[Tabletop Adventures] Veterans’ Day Special Offer

[Cassandra]

[Tabletop Adventures] Veterans’ Day Special Offer

Veterans have a special place in our hearts – one-third of our company members are veterans, as are many other relatives and friends. In honor of all gamers who are veterans, and in thanks to all military veterans and current military personnel, Tabletop Adventures has a special offer for this week only.

If you are, or know, a veteran who plays roleplaying games, write us and tell us about him or her by November 15, and we will give you a coupon for 30% off the product of your choice. (Coupons available for Your Games Now, ENWorld Download Shop, RPGNow or DriveThruRPG.) This offer includes future veterans – in other words, current military personnel – and military spouses. Although not the ones who receive the paychecks and the awards, spouses play a crucial role in supporting the military and deserve recognition as well.

Send your veteran info to publisher@tabletopadventures.com. Please tell us about the gamer veteran you know (or are), and state for which product you would like a coupon and at which sales site. These accounts of veterans may show up on our web site or company blog, with all identifying information removed, of course. Coupons will be good through December 31, 2008, but you must get your stories in by November 15.

We offer our sincere thanks to all veterans and military personnel and wish you many hours of happy gaming.

The good people of Tabletop Adventures,
and the Overlord

 

[Cassandra]

Responses from veterans

We received several responses from veterans to our recent special offer. Here are some, which have been edited to remove identifying information:


From a submariner:
I received your email this morning, and wanted to thank you for your support of veterans. I served in the US Navy from 1989 until 1993 onboard a ballistic missile submarine for most of that time. The gaming stuff I had with me on the sub helped me get rid of some of the stress I had, and provide some good times with the guys in my crew.


From another Navy veteran:
I was in the Navy from 1986-1990. I was an electronic warfare technician and made E5 before I got out. I spent a tour in the Persian Gulf and saw many many things. I was on the guided missile cruiser the USS Gridley CG-21 that is now decommissioned. Gaming was a very special thing to me because it allowed me to escape the stresses of 12 on 12 off shifts, shooting down airplanes, being targeted by Soviets and Iranians, etc.... I played alot of dungeons and dragons and Steve Jackson pocket games. With limited space it was a wonderful thing to have. You could have 10 books and some dice and pen and paper and get hours and hours of escape. I firmly believe that gaming kept me off of drugs and allowed me a release that kept me from fighting too much and just being overly angry with the world. Thanks for thinking of us!


From a Marine:
I am an active-duty Marine and a gamer. I started playing in the early 80's with the red and blue boxes, then AD&D, all the way through college graduation in 1991. I was out for a decade or so and missed 2nd edition, but started playing again in 2002 so that I could introduce my own son to the game I love, coincidentally when 3rd edition was released. We've played quite a bit of 3.0 and 3.5 since then, but only dabbled in 4.0. I've gotten my wife, in the active duty Army herself, to play a few times with us, but not consistently. I'll keep trying!


From an Air Force veteran:
I am a veteran of the Air Force. I served during the late 1980s, in a time a turmoil, and great change around the world. I served in a communications squadron on a SAC bomber base. We were the ones who received the classified and unclassified messages sent to the base. Some of the messages we received were test messages that tested the system that would scramble the bombers with their nuclear payloads.

It was a high stress job, and many of us used all sorts of off duty activities to keep our minds off the job. Some of us were gamers. I played many a game of D&D, Traveller, DragonQuest, and Bushido as a way of escaping from my job, from the homesickness, and the day to day worries of the military.


From another Air Force veteran:
I served in the Air Force from 1990 - 1998 and served in Desert Storm. I've been playing D&D since I was 11 (the old blue then red basic rules) and so have had the joys of experiencing almost all the different versions of D&D. I haven't really found a system I don't like (or a genre) but D&D has always been my favorite!


From an Army veteran:
I enlisted in the US Army in December of 1968, and left the service in Dec of 1983, after 15 years and 13 days of service. During my second tour of duty in the Republic of Korea in 1982, I was introduced to the game of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.

By 1985 I became a game master and participated in conventions run by [a nearby] group. This past February, I was given the Life Time Achievement Award for over 25 years of game writing and game mastering.


More Air Force stories:
People stationed in remote places get a little crazy. Roleplaying suits those people perfectly, since they can imagine being somewhere else!

There was a group of AF people who spent four to six weeks at a time on a remote airbase, waiting for good weather to fly. When the weather was bad, they had marathon RPG sessions; when one GM got too tired to continue, another one took over in another campaign. The players shuffled their character sheets to a different set of PCs, and the marathon continued. The game went on non-stop for 3 or 4 days running, till word came that the weather was clearing and everybody went off to get some sleep before the flight.

Oh, to have that kind of stamina again!


Notes from a non-veteran:
When I sat down to count the number of military veterans I know, I was surprised with the number I came up with. I bet I even forgot a few….

I have known [J.G.] since junior high school. We have played RPGs together off and on for nearly two decades. He served in the Army in the early 1990s. He is an outstanding individual and a great leader; his military service is a testament to his capabilities.

I have known [J.M.] since college. We have played RPGs off and on for over a decade. He served in the Army in the late 1990s. He is dedicated to the protection of our homeland and is an extremely confident and competent individual.

I met [S.P.] in college. She played in my Vampire LARP for a couple of years before heading off to the Army. She is now working for a private contractor overseas. She is a wonderful individual.

While not a RPG player, my late father-in-law was an avid wargamer and board game player. He served in the Air Force during the Vietnam conflict, often deployed behind enemy lines to gather data concerning the weather and climate. His first love was military history; he served as an officer in the SCA and went to schools to teach children about history. He was a great man.

As for me, I am the son of a Vietnam veteran. My father served in the Navy during the conflict. He always found time to play board, card and video games with me growing up. He has had a profound influence on my "gaming upbringing".




We thank all those who serve or have served!