Okay. RPGs have been a part of my life for a long, long time. And RPGs have had a major impact on my life in four, very distinct and life changing ways.
First of all, I'll just get this out of the way, I was a nerd as a kid. Slightly dumpy, weird looking kid, and I didn't really have many friends. I had a couple of really close friends, and we hardly did anything without each other. But RPGs changed all of that. Thanks to the D&D group(s) I was in, which merged into a great RPG group, I had the best friends ever. Especially through those awkward teenage years when social standing is weird and bizarre, we stuck together - we gamed constantly, and now, thirty-plus years later, we're still the best of friends. We may be miles apart, spread across the world in different continents, we're always there for each other and rally to each other's aid if necessary.
We're like veterans of a war, only we were fighting orcs, sathar and broo. The bonds formed in those years of adventuring have made us the best of friends. To the Eight (and more) - Bragi, Mole, Milo, Cooper, John, Pete, JR, Fordy, and the extended family of Gladys, Norm, and more... You're all legends, and I'll always have your backs.
Secondly, I got my first job thanks to RPGs. Interviewing for a job in cartography working for the local council's Nature Conservation group, where I'd eventually end up amending Ordnance Survey maps to highlight sites of importance, I was my usual nervous self.
The interview went okay, and I got on well with the two who were doing the interviewing - Mark, and Doug. And I got the job! Hurrah!
Later, working with Doug, we were chatting and he revealed that the position came down to two finalists - me, and someone else. And I pipped the other to the post due to my playing tabletop roleplaying games. Doug said that thanks to RPGs, he knew that not only could I draw maps, but I knew how to work in a team (party) and could think my way out of problems.
Thirdly, the dumb response is that RPGs have certainly had a major effect on me as I now write RPGs. Livin' the dream!
Fourth, and probably most importantly, I met my wife at an RPG session. You can't have any bigger effect on your life than to meet your lifelong partner. So, thanks Debs, for being not only awesome, but also being a gamer.
Okay, much to do. Until tomorrow. Stay multi-classy!
The mates I have made through D&D have been the longest, truest and most comfortable I have ever had. I have many friends from various things (I'm pretty gregarious) but the RPG mates are the ones I enjoy being around the most in general. There is no act, there are so many shared experiences, in-jokes, no pretence to be something or anything other than what we are (which is probably ironic I suppose?).
ReplyDeleteI am prouder of being one of the Eight than I am of so many other important things, Like Frankie says, I love you guys. Plus there's Martin, Adrian (Arse), Taff, Rob, Drew, Ray and Mikey from Preston, Gidz and Corin from Oxford, Penfold, Trina, Alan and Wilf from Reading and most recently the Tuesday Night crew from Kimberley - Cal, Gordie, Drew, Rob (again), Robert, Rich, Lisa and Neil. All are Legend! And when I finally get around to doing something useful with Dunromin, many will be immortalised as NPCs in that.