[News] Role-player decapitated (drug addicts arrested)

[MerakSpielman]

You know, it is entirely possible that this unfortunate individual's death may have had everything to do with RPG's. Some freaks in the world will use any excuse to "do what they wilt", and unfortunately, gaming has it's share of freaks.

If worst comes to worst, how as a community are we going to respond?

*SHRUG*

It'll blow over. All in all, negative PR will only increase sales, though the sudden media coverage will make it seem like the whole world hates RPGs for a short while. The gaming industry has survived things like this before. They can't make it illegal to RPG. Well, I suppose they could, but it wouldn't work. They can't illegalize tobacco, and they KNOW it kills people. (not to start any political issue discussions, Mr. P-Kitty )

 

[der_kluge]

Re: [News] Role-player decapitates friend

i think once you have decapitated somone you can no longer really call them your friend

thanks for the new sig!

 

[Aeolius]

Re: [News] Role-player decapitates friend

i think once you have decapitated somone you can no longer really call them your friend

"The Head was hardly human
The head is finally dead
"I can live forever
In formaldehyde", he said."


from "Harry the Head", on Freak Show by the Residents

 

[kingpaul]

BTW Any chance of someone losing their head in a natural accident ? Falling off a cliff ? Tree falling ?

I know it happened here in the States several years ago. A lady was driving around in...Pittsburgh?...with her kids when a water main burst. The man hole skyrocketed upwards from the pressure, just as she was driving towards it. She was decapitated from it, right in front of the kids.

 

[Nifft]

Re: Re: [News] Role-player decapitates friend

thanks for the new sig!

*ahem* -- read up the thread. That sigfodder was already yoink'd!

-- Nifft

 

[barsoomcore]

re: Non-murderous decapitations --

Jayne Mansfield, while not "properly" decapitated, did have the top portion of her head removed in a car crash. So, um, wow, that's really gross.

I don't really have anything else to say. Ew. I couldn't find out if she ever played D&D.

 

[Larry Fitz]

Here's an interesting exercise, compile all the statistics relating to the death's of human beings, find out how many correlate to what kind of activities directly and indirectly, make a pie chart of same and see what that indicates... will it help? No, but it will be a wonderfully engaging way to pass a lot of time.

Perhaps this unfortunate young man was the victim of an accident. Perhaps he was murdered, perhaps he was murdered by someone else who plays Vampire or is into the Goth Scene or both. The unfortunate thing is that people will be deluded into seeing a causal relationship where there is none. If V:tM caused people to murder each other, population centers where goth elements and V:tM players abound would be seeing the trend. NYC would be full of Goth V:tM murder cases, and it isn't. News in the latter half of the last century became more about entertainment than information, as such reporters had to find unusual stories that would make people want to pay attention. A news article that claims that the best way to lose fat is to eat less and exercise more catches no one's interest; a "news" article thatr claims that Piratecat is the illegitimate son of Elvis and as such has double jointed hips and is entitled to a share of Graceland... well, that sells newspapers....

 

[DanMcS]

Hmm, Goth VtM players, that reminds me. I saw that comedy central show, Late Night with Dave $somebody, the stand up comic who goes out drinking after his show and takes a cameraman along. He was out in Nashville, I think, and ran into some LARPing VtMers, and they were trying to explain the game to him, with vampires and ghouls and nobility and such.

Dave: "So are there any mummies?"

LARPer: "No, I don't think I've ever met a mummy."

So then he's sitting on the couch while they game on, he's looking bored. "I don't understand this. What's my character? I'm the balding fat guy who needs a drink. Let's get out of here."

Made me chuckle. RPGs are really inscrutable to people who don't know them.

 

[Redleg06]

Sadly, in a country where (compared to the rest of the world) violent crime is virtually non-existant, I (edit) don't think this will go away any time soon, particularly in Sweden.

Also, because violent crime is rather uncommon there, the Swedish cops are actually quite correct in investigating the LARP group. Most murders, especially the really gruesome kind are committed by someone who the victim knew / associated with. It may very well turn out to be a LARPer who did it. Not saying the LARP caused him / her to do so, but it's not beyond the realm of reason.

Unless of course his head fell off and found it's way to the river all by itself.

 

[Mark Chance]

*chuckle*

That's a good question, Kilmore.

Personally, every thing in the world has its fair share of nutballs. But we're a fringe community, outsiders... something that the mainstream doesn't understand, and hence they fear.

I don't want kind of people you game with, but none of the folks in my group are fringe-community outsiders or cause for fear. Can't really say anyone I've ever gamed with (and I've been gaming for quite a while) fits that description.

I think that if anything gives gamers a bad name (and that should be a big "if"), it's this incessant, woe-is-me, why- can't-the-world-just-accept-me whining. I know posturing as a victim is fashionable, but this seems a bit excessive.

I mean, come on, people. A kid is dead, most probably murdered, and what are most worried about? Bad press for a game.

Oooh. The horror, the horror.