Why I Chuck Dice
I love pen-and-paper roleplaying.
It’s a creative outlet. Especially creating characters. I’d be making up fictional characters with or without roleplaying games; RPGs just give me a chance to let them interact with my friends’ made-up characters. It’s a unique form in that way. And as creative as it is to be a player, it’s orders of magnitude more so to be a gamemaster.
I enjoy performing. A lot of the time, roleplaying is hilarious. Get a bunch of creative people around a table, having fun together, and it often behaves like improv comedy. My friends and I have catch phrases we still use – and laugh at – that came out of games from years gone by. I love getting the laugh. I also love a good dramatic moment too, and roleplaying can provide those just as well. Roleplaying games are basically a venue for amateur (wannabe?) stand-up comics and actors.
I like my friends. Go figure. Getting together for a game gets us all together. I appreciate that, now more than ever. Life has gotten busy, and it helps to have an event on the calendar, an excuse to see each other.
I’ve talked about why I game at length with my friends. What about you? What brings you to the table?
Posted on April 7, 2011, in Gaming, Geekery and tagged D&D, Dungeons and Dragons, pen-and-paper, roleplaying. Bookmark the permalink. 4 Comments.
It’s all about either telling a good story, or playing out a good story …
I tend to agree! I like a little goofy fun here and there, but what keeps me coming back is a solid storyline.
I like pretending to do things I can’t do in real life. Even more I like to roleplay to learn about who I am by trying to get into the mind and circumstances of other people.
Yeah, definitely. Roleplaying not only offers made-up powers beyond those of mortal man, but a world with imaginary consequences. The ideal place to cut loose.
I’m remembering the best advice I’ve ever heard on roleplaying, which relates to your second comment. It was from a panel at Comic-Con — wait, were you there? — when the guy said, “Don’t just ask what your character would do. Ask what you would do if you were your character.” There’s such a difference between “what would a sadistic, superpowered monster do?” and “what would I do if I were a sadistic, superpowered monster?”