One of my earliest memories is spending the night with my grandparents and staying up to watch my uncle play Dungeons and Dragons with his friends. I was too young to really know what the game was about, but I sometimes got to play with the small figures. I think I even got to paint one (a couple of decades later I realize how nerve wracking that must have been for my uncle. Those figures are not cheap). I was maybe five years old at the time, and that was my introduction to tabletop gaming.
I always thought that playing DnD would be so fun. I just did not know how to get involved in that world amongst my peers, and my understanding of social structure told me that tabletop games were for the super nerds. Totally wrong, I know, but that was way before Stranger Things made it “cool” again.
I dabbled a little with Magic the Gathering in college, and again when we started playing at my grandparents’ house. It was the same uncle, but this time it was a family game. Even my grandfather plays when we are all together. It’s fun, but it isn’t really my thing. And since I moved to Orlando, I don’t really play at all anymore.
But those Magic games led to more. We now have a small Starfinder campaign that meets over Discord once a week if work schedules and family things work. I think it has been going on for over a year now, and I love it. Of course, it helps that I am a Lashunta Solarian that hits like a truck (I almost died a few times because my character was not built to the melee fights I kept throwing her into). My uncle is the game master, and he also plays a character to round out our team as there is just four of us total.
Our next campaign will be the new Pathfinder edition. I am going to be a Bard. I’m so excited.
Right now, I only play with my family. Covid has made socializing nonexistent, and I live far enough outside Orlando that there are no close gaming shops. To fill in the gaps, and to learn more about the games, I found a couple new (to me) podcasts.
I know I am a few years late on this one, but Critical Role has become my obsession. I have like 300 episodes to catch up on, so I am playing it through Spotify almost 24/7. It really helps make working from home better. I am almost at episode 70, I think, after a month or so of listening. Don’t spoil anything, please. I’m definitely learning the rules of DnD through the show, even if I don’t understand all the details about races and classes and spells and cursed weapons. The cast is amazing and the characters are perfect. There has been quite a few times where I had to pause the show cause I was laughing so hard at one of their antics. I look forward to the next year that it takes for me to completely catch up.
The other show I have been listening to actually is a new one that started in July. My husband loves Warhammer 40k. I know nothing about it, other than what he has told me and the books he suggested. Even then, most of my lore knowledge comes from a YouTube series by Alfabusa that gives the Emperor text to speech. It’s pretty funny when I get the joke. Anyway, some of the writers/ voice actors for the series started a show called Warhams. They are playing Wrath and Glory (never heard of that one until this show), and the story is in the same comedic style. I die laughing almost every episode. They play on Twitch every other Saturday on ZorantheBear’s channel, but they can also be watched on YouTube. Very much recommend.
So, it turned out that I am one of those super nerds. Well, an amateur super nerd anyway. It only took a quarter of a century for me to get here (and for those wondering, my husband tried playing Starfinder with us, but he only wants combat and lasted one session). I feel like it may be hard to find people to play with that isn’t family, but making friends as an adult is difficult anyway. Being outgoing and social? Ew.
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