Mistwell
Crusty Old Meatwad (he/him)
This is not a story about how I started RPG playing. It is, however, about someone I knew about 17 years ago, and funny enough to tell here. If anyone else has funny "start to the RPG habit" stories, please feel free to post them here.
My friend was Asian, and about 15 years old. I say he is Asian for a reason, which you will see shortly.
His mother emigrated to America from Taiwan, I believe. She was very concerned about her son, and his intellectual development and ability to suceed later in life.
She read a magazine article that said that first generation Asian kids suffer most in America from a lack of imagination. Apparently this article said that first generation Asians often achieved middle-management positions, but rarely achieve the executive positions in a large company due to a lack of imagination and ability to adapt and envision future problems and opportunities. The article claimed this was a product of Asian culture (sounds like crap to me, but that is the claim the article made).
So his concerned mother went out to find products for her son to develop his imagination. She came across 1st edition AD&D, read that it fostered imagination, and bought him a bunch of the books. She then brought it all home and INSISTED he go find people to play it with. He was required to play it once a week, by his mother, with friends at his house.
Can you imagine - your parents INSISTING you play D&D, as if it was a homework assignment? It was very odd from my perspective at the time I recall.
My friend was Asian, and about 15 years old. I say he is Asian for a reason, which you will see shortly.
His mother emigrated to America from Taiwan, I believe. She was very concerned about her son, and his intellectual development and ability to suceed later in life.
She read a magazine article that said that first generation Asian kids suffer most in America from a lack of imagination. Apparently this article said that first generation Asians often achieved middle-management positions, but rarely achieve the executive positions in a large company due to a lack of imagination and ability to adapt and envision future problems and opportunities. The article claimed this was a product of Asian culture (sounds like crap to me, but that is the claim the article made).
So his concerned mother went out to find products for her son to develop his imagination. She came across 1st edition AD&D, read that it fostered imagination, and bought him a bunch of the books. She then brought it all home and INSISTED he go find people to play it with. He was required to play it once a week, by his mother, with friends at his house.
Can you imagine - your parents INSISTING you play D&D, as if it was a homework assignment? It was very odd from my perspective at the time I recall.
