DDO for the Pen-and-Paper Gamer

What is a Pen-and-Paper Role-Playing Game?

Pen-and-Paper Role-Playing Games (or PNPRPGs) are usually small social gatherings of friends, sitting around a table and delving into their imaginations. On a less romantic level, they are groups of friends getting together to drink Mountain Dew, eat Cheetos and play a game in a fantasy world most of them wish they were part of in real life.

PNPRPGs come in all shapes and sizes, from the fantasy juggernaut known as Dungeons & Dragons, to the smaller but very popular games like the comical game Paranoia or futuristic Cyberpunk 2020.

What is an MMORPG?

MMORPG stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. MMORPGs are online worlds in the tradition of pen and paper role player games. They contain some of the same elements of your standard PnP, like character attributes, skills, combat, etc. The setting can be any genre, but the most common is set in a typical fantasy setting. By being online, there is also the anonymous social element, which is attractive to many.

If you aren't familiar with fantasy, shame on you. Go grab J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" and read or watch away. All fantasy games can probably trace their roots to that book (or set of books, depending on how you buy it).

The real benefit to an MMORPG vs a PNPRPG is the ability to be there any time you want, as long as the servers are up. You don't have to set a day, buy the Mountain Dew, clean the house (because your wife hates it when company sees your messy house), or deal with your smelly friend that likes to call himself "Darth ."

What is the real difference between the two?

Take away the ability to do everything, with only your imagination as the limit, put it on a computer, and you would have the basic difference between a PNPRPG and an MMORPG. That being said.... I enjoy *both* of them.

Will a 3.5e D&D player enjoy a game like DDO?

It really depends on how much you are willing to accept change and realize the rules of D&D are not set in stone.

In order to bring D&D online like DDO, Turbine had to modify some rules, beef up some stats, change some items, etc. If you can't handle that type of change, I wouldn't recommend the game.

If you are a social roleplayer and enjoy the politics, NPC interaction, and intrigue of a PNPRPG, this probably isn't your game. However, if your favorite part of D&D is the hack and slash aspect of the dungeon crawl and the horror driven surprise of stepping on a trigger that causes a column of fire to release right into your face because you ran in front of your scout, then this is the game for you.

Will a MMORPG player enjoy a game like DDO?

This really depends on your gameplay style.

DDO strongly dictates forced grouping and instanced gameplay. Similar to Guild Wars, there are no real open adventure zones in which you will actually fight along side people with which you are not sharing a group or in-game relationship. Every dungeon area in the game is an instance, and therefore yours. You will only meet and socialize with other players in the areas I call "rally points." These areas are common areas where you will rest, buy items, and look for groups. These are areas you will often see people just standing around, or running from shop to shop.

MMOGs and PNPGs are my addiction, and they could be yours too.

Good luck out there!