More than just hack and slash!
Dungeons & Dragons is a complex and intricate game, which takes place in a fantasy world built by its participants. Players can become the heroic adventurers who embark on an epic quest to save the princess from the clutches of an evil dragon, or venture through the woods to stop the wicked witch who's making all the women in town grow facial hair. But despite the prevalence of action in the game, D&D is much more than cutting through every challenge. It's a vibrant world where, much like the one we live in, every action has an equal or greater reaction, and sometimes unforeseen consequences along with it. As a result, players are forced to utilize every skill at their disposal, including those in the analytic and social realms of thinking. The following sections explore the lesser known cognitive aspects of D&D, and what this means in the real world.
No matter how you slice it, Dungeons & Dragons is fueled by thinking. Both tactical decisions in combat, and formulating courses of action in a quest, require consideration and analysis of multiple variables.
This section highlights the process of analytic decision making in D&D, and how the game serves as a tool of practice for consideration of creative solutions and out-of-the-box thinking in reality.
Being a game based on social interaction, the entire experience of Dungeons & Dragons is contingent upon communication. Without it, the game simply ceases to exist.
Much like D&D, the functionality of society is largely the result of individuals' abilities to communicate their ideas effectively to each other. This guide focuses on the social aspect of the game, and its benefits in real-world application.