RPG

One of the things I think about before going to bed is what will I write about in my blog the next morning.  I usually have many half baked ideas in my head.  Each night I pick out an idea and try to flesh it out so that I would have something to write about come morning.  Last night though I just couldn't do it, nothing that I could think of tickled my fancy.  So I had this great idea and asked Nate to think of one word.  Whatever word he thought of then that is what I would write about today.  So he thought about it for a minute and said: Role-playing.  That is when I groaned inwardly and tried to think about how to get out of that one.  I wasn't ready to talk about my subterranean habits. Aha!  I thought to myself...role playing is two words, I asked for one.  Therefore I can discount it.  It was then I remembered that role-playing is hyphenated, so I was stuck.  True to my word, I'll talk about Role-playing.

Hi, My Name is The Mad Scientist.  And I have been a nerd for the past 19 years.  Whew!  Felt good to get that out.
Truth is, I wasn't always comfortable with admitting that.  I still sometimes have that squelching sensation in my gut when I say something really brainy in a social situation where it wasn't really called for.  My mouth just opens and I'm off to the races. And once I'm done they give you that look.  You know, the one that comes with awkward feet shuffles and uninterested coughing.  I usually feel three inches tall after that.  But now that I'm older and wiser I do my best to fit in with whatever social situation I find myself in, and usually I can perform rather well. Still, it wasn't until a few years ago when I felt really comfortable in my skin.  As much as I hate to say it, I think the whole science to TV prime time revolution helped a lot.  Now that I tell people what I do, I don't get vacant stares, but usually some recognition. Granted usually the wrong idea, but at least its something. It wasn't that I was ever ashamed that I was a nerd, its just that there were few times where there was any commonality.  Okay let's get back to the point.  Why am I talking about this?  Well, dabbling in Role-playing was a pretty big step for me.  Its when I shucked off all of the pre-conceived notions and stereotypes to finally dove into it.  For those that don't have any idea what I"m talking about here are a couple of terms (per Wikipedia because I'm too lazy to make my own definitions):

Role-playing- The idea of changing one's character to assume a role for a personal or common goal

Role playing game (RPG)- a game in which the participants assume the roles of characters and collaboratively create stories. Participants determine the actions of their characters based on their characterisation, and the actions succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines. Within the rules, they may improvise freely; their choices shape the direction and outcome of the games.

Live Action Role-playing (LARPing)-  participants physically act out their characters' actions. The players pursue goals within a fictional setting represented by the real world, while interacting with each other in character. The outcome of player actions may be mediated by game rules, or determined by consensus among player. A infamous video that depicts LARPing can be found: here

Cosplay- Short of costume play. Not heavily focused on  role-playing other than participants don costumes to represent a specific character or idea (think Halloween or Medieval Faires though most prevalent at game or comic book conventions).

The kind of role-playing I dabble in are RPGs (otherwise known as tabletop or pencil and paper RPGs).  Basically every Friday night I sit down with six other guys and play an interactive story, that involves little miniature people and one big game board.   One that can literally be shaped by our will and imagination.  I assume a character that's based on specific traits and can play her accordingly.  Right now I'm playing a fighter, so she is super strong but doesn't have a lot of charisma (meaning that I can kick any enemy's butt but I wouldn't be a good player for trade negotiations). Its fun, intuitive, and you aren't limited to anything.  To give you an example of this, here are some of my characters that I have to play for different campaigns:

Jocelyn Grey- A young fighter turned mercenary in order to raise money to free her father after he was unjustly thrown in jail by a devious noble.

Tesla de Lupo- Set in a star wars setting- Former mafia boss, mutinied against by her late brother's right hand man. She has to join this team of rag tag individuals in order to gain enough resources to take back her place among the Shadow Wolf Gang

Dr. Beatrice Ivy O'Hazard- Scientist studying a unknown radioactive element Q-32.  During a lab accident came in contact with element and now has gained super human powers. Decided to become a super hero and take up the name The Catalyst.

Naomi Aharonov- Israeli fighting against terrorists in the Middle East (I haven't flushed out her story yet, which reminds me that I need to get on it soon)

I can't think of a single entertainment that is as varied as this one. Honestly, I really like it.  Everything changes based on what character you're playing.  If I'm playing Jocelyn, my primary role is to run up to an enemy and stab things, or work collectively with my melee fighting partner to take down larger enemies.  On the other hand if I'm playing Tesla, she doesn't have that many health points so I will have to strategically find cover or get out the way for larger enemies, however she's useful for negotiations and repairs. Everything is new, everything is different, and my only regret is that I didn't discover this sooner.


Probably the most amusing aspect of this whole thing is that I hardly know anything about the people with whom I'm playing. Whenever I do a something social with girls I will walk away knowing their life history, their mother's maiden name, how many animals they have, where they live, and whether or not they like artichokes. I've been playing with these guys for almost two months and the number of facts I know about the collectively couldn't even match the number of fingers I have.  I know three are married, one likes cats and I think has the hots for Abby on NCIS.  Most if not all like Farscape and hated the way Battle Star Gallactica ended.  One is hopeful that the upcoming Thor movie will be good.  And one likes his Cheshire Cat background on his computer (though I think he's changed it since then).  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining.  I just find the differences between both interactions interesting and quite frankly, I find the latter curiously refreshing. Its nice to spend an evening not worrying about anything, or not have the expectation to carry a conversation that would be considered good decorum. 

So if anyone is considering getting started I highly recommend it.  Though I will say the hardest part is finding a group, but once you do that you're golden.  Well I have some characters to tweak so I'll sign off by saying I hope you have a fabulous day!