Famous People Who Play(ed) D&D.

I didn't write this list up, but I've heard most of the names thrown around in D&D circles, so I have no trouble believing that it's accurate.


1. Stephen Colbert (also went to Gen Con (a dnd/comic/roleplaying convention))
2. Vin Diesel (Wrote the introduction to a book about DnD)
3. Mike Myers
4. Dwayne Johnson AKA The Rock
5. Matt Groening
6. Dame Judy Dench (Introduced to the game by Vin Diesal)
7. Jenny McCarthy
8. Glenn Danzig
9. Edwin McCain (Not sure if he still does but did when he was a kid)
10. Wil Wheaton (played on the set of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Still plays to this day)
11. Daryl Hannah
12. Robin Williams (Plays both the Online DnD Game and the Tabletop one)
13. Lexa Doig AKA Rommie and the computer AI from Andromeda
14. Ben Aflac (Forced to play by Kevin Smith on a set once and fell in love. Prefers to play Wizards over fighters.)
15. Matt Damon (Forced to play by Kevin Smith on a set once and fell in love. Prefers to play Fighters over Wizards.)
16. Matthew Lillard (Said so on G4's attack of the show then stole all of thier D&D Minatures Models)
17. Jon Stewart (He also sneaks sutile D&D jokes into his show that only us D&D nerds get to laugh at.)
18. Jim Breuer
19. Brian Warner AKA Marilyn Manson
20. John Carmack and a good portion of the original id Software crew (Some of the characters and story elements in Quake were based off of D&D session iirc)
21. Sebastian Bengtsson
22. Joakim Bengtsson
23. Robert P. Olsson
24. Björn-Erik Karlsson
25. Daniel Antonsson
26. Tommy Karlsson
27. Kevin Smith
28. Eddie Izzard
29. Johnny Vaughn
30. Michael Greco
31. Dave Gorman
32. Charles Manson (He actually ran a game in prision! That is to say until California banned the running of Tabletop RPGs in prison.(This might actually be just a rumor but I don't mind))
33. Scott Edgar (Found the actual quotes! "I also play Dungeons and Dragons with my mates, which everyone reckons is tragic, but I reckon is heaps of fun.")
34. Jon Favreau (Another one with a quote! "I'm a very lazy person by nature. I have to be really engaged, and then I go straight from lazy to obsessive. I couldn't study chemistry, but I could memorize all the books for Dungeons and Dragons. It was ridiculous.")
35. Curt Schilling from, I think, the Red Sox or at least use to be.
36. Todd Pratt from, I think, the Braves or at least use to be.
37. Jimmy Wales (One of the starters of Wikipedia)
38. Jacques Villeneuve (Use to drive race cars. Ironicly he prefers to play Monks in D&D which move faster then all other characters)
39. Rivers Cuomo from Weezer and, it is rumored at least, the rest of the band.
40. Everyone in Marcy's Playground (They even wrote a song called "A Cloak of Elvenkind" Which is a Major Magical Item in Dungeons and Dragons)
41. Everyone in Flashlight Brown (They even wrote a song called "Ready to Roll" which references 20-Sided Dice and A LOT of other D&D related things)
42. Gary Gygax (He was famous enough to play a character on Futurama(himself) so I put him on the list)
43. Seth Greene (Even made a Robot Chicken episode that refenerced THAC0 which was part of the Advance DND (or 2nd Edition) rule set)
44. Trey Parker
45. Matt Stone
46. Patton Oswalt (even talked the Reno 911 guys into doing a DnD part on the show. It was very funny)
47. Stephen King (And certain things from dnd are referenced in The Dark Tower series)
48. Steve Rune Lundin AKA Steven Erikson
49. Joss Whedon (Director of Buffy The Vampire Slayer)
50. Jack Black (He also references DND in the song "Wonderboy")
The following people stole DnD stuff from the teen choice awards. I included pictures when I could find them:
51. Ryan Cabrera
52. Nick Cannon
53. Jon Heder
54. Jesse McCartney (http://i5.tinypic.com/477z19v.jpg)
55. David Boreanaz
56. Lauren Graham (http://i4.tinypic.com/2uhq1dk.jpg)
57. Hulk Hogan (http://i7.tinypic.com/2mzlevt.jpg)
58. Metallica (At least they played Call of Cthulhu and Dungeon and Dragons before Hetfield went into rehab)
59. Conan O'Brian (Use to play at least. He has mentioned it on his show)
60. Darby Conley (though he is C-List at best)
61. Andrew W.K.
62. The band Amon Amarth (Can I get a Wha wha from all my metalheads?)
63. My Chemical Romance (They played with Thrice during the Vans Warp Tour. My Chemical Romance's lead singer Gerard Way plays a Half-Elf Ranger)
64. Thrice (Played with My Chemical Romance during the Vans Warp Tour.)
65. Alice Cooper Played D&D (And even replayed the events of a game on an episode of That 70's Show)
66. Some/All of Barenaked Ladies
67. Raymond E Feist (He Actually uses a self created world in his books that was originally created for his Dungeons and Dragons game back home)
68. Kari Byron (Played DnD and has thought about getting Adam and Jaime to play with her.)
69. Brian Posehn
70. Jason Mewes (Though when asked about it he says "DND IS FOR FAGGOTS" then turns to Kevin Smith and starts laughing)
71. Robert Jordan (And his sons which he taught how to play)
72. Weird Al Yankovic
73. Mastodon's Drum Brann Dailor
74. Neil Fallon and MAYBE the other members of Clutch (They even wrote an unreleased song called 24 Earth Years which mentioned playing AD&D back in the day)
75. David X. Cohen (In David's piece in the 30 year D&D hardback book, he says he never had time to play during Futurama, but most the writers did, and they kept D&D books in the office as "referrence" material.(He did get to play while working on The Simpsons though))
76. Alexis Cruz (He also LARPs. HAHAHA Nerd)
77. David Cross (He also mentions a group of comedians he plays with but wouldnt name them.)
78. Billy Crystal (He also plays 40K With Robin Williams)
79. R.A. Salvatore (Though I guess he would have too)
80. Some of the members of Dragonforce (And DND themes have worked their way into Dragonforce songs over and over)
81. David Duchovney (actually mentioned it on Conan O'Brien not too long ago)
82. The band Dayglo Abortions (Even wrote a song about it called Dragons)
83. Donald Faison (He plays Monks)
84. Insane Clown Posse
85. Emilio Estévez

I woke up a couple days ago. Things were different. Maybe better.

Oui, j'ai le grand poulet de un cheval.

The Storyteller.

I write songs. Frequently in fact. Many of them are actually good - quite good to be honest. But you see, the problem is that I do not actually write them. The most common place I put these songs together is in the shower. Typically they start as a sort of stream-of-consciousness bit of nonsense thought I engage in while waking up, but eventually a thought here or a line there will stick out and I'll spend the rest of the shower refining, polishing, and eventually singing that little piece into a full song (or at least the majority of one). It's a fun mindless activity that helps me keep my mind stimulated and off of the various other pressures and disappointments that could otherwise occupy my thoughts. Unfortunately though, I almost never actually write the lyrics down or otherwise record them, so an hour or two later I find myself humming an otherwise unfamiliar tune with only broken fragments in place where lyrics once fit. Yesterday morning I wrote a song in the shower that wasn't just good, it was utterly epic. I had the lyrics, the vocal arrangement, even the vast majority of the instrumentation down perfectly... but as I write this today, all that remains is a couple of lines (and only estimations of what they once were) and the general melody of the chorus. It's very, very frustrating.

....maybe if I can ever learn to stand the sound of my own voice, I'll pick up one of those portable voice recorders to remedy the situation.

Culinary Discovery

So inspired by Alton Brown and his some-what scary weight loss, I decided to try some canned sardines. Turns out, sardines are pretty damn tasty. They're basically like really good canned tuna. Boring post, I know. But still.

Bacon Explosion Pictures.

Food Networking.

For some reason I can't sign up for an account from where I am now... but soon as I'm home I'll be signing up at grouprecipes.com. What a cute little idea, myspace meets allrecipes.

Following up pt 1.

Since I've been on hiatus for so long (and sadly, probably will be again), I thought it would be nice to do some updates to my previous posts. Since there have been a somewhat decent number, this will probably be a multi-part series. That said, here is the first:

Let's Talk Politics!
My philosophy has actually changed here, to be honest. While I still do support the need for a legitimate third party option, I no longer view the Republican and Democrat parties as interchangeable. To be clear though, I think it is the parties themselves that have changed, not my perception of them, but that's mostly irrelevant. The major change is this: until Republicans can learn to play fair, I cannot support them, and will actively vote against them. I still don't even really disagree with them on "the issues" across the board, but the way the Republican party as a whole conducts itself is frankly appalling. Misinformation, deception, and praying upon paranoid/undereducated/naive. It's disgusting. When they're ready to act like grownups, I'll be ready to listen to them. (Just to be clear, I do not have issues with voters that vote for or consider themselves Republicans. The issue is with the party and its leaders.)

Webcomic Drama!
Well, simply put I stopped reading Websnark shortly after this post, and the number of webcomics that I read has been slowly dwindling ever since as well. Now, I pretty much read Questionable Content and Penny-Arcade regularly, and occasionally drop in and read a bit of Least I Could Do, Girls with Slingshots, VG Cats, Xkcd, and Dueling Analogs. Once every couple of months I check and see if SMBC or The Perry Bible Fellowship have had any worthwhile updates, but that's about it.

Forget the Lights and Camera, Let's Get Down to the Action!
Apparently none of my readers had anything to contribute. That's mostly what I expected though, since I'm pretty sure I have less than 10 readers. Still have the same concept rolling around in my head though, and maybe someday it will see the light in some incarnation. I don't think I described it well the first time around though... in re-reading the idea sounded much more "light-hearted" than intended.

"We Don't Have a Cow, We Have a Bull."
Nothing to really updaet here, I just still like looking at the cute pictures of my now 3yr old niece back when she was a baby. So cute!


Those are the updates for now, more to follow later.

Starting off the New Year with a bang.

Bacon explosion, it's coming.

If all goes according to plan, I shall be making this for dinner on New Year's Eve. If by chance not, I may have to adjust and serve it on New Year's Day instead. What better way to ring in the new year than with a gut-busting, artery-clogging, fat-coma-inducing send off to the previous (and let's be honest, after the hell of a year that 2009 was, we all deserve some serious indulgence)?

Side note, due to a recent discovery, this blog may suddenly be getting updated more often. Of course, I have said that time and time again in the past... so don't hold your breath.

Broke hiatus for this Healer Survey thing.

Post this questionnaire, with your answers, on your blog. Pick the healing class you know most about (or is the focus of your blog) for the questionnaire, and then send it over to another healing blogger you know and love who heals with a DIFFERENT class. Include a link to the blogger who sent you the questionnaire, as well as a link to the blogger to whom you are sending it.

* What is the name, class, and spec of your primary healer?
Beladin, Holy Paladin/
* What is your primary group healing environment? (i.e. raids, pvp, 5 mans)
10 mans & heroics at this point (same guild - 25 mans are left to Pugging)
* What is your favorite healing spell for your class and why?
Beacon beacon beacon. This spell alone makes Pallys an incredible choice for tank heals. Just beacon the tank and heal the rest of the raid as needed (or yourself) and the tank will constantly be getting showered in delicious heals.
* What healing spell do you use least for your class and why?
Well I use most of my spells pretty often - but I guess Flash of Light would be the least used. Pallys really shine with the big meaty heals of Holy Light, and when glyphed it provides us with out only real aoe heal... so most of my time is spent casting that instead of the weaker FoL.
* What do you feel is the biggest strength of your healing class and why?
Big meaty heals. Pallys are probably the best choice for tank healers. And thanks to beacon - we can even be assigned to heal two tanks in the same encounter so long as they're within range.
* What do you feel is the biggest weakness of your healing class and why?
Aoe healing. With the exception of the less than stellar Holy Light glyphed, we simply don't have aoe healing... so being put "on raid duty" is pretty rough.
* In a 25 man raiding environment, what do you feel, in general, is the best healing assignment for you?
Tank healing, definitely.
* What healing class do you enjoy healing with most and why?
I don't really have a preference so long as they're able to handle the raid heals.
* What healing class do you enjoy healing with least and why?
Paladins. While raiding, we really need somebody with aoe healing (and HoTs are nice too). Aside from that, occasionally healing with a priest can be frustrating because some priests automatically assume they should be on tank heals and I should raid heal... which is wrong. lol.
* What is your worst habit as a healer?
Getting too close to mobs so I can start beating on them with Seal of Wisdom for mana regen. I'm trying to get better about staying back UNTIL I need to regen, and THEN moving into to swing.
* What is your biggest pet peeve in a group environment while healing?
Tanks that either over-estimate how many mobs they can *really* take at once, or rush from fight to fight and keep me close to being out of mana all the damn time.
* Do you feel that your class/spec is well balanced with other healers for PvE healing?
I absolutely think we have our place, yeah. I would like to see a real aoe heal spell brought into our arsenal, but honestly for balance sake I don't think it should be a very powerful one (if our aoe was as good as the other classes, we'd be way too overpowered) - just a tiny little thing we can drop every so often for moderate healing.
* What tools do you use to evaluate your own performance as a healer?
"First thing's first, I check to make sure no one is dead. That's the best indicator of healer skill!" The original poster of this survey has it right. That's the most important item by far. Secondly though, I *do* check the various healing section of Recount... but I ignore overhealing for the most part. Why? Because I always have the tank beaconed... but if I'm healing somebody else while his life is full - that's a TON of overheal, but the heal on the target was still necessary.
* What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about your healing class?
Hmm.... I guess the idea that Pallys should be "backup" heals for in case you can't find a disc priest - but to be honest that doesn't come up too often.
* What do you feel is the most difficult thing for new healers of your class to learn?
You don't need to heal the tank. Beacon the tank. Honestly, the key to healing this class is beacon - so you really need to learn to maximize it. Aside from that - mana management is a bit rough, but I'm sure it's the same story for all healers (haven't played any other healing classes in the end-game, so that's just an assumption).
* If someone were to try to evaluate your performance as a healer via recount, what sort of patterns would they see (i.e. lots of overhealing, low healing output, etc)?
A pretty high chunk of overhealing - for the reasons specified above. Aside from that, they'd likely see me very high in the other heal stats.
* Haste or Crit and why?
Balance of course, but I'm a haste-monkey. I want my heals to be FAST. My little Flash of Light doesn't do quite enough to justify being used that often, so I really try to shave down the casting time of my Holy Light as much as possible so I can still use it as a good reactionary spell.
* What healing class do you feel you understand least?
Resto Shammies by far. Hell, aside from chain heal I don't even know what spells they use. That being said - shaman is the only class that I've tried that I'm not good at and don't enjoy playing... so I may be biased.
* What add-ons or macros do you use, if any, to aid you in healing?
Grid+Clique. I'd tried Healbot, but I keep getting a strange bug with it that nobody else in the world seems to. I'm pretty happy with Grid+Clique though, so it's no big deal.
* Do you strive primarily for balance between your healing stats, or do you stack some much higher than others, and why?
I do tend to focus pretty heavily on Int and Haste. Aside from the crit bonus from Int, the larger my mana pool the better... Divine Plea restores 25% of my mana instead of a fixed amount - so the more I have, the more efficient the restoration is.


I got this survey directly from the source, and I'm not linking to anyone's blog (I'll email the healers I know though). Track the result of the survey here!