There are so many things that pop into my head when I think about 'VAST', today's prompt for RPG A Day 2019.
I've touched on this before--way too many times in fact--but the first thing is the vast number of years that I've been playing RPGs in one way or another. I can't say an exact year, but I know it's over thirty years. If I look at the D&D cartoon as a starting point that puts us back to '83 and myself as a nine year old. I also read the Choose Your Own Adventure and Time Machine Books around the same time. If I had known that the adult me would still be playing, I might have tried to record an exact date for posterity. You know you are getting old when you are using dice that are older than the members in your gaming group.
In all those years, I have amassed a vast collection of products as well as dice. Over several moves throughout the years I've lost things and culled others. One thing is for sure, I'm always kicking myself somewhere down the line, wishing I'd have found a way to save my stuff.
The vast majority of games that I've played and run have been fantasy in the same line as Dungeons and Dragons. For some D&D and RPG are practically synonymous. The brand-name is more famous than the product. I find when I'm home in Georgia that all soft drinks are called Coke. That makes sense as the Coca-Cola company is right there and all, but surprisingly, in my travels throughout the world all facial tissue is called Kleenex. That's what you have to call brand saturation. The guys I teach often struggled with English, but they all knew Kleenex. When it comes to the RPG hobby, it's a bit of a double-edged sword. D&D--right or wrong--is the granddaddy of them all. When the vast majority of casual people think about RPGs--in those rare occasions when they do--they're thinking D&D. Cool for us, but some people don't like the fantasy setting, so they close themselves off to the entire hobby. If only they knew of the vast amounts of systems and settings that are out there, they could have a lot of fun.
I've touched on this before--way too many times in fact--but the first thing is the vast number of years that I've been playing RPGs in one way or another. I can't say an exact year, but I know it's over thirty years. If I look at the D&D cartoon as a starting point that puts us back to '83 and myself as a nine year old. I also read the Choose Your Own Adventure and Time Machine Books around the same time. If I had known that the adult me would still be playing, I might have tried to record an exact date for posterity. You know you are getting old when you are using dice that are older than the members in your gaming group.
In all those years, I have amassed a vast collection of products as well as dice. Over several moves throughout the years I've lost things and culled others. One thing is for sure, I'm always kicking myself somewhere down the line, wishing I'd have found a way to save my stuff.
The vast majority of games that I've played and run have been fantasy in the same line as Dungeons and Dragons. For some D&D and RPG are practically synonymous. The brand-name is more famous than the product. I find when I'm home in Georgia that all soft drinks are called Coke. That makes sense as the Coca-Cola company is right there and all, but surprisingly, in my travels throughout the world all facial tissue is called Kleenex. That's what you have to call brand saturation. The guys I teach often struggled with English, but they all knew Kleenex. When it comes to the RPG hobby, it's a bit of a double-edged sword. D&D--right or wrong--is the granddaddy of them all. When the vast majority of casual people think about RPGs--in those rare occasions when they do--they're thinking D&D. Cool for us, but some people don't like the fantasy setting, so they close themselves off to the entire hobby. If only they knew of the vast amounts of systems and settings that are out there, they could have a lot of fun.
No comments:
Post a Comment