Speak Geek: RPGs

I have this blog, so it should really be no surprise that I’ve got some sort of fascination with roleplaying games. What’s fairly unique about me and RPGs is how long I’ve been playing them. There are those who have been playing since they were invented. I’m not one of those people. I wasn’t around when they were invented. I have been playing from a very young age, though. Most people seem to be introduced to RPGs in high school or college (their late teens). Some people start a little earlier, like middle school (early teens/tweens). I started in elementary school. Specifically, I started in 3rd grade, which would put me at around 9 years old. Not only that, I started with a fairly complex system: MERPS (Middle Earth Role Playing System) from Iron Crown Enterprises. I was also introduced to Marvel Superheroes around this time, and that was the first game I bought for myself.

I had no concept that such games were new, or considered geeky, or were anything but normal. I did fall in love with them, though. More games followed, as I got my hands on anything that seemed interesting. Top Secret, Torg, Warhammer, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Wars, Call of Cthulhu, Shadowrun… but I never bothered with Dungeons & Dragons. I can’t really guess at why. A friend who I introduced to RPGs eventually picked up D&D and ran it, and I never had a problem playing it (then again, I’ll play just about anything), but I never had any interest in picking up any of the books or running it myself.

But what do I like so much about these games?

Report: Shadowrun: 10/18

Some of the best role playing experiences I’ve had have been in Shadowrun with my friend, Phil, as GM. So when he made it known that he was gearing up to run again, I signed up. This was a few months ago. Since then, he also let slip that he was going to work in some Dungeons & Dragons (4th edition). How? The Shadowrun PCs would all be players in that world’s equivalent of an MMORPG, like World of Warcraft. So, while playing the game, we’d be using D&D for our Shadowrun characters’ avatars. Kind of a cool idea, and one that would have me worried that the GM could pull it off, but I have faith in this particular GM.