D and D vs. DDO?

slessman

Hello tabletop gamers! I was wondering if you guys could let me know a little more about D and D online. I want to know whether it is worth playing or whether I should stick to the tabletop version.

TehSloth

From my limited experience with DDO, it's definitely an MMO first and Dungeons and Dragons second. If you're looking for a video game experience that's like the table-top, I'd definitely say games like Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights are going to be way more up your alley. I thought it was pretty decent, and if you're interested in the setting it's a good enough for an MMO with a low barrier of entry, I think it's free now? Could be wrong.

smeej

I know vanilla is free, I think you might have to pay for some of the expansion content, as well as having to pay to unlock Drow and Warforged races, as well as Monk class. I can't say I liked or hated it much, but I also didn't play very far. I was a paladin soloing dungeons so my experience was of a really lame hack n slash game. >_>

Hahnsoo1

I played it up to level 11 (with the cap at 20). There's more than enough content to play for about a month or so and still get enjoyment out of it without having to subscribe or pay for content. It's free, so why not? It's not strictly Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 edition, but the ruleset is close enough to make good comparisons. It's definitely an a MMO rather than a tabletop game. I will go so far as to say that you'll miss the entire point of the tabletop experience if you play DDO versus a tabletop game, but at least DDO has streamlined and easy combat.

DDO doesn't have a real dungeon master running things... instead it's a scripted voiceover that tells you what a DM WOULD say when describing areas. The events aren't dynamic at all, although there are some randomization elements (mostly unique bosses). Still, the dungeons themselves are, for the most part, clever and well-scripted.