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I was an outsider growing up in a religious fundamentalist society (Utah in the early 80s) and the world of Dungeons & Dragons provided both an escape and community. I was able to connect with some of the most creative and clever people in my high school (not nerds, but definitely not conformists) and build relationships and confidence.

The game itself is structured around story telling and by its very nature leads to people spending hours talking with each other.

I haven't played or seen any of those people in years, and it may sound goofy, but my D & D buddies were some of the closest friends I've ever had.

Thanks for the segment and nostalgia.

Like my 8 grade science teacher said, "Be good to the nerds, because they'll be running the world."

Thou needest the company of a good lady...

I went to Catholic grade school. My mom told me not to play D and D because it was, essentially, satanic. I think I remember a fair amount of controversy surrounding D and D and this kind of stigma...

I still managed to sneak away to a friend's basement to indulge, as a cleric in 1989, who I was pretty proud of.

I think it's important to dial down the comments about choosing DnD or girls. I was introduced to DnD by my wife. I have a good friend who met his wife in a college DnD game. My regular gaming group consists of three married couples.

How about the impact of D&D on later roleplaying games? In particular, this has influenced the online games which have become immensely popular... including millions upon millions of players around the world!

In junior high, I read every D&D manual cover to cover, and was probably better versed in world mythology than anyone else I knew. Today people wonder how I know so much about the Sumerian pantheon, and, well, they'll just have to keep wondering...

Dungeons and Dragons was hugely derivative of Lord of the Rings and would never had existed without it. However, influence of Dungeons and Dragons has been central to the current popularity of the fantasy and science fiction genres in mainstream popular culture. So the release of a blockbuster film version of Lord of the Rings would probably not have happened without D&D. When the game appeared in the 70s, these genres were relatively marginal.

I am currently the art director at a video game studio-

D&D was one of the best teachers of sociology,anthropology, history, mythology, psychology, biology-- and on and on

it was endlessly inspirational. I havent played in a while but it is still a part of who i am.

I'm not a geek- i never fit into the school system where i grew up- and the game helped to inspire a love of learning