Roleplay Groups I think I found one that fits me

I want to talk about table top role play (TTRPG) and the amount of fun you can have with the right group and the way things can go. I fell into role play.  At Sixth form there were a group of goths who were obsessed with Vampire the Masquerade and I thought it sounded interesting but they were not my friends and I was too busy doing things on stage to push it. But at university I fell in with the Games Society and that was where I got bit by the bug.

I mainly played DnD 2^nd ed at uni which was what the majority of the group played and liked best and my then boyfriend ran games so it became something I did a bit.  I also played some Vamprire Live action as well as Table top and some Dark ages too, there is something about the way that a group comes together and the way that the story is made by consensus that is attractive.

I then left uni broke up with the boyfriend and lost touch with the hobby.  There were a few aborted tries at getting back into it the chemistry with the groups were not to my taste and I found it easier to assume that I wouldn’t get to play again. Instead I’ve discovered board games and I have a fairly zen approach to those too.

A chance encounter this summer brought me to contact with some old online friends.  From the days when the internet was far more innocent and I was a member of an old school message board.  Finding someone else who used to be there and now finding out he’s a board gamer and a gm and would I like to play some thing some time.

This has culminated in playing a one shot Shadowrun game in which I elected to play a mouth character and if you’ve met me at all you know I struggle with word salad a lot and I go into panic mode when put on the spot so I’m working on that.

I was thrilled to be invited to play in a campaign and its character driven RPG yes we have stats and yes we roll dice but the thought that I put into the back story for my character was like a real deep dive into character motivations and indeed early life trauma that has brought my character to the present.

One of the things I’m doing here is finding an outlet in being someone else for a while and this is the interesting part and experimental part. My character is very different to me. I’ve created someone who is monosybalic with a short fuse and the power to hulk out, she’s a jazz pianist and everything I did in the first session was contrary to what I would do.  But the character she has her own thoughts and feelings and yep she is going to pocket that cred stick and spend all that money on rum.

RPG for me is the chance to be in character, to make terrible decisions there’s the element of chance just like in real life and yet in the right group this can be a safe space to be someone you are not. This is a good group for me I feel that the focus on character is where I live.

Other groups have different dynamics and you can find groups where the themes are more along the lines of what is the biggest thing I can hit for the most damage and that’s great for those who enjoy it. I want to invest my time that I spend playing taking that chance.  I’ve found a group to do that with and that’s amazing.