No, you don't already know how to play D&D
So this was something that popped up on my feed elsewhere, where a celebrity DM says they re-assure new players that they already know how to play D&D.
Oof.
No, you already know how to role-play, you already know how to play let's pretend, and presumably you're sufficiently socialised and/ or mature to be able to play along with others in a shared imagined space.
You do not know how to play D&D before you play D&D.
You don't know the rules, because however people try to persuade you otherwise, there are rules to D&D, there are designed structures of play that constrain and define the imaginary space. And you will play D&D better once you know the rules.
You don't know how to create a D&D character, because you don't know the options and numbers are effects of your choices in play.
You don't know how to fight in D&D because you don't know what the numbers mean (presuming your DM is actually playing D&D and the numbers mean anything), what the risks to your character are, what the stakes are.
These are just a few of the things that make D&D... D&D, not freeform impro. And if you have not played before, you do not know them.
You can play a great game in a shared imaginary play space that you've labelled D&D if you don't know the rules, but it's not really D&D.
Can you imagine a swing dance class that promoted itself with "You already know how to swing, everyone does, it's just moving your body!"
What would happen then is that you'd either slam into a brick wall of what swing dance actually demands of you, or get "taught" something that isn't really swing, or any actual dance style, and end up in circular arguments on the internet claiming that swing includes doing the robot in 3/4 time, actually.
I know, I'm against the tide of what passes for mainstream RPG culture now. D&D is all RPG, all RPG is D&D, you can ignore any rules you don't like, players don't need to know the rules, a good DM can do anything and your bad experiences in RPG are all the DM's fault, the players are all smol beans and must be accomodated and owe each other and the DM nothing.
And D&D is in permanent DM shortage, DM's burn out all the time, and "AI DM's will solve this!"
Every hobby demands something from participants, and turns to mush if people aren't prepared to meet those demands. For RPG's, amongst other things, it demands at least a basic understanding of the rule set being used, and your character's capabilities within the rules. And without wishing to quote a bad movie, I'm tired of pretending otherwise.
You know, it shouldn't be scary to say to people interested in playing D&D "I can teach you, it's fun!" rather than lie to them, "you already know how to play D&D!"
