Why role play

My name's Marker, and I'm a role player.

I've been role playing for, oh, like, well, it will be 20 years this December. It started small, a couple games of that board game Hero Quest, that was out at the time, then a quick foray into Marvel Super Heroes role playing game from TSR, and then....

Well, to be honest, my hobby was already running wild at that point. After Marvel, there came D&D, and then a running cascade of overs including, in no particular order, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", "Shadowrun", "Ninjas & Superspies", "Rifts", "Vampire the Masquerade", "Mage the Ascension" and countless others from then on.

And, just as honestly, I wouldn't trade those nights of my life for anything.

Make no mistake, I'm very much aware of the awkward social positions I saved myself from by preferring to find myself lost in realms only my imagination will ever see. I am conscious of the nights I could have spent embibing alcohol, falling all over the floor, attempting to pick up women out of my league, racing cars, running over pedestrians...all those things that naysayers believe is more fun and socially acceptable than role playing games.

But those things were never me. Never. I traded societal norms for a set of polyhedron dice and considered myself the victor. Rather than exorcise brain cells, I chose to exercise my brain cells by fueling my imagination, flooding myself with stories of other lands, taking time becoming people the likes of which I will never get to see. Due to this, I've been a starship captain, a vampire, a wise wizard, a ruthless terrorist, a cunning spy and even a mutant puppy dog with an oversized sledgehammer. What other hobby gives you a boast such as this?

So, yes, I'm a role player, and no, this is not an apology. Rather it's more a plea, not for myself but for you. I know what fun role playing can be, do you? When was the last time you were able to step outside of yourself and ride the skin of another person, living their life, living an adventure in their guise (without mind-altering drugs, of course)?

To those who themselves role play, I say preach the gospel with me, brothers. For those who have never attempted it before, consider what you are missing. The obvious retort is video games; some like to have the story laid out before them in one-sided narrative that forces the player to figure out where the story is and follow it while being bombarded with predesigned images and sounds that command little to no brain activity (it is focused more at stimulating your senses than your intellect, afterall).

With role playing, however, there is a live person facing you detailing the story to you and actively making your character a part of that story. That person will have a predetermined story worked out, but if you take that person off the course they had planned, they can always think on the spot and readjust details to work around your actions. What video game is capable of doing that?

It's also more financially feasible to enjoy role playing games. Video games are averaging about $60 a piece now, and their game time is running shorter (some are taking right around 6 hours of real time to complete, some less). Once the game is beaten, what do you do but go plop another $60 on another game and start the cycle over (unless you opt to sell the game back for store credit; in that case, the amount changes but the end result is the same).

The more expensive role playing games are costing between $50 and $60, yes, but they are good for countless hours of entertainment. A good 6 hour session could be your introduction, and the game itself could last for weeks, months or even a year or more after that. On average, role playing games are costing between $30 and $40, some even less if they are bought online or from independent publishers, some as low as $15 even. And role playing games entertain entire groups at once, not just one player.

So good mental exercise, increases your attention to detail, a character driven narrative, a story teller that can adapt the scene and the story to the actions of your character personally, less damage to the pocket book, a self-adjustable level of realism and fully destroyable backgrounds, along with side quests.

Sounds obvious to me.