[b]They Look At Me Weird Because I Play role-playing games
When people find out that you participate in table top or other similar Role-playing Games do they look at you in an unusual way? Do they consider you a nerd or deranged for being involved in fantasy? Do they tend to warn you of spiritual consequences?
Role-Playing Games - They Look At Me Weird (Hover)
I have only had a hand few of people that I would say gave me an unusual look when it involves me playing RPGs. Most of the looks I received I was able to determine to be more a lack of understanding as to exactly what it meant to RPG. I did however have one lady really get worried and nervous when we spoke of a particular medieval game that I was currently involved in. She did have spiritual concerns as well as others pertaining to whether I believed truthfully in what I was playing. The focus of that particular game was not directed but revolved around acts of wizards and witchcraft. I believe her greatest concern was that I would bring the powers described in the game to life. She felt as if I was going to loose myself and ultimately forget about my God and act as my own which she felt as if the game suggested. Other than that most everyone shrugs it off as just another game someone plays.
Most of my family is religious some of them to the point of fanaticism. According to some of them the rpgs I play, and the books I read are a gateway to the devil. IF you can believe that. They keep trying to convince me to go to their church where they will all pray for my soul and attempt to cast the demons from me.(Praying at the church they attend consists of screaming, speaking in tongues, and apparently random convulsions. Scares me.) There are also some people my age that associate rpgs, in particular D&D, with social outcasts. They don't know anything about them; so the friends I play with just say we are going to play exalt, amber, or gurps. The blokes just stare dumbly.
Thankfully, I grew up around rpgs, my older brother being an avid D&D'er. In grade school things were tough, people thinking that because I liked that stuff I was weird. But since I've graduated, I have managed to surround myself with other people of like minds, so I haven't had to worry about it too much.
Actually the worst thing that happened to me on this subject was an occasional.
"Cyberpunk? That some kind of computer underground thing? "
or
"Dungeons and Dragons? Yeah I saw that movie."
I don't know. Perhaps It's because I don't live in America and people here mind their own business and don't believe everything they hear on tv.
Mostly they want to know more or even play.
I mean we have an actual vampire the masquerade LARP in this city and a local priest-in-training grinning turing around in a bar we use as one of the elysiums and saying "don't make me break out the holy water in an elysium neophyte, drink your... wine."
People understan the concept of harmless fun
That said we do have our share of idiots and zealots. They just tend to be to preocupied with money and status to bother us not-normal folk.
Message Edited! Persephone: Removed character faces. |
I have never had any props in that effect. I re-enact (very different from LARP) and that attracts far greater attention, especially when I come back from training wearing my chain mail and carrying my sword and kite-shield. However people are more bemused then worried, finding amusing a spend much of my time fighting with sword and shield. Its had no impact on my social life and my friends see it more as just one of the things I do when I am not out and about.
Here in Spain we RPG players have a little bit more problems.
About..I don´t know, seven or ten years ago, a pair of idiots killed an old woman. It wouldn't have been much, if not for they were "Playing a RPG".
As role-playing games were mostly not known in this country, TV channels spoke a lot of time about how role-playing could make young and impressionable people kill one each another.
Even now, if you say that you play role-playing games, you must be careful because (mostly old people) almost everyone will look at you in a funny way, as if saying "how many have you killed already?"
I work with a bunch of tech geeks, they look at me weird because I'm the only one who is not a big RPG gamer. The use terms like MMORPG and look at them like they are speaking greek. They then tell me that I need to play more, you know, kind of like getting out more.