“13. Did I hit
it?”, I asked.
“Depends, what’s
your THAC0?”
Some of you will get that
and others are definitely already lost. THAC0? What the hell is that?
Those of us who know, still ask (it's an over complicated RPG [Role
Playing Game] game mechanic that stands for: to hit armour class 0...
as if that clarifies it).
I think RPGs are a big
part of why I like to write. Over complicated game mechanics aside,
RPGs are a way to tell stories. I’m referring to the pen and paper
table top kind, not the videogame kind, or rocket propelled grenades (in case you missed it above). It is and always has been the story that draws me to
the table whether I'm playing the game or running it.
I’ve been playing RPGs
on and off for a good part of my life. My first character the way I
remember it was a chaotic dwarf called Rolf. I was 2 (I’m
exaggerating… slightly). Many characters have followed Rolf, too
many to remember, unless I sat down and went through them
methodically... A few stand out.
Necrelius Ravendark, who
killed enemies of the state until he was deemed one and rose up to
fight for himself and slowly the people, a classic story. Then there
was Xarynish, a migou-human hybrid who was treated like a dog on a leash by his
“employer”. His loyalty stemmed from Stockholm syndrome. I have
played all sorts, most of them odd and conflicted. They are strange
and unusual heroes dreamt up around the RPG table, or nowadays our
forum. They have a past and motives, but no predetermined future and
no future I can control entirely. The RPG story unfolds -
collectively.
My RPG beginning was
during the time when RPGs had a stigma because of the ridiculousness
portrayed in movies like Mazes and Monsters with wunderkind Tom
Hanks. Not that they don't have a stigma now, or maybe they don't. Whether you like Tom Hanks or not it is undeniable that he
was a huge success… but that movie is on my list of worst movies
ever. Youtube it. Troll 2 may be worse, but it is still better. Watch the documentary. The
silliness that Mazes and Monsters, along with other media, had
somehow released into the minds of adults… made them think RPGs
would break our brains...
My awesome older brother
introduced me to gaming, so any good or bad influence that it has had
on my life falls entirely to him (I refuse all responsibility even if
it is my life). Fortunately, he wanted to do other things than run games for his
younger brother and his annoying friends and that drove me to tell my
own stories. As a result, I learned how to read. Anyone unfamiliar
with RPGs should now be made aware that each system often has
hundreds of pages detailing over complicated rules, setting elements
and other facts relevant to the world and the things that inhabit it. You can also just take the rules and homebrew the rest.
My current favourite system is FATE.
I have been creating my
own plots and story arcs to feed to my story hungry friends for years
now, on and off. It is part of my origin story as a writer.
I'm certain others have been infected with the
creative bug in completely different ways. Also, am I alone on the feeling that RPGs are great for
stories? I doubt it. Of course everyone has probably had at least one
terrible GM.
Oh and sis, you never introduced me to RPGs, but you're cool too.
