&D books in collage. It was not until the information a book was worth understanding and repeating that I gave a crap about learning from them. Then I learned to apply it to my text books for accounting and life got a lot better.

Don't do accounting any more but I still game. Interesting how life works out.

And studying history in order to write better plots has given me a rather robust knowledge of life, the universe and everything.

herbe
2010-04-09, 11:23 AM
I thanks for my language exam to D&D. I learn a lot of new word.
Reading part was the best 85% :smallsmile:

Gan The Grey
2010-04-09, 11:40 AM
I thanks for my language exam to D&D. I learn a lot of new word.
Reading part was the best 85% :smallsmile:

This is awesome. :smallbiggrin:

Admiral Squish
2010-04-09, 11:57 AM
I thanks for my language exam to D&D. I learn a lot of new word.
Reading part was the best 85% :smallsmile:

It certainly helped my reading speed. I'm up to 450 WPM and 90% comprehension.

Harr
2010-04-09, 12:18 PM
MTG, D&D, and just RPGs in general have always been an awesome way to learn more vocabulary.

I was lucky to have lived in the states for a few years, but my cousin, who has never been exposed to any kind of english-speaking environment but has played console and computer RPGs obsessively since childhood, today not only understands, speaks, and writes English perfectly, but does so at a much higher level than many native speakers I know.

He does have a bit of an accent though :smallbiggrin:

Lost Demiurge
2010-04-09, 12:30 PM
It helped me learn to socialize with people. Used to be really shy, D&D and other games let me get over that.

goken04
2010-04-09, 12:36 PM
It taught me Excel. If I hadn't had D&D to inspire me to make character sheets, I'd know less than half of what I know about using Excel.

Indon
2010-04-09, 12:48 PM
It helped me learn to socialize with people. Used to be really shy, D&D and other games let me get over that.

This. I've gotten so much better at interacting with others due to the face time I've gotten from tabletop RPGs.

shadow_archmagi
2010-04-09, 01:05 PM
It taught me Excel. If I hadn't had D&D to inspire me to make character sheets, I'd know less than half of what I know about using Excel.

I've got a 39 page binder with clear plastic dividers for sections.

To be honest, I think I went a bit overboard on my character sheet's length.

NotJesus
2010-04-09, 01:11 PM
Only last week I was enjoying a delicious Dr. Pepper and reading some hella sweet MS Paint Adventures when I was attacked by a Bodak. Luckily, years of playing D&D reminded me to avert my eyes from their deadly gaze attacks and to pull open the curtains, since I knew Bodaks are vulnerable to direct sunlight. It burns their impure flesh.

I'm having a hard time believing this story - everyone knows a D&D player's flesh is far more vulnerable to sunlight than any Bodak.

Dust
2010-04-09, 01:17 PM
Well, I was wearing my afternoon trenchcoat + hoodie, of course.

Starbuck_II
2010-04-09, 01:21 PM
I'm having a hard time believing this story - everyone knows a D&D player's flesh is far more vulnerable to sunlight than any Bodak.

Some of us are daywalkers.

Evil the Cat
2010-04-09, 01:22 PM
D&D has helped in many ways with giving presentation/speeches in high school and college. When, for fun, you come up with dramatic speeches for your characters, it makes giving a speech or presentation just another form of roleplaying.

More than once I've received comments about how good I am at presentations, since I talk naturally, maintain connection with my audience, and exhibit no sign of stage fright.

Make up a character for your speeches and presentations, and the rest is easy.

Superglucose
2010-04-09, 01:25 PM
Only last week I was enjoying a delicious Dr. Pepper and reading some hella sweet MS Paint Adventures when I was attacked by a Bodak. Luckily, years of playing D&D reminded me to avert my eyes from their deadly gaze attacks and to pull open the curtains, since I knew Bodaks are vulnerable to direct sunlight. It burns their impure flesh.

That's like the time I was being accosted by a homeless guy in an alley. Thanks to D&D, I knew how to cast Charm Person and get away without any problems! Thank you wizards of the coast!

Seatbelt
2010-04-09, 01:28 PM
D&D has helped in many ways with giving presentation/speeches in high school and college. When, for fun, you come up with dramatic speeches for your characters, it makes giving a speech or presentation just another form of roleplaying.

More than once I've received comments about how good I am at presentations, since I talk naturally, maintain connection with my audience, and exhibit no sign of stage fright.

Make up a character for your speeches and presentations, and the rest is easy.

Great idea. Thanks. :)

Starscream
2010-04-09, 01:32 PM
Assuming hundreds of hours of fun doesn't count as "help", then I guess it has helped to shape me a lot into the intelligent, witty, charming person I am today.:smallwink:

Actually, reading my cousin's 2nd Edition Monster Manual when I was very young got me into reading fantasy books. From there I went to science fiction, and from there to actual science. I probably wouldn't be a college grad today if it weren't for some of those monsters looking so cool.

randomhero00
2010-04-09, 02:13 PM
When I was younger (tho more RPGs in general than DnD specific) I learned a lot of vocabulary that wouldn't normally come up. Like feint, feign, ethereal, prismatic, scintillating, enervate, encumber, etc. My teachers and parents were impressed I knew such words that were pretty rarely know around age 10-15.

Other than that, its good stress relief. And fun socially. So I suppose its helped me a decent amount.

shadow_archmagi
2010-04-09, 02:18 PM
To be honest when I got to D&D I already know most of the words and it always kinda amazed me that not everyone knew what "Encumber" and "incapacitate" meant

Thiyr
2010-04-09, 02:28 PM
To be honest when I got to D&D I already know most of the words and it always kinda amazed me that not everyone knew what "Encumber" and "incapacitate" meant

Yea, by the time d&d rolled around to me, I already learned a good number of stuff from MtG or WoD (Like obfuscate. Such a fun word :D). Though that doesn't beat the time i was in a Brit Lit class in high school, and somebody asks what a buckler was. When the teacher responded that it was a type of hat, I had to correct him, making good use of good ol' Diablo. This teacher was one of those angry, no-nonsense types though, so I was quite afraid when he whipped out a dictionary and was proven wrong. Thankfully, he apparently had a policy of extra credit to those that catch him making a mistake, so bonus for me! Thanks, gaming!

Archpaladin Zousha
2010-04-09, 02:28 PM
I wrote an entire research essay based on RPG slang and terminology, tracking its evolution from its origins in wargames, through D&D, into video games like WOW. It was for my History of the English Language class.

I love having the chance to weasel my interests into my schoolwork. I even had a chance to do it in my senior thesis, because it was about China Miéville's novel, Perdido Street Station, which I originally learned about from an issue of Dragon Magazine celebrating Miéville's work.

Mauther
2010-04-09, 02:49 PM
Practical applications I'd say D&D has really helped me with my team building skills. I think most people would agree that gamers tend to be eclectic. I've found the same skills that help me coordinate a team full of gamers have real world impact when dealing with my employees. After all, if I can keep the peace between the paladin (played by a super analytical engineer) and the druid (played by a jolt addict musician/barrista) I find I don't have much problem getting production and admin on the same page.

Vocabulary-wise, I got a huge bump from the old Vampire LARP rules; all the powers had SAT word descriptions. I still enjoy telling people to stop obfuscating their numbers, or to react with great alacrity to an imminenint challenge.

Kris Strife
2010-04-09, 03:09 PM
Well, its not from a game per se, but I was able to demonstrate a sneer for my 11th grade english class by imitating Vegeta's facial expression.

Pechvarry
2010-04-09, 03:16 PM
It taught me Excel. If I hadn't had D&D to inspire me to make character sheets, I'd know less than half of what I know about using Excel.

Dear Lord, this.

A single epic campaign > any amount of microsoft office classes.

Ravingdork
2010-04-09, 03:31 PM
I learned geometry from D&D thanks to all those spells that say "effects x cu. ft."

I had to learn the math of area and volume in order to use the spells properly.

Draz74
2010-04-09, 03:48 PM
Dear Lord, this.

A single epic campaign > any amount of microsoft office classes.

Nice. Yeah, I'm currently brushing up on my programming skills more than I have in years, in order to use MapTool.

AslanCross
2010-04-09, 05:42 PM
D&D helped me practice improvisation and mental math. The A I got in my Statistics course in my graduate studies I attribute partially to the training I get from thinking quickly. (More time to correct mistakes.)

It's also helped me a lot in planning, creative thinking and problem solving.

Mikeavelli
2010-04-09, 05:43 PM
Engineering Major here - honestly, the whole of advanced mathmatics and applied mathmatics is just a matter of memorizing a whole lot of inane little rules, and appling them in the correct circumstances to optimize whatever it is you're trying to optimize. My years of experience as a rules-lawyer and powergamer have prepared me well for my eventual career.

Kallisti
2010-04-09, 05:45 PM
When I was in first grade, the teacher was picking words at random to test the class' vocabulary, and he asks about neutral. I defined it as "Uncaring, unaligned, uninvolved, or the alignment in the center of both axes."

Kaiyanwang
2010-04-09, 06:22 PM
D&D helped me practice improvisation and mental math. The A I got in my Statistics course in my graduate studies I attribute partially to the training I get from thinking quickly. (More time to correct mistakes.)

It's also helped me a lot in planning, creative thinking and problem solving.

This. Definitively this. And.. improve my english vocabulary.

Eldan
2010-04-09, 06:35 PM
Yup. Vocabulary. You pick up a lot of arcane (see?) vocabulary when reading RPG books and fantasy novels you'd never hear anywhere else. The reason I started really learning english as opposed to just kinda tag along in english class was pretty much books and RPGs.

Brendan
2010-04-09, 06:39 PM
It has created a wonderful conversation with my math teacher. a kid in my class complained that something wasn't in his book, and the teacher said that it must be a different edition. I checked his. it was edition 3 of the geometry book. Ours was a slightly updated version which I christened version 3.5. after this, she and I got into a debate about the qualities of 3.0 in comparison to version 3.5. she did not get any of it, but me and a couple friends were very happy to speak about 3.5 and 3.0. I also mentioned that there must be a 4th edition, and she said it wasn't very good. I love talking over people's heads. she had no idea what I meant, and was confused of why I would be so interested in the different editions.
lots of fun.
Also, I do this with my non-dnd friends all the time. I discuss proficiencies and such. again, I keep them in the dark of what I am really saying.

mucat
2010-04-09, 07:04 PM
Engineering Major here - honestly, the whole of advanced mathmatics and applied mathmatics is just a matter of memorizing a whole lot of inane little rules, and appling them in the correct circumstances to optimize whatever it is you're trying to optimize. My years of experience as a rules-lawyer and powergamer have prepared me well for my eventual career.
Ugh! No, it's not. The whole of advanced mathematics and applied mathematics is about understanding what the hell you're doing, and making up your own rules to fit the situation at hand! Memorizing has absolutely nothing to do with it!

Ahem...but back on topic.

This will sound impossibly trite, but it's true: I've found that a roleplaying background is a great help in solving moral/professional dilammas. When I'm stuck in a situation where every available option seems like a terrible thing to do, I have been known to ask myself, "If I were roleplaying a character who is the type of scientist I wish I were, what would he/she do in this situation?"

And suddenly, with that extra bit of distance/freedom that comes from making a game out of the situation, I think of an option that actually does not suck, and which I never even considered when I was just living the situation, rather than playing it.

sreservoir
2010-04-09, 08:35 PM
no, really, advanced and applied mathematics really is rote memorization.

when you need to know what the hell you're talking about, you've ventured into deep magic.

SethFahad
2010-04-09, 11:23 PM
D&D helped me to improve my vocabulary and learn better English. Reading the various books, reading fantasy novels (based in d&d), and discussing in various forums helped me ALOT, since I never had any English language lessons. (well, I did attend German lessons for 8 years...).

So, yes, D&D was helpful, and PC games too (adventures and RPGs).

Still I can’t speak English well, but my comprehension and understanding is nearly perf… pretty good. :smallbiggrin:
At least I can communicate with you guys. :smallsmile: It's great to be able to exchange thoughts with people in a far distant place of planet earth! :smallwink:

Anyway, currently I’m trying to learn Chinese, and it’s great and fun…but it’s very very very very very and I mean VERY difficult.

Irreverent Fool
2010-04-10, 04:31 AM
no, really, advanced and applied mathematics really is rote memorization.

when you need to know what the hell you're talking about, you've ventured into deep magic.

This. Someone already figured out how to do it. Memorize what they did and do that.

obnoxious
sig

Galileo
2010-04-10, 06:39 AM
Not D&D, but due to my obsession with Persona 3 and 4 last year, I almost started dancing for joy when I took part in the inter-school Classics competition and one of the questions was "Who is the brother of Castor?"

(It's Polydeuces. For folks who aren't familiar with the game, the summons of two characters who are like brothers are Castor and Polydeuces.)

D&D has also forced my group of friends into the habit of referencing it literally every conversation. "I don't believe you" has been replaced with "Failed your Bluff check." I am rather tall and strong. When the resident crazy ninja tried to knock me to the ground by jumping on my back, he failed miserably and shouted "Dammit, forgot you had Powerful Build!"

However, it is debatable whether or not that's really helpful...

Talon Sky
2010-04-10, 02:54 PM
Not D&D, but due to my obsession with Persona 3 and 4 last year, I almost started dancing for joy when I took part in the inter-school Classics competition and one of the questions was "Who is the brother of Castor?"

(It's Polydeuces. For folks who aren't familiar with the game, the summons of two characters who are like brothers are Castor and Polydeuces.)

D&D has also forced my group of friends into the habit of referencing it literally every conversation. "I don't believe you" has been replaced with "Failed your Bluff check." I am rather tall and strong. When the resident crazy ninja tried to knock me to the ground by jumping on my back, he failed miserably and shouted "Dammit, forgot you had Powerful Build!"

However, it is debatable whether or not that's really helpful...

Or when you toss something at someone and miss, you can grumble that your aim is fine, but their AC is too overpowered.