Stealthdozer
2009-12-10, 04:25 AM
I've been kicking in doors and killing monsters for almost 30 years now.
I was a jock in High School. I moved to a new school my senior year – 1980-1981, across the river from my old school. Due to a series of fights, detentions, and suspensions, and the close proximity of the two schools, many of my new classmates knew I boxed.
My friends Mark and Todd introduced me to Stephen, the smartest student at my new school. Stephen was keen on hearing my opinions regarding boxing as they related to “pummeling” (what Unarmed Combat used to be called). Stephen was obsessed with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons apparently. Under Stephen’s enthusiastic guidance I soon created my first character, a Monk. It wouldn’t be long until I was playing Fighters however. In the thirty years I’ve been playing, I’ve managed to play each of the main character types. I enjoy Fighters best.
When I first played AD&D groups were exclusively male. We were shocked when Heather came to watch her boyfriend Nathaniel play. Heather didn’t stay, but soon other girlfriends, sisters, and such girls started joining in.
After graduation I worked a series of construction jobs before eventually joining the military. Most of my friends went off to various colleges.
Duty comes first in the military, though I still managed to get some game time in too. I started playing other games: GURPS, Palladium, etc. We always seemed to return to D&D – or AD&D Second Edition as it was eventually known.
Role-Playing Games serve as a beacon to the maladjusted, and we learned to exclude anti-social players from our groups. Sure as bricks some people don’t take hints. If I confronted the anti-social, negotiations were over: no bargains. I know it sounds tough, and it’s hard to watch grown men cry over a game, but it was always for the best. The games became more enjoyable, and one can hope being booted worked as a wake-up call for the excluded. Therapy is available, just not by me.
After 12 years Active Duty I reconnected with my long lost civilian gaming friends. Most were married, several had children. As it turns out I now know more female than male players. Wives, daughters, sisters: women have flocked to pen & paper RPGs. I didn’t notice if I adjusted my play style. The theatrical prefer role-play to roll-play. I like to kick in doors. Several of the girls mention they liked combat too: girls aren’t often encouraged to hit things apparently. One mistake I think our culture makes – not just gamers – is ignoring what women have to say.
Male gamers sometimes ask if the female gamers I play with are hot. The females I game with are the wives, mothers, sisters, or daughters of some of my oldest and closest friends. “Hot” isn’t on the radar.
The core of my old group still games too: Nathaniel, Josh, Seamus. We joined the migration to 3.5 a few years ago, and will likely wander into Pathfinder territory together.
Thank you for reading my rambling rumination. Next time I’ll try and have a point.
Cheers.
I was a jock in High School. I moved to a new school my senior year – 1980-1981, across the river from my old school. Due to a series of fights, detentions, and suspensions, and the close proximity of the two schools, many of my new classmates knew I boxed.
My friends Mark and Todd introduced me to Stephen, the smartest student at my new school. Stephen was keen on hearing my opinions regarding boxing as they related to “pummeling” (what Unarmed Combat used to be called). Stephen was obsessed with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons apparently. Under Stephen’s enthusiastic guidance I soon created my first character, a Monk. It wouldn’t be long until I was playing Fighters however. In the thirty years I’ve been playing, I’ve managed to play each of the main character types. I enjoy Fighters best.
When I first played AD&D groups were exclusively male. We were shocked when Heather came to watch her boyfriend Nathaniel play. Heather didn’t stay, but soon other girlfriends, sisters, and such girls started joining in.
After graduation I worked a series of construction jobs before eventually joining the military. Most of my friends went off to various colleges.
Duty comes first in the military, though I still managed to get some game time in too. I started playing other games: GURPS, Palladium, etc. We always seemed to return to D&D – or AD&D Second Edition as it was eventually known.
Role-Playing Games serve as a beacon to the maladjusted, and we learned to exclude anti-social players from our groups. Sure as bricks some people don’t take hints. If I confronted the anti-social, negotiations were over: no bargains. I know it sounds tough, and it’s hard to watch grown men cry over a game, but it was always for the best. The games became more enjoyable, and one can hope being booted worked as a wake-up call for the excluded. Therapy is available, just not by me.
After 12 years Active Duty I reconnected with my long lost civilian gaming friends. Most were married, several had children. As it turns out I now know more female than male players. Wives, daughters, sisters: women have flocked to pen & paper RPGs. I didn’t notice if I adjusted my play style. The theatrical prefer role-play to roll-play. I like to kick in doors. Several of the girls mention they liked combat too: girls aren’t often encouraged to hit things apparently. One mistake I think our culture makes – not just gamers – is ignoring what women have to say.
Male gamers sometimes ask if the female gamers I play with are hot. The females I game with are the wives, mothers, sisters, or daughters of some of my oldest and closest friends. “Hot” isn’t on the radar.
The core of my old group still games too: Nathaniel, Josh, Seamus. We joined the migration to 3.5 a few years ago, and will likely wander into Pathfinder territory together.
Thank you for reading my rambling rumination. Next time I’ll try and have a point.
Cheers.