How Have RPGs Contributed To Your Life?
With the passing of the first Dungeon Master Gary Gygax (may he rest in peace on whichever plane he decides to settle--a moving tribute from Order of the Stick can be found here), those of us in the RPG community have been in a nostalgic mood, considering the impact that Dungeons & Dragons in particular and RPGs in general have had on our lives. Everyone touched by this hobby has their own stories--funny, sad, exciting, creepy, wonderful stories about their past campaigns, players, GMs, PCs, NPCs, monty hauls and kobayashi marus and dice rolls that couldn't possibly have succeeded but did, court intrigue, bad plans, worse plans, set-ups, railroads, moments where your heart is pounding even though you're only talking about opening an imaginary basement door, red herrings, magic earrings, ubiquitous amnesia, trenchcoats and katanas, merits and flaws, skills and feats, arguments about pizza toppings, holding one's breath during the next Wild Magic roll or the next draw from the Deck of Many Things, shoggoths and tyrannical Computers and sentient swords and rope-puzzles and Orbs of Annihilation and traps with five kinds of poison and everything else your GM threw at you (or you threw at your players), games that have been chaotic but good, games that have been lawful but evil, games that, in retrospect, brought you so much closer to some of the best friends you've ever had...
So what are some of your stories about roleplaying games in your past? How has this hobby affected your life? Think about it, and leave a comment.
Mad Pawn
Posted to Hot Stuff, Roleplaying Games on 6 March 2008
· Comments (3)
Other stuff like this: gary gygax, nostalgia, rpgs
The very best friends I have right now I know because of role playing. When I first got to college, I was too shy to branch out and meet a bunch of new people, but fated-to-be-friends were in the dorms talking about a D&D game they were going to start, and so I boldly asked to join them. I'd never played before, but I had a vague idea what the game was like... little did I know that it would become one of my major hobbies. More importantly, it introduced me to some awesome people that mean the world to me now.
I've found it very useful to attribute people with alignments and/or classes to describe their psychology.
And being terminally shy, I found RPG's the only way to talk to the older guys in my neighborhood.
I wouldn't have the imaginative or funny friends I have today if RPG's didn't show me how to imagine or tell a story.
I owe 'em big time!
Believe it or not, I met my current husband through a D&D game we were both playing in. Fast forward 10 years and we're still gaming almost every night.
Now if I could just find a *girlfriend* locally who is into gaming, I'd be a happy gamer chick.