Of all things in my life I've endured ridicule over, playing Dungeons & Dragons has earned me the most. I've never let it rub me the wrong way, because it's mostly just playful ribbing. Of course, there is the obligitory shouting of "Nerd!", speaking to me in a pitch-shifting voice that mimics a young man in the midst of puberty, simulating pushing a pair of glasses up on the nose, and even flashing me the Vulcan greeting that generally is followed by the infamous, well-wishing proverb, "Live long and prosper" (not sure what that has to do with medieval fantasy, but amusing). I laugh along with those who dish it out. Hey, it's funny. What can I say?
I started playing around the age of fourteen. The first time I really played was during one of my birthday parties. I remember my mom had inexplicably allowed me to invite around ten friends over. Very, very generous of her. One of the guys (who is still one of my best friends to this day) informed me that he had brought his D&D books along with him. He'd given mention of the game several times and how much he was sure I'd enjoy it. I'd never been opposed to the idea, but it was always just the two of us. One person running the game and a lone player was a little on the lame side. This was a perfect time to bring it out because we had enough people to get a pretty good group together.
The idea of playing was suggested later in the night when we had become bored of whatever it was we were doing. A few of the guys immediately laughed and looked at me as if I couldn't possibly be serious. One of the guys declined immediately and refused any further discussion on the topic. I worked on the rest of them and eventually we had about five players. Six including the DM (Dungeon Master!). The DM handed out pencils and sheets with lines upon lines of information to fill out. What are all of these numbers? What does it all mean? Then he pulled out a bag of dice. Until this point, I'd seen one type of dice. It had six sides with black dots to denote the number it had landed on. These were all different colors and some were even transparent. There were four, six, eight, ten, twelve, and twenty-sided die. You had to choose a race (human, elf, dwarf, gnome, halfling, half-elf, or half-orc) and a class (fighter, barbarian, paladin, wizard, sorcerer, rogue, ranger, cleric, druid, or bard). I chose a dwarf cleric for my first ever character. It seemed fitting. I was short and stocky and the idea of smiting the undead with holy power seemed appealing to me. The DM explained the rules and helped us set up our characters. The actual game set up ended lasting much longer than the actual game play.
The DM gave us a setting for our adventure and a scenario involving a quest, which we would be employed to complete. The game allows the player free range to do anything they want. There are no limitations on your decisions, but there are always consequences. It wasn't ten mintues into the game before some of the guys had stopped taking it seriously and were taking full advantage of this freedom. One of my friends had opted for a halfling character. This became a distracting entertainment piece after someone had called him "peck", which was a reference to the little people in the movie, Willow. Eventually, the friend playing the halfling grew tired of being called a "peck", which was always followed by uproarious guffaws from those participating and spectators alike. The "peck" decided he wanted to attack the rogue after the rogue attempted to steal from him. The rogue defended himself and the "peck" was bested in the end. This resulted in the person playing the "peck" becoming quite angry that his character was dead and he was ousted from the game. His tantrum took all focus from the game and it eventually deteriorated. The next thing I knew, we were in the garage having a chugging competion with pitchers of water. I guess a water chugging contest required less thought and cooperation.
For most of the guys, this was the first and last game of D&D they ever played. Not me. I still play occasionally. I have always really enjoyed it. The friend who introduced me to the game and a regular group of three to four guys have gotten together about once a week for years now. We used to never miss a beat and play at each gathering. I can remember putting the kind of attention into writing a game you might find a writer putting into a novel. We've always kept it casual throughout. We've never gone as far as L.A.R.P. (Live Action Role Playing) or anything and we've always made plenty of time for conversation that breaks role during the game. Sadly, gaming night has slowly given way to a typical guy's night and it's more of a time for sports talk, Euchre, music, beer, and the occasional cigar. A couple of the boys have moved far enough away that it's not convenient to get together so often. I do admit, World of Warcraft conversation will enter the mix from time to time with the remaining crew, so technically we've still kept it nerdy.
I haven't always been this blatantly open about playing D&D and games like it. In high school, I was on the football and baseball team and played in a rock band. I hung out with jocks, nerds, and stoners alike. It was just my way. I could find something I liked about any personality type and I participated in activities with each group. I'd play sports with the jocks, party with the stoners, and talk Star Wars and such with the nerds. But the fact that I was into Role Playing Games was kept hidden. I guess I was ashamed of it. There have been people in my life who I have known for years before I mentioned that I played around them. It was as if it were some dark secret that I didn't want just anyone to know. Of course, the reaction has usually been about what I expect... surprise and laughter. Go ahead, yuk it up. Those "nerds", out of all the people I ran around with in high school, are some of the only friendships I've retained from that period. Those that engaged in thie hobbies that I was embarrasssed to admit I was in to turned out to be the most loyal. I had no problem showing my jock side or hoodlum side. But even though I have no problems with anyone in those repsective groups I hung around with, there are probably only one or two guys that I still have contact with. As the years have progressed, though I still love sports and enjoy my beer fueled gatherings, the geek lifestyle has won out. I even wrote a song dedicated to D&D called "Ambushed" that was played regularly in two of my bands, The Mark (named after the Riddermark in Lord of the Rings) and Figher Down!. Oh yeah, I've immersed myself in it.
Overall, D&D has gotten a bad rap. It promotes creativity, demands critical thinking, requires the use of mathematical skills, and most of all, keeps friends hanging out together. It also invites plenty of new friends into the fold. If your feeble little mind can ward off the taint of satan (we all know this game was created by the devil and Gary Gygax was merely the vessel that unleashed this tool of brainwash and destruction upon the oblivious and unwilling earth... just Google "Jack Chick tracts plus Dungeons & Dragons" to learn more), I think almost anyone could find enjoyment in it. The biggest problem with D&D is there is no room for shyness and no room for being self-concious. One must have at least a scrap of attention span or trying to play this game is hopeless. Okay, it's not for everyone. My wife wouldn't be caught dead participating (she's my polar opposite in this respect). But there isn't anything wrong with this game or games like it, nor is there anything wrong with those who play them.
The fact of the matter is, dork life is fun. A nerd is absolutely never bored. With all the sci-fi/fantasy/horror movies and novels, board games like Risk, the History Channel, National Geographic Channel, Discovery Channel, anime, video games, graphic novels, technology, Gen-Con, etc... there is always something to pique a nerd's interest! Go ahead and twiddle your thumbs while declaring, "I'm bored." I'll either be watching a documentary on something Theological or related, reading about gunslingers trying to reach a dark tower, or logging in online to join my friends in saving the world (of Warcraft). It's a good life. Not everyone may want to take part in it, but as the saying goes, "Don't knock it until you try it."
Recently, even sports has thrown its hat in the nerd ring with surging popularity of fantasy sports games. Yep, that's right. If you play fantasy sports, you are a nerd. Ok, just sit down and take a deep breath. It's going to be fine, I promise. Embrace it and own it. Now go check the waiver-wire, you Melvin.
