I find that if everyone at my table treats one another with respect, that's all that really matters. I have a wide variety of friends, with a wide variety of backgrounds and political leanings, and fortunately we are all able to get along pretty well, although we make sure we don't discuss politics at the table - although it has happened in the group chat and caused some tense situations in the past. Still, as a whole, the group is pretty good at policing it.

I've gone to plenty of local Tuesday night D&D sessions. Really the only things majorly distracting from the game are people who yell so loud that your ears are ringing afterward and overt fetishes that have no place in the story.

Quote from: Koltar on January 31, 2025, 01:27:07 AMHow Would I "know" if someone was a 'Leftist' while playing? Or a 'Trump supporter'?

If we leave contemporary politics out of the game sutuation - then there is no way to KNOW someone's political leanings.

- Ed C.

You'd think that would be true of vegans and cross fit fans, but you'd be wrong.  Turns out, some people over share no matter what the venue.  With politics, I've met both left and right that do this. However, there are more on the left in the last 30 years, and most of the ones on the right that are like this aren't gamers.

Nor is this limited to those topics.  That's really my criteria.  I can't game with someone who simply will not shut up about an irrelevant topic while the game is going on.  Trying to drag the game around to be about their irrelevant topic is even worse.  If I ever meet a knitter or dog sled racer or stamp collector that exhibits that problem, they'll be out on their asses too.  So far I've been lucky I guess.

No.

It has been made clear to me that I am not approved to play any version of D&D with the possible exception of AD&D 2nd Edition.

Quote from: Armchair Gamer on February 01, 2025, 04:43:05 PMNo.

It has been made clear to me that I am not approved to play any version of D&D with the possible exception of AD&D 2nd Edition.

Oh come on, you can't leave us hanging like that.

Quote from: D-ko on February 01, 2025, 06:56:53 PM

Quote from: Armchair Gamer on February 01, 2025, 04:43:05 PMNo.

It has been made clear to me that I am not approved to play any version of D&D with the possible exception of AD&D 2nd Edition.

Oh come on, you can't leave us hanging like that.

  Sorry to disappoint, but it's just a joke at how I'm not the right kind of fan for WotC or Paizo, and not interested in OSR/BrOSR styles of play, so my options are pretty limited.

Oh, I understand. I had great memories even with 5E way back when Curse Of Strahd was new; things have changed unfortunately, both in the culture and the way the game is presented. It's odd to me that the company doesn't even have webpages for many of their recent physical releases, pushing everyone toward having their app do everything for you. It completely misses the point of why I like tabletop gaming. 4E has quite the unbelievable history with them trying to do a similar digital transition back then. The leader of the project had a breakdown and committed various acts of violence, delaying the use of technology integrated with the game.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Melissa_Batten

Quote from: RNGm on January 30, 2025, 05:49:41 PMI could if they kept their real world politics out of the game world.  I'd still keep a very close eye though on my in game gold pieces and magic items regardless...

Same. I have one player who's far left. But... so far... manages to jeep that off the table when playing.

I do it every week but I play with people who are mature enough that they don't feel the need to make everything they do about their political beliefs.

Sure, I'd game with a leftist. I game with people whose company I enjoy. That's pretty much the criteria. "Don't be an ass" is important; political affiliation is not.

I both welcome a my table and will gladly play at a table of anyone who isn't deranged and insists on pushing his views on others or into the game.

I think the idea Pundit talks about (higher probability on the left to try to) is right (no pun intended), but luckily I haven't come across it. I live abroad so no Trump stuff but my current player group has plyers from both extremes of the political spectrum and for almost 2 years we had 0 political IRL problems.

Quote from: Armchair Gamer on February 01, 2025, 07:29:37 PM

Quote from: D-ko on February 01, 2025, 06:56:53 PM

Quote from: Armchair Gamer on February 01, 2025, 04:43:05 PMNo.

It has been made clear to me that I am not approved to play any version of D&D with the possible exception of AD&D 2nd Edition.

Oh come on, you can't leave us hanging like that.

  Sorry to disappoint, but it's just a joke at how I'm not the right kind of fan for WotC or Paizo, and not interested in OSR/BrOSR styles of play, so my options are pretty limited.

Why aren't you interested in anything OSR? BTW, the BroSR is an entirely different thing.

There are plenty of supplements, modules, etc. that you could easily adapt to whatever version of D&D you play.

Take a look at Expeditious Retreat Press. They have been making modules for about 20 years now for OSRIC, and are of really good quality. They have arguably the world's largest dungeon, The Pits of Arden Vul.

Pacesetter Games is another one that makes some pretty good modules.

There's lots of great stuff out there. Don't sell yourself short.

Quote from: jhkim on January 30, 2025, 11:47:00 PMYeah, I live in the SF Bay Area which is very concentrated with leftists, and don't have problems playing with them. I don't have problems playing with conservatives, either.

Specifically, when Pundit talks about GMing by what most progressives are in the U.S. today

Quote from: RPGPunditIf you're talking about a postmodern leftist... if you're talking about someone who's like what most progressives in the United States are today
...
They can't understand the nature of of symbolism. They can't understand the nature of myth. They can't understand the hero's journey, and what little they can grasp of it makes them think that it's bad.
...
You really have to do an enormous effort which is what has happened in our society to train people to the opposite. You have to to deeply indoctrinate them to break away from this idea of understanding symbol and understanding myth because because that is something that is inherent to humanity all of our all the myths throughout the world derived from these same origins.

What strikes me is that this sounds bizarrely similar to Ron Edwards' infamous "brain damage" rant where he claims that humans have a natural understanding of story - but that White Wolf RPGs damaged the capacity of players to understand it.

http://indie-rpgs.com/archive/index.php?topic=18707.0

Edwards even similarly takes aim at postmodernism as "errant garbage".

---

Personally, I don't find there's any connection between someone's politics and their understanding of myth or story. People's personality and politics will show in their stories, but there can be great stories of many different styles.

I'm also partial to the work of some postmodern authors like Philip K. Dick and Neil Gaiman, say.

Well there's two possibilities, I suppose: the first is that postmodernists do understand symbol and archetype, which is of course true of the older postmodernists (the genX or early MIllenials and up), but they just think that symbol and archetype as objective concepts is EVIL and WRONG, and needs to be destroyed through DECONSTRUCTIONISM. So they know that it's real, they fear that it is good, and they work to try to destroy it so future generations won't get it.

The second is that postmodernists (namely the ones who have been born sometime after 1990 and therefore have spent their entire lives in institutions run by postmodernists) have never actually been able to understand symbol and myth, they understand tropes and understand shallow personalities (which are the replacement for heroes) and they understand thought/speech-crimes (the replacement, or rather distraction from, actual Evil).
But they can't comprehend the idea that an Orc represents a force of consuming evil, of barbarity and bloodlust, and so instead they think "They're being racist to black people, who remind me of orcs!!"

The latter are hopelessly broken, but are in some sense victims, like if one imagines a child who was raised all his life by the Hitler Youth. They don't know any better.

Those of the Left who DO know better and unspeakably evil.

No, I´d rather quit the hobby all together, that ship has sailed.

My current AD&D 2e group consists of me and five other players.

I'm a Conservative, two of the players are leftist libtards, one is a moderate center-left guy, one is Libertarian and the last one, the Libertarian's brother, doesn't care about politics.

Needless to day, I don't allow political discussion at the table and my players know it. Anyone who insists on bringing up political conversations will be booted from the table for good.

This arrangement has worked for everyone, because my campaign has going on continuously for three years, now.