Pen&Paper Roleplaying. Why the hate?

[Zorgolio]

I have been a so called "Game Master" or GM for roleplaying groups for several years now and one thing has always been itching at the back of my head.
Why has the media decided to brand roleplaying as the pinnacle of nerdy activity? I always roleplay with friends, and to us it's a time to sit and socialize, shoot the breeze and have fun. To me, as the gamemaster, it's an opportunity to tell a story, to engage my players in an adventure. Screw all the boring rules and "dungeon crawls", we do it for the FUN. The rulebooks? Stuff that! That's mostly for direction in any case. We don't sit hunched around a calculator running advanced algorithms for killing goblins, no! I serve up a story and land the players in a series of situations, and they find solutions! It's all about solving problems, be it to blow up a ship or negotiate an important deal. And all in the meantime, the storyline that binds it all together and keeps the players wanting to move forward, wanting to find out what's going on and how they fit into it, and how they can affect it. Nothing is static, at least not when I'm the GM. Anything can happen. Imagination is the only limit.

Maybe my RPG groups are unusually non-nerdy, maybe we are rare in our focus on just having fun in the company of good friends, but I hope that's not the case.

So in ending I turn to you folks: why the hate? What did we do wrong?

 

[IntoxicatingToxin]

I have no idea why society has deemed it nerdy. I've never been imaginative enough to take part in that type of RP thing, but I wish I did. I'm jealous!

 

[D_Ormstrom Oxtongue]

Great post, Zorgolio. And it's a good question, too.

I've got a group of friends that I hang out with and play D&D with--incidentally some of my closest friends come from this group. So I don't think that your RPG groups are rare in that instance. The time spent with these friends, for me, is more about socializing and relaxing after a hard week...we've definitely had times where we were going to play something, but ended up just hanging out and chatting instead. And my group is also not a stickler for the rules; we use them, but a lot of the minor details get ignored for the sake of making things easier and a bit less rigid. If rules are your thing, then go for it, but we tend to just play for the creativity and socializing.

So yes, why all the hate on the nerds?

 

[Gillette]

I think it got tagged that way because it's an indoor activity or low level physical activity.

Nerd was the automatic label given to those whose activities involved more brain than brawn.

 

[Rubenesque]

I actually think it's because the perception is that by the time you've reached adulthood you should've "grown out of it", and that if you haven't you probably don't have a grasp on reality. I don't have a problem with it personally... as passtimes go I can think of worse.

I used to go out with a bloke who was a GM for several D&D groups, I was a bit curious so he turned up with his "kit" once... I've never seen so many bloody dice in my life, and the booklet was the size of the yellow pages! haha

 

[D_Martin van Burden]

I don't remember when this happened, but did you all hear that urban legend story about the Dungeons and Dragons players who got so "into" their game that they wound up hurting or maybe killing someone?

I used to play D & D with my friends back in high school, and we all had the numerous fancy dice and the character sheets and we would arrange sleepovers and such. After that, I just put it away. Don't know what became of the stuff; it was gone. Besides, all the RPGs I play now are on gaming consoles.

 

[Zorgolio]

What I really like about the whole RPG thing is that anything can happen. Take this example: I have a campaign going with two players, and i always find that the wackiest things happen when these two are tearing shit up. The situation is as follows: they need to get past an enemy hoard and back home to warn the populace. They have two alternatives, either ride through the loosely packed enemy forces or risk riding through a forest at night at brakeneck speed. They choose to ride through the enemy hoard, dodging thrown projectiles, sword slashes and other such things. Somehow they manage to get through, but once through one of them catches a spear in the back and tries to steady himself. His horse freaks out throwing him off, BUT he get's caught in the stirrup, and gets dragged along so the OTHER player shoots a frigging lightning bolt at the horse, trying to kill it. He only causes the horse to freak out more and kick the poor guy being dragged along. Finally the poor horse dies and the battered guy on the ground get's picked up and ridden out of there. And all this in full view of the enemy army... . And let's not mention the time a guy has to sell himself to the local slut to get his hands on a shield for his shy and socially retarded pal...

 

[mitchymo]

I agree with DeeBlackthorne

Used to play 'vampires' a D&D style RPG but i only play them on comp. nowadays. I do'nt see the point in it personally, there is no goal to feel rewarded and it felt a little immature, well a lot actually. I think it is seen as nerdy because really it is, its something that kids do playing fantasy games, but there is nothing wrong with being a bit of a nerd, take Ugly Betty or The Big Bang. Fantastic nerdiness.

 

[Hand_Solo]

D&D and other role-playing games can be loads of fun. My group sorta broke up a while back, and I really miss playing.

 

[lookingforhung]

I agree with DeeBlackthorne

Used to play 'vampires' a D&D style RPG but i only play them on comp. nowadays. I do'nt see the point in it personally, there is no goal to feel rewarded and it felt a little immature, well a lot actually. I think it is seen as nerdy because really it is, its something that kids do playing fantasy games, but there is nothing wrong with being a bit of a nerd, take Ugly Betty or The Big Bang. Fantastic nerdiness.

yeah my best friend is like that. he is pretty child like but on the other hand quiet mature. he'll say stuff like yaaaaaaaayz but otherwise very serious and can have serious dicussions with him. but i can never understand how he can play something like that which kids play. i'm thinking about sex and he's thinking about games lol

 

[ZOS23xy]

I knew a few folks who descended into D&D with a weird determination. They were in college and playing the roles while attending classes and in costume was a stress relief. One guy got tooo involved with his persona and thought he was often in the 5th century.

And there's that Tom Hanks movie, "MAZES AND MONSTERS" kind of geared toward "exposing" the D & D cult. It's a klunker of a movie.

Any questions?

 

[Principessa]

I think it got tagged that way because it's an indoor activity or low level physical activity.

Nerd was the automatic label given to those whose activities involved more brain than brawn.

Agreed. :yup:

I actually think it's because the perception is that by the time you've reached adulthood you should've "grown out of it", and that if you haven't you probably don't have a grasp on reality.

Exactly! I agree. TruckerTexman has tried valiantly to get me involved in D&D whn he is home, as well as 2 or 3 other games he actively participates in online. Frankly, I have enough challenges living my own life. I can't be bothered making up another one and going on quests, etc. Out of the 6 people in his D&D group last fall there were only two that had jobs. He as y'all know is a trucker, and the other guy was asst. mgr. of a convenience mart. The rest though in their mid to late 20's seemed to be in a state of arrested adolesence.

I don't have a problem with it personally... as pastimes go I can think of worse.

True, that's why I don't complain when he goes over their house to play D&D. I just have no desire to participate.

I used to go out with a bloke who was a GM for several D&D groups, I was a bit curious so he turned up with his "kit" once... I've never seen so many bloody dice in my life, and the booklet was the size of the yellow pages! haha

I tried, I thought it might be a fun couple thing that we could do together. :lmao: NOT! I even checked Dungeons and Dragons for Dummies out of the library. I read maybe a third of the book and all it did was confirm that D&D just isn't for me. :redface::smile:

 

[Zorgolio]

Argh! All this D&D! I find that D&D gives roleplaying a bad rep! Too many rules! Too many sourcebooks! Heck, the best campaign i "gamemasterd" was with ONE rulebook, and i hardly ever used it as more than a handy fly-swatter! Maybe it's a swedish thing...

 

[TheRob]

I have no idea why society has deemed it nerdy. I've never been imaginative enough to take part in that type of RP thing, but I wish I did. I'm jealous!

Role Playing Gamers (Gamers for short) are an extreamly accepting lot...in fact the only way to get kicked out of a gaming group is to not let someone else game with you cus then we think you are an elitist...

why not try, if you are really interested let me know

 

[TheRob]

we should get an adult game going
;o)