Why do I torment myself in this way? Do I hate myself that much? Do I feel I must atone in some way for a past misdeed? Why do I continue to drop in on the WOTC D&D Forums when I know how awful they are?
I’m not stupid, and I can learn from my actions. In theory. So you’d think that by now I would have given up on these forums as some kind of place where one could actually discuss the game and share ideas. Well you can, so long as you only want ideas for making ridiculously powerful idiotic characters who are all evil, crazy, or both. Oh ho, another story about a character who killed all the other players for personal gain because he’s crazy and evil! Oh boy how exciting and original!
They’re all playing the same character. He’s half-something, half-something else (so he can rack up bonuses). He’s selfishly motivated. He’s evil and/or crazy. He’s got amazing stats and equipment. Am I even playing the same game as these morons?
Normally I wouldn’t mind. Do whatever you want, I don’t care. I’m not in your group, so you’re not bugging me. But the thing is, this is a forum for discussion of the game and they’re ALL like that.
And it’s not just the players. Here’s a thread for DMs:
http://boards.wizards.com/rpg/ultimatebb.php?ubb=forum;f=117
(as you can see, I’ve been busy stirring shit in the thread, because I’m tired of the attitude.)
Now granted, I’d like to kill off most of the players I read about on the forums, but this is just silly. Bragging about stupid unfair things you did to kill off players? Can someone point me to the part in the DMG where it awards experience to the DM for player-killing? Is no one besides my group playing this game for interaction and fun?
I just don’t get it. I don’t get the constant need to role-play an asshole. I don’t get the desire to “win” at D&D. I don’t get the idea that the players and the DM are in competition with each other. I don’t know why these people aren’t just online killing 12 year olds for fun in Diablo.
Yeah, I know, to each his own. But there’s a part of me that is frightened for another reason. WOTC now owns D&D, and I saw what WOTC did to Magic. They noticed that a lot of the players in Magic were dickheads, and what did they do? Encouraged them. I know people at WOTC, and they live and die by “market research”. If MR tells them players are assholes, they’ll ramp up their projects catering to assholes.
I don’t know why it bugs me so much, but it does.