The Story Goes On

Today was one of those days when I just wanted to curl up and hide away from the rest of the world.  My body hated me.  My stomach thought about rebelling, and everything this morning felt like it took ten times longer than it normally does.

But I didn't hide away from the world today.

Instead, I went to hang out with "the guys" and my sweetie at our (usually) weekly D&D game.  And I'll admit, I'm pretty addicted to role-playing.  There are all kinds of ways to role-play--from pen and paper gaming to LARPing (Live Action Role-Playing), to role-playing in an MMO (Massively Multi-player Online game), and even RPing in a chat--such as doing so on Steam or Skype.

But what, exactly, is role-playing?

Role playing happens when you take on a role--any role--and imagine what it would be like to be a person in that role.  In many ways, it is a lot like acting, and in other ways, it's like being a story-teller or a writer.  And even that, in my mind, doesn't really encompass the whole idea of role-playing.  It's like feeding someone who has never had chocolate a piece of a Hershey's chocolate bar and telling them that that's what chocolate is like; it doesn't even begin to do it justice.

Suffice to say, however, that I love all the imagining parts of the role-play, and I kind of suck at the rules.  That said, I'm not really sure that the rules and the medium are the important part of role-playing.  The important part is what you learn and take away from the experience, and the story that you share with the other people with whom you play.

That said, ...creating an engaging and interesting story with other people isn't always easy.  Everyone has a character they love.  Everyone has put time, effort, and thought into that entity which they play.  And quite often, not everyone's goals match up with everyone else's.

There are other issues, too--of course.  Sometimes what one person believes a character should do is not always what the person playing the character thinks they should do.  Alternatively, the way the world works may not be the way that a player believes it should.  And then there are just people who refuse to compromise--believing that their idea of a character or situation is the only way it could be.

Generally, there is someone who leads these group of savage, crazy people.  He or she is someone I have really come to admire; they focus the stories and help them to flow--challenge the characters and create amazing, and often times troubling, settings--both socially, physically, and mentally.  Quite often, those situations can be just as troubling and exciting for the players, but it is the role of the game master (or dungeon master, or story-teller) to ensure that the rules are followed, that the players understand the situations, and that the story that is told is not only challenging, but also fun.

I tend to think of people that can do this as both insane and amazing, and to anyone who has ever run a game for me, served as my GM, DM, or Storyteller--I thank you.

And to those of you with whom I am play, ...thank you, too.

You have challenged me, angered me, annoyed me, teased me, and befriended me--encouraged me, and set me straight on occasion.  You have been tolerant, forgiving of my mistakes, and understanding of my lack of knowledge on various subjects, and you have helped me to continue to grow and learn about both myself and the world.

But most of all, ..you have shared your stories with me.

And if anything, ...that has been the one thing that endears me most to you.

So, if you're wondering what got me out of bed today--in spite of all the other things that made me want to stay there--now you know.

And for those of you reading this blog with no idea of what I'm talking about, ....thank you for indulging me today.  And for sharing in a little bit of my story.