Everyone, Tell us about your games, please!

[nharwell]

1.) How many players in your group?
6

2.) Do you DM?
Yes

3.) Do other people in the group DM, and how many?
One other -- we have separate campaigns that run on alternate weeks.

4.) What's the Male/Female composition of the group?
5 male, 1 female

5.) Got a good gamestore near you and what is it?
Yes - Foundation's Edge (Raleigh, NC)

6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?
Well, I ruthlessly steal from modules and then twist the material to fit into my campaign.

7.) How long have you been playing and how old are you?
Got the Basic Set when I was 12-13 and I'm 33 now, so gaming off-and-on for around 20 years.

8.) Who taught you to play?
Self-taught mainly. Bought my 1st Edition AD&D books from my high-school history teacher when I was 15 (from when he gamed in college), so you could say that I "learned it in school"

 

[Kodam]

1.) How many players in your group?

9 all in all, but some are studiing in other cities and not around most of the time.

2.) Do you DM?

yes.

3.) Do other people in the group DM, and how many?

yes; 4 other DMs for a whole of 6-7 Campaigns running parallel.

4.) What's the Male/Female composition of the group?

only guys

5.) Got a good gamestore near you and what is it?

"Hermke's Romanboutique"

6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?

One major homebrew but mostly modules

7.) How long have you been playing and how old are you?

I'm 26 an playing for 8 years.

8.) Who taught you to play?

One of the group

9.) What editions do you play?

3.0; we will mostly convert to 3.5...

 

[Djeta Thernadier]

1.) 6

2.) not yet

3.) MojoGM is running the game we currently play and another guy in the group runs a Star Wars game sometimes.

4.) 5/1 (me)

5.) Several. Games Castle in Derry NH, Your Move Games in Somerville MA are a couple

6.) both

7.) Wanted to for years but really only a few months / 26

8.) Who taught you to play? A brief history of D&D , RPGS & Me!

I was first taught the basic rules of the game by my friend Michelle Cook (no relation to Monte) when I was in the 7th grade. I recall her getting the D&D books and inviting a bunch of girls over to play but it never took off (teen girls tend to be less interested in slaying orcs than one might think; of course these days, with the 'Orlando Bloom as Legolas phenomenon' this might be different...).

I was then not exposed to RPGS again until my freshman year of college when I lived in a dorm next to a kind of creepy girl who had a bunch of Magic cards. I never really got into it though at that point in my life and this girl was creepy in a scary way and so that was that.

My second year at a different college, I had a boyfriend who played D&D. His guy friends he played with were really against having a girl intrude upon their game time and so despite the fact that Dan let me flip through the books he had and I sort of knew the rules, the rest of the group refused to even let me watch. This totally turned me off from the game at that point. So that went on for several years (I was in college for 6 years;started early and left late) and for personal reasons, during that time, I actually kind of detested D&D because my only real exposure to players were these guys (except Dan ,who lurks these boards & who, for the record, is a really nice person )

Then in the last months of my last year of school I met a group of people who played diceless Mage. Again there was some personal stuff going on in that group, but anyways, I was at the GMs house every Friday night and watched them play. They basically told me I was not "goth" enough to play nor would I "get it". These people turned me off from RPGS even more than Dan's friends did. I did play a few games of a DC Superhero game with them as well as a few games of Star Wars but that was about it. Eventually I stopped hanging around with them because they were really snobby.

So at this point, I like the game but my only real exposure at this point is A. junior high when no one would play B. creepy dorm room girl C. Chauvenistic men who don't think women should play and D. a group of pretentious snobs who didn't think I was up to their gaming standards.

What to do? I kind of forgot about gaming for a while and then, about a year and 1/2 ago, I met my incredibly wonderful boyfriend Chris (you know him as MojoGM) and I think during our first meeting we talked about gaming and all my reservations from past bad experiences went away. I could tell he (and his gaming group) were neither anti-female player nor pretentious and there you go. I started talking to Chris about how I wanted to maybe do a documentary on gamers (I've always had an interest in film) and I told him I wanted to watch his group. After about 10 minutes of watching, I jumped in as Aldwyn, a male 1/2 elf bard NPC and never looked back. Chris taught me how to create my own character, taught me everything about the rules and the books and everything else. He even got me my own 3.5 Players handbook We now live together and game together and we are very happy and I'm never going to NOT play at least some form of RPG again, as long as I live.

On a side note we took our Jack Russel Terrier puppy, Monty, to his first gaming store (Games Castle in Derry NH) this past weekend but I don't think he's old enough to play yet

And that's My Not Quite As Brief As I Had Originally Planned History With Gaming.

 

[wheeljack]

/ lurk off

1.) How many players in your group?
7

2.) Do you DM?
Yes

3.) Do other people in the group DM, and how many?
Yes - 4

4.) What's the Male/Female composition of the group?
All Male

5.) Got a good gamestore near you and what is it?
Yes - Shinders and the Source

6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?
50/50

7.) How long have you been playing and how old are you?
Off and on for about 13 years, I am 28

8.) Who taught you to play?
Myself, a friend of mine inherited his older brothers books while we were in high school. I volunteered to read the rules and set up a game with some other friends (thus becoming the DM)

/lurk on

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Re: Lurkers, Non-Genconners, Tell us about your games, please!

1.) How many players in your group? 4 with a possible 5th being added.

2.) Do you DM? Yes.

3.) Do other people in the group DM, and how many? No, and they better start I'm getting tired of NEVER PLAYING! I've NEVER played 3e!

4.) What's the Male/Female composition of the group? All men, well we aren't sure about one 'guy' but we'll take his word on it for now.

5.) Got a good gamestore near you and what is it? The Fantasy Shop is a chain of stores in St. Louis, MO. The local one is right down the street and is ok. I've been going to that location since the mid 80's when it was the Ravensloft.

6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff? Modules, no time.

7.) How long have you been playing and how old are you? Playing since 83-84 and I'm 30 years of age.

8.) Who taught you to play? My brother and a couple of friends.

 

[KnowTheToe]

Re: Lurkers, Non-Genconners, Tell us about your games, please!

LURKERS AND POSTERS WHO ARE NOT GOING TO GENCON ARISE AND POST!

The cat's away (never mind those few moderators who happen to still be here) and the rest of us can now play!

Tell us about your games, please.

1.) How many players in your group?

2.) Do you DM?

3.) Do other people in the group DM, and how many?

4.) What's the Male/Female composition of the group?

5.) Got a good gamestore near you and what is it?

6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?

7.) How long have you been playing and how old are you?

8.) Who taught you to play?

Answer any or all of the above, please...

Since moving last month I have not started or joined a gaming group. But the last game I was a player, a human rogue, since you asked. There were four players and a bastard of a DM. We were all thieves of one kind ar another and some stupid fast talking jerk convinced the rest of us to rob a gnome owned and operated gold smith. Now I rest in complete darkness rotting in my cell and each time I wake I curse the day I heard the name Baab.

 

[eris404]

Re: Lurkers, Non-Genconners, Tell us about your games, please!

>>1.) How many players in your group?<<

Ummm, depending on the game, either 8 or 5. We alternate between two campaigns run by different DMs and not everyone plays in each game. We used to have 9 people, but one guy started acting like a jerk, so I don't know if he's coming back or not.

>>2.) Do you DM?<<

I've been running a Star Wars game, but I do have a couple of D&D settings I run when it's my turn.

>>3.) Do other people in the group DM, and how many?<<

Yep, we have four GMs including me. Currently one is running a "Vile" campaign set in Greyhawk (we're playing the evil bastards), and another DM will be starting a game in the Forgotten Realms once the SW game wraps up. I and the other DM use primarily homebrew worlds.

>>4.) What's the Male/Female composition of the group?<<

4 female, 4 male.

>>5.) Got a good gamestore near you and what is it?<<

Games Plus is probably the best, but Gamer's Paradise in the Century Mall (Chicago) is much closer. I tend to buy most of my stuff online, though.

>>6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?<<

Depends on the DM. I like to write my own, but in a pinch I will tailor short modules to suit a storyline. One DM uses pretty much all original stuff. Another uses pretty much all modules with modifications for story. The last DM runs games more or less by improvisation. That covers all the bases, doesn't it?

>>7.) How long have you been playing and how old are you?<<

I am 32 and I've been playing on and off for about 21 years. Wait, I just looked at my first book and the copyright is 1980 - 23 years!

>>8.) Who taught you to play?<<

I taught myself, I guess. I read an article about the game in a scholastic magazine (you know, the ones you get in grade school?) and I begged my parents to buy it for my birthday. I got the red box set, which I still have without the box and even with the ugly brown peeling dice, and I forced my younger brother, my younger sister and a cousin to play. I was the DM, of course.

 

[Arravis]

I'm not exactly a lurker... but I'm not going to Gencon .

1.) How many players in your group?
5 (including myself)

2.) Do you DM?
We have two co-DM's, I'm the "main" one.

3.) Do other people in the group DM, and how many?
Yep, two.

4.) What's the Male/Female composition of the group?
4 males, 1 female for one of my campaigns, 3 males 2 females in my other.

5.) Got a good gamestore near you and what is it?
Not really... nearest one is Bookmark. It's ok, wish they had more selection in-store (especially minis). I have to drive over two hours to go to a good gaming store (The Game Keep in Nashville).

6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?
It's set in the Forgotten Realms, but I don't use modules to run my games. It's all my own games (or the other DM's own game).

7.) How long have you been playing and how old are you?
20 years, 31

8.) Who taught you to play?
Neighborhood friend.

 

[Mystic_23]

1.) How many players in your group?
Currenly 5 including the DM, since Chud left to do long haul driving. (Yes, I know someone named Chud, that wasn't a typo.

2.) Do you DM?
I have, but I'm not the regular DM. And I'm going to do a short term game soon.

3.) Do other people in the group DM, and how many?
We have one regular DM, and I'm the only other alternate. (Which I'm sure he's happy that I'm willing to do so every now and then, so he can play.)

4.) What's the Male/Female composition of the group?
3 Males/2 Females

5.) Got a good gamestore near you and what is it?
Yes, I definately do. Dark Horse Games and Comics in Boise, Idaho. The owner, Wolfgang is the man!!!

6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?
It's a pretty even mix of modules and homebrew.

7.) How long have you been playing and how old are you?
I'm 32 and have been playing for 18 years.

8.) Who taught you to play?
My sister and her friends would play at our house, and I convinced them to let me play.

 

[PatEllis15]

1.) How many players in your group?

5

2.) Do you DM?

yes

3.) Do other people in the group DM, and how many?

Yes. I am the story arc DM, I pass off responsibility to get from point A to Point by to the other players. They are picked to DM because their character has something to do with the travel (i.e. have the player who plays the elf, develop the mini adventure that allows the group to travel through Celene...)

4.) What's the Male/Female composition of the group?

er... 5/0

5.) Got a good gamestore near you and what is it?

Jumpgate, Rt. 1 Portsmouth NH

6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?

Mostly Modules, but nothing is used as written.

7.) How long have you been playing and how old are you?

Since 1983, I am now 32

8.) Who taught you to play?

My friend, Scot Seaton's cousin, Jim Seaton. He used to do a bunch of writing in Dragon detailing monks back in the VERY early days (issue 20 or so...). He ran me through B3... TPK lol... My brother as well.

Taro Sarask
Pat E