Everyone, Tell us about your games, please!

[Wombat]

1.) How many players in your group?

Currently 5 beside myself (6 all told)

2.) Do you DM?

Yep. Earned the nickname "The Ref" fair & square.

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

Occasionally, but I am the prime DM.

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

4 male, 2 female

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

Games Unlimited in Concord, CA-- HI RICH!

6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?

Entirely homebrew. I hold very little truck with pre-packaged adventures.

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

I'm 44; started rpgs Labor Day weekend 1976; did miniatures battles & AH/SPI boardgames before then.

8.) Who taught you to play?

Me. When I picked up the Three Little Books (pre-AD&D, pre-Basic, pre-everything) there was no one else who had even HEARD of rpgs. Taught myself, taught my friends, and now teach young 'uns.

Gamings in my blood.

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

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

1.) How many players in your group?

2+me (pshaww...)

2.) Do you DM?

Yup, nearly all the time.

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

Once in a blue moon.

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

All male.

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

Comic Store West in York.

6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?

Homebrew all the way.

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

Since '92. I'm 26.

8.) Who taught you to play?

My friend Nick.

 

[Gothmog]

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?

1.) 5
2.) Almost always
3.) Once every 3-4 sessions another player runs either Star Wars D6 or D&D
4.) Not including me, 3M/2F
5.) Yes- an excellent one actually. Valhalla's Gate.
6.) All homebrew- been running the same campaign in my homebrew world for the last 12 years.
7.) I'm 29, and started gaming when I was 10.
8.) Some friends in grade school. On a sleepover one night, the old brother of one my friends offered to run the Villiage of Hommlet for us (this was in '83 I think). I was hooked immediately- we had a blast, and for 10 year-olds, there was surprisingly little hack-n-slash It took me about a year to convince my parents D&D wasn't evil, and my dad actually gamed with us for a while.

 

[Ruavel]

1.) How many players in your group?

The group I play in has been rapidly diminishing since a bunch of our friends headed over to the other side of the country... we used to have sessions of 8 people... now we're done to 5...

2.) Do you DM?

If you consider trying to think of new & inventive ways to kill players DMing, then Yes...!

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

A little while ago one of the other guys started a FR game and this Sunday another member will DMing his first campaign..

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

4 guys and 1 lady...

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

even though they sometimes take forever to order things in for you, Tactics (in the middle of the CBD) is awesome...

6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?

My campaign is a homebrew (taken over from one of the other players when he left for Canberra)... One FR... and the new game will be run mainly from modules....

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

I'm 28 and I've been playing for 15 years...

8.) Who taught you to play?

A few different groups depending on the system we're talking about, but all of them close friends...

 

[Trevalon Moonleirion]

1.) When my pal Sticks is in town, 7, otherwise it's usually 6--not including myself...which leads me tooooooo.....

2.) Yes, I most certainly DM

3.) My partner in DMing would be Fayredeth here from the boards--though he really hasn't gotten behind the screen in quite a while.

4.) Me, Ed, Nathan, Sticks, Chuck = 5 guys
Alyson, Dana, Pam = 3 girls

5.) Games Plus is a half-hour interstate drive away. I'd drive an hour and a half to get to that place. I love it dearly and only buy my RPG purchases from there.

6.) Originally, I used a lot of modules, and still have a decent stack of them on my shelves. For this current campaign, I've almost entirely used homebrew adventures and have been having a lot of fun with it. It's more work, but you learn a whole helluva lot by doing things yourself. Not to mention you don't constantly have to look down and read for things if you get asked a question. (Now technically, you don't have to if you're running a published scenario, but... it's a hard habit to break)

7.) I've been playing for 7 years and I'm 18 years and 8 months old.

8.) Oddly enough, I was introduced to the game through my grandma. She's a very, very cool lady. She didn't really remember any of the rules, but because of her PHB, I got to know what the rules were. My neighbors, former D&D players with my grandmother and her son, my uncle, were mainly responsible for the rules I learned. We played old-school 1e and had a blast. Keep on the Borderlands, then straight into Hommlett and Moathouse, and then the Temple of Elemental Evil. After that, we quested after the "Heartstone" and then went into that cesspool that is the Tomb of Horrors. Speaking to Nightshade McFalidor, my first character, he had this to say: "That bastard killed my brother and embarassed me to death! Do you know how hard it is to slog through a swamp with waist high-water BUCK NAKED?! You haven't felt true fear until you're worried about getting a leach on body parts that aren't supposed to see the light of day!! I'll get that pile of bones someday!!!"

Sounds like Nightshade's a wee bit bitter...

 

[Imperialus]

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

1.) How many players in your group?

6

2.) Do you DM?

occasionally

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

4 of us have taken a hand at it at one point or another

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

my sister and one other so 2/6

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

Sentry Box. It's only a 10 minute walk from the place we play.

6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?

Normally homebrewed, our current DM has never tried her hand at it before though so she's running us through the WoTC adventures.

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

I've been playing since I was 9 and am 21 now so 12 years.

8.) Who taught you to play?

my cousin (after much nagging)

 

[Djeta Thernadier]

It was fascinating though, Djeta... My fiancee always gives me a funny look when I'm about to head off gaming, that I've come to associate with a mixture of interest and fear. I've invited her several times in the past to come along and see what it's all about (as it's rather difficult to just describe cold to someone who doesn't know), but she's always shrugged that off and claimed she's not really that interested.

Now I'm wondering just what experiences she's had with creepy people or bigots that may have turned her off the hobby without ever trying it. Granted I was a really geeky kid, so the strangeness that some gamers are famous for never bothered me, but perhaps that was part of what turned her off. I should say that your story of growing disenchantment with the roleplayers you were exposed to was almost exactly the inverse of my experience growing up. Typically it was the people into fashion, music, and "being cool" who were the most judgemental, while the gaming crowd was always very accepting and open-minded. It's sad you had the experiences you did which kept you away from a fun hobby and interesting people.

I'm really interested now to go home and have a conversation about this, because I know she loves the same kind of epic fantasy movies as I do, she's read LOTR several times, and she's got a wonderful imagination so I know she's got the basic tools to be a good roleplayer. Perhaps it's just a collection of misperceptions that's keeping her from enjoying another part of my life with me.

Something to think about, anyways.

Quite possibly. Let us know how it goes

I know for me, I was always interested in the game, and I know that the vast majority of gamers are way more my type of people than the fashion "cool" set.
But the people who turned me off from gaming at first were just downright mean and snobbish and sometimes that's enough to make a person wary of others who share that hobby.

Thankfully I know now (and always rather suspected) they are a small minority in a group of otherwise wonderful people.

 

[Fevil]

1.) How many players in your group?

2 currently, although I do have a very part-time third player

2.) Do you DM?

Always

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

1 of my players does, although Im not currently playing that game

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

100% male

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

Its called Static and is located in Glasgow, Scotland

6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?

I tend to mix my homebrew with a few modules. My current campaign has Necromancer Games` ToA and RA modules involved so far.

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

Ive been playing approx 14 years and am 30 years old

8.) Who taught you to play?

I did, I bought the basic Red set of D&D and went from there.


Enjoy

 

[sparhawk]

Lurker

1.) How many players in your group?

My group just broke up cause 2 people are moving to Wisconsin

2.) Do you DM?

Never. I don't have the time to do all that would be required

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

3 others traded DM duties.

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

1 Female\ 4 males

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

Talon Comics/ I have heard it is good but have not had a chance to get there. Heres to hoping I can get there soon though

6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?

Each DM has there own Homebrew

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

I've Been playing on and off since 1978. I am now 33 (just had a b-day on the 21st)

8.) Who taught you to play?

I did, I bought the basic Red set of D&D and went from there.

 

[Siridar]

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

1.) How many players in your group?

Me, 4 other "regulars", plus 3 who show every once in a while and 2 that show for a week or two at a time before disappearing for months (one in school far away, the other living in another state)

2.) Do you DM?

85% of the time

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

1 other "regular" DM's

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

We recently added some new members to the group (counted in q.1), one of which is the SO of the other. She likes to roll dice and kill things.

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

The Compleat Strategist. Well, it's close to where I work.

6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?

I used to do homebrew, but now I'm using all the stuff I bought. Usually my Homebrew, Planescape or Midnight.

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

I strated playing in the 6th grade. That was 12 years ago. I'm 24.

8.) Who taught you to play?

I learned from a friend while trying to create a math game as extra credit for my math class.