Is this D&D now? I think, it kind of is, at least for most people. I'm not sure why I'm hung up on this, but, I am. It's such a head scratcher.
Last week I went to a 5e game at a live table, all with strangers met on Discord. I knew the vibe would be silly cartoon and I was ready to embrace the experience.
THE GOOD: I really liked the people at the table, They were around my age, which was kind of nice, and everyone was a cool hang. Would be happy to game with any of them again.
THE BAD: I'm not sure we really played 5e, or even D&D. Let me explain. The GM, in an effort to be entertaining (wait, shouldn't this be listed under 'Good'?) had prepared a lot of... stuff. There was a board game on the table with a plastic volcano. Push a button and tribal drums played. There were cards, from the game ready to be used as well. My cards were: crowbar, fishing pole and snorkel gear (!!!???!!!). In our 3 hour session, we spent an hour getting our characters together and saying hello to each other, another hour watching the GM performing various NPC voices and setting the scene (Strixhaven), and an hour playing. The playing was a single combat situation which my character more or less needed to sit out because they couldn't do anything (an archer vs a swarm of bats). Round one of combat took 25 minutes. So... did I play? Felt like a no.
THE WEIRD: Where do I begin? The full 3 hours were bonkers strange from start to finish, mostly due to the contrast between a table full of normal adults and a story/game happening that was unabashedly in the cartoons-for-6-year-olds camp. It was a hair's breath away from fetishistic, in my view. I wanted to pinch myself multiple times. I almost laughed out loud several times, but not at jokes. Maybe weirdest of all was the apres-game mutual congratulations on a great session and a desire to schedule the next. I was kind of thunderstruck during and after, but also a little giddy from the 3 hour vacation from normal. (Is this the appeal? I kind of get that. Would never do it again, but I kind of get that.)
(The Sad): I'm going to have to break up with this group in a way that doesn't feel personal. It isn't. I really liked those folks, but you couldn't pay me enough to do it again. Have any of you had to break up with a group? I've done it a couple of times in the past year and I don't think I'm very good at it.
