About the author:
Deb first emerged from the mangrove swamps in 1977, and now resides in the suburbs of Auckland, New Zealand. Living with one partner, one cat, two (working) computers and thousands of books, comics and anime DVD’s, she is a self-professed geek. And very happy to be so.
Writing poetry, short stories (including Buffy and Firefly fanfic) and never-finished novels, she’s determined to be published by the time she’s 30. Thus far, her poetry finds print most often.
Deb has been online since 1999, and more of her writings can be found on her website and livejournal. But not in the mangrove swamps. Although they are very pretty.
About her bi-weekly column:
Strange ramblings from the mind of New Zealand's shameless DebXena - who strips away her layers and exposes her psyche to curious eyes.
View all articles by DebXena, 2HC Columnist...
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Rolling onIt’s the end of an era. Since attending my first science-fiction convention in 2003; since finding those with similar interests and attractions; since immersing myself happily in geekdom, there has been one thing I have refused to do.
For three long years my walls were strong, my defenses stalwart. I was polite and determined. Not my kink, not my interest. I was happy for Ben to do it, and happy for him to do it with our friends (indeed, he had been doing it long before we met). But it wasn’t for me, and no one could make me do it.
But my walls have finally crumbled. Love – love of my friends, love of my Ben, love of my Buffy – has broken them down. By the time you read this, it will all be over.
I will have participated in a role-playing game.
(Ben, having just read this far over my shoulder, has this to say: ‘Well, that was suitably overdramatic!’)
I imagine that quite a few of you, like me, have no particular interest in RPG’s. And that the rest of you, like Ben, having been playing for years – either as a group clustered in a lounge, sprawled out across the internet, or in live-action form. So either you’re going to be fascinated about how I got myself dragged into this … or you’re going to be fascinated about how it took me so long to get dragged into this.
Short answer: Buffy. Deb love Buffy. Ben love gaming. Buffy game Ben’s chance to SUCK DEB IN to the world of role-playing. Of course, I got him to watch and enjoy all seven seasons, plus five of Angel, so I suppose that’s fair.
It’s been an interesting learning curve, no matter how you look at it. From working on character creation with Ben (handily, he will be the ‘GM’ or ‘Games Master’ for the Buffy RPG, so he has the core book and is particularly helpful) – which has similarities to creating original characters for stories, but involves a bit more mathematics – through to discussing gaming etiquette and the jargon involved with rolling dice, more information is filtering its way into my brain.
And yet. With all the talking, and filling in of sheets; all the discussions with friends and reading of games ‘recaps’; all the genuine enthusiasm being shared with me – I still don’t know what I’m walking into on Sunday morning.
There are people. Players and a GM. Dice – some with more than six sides. Junk food galore (yay!). And the GM says stuff, and the players do stuff, and overall, stuff happens. That’s about the level of my understanding. But knowing that in theory does not translate into doing it brilliantly in practice. I’m a role-playing n00b, and that, everyone knows.
Thankfully, this is a crowd who welcomes newcomers (and I already know about gazebos, thank you very much), and while they won’t treat me with kid gloves, they’re not going to make it harder for me either. I hope.
So. Gaming. Add it to the comics, anime, all things Jossian, computers, science-fiction, and fanfic – and my geekdom score has just increased. Does that mean I have to roll now?
DebXena is kinda nervous. And excited, too. |
