Okay, so my last few posts have been somewhat morbid, and now I have this one titled with an "RIP" in it. I promise, this one isn't going to be morbid!
Ernest Gary Gygax (07-27-1938 to 03-04-2008) was the creator of the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game (RPG). Since 1977 I have been playing Dungeons and Dragons as my main hobby. It has been a significant part of my friendships and my life, and since I am leaving this blog behind me for when I pass on, and my kids might want to know more about their dad, I'm going to talk about what this seemingly silly pastime has done for me. It is not insignificant.
First of all, I always feel a little cautious discussing DnD. It is viewed by mainstream America as being a little weird. Over the decades it has branched out into pop culture enough so at least most people know about it, but for the most part I take a lot of crap from my co-workers when they find out I am a "gamer." It's not that I hide it; it's just that I don't advertise it.
In 1977 I was given as a gift the very first Dungeons and Dragons Basic Set. The game had previously been incarnated as a game called "Chainmail," and was a little complicated for a child of my age, but my dad had already taught me how to play chess, so I was kinda' stuck being a gamer, come-what-may.
Over the next ten years I played until I started attending an Assembly of God church. Let me sum this up by saying that a lot of right-wing, Christian denominations viewed (and some still view) DnD as being satanic. The church I attended did a lot to pressure me to not only give the game up, but burn my game materials as well, and I did. It is a part of my life that I look back an and kinda' cringe, but I was an impressionable young man with no role models in my life to tell me, "Dude, come on, get real." Over the years I have come to know that anything in your life that keeps you from having a real relationship with God is something you need to examine and possibly get rid of, but that wasn't the case for me and my games. They were just my hobby, not my life, and never once did I have trouble distinguishing between fantasy and reality.
I took the game up again in the early 1990's after a couple years hiatus. Ever since then I have played off-and-on, and it has brought me a great deal of happiness. My friends and I get together at least twice a month and have a blast. It's not just about playing the game, it's about being social. Some nights we spend more than half the time catching up with each other's lives, maybe celebrating someone's birthday, talking about movies, planning trips, and whatever else strikes us as fun.
So, when Gary Gygax died, I felt kinda' sad. If it wasn't for his contributions to fantasy fans like myself I wouldn't have so many good times behind and ahead of me with other "nerds" who like to leave the harsh realities of our world behind for a little while. Whether I'm playing in character as the Ranger Fletcher Myrmidon, Jim-Bob the Hillbilly Bard, the Monk Hai Karate, or being "behind the screen" working as the Dungeon Master, I always have a good time...
...and as long as you're not hurting someone else (or yourself) and having a good time, I say go for it.
2 comments:
I, too, am a closeted gamer without a group. I used to play frequently in high school.
My dearest friend in the world is the son of the Reverend who officiated our wedding. His parents believed then (and still do) that DnD isn't an appropriate activity for a Christian. Fortunately for us (he was our DM and technically not "playing"), his parents always felt that he was behaving himself if we went out together. (Our families were friendly and they trusted that my parents had a similar parenting philosophy on the important issues.)
So we always gamed together. Often at a third friend's house, sometimes at mine. My mother's philosophy? "Agent Sierra, there are much worse things a group of sixteen-year-olds could be doing on a Friday night than rolling dice, getting hopped up on full-sugar soda, and role-playing on my living room floor. I'm not so naieve as to think that I could actually get you to minister to the hungry on a Friday night as a teenager, so have at it."
My mother and I weren't always fun and sunshine, but she was very practical about gaming. I hope my kids are as interested in it as I was.
It can be hard to find a good group, especially as we grow older. My game group is "closed" at this point just to keep out any people we don't really know about, and who wouldn't be much fun. We tend to strike a good balance between role-play and roll-play.
As far as kids go, my 16-year-old son is now playing in my group, and it's pretty neat. I like being able to pass this along to my son as a great hobby he can take with him all his life, if he wants.
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