Are you a roleplayer? If not, why not?

**Gaelforce** · 08-06-2010, 05:25 PM

Hi, my name is Sue and I've been playing pencil and paper roleplaying games for thirty four years.

(Gamers Anonymous response: Hi Sue!)

I am an admitted roleplaying junkie - not dice rolling or treasure hunting or monster killing but full out, spend a day with friends pretending to be someone else and enjoying the hell out of it roleplaying.

I'm out here in Indianapolis for GenCon having a blast with some of the best roleplayers I've ever known. It's my 28th visit here and I can't imagine a year going by where I'm not surrounded by 30,000 gaming geeks all out to have a good time.

So I was wondering - are there any other roleplayers/LARPers who hang out here?

More to the point, for those of you who don't roleplay, is there a reason you don't?

I was wondering this because it seems to me that a lot of comic book collectors I've known also tend to be some of the most creative people I've known. There are artist and writers (and would-be artists and writers) who all have their own creative outlets, and it would seem to me that a lot of you would enjoy creating your own character and then seeing how that character interacts with other people's creations.

So how many of you are roleplayers or would-be roleplayers? And how many of you aren't interested and why? (please try not to hurt my feelings with that answer

)

**Thequeerjock** · 08-06-2010, 05:31 PM

Do you mean like in Role Models?

I guess I'm a bit self-conscious. This year will be the first time I've ever even tried to dress up and go to a con.

That, and I don't know many black LARPers, and I think I'd be a tad intimidated.....

**UltimateFactor** · 08-06-2010, 05:42 PM

Huh, I've never done the all out Role play thing, though I'm heavy into online, text based, chat room role play. I've been using it as my daily writing exercise for almost thirteen years now.

**Dream** · 08-06-2010, 05:48 PM

I think it's cool you do that.

I guess where I just don't know many people who are down to do that.

I met this guy while working at a Halloween store last year and I guess he was a HALO Larper- dude had a 10000 dollar costume with night vision, infra-red, made fro mreally sturdy military material, and with sensors like they use in laser tag so he and his buddies can play or whatever.

**Gaelforce** · 08-06-2010, 05:52 PM

Role Models is a sub-set of roleplayers called LARPers (Live Action roleplaying). There are LARP organizations all over the place like that where you create one character and play it over a long period of time while in costume and engaging in mock combat.

We don't dress up for our weekly roleplaying and we play in the privacy of our own home. My friends come over, we hang out, order lunch and then sit around the table pretending to be characters we created. One person runs the game by creating scenarios and storylines along with the supporting cast and opponents. You create a different character for each game.

Dungeons and Dragons is the oldest and most famous RPG which is based off of Tolkien's work. Nowadays, name a genre and there's a game for it, from superheros to secret agents, vampires to noir detective stories.

At GenCon (and other gaming conventions), a gamemaster creates a storyline as well as the characters that attendees then play for about four hours at a time. For example, the game I played yesterday was based off of the movie Sky High and we all play students attending the school for superheroes and dealing with the strange goings-on there.

Games can have different tones as well as genres - from light hearted comedy to dark drama. When done well, it can be very intense and a lot of fun

**Darque_Angel** · 08-06-2010, 05:54 PM

I am a pen and pencil role-player and PbEM role-player. My brothers, some friends and I have been playing champions for as long as I can remember.

We are also currently playing a D&D game once a month at a local store to introduce my nephews and some younger kids to the game. Its 4th ed which I don't really like but its whats out and it helps the store sell stuff. The older players sort of rotate in and out of the game depending on which of us are available that weekend and we play more seasoned adventurers acting as mentors to the kids characters. Lots of fun to see the enthusiasm and excitement they have for every little aspect of the game.

**Thequeerjock** · 08-06-2010, 05:54 PM

Originally Posted by Gaelforce

Role Models is a sub-set of roleplayers called LARPers (Live Action roleplaying).

Oh, I was talking about the movie. You know, the one with Sean William Scott?

**trypr** · 08-06-2010, 05:56 PM

Hey Sue ^_^

As well as playing online, I still play semi-regularly with my friends from school: mainly boardgames, WFRP and Call of Cthulu. I've done a bit of LARPing and played a number of other PnP systems, but we always come back to tales of impending doom from beyond the stars, along with a healthy dose of history and satire

It's always been a fun way to frame a social evening and to take a break from "adult" life ^_^ Only a couple of us are really into comics, but everyone seems to enjoy reading trade paperbacks of old Conan tales (where he is, very often, like a panther). I'm the artist, so I get mapping duty, but I can always get my own back making character sketches ^.~

**Gaelforce** · 08-06-2010, 06:00 PM

Originally Posted by Thequeerjock

Oh, I was talking about the movie. You know, the one with Sean William Scott?

Yeah, that's what I was talking about. The movie is about a fictionaly LARP community and LARPing is a type or roleplaying

**Gaelforce** · 08-06-2010, 06:03 PM

Originally Posted by Darque_Angel

I am a pen and pencil role-player and PbEM role-player. My brothers, some friends and I have been playing champions for as long as I can remember.

Awesome! I ran the official Champions tournament at GenCon and Origins for years back when the game first came out, and I'm out here at GenCon now running Champions events. By far and away my favorite game system. Our face-to-face game has expaned into some fun PbEM as well.

We are also currently playing a D&D game once a month at a local store to introduce my nephews and some younger kids to the game. Its 4th ed which I don't really like but its whats out and it helps the store sell stuff. The older players sort of rotate in and out of the game depending on which of us are available that weekend and we play more seasoned adventurers acting as mentors to the kids characters. Lots of fun to see the enthusiasm and excitement they have for every little aspect of the game.

I don't have kids, but it's been great seeing my friends kids grow up and join games from time to time. One of my oldest friends is out here with his son now who helped him run that Sky High game.