D&D has had a massive impact on my social skills
I'm not sure what to make of this. I'd really like to hear others' experiences as well.
Without getting into too much detail in the OP, I find myself constantly needing to reflect upon my actions due to things that transpire in my group's weekly D&D sessions. I need to constantly examine and readjust my behavior so that our group can survive.
I don't mean "survive" as in our characters, nor reflect upon my character's actions. I mean my own. The way I express myself to others. The lack of attention I have given to my teammates when they narrate their dazzling combat maneuvers. The visible disinterest in an RP dialogue that doesn't involve my character which makes my friends uncomfortable and unable to enjoy themselves. The offhand comments I make about a character, or the DM, that has a huge impact on the player (it's easy to get hurt when you put your heart into building a world or a hero and someone slights that). The time I knocked my friend's character unconscious to beat the bad guys, which resulted in him sitting there for multiple turns just watching us play. All of these things have had a real, out-of-character impact on us as a group, and have caused major conflicts.
Our group is still going strong. We are working hard on being good friends to one another. But we're all really putting our heart into this game and it's so easy to hurt one another. It's been teaching me so much about being a patient, respectful, and "honorable" human being. I'm shocked, honestly. I hope I haven't hurt my friends too much on the road to this path.
How about you, Tilders? Has D&D just been a game to you, or have you also found an avenue for personal growth?
I've found that it really helped me develop my improvisational skills in social settings. I ended up realizing that what you choose to do isn't nearly important as acting fast and just doing something. Nobody wants to wait around for you to analyze the situation completely and pick the perfectly ideal action, whether that's figuring out how to fight a troll or how to ask someone on a date.
It was a White Wolf game as opposed to D&D, but I had the same sort of experience. Tabletop RPG's was where I learned to work with a group and handle (however imperfectly) group dynamics. It changed my life, quite literally.