So with the passing this week of Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons , and really the face of the game in it's formative years, there have been a lot of tributes and obituaries. Here are a couple of good ones:
A Slate writer recaps D&D
Steve Jackson recaps the impact of Gygax & D&D
So I got to thinking about Role Playing games and their impact on my life. I can credit Role playing games for most of my friendships where I see the friends on a regular basis, including one of my best friends, Forrest. To some extent I credit Role playing with helping keep alcohol from dominating my social life in my twenties. And Role playing games have driven much of my reading and movie preferences of the years.
I was introduced to D&D the summer between 6th & 7th grades by a cousin and was quickly hooked. While I didn't really 'play' as much during my junior high and high school years I did play some and much of my spare time was spent in the various role playing worlds of my imagination. I stopped playing in college for a variety of reasons the biggest being I somehow thought it wasn't cool and I was desperately trying to fit in.
My last year living in Boulder I was reintroduced to role playing through my friend little Mark, and quickly immersed myself in it. I used Role playing as a way to introduce myself to people and develop friendships when I was in graduate school, when I came home after graduate school and when I lived in North Carolina.
I still play, albeit not as frequently as I would like, with the same group that I have been playing with for several years now. It is my 'social life' outside of the family. And most sessions are still as fun as the first good games I played 20+ years ago.
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