Would you leave your life behind?

[Agamon]

Re: RE

No toothpaste. The dead walk. Bad sanitary habits. The dead walk. No showers. The dead walk. Hard work days on farms or dangerous patrols against orcs. The dead walk. Dragons exist and might possibly wipe out whole towns. The dead walk.

Hehe. Not to go off-topic, but you know, undead in D&D should be a helluvalot more scary than they are...

 

[Corinth]

You all do realize that there is more than enough opportunity for "adventure" in this supposedly mundane world, don't you?

I do, and it's not what you think it to be.

I mean, between military life, things like the Peace Corps, and various field academics, you can have adventure and *still* have the comforts of the modern world.

You too can serve the corrupt, ruling elite of the world by joining these institutions. Excuse me for not wanting to be part of some wanna-be Evil Overlord's Legions of Terror or Trusted Lieutenants.

Willing to give up safety and cleanliness?

That's easy enough. Lose your income and get evicted. It just happened to the younger sister of one of my people, and she's got a baby to feed- in rural Iowa.

Hell, there are still lots of mercenaries, pirates, and underworld types out there today.

See above about membership in an institution; illegal as it is, the result is the same.

Want to be a "good guy"? Try being a cop, or a combat medic/EMT, or a Search and Rescure specialist.

You don't make it to the top or stick with it until retirement and remain a "good guy". Not in those professions, or in any of the others you listed, because they are intertwined with the political establishment in all nations and they are either evil and corrupt to the core or well on their way.

maybe its that you want to break new ground, explore new territories. Well, just because something is on a map doesn't mean it has been thoroughly explored. How many millions of square acres are essentially uninhabited in the american midwest or Canad? How much of the vast jungles and forests and mountains of south America have truly been explored?

It doesn't matter unless it's either profitable or expedient to do so, and right now it's neither; until either happens, those with the power to control such things hamstring all such activities.

I mean, really, if you are willing to say you'll drop everything to go to some fantasy world, what is keeping you from dropping everything *right now*, turning off you computer, throwing some clothes in a duffle bag, and heading out the door. yeah, maybe you'll have to fight for your life and for a living, but I'll bet you'll have one hell of an interesting life.

I have one woman to guard (because I owe her my life), another to destroy (because she tried to take it) and a third to find (because I own my mother a debt that I can only pay forward, via giving her grandchildren). Until the first is out of my hands, the second is six feet under and the third bears my heir I am stuck here. This life is as interesting as I can stand, and it's not going to get any better any time soon.

that's what this is about, isn't it? People want to go off to "fantasy land" because their lives are mundane and oppressive and however much they may love theirwife/husband/kids/dog/whatever, they just want *something* to happen to them that sets them apart from everyone else.

How about a life where all paths to prosperity and all means of serving one's fellow men are not bound to serving the corrupt, evil ruling/owning class that's destroying the planet that we all live on while feeding the masses mind-numbing propaganda at the same time? We live in Huxley's Brave New World, and there is no way out now that doesn't involve a goodly amount of fire, pain and massive slaughter across the board. I just hope it does happen before the military contractors get their wish and finish work on the HK drones; once the establishment has a robot army it's over for the rest of us- we haven't any super-human pretty boy mecha pilots to save our collective asses.

See, the thing is that in movies and books, the protagonists don't have a life like an RPG campaign character. In a book or movie the character usually works through a single event/challenge/crisis and returns, though changed, to the status quo. the RPG character never gets a break. Every week there is a new orc horde or evil wizard or mad cultists to kill. No rest. No time for love or life. Sure, you get drunk at night at the tavern before heading to the local temple to get sewn up before heading back down to the Caves of Infinite Goblins, but that is not rest or relaxation: it is escapism. Which brings us back to the point of why people escape -- because they don't like their lives. Now, at this point, after many scars and many battles and losing so many friends, if a wizard appeared to you and said "You can go to a world that is quiet and warm, and yes you will be human and mortal so you will suffer some pain, but you will also feel joy and happiness." Do you go then?

At least I control every aspect of my life, and not just whether or not to prostrate myself before my Neo-Guilded Age corporate masters today or tomorrow. It may be nasty, brutish and short; it's still mine, and I am no one's bitch.

 

[pseudo_hero]

Corinth...you are my Idol. Well actualy Dave Mustaine is my Idol, but you come close

 

[Corinth]

Thanks.

 

[Rahkan]

Corinth, that was amazing. I ask no one to touch that masterpiece, rebuttal would only spoil it.

 

[Thebalor]

I would take the offer, as I (as well as probably most of the people here) have thought over such situations in my idle moments. My family would miss me, yes, probably imagine something horrible happened, and it would be sad, but an opportunity like this just does NOT happen. Therefore, when it presents itself, you take it.

Obviously, I would choose the path of wizard, as that presents the greatest chance of not only reaching a position of power and comfort in a medieval world, but of also getting beyond a single planet, into the planes. Hell, maybe even rediscovering Earth someday. It's worth the risk, I say.

 

[Rahkan]

Although, even granting that everything Corinth said is true...it seems like it would be pretty fun to be evil. I can see how growing up to be head of the FBI and toying with the lives of everybody in the US would be pretty damn fun and pretty fulfilling. I tell ya, I wouldn't really mind being a villain if that choice was open to me. If one's name can be remembered with pride by future generations then thats great, but if it can be remembered with astonishment thats okay too (and how many villains have been white-washed by history?).
I mean, I already lie, cheat, and steal. I take joy in putting people down and most of the time if someone succeeds where I failed I try to subtly undermine their achievements. I'm not proud of these things, I know they're evil, I even try to restrain myself when I notice myself doing it. However being a major villain would just be these things writ large.
In the end I think any fun, interesting, and important life is worth more than a boring, unimportant one. And I think that being an 'Evil Overlord' or even one of his 'Trusted Leiutenants' seems pretty cool.

 

[Creamsteak]

I don't know if it's been said (since I only read through page 1) but, what if your favorite world was that of Call of Cthulu? Now I KNOW your not going to go to that world .

However, my favorite campaign setting hasn't been created yet... Though generic 3rd edition would pretty much summarize it. I would go, because it's the only world that promises the chance to fulfill my one true goal: Becoming a Giant Brain with the powers of a true Archon, capable of destroying everything, and giving everything at once...

Heh, or at least I'd try to find out just how powerful the wizard was, "Can you give me a quick permanent Bull's strength/Cat's Grace/etc. spells so that I have an advantage till someone dispels my powers, that way I can level up quicker ."

Note: I'm definitely not intimidated by leaving. I'm willing to fight against anyone who would choose to oppose my country, and I know full well I am expendable in my superiors eyes. They have good reasons to believe that, 1) It helps protect themselves from the truth by rationalizign that I am expendable, 2) I have two younger brothers who would not have to die if I am willing to protect them, 3) This world contains an infinite number of possibilities, and all of them end in a person dying (at least until someone fixes the death problem)...

I'm young as well, which makes me feel less threatened by the idea. I don't picture a wizard trying to pick up a 40 year old married man with six kids and a grandkid on the way, I picture him looking for someone like myself (naive, willing, and with nothing to lose). Because I know that he is looking for someone that he needs, I'm afraid it's either me or someone else. I would rather put myself in front of the orcish horde than someone I don't know...

If your the one who denied yourself the duty to do it (pending that like me there are no people dependant on you), then it is (in my eyes) your obligation to put yourself before someone else. You were asked first, and that means it's your responsibility to prevent anyone from choosing thier second choice. I'm not assuming he "needs" me, but that he has offered me a deadly opportunity, that has possible seriously negative reprecussions for others.

 

[Wicht]

The adventure of the real world just dosn't compare to fantasy adventure. Even if your set upon by nasty middle eastern terrorists while building the school. They are still human, you know what a gun does. All you have is fear for your life.

Huh, and so you think that fearing for your life in this world is not as exciting as fearing for your life in a fantasy world. That makes as little sense to me as your original statement about leaving this psycho world (see my original post)

Originally posted by Corinth
Until the first is out of my hands, the second is six feet under and the third bears my heir I am stuck here.

For some reason I find it really disturbing that you don't mind posting on a message board about your plans on killing a woman (and ruining her life in the process) and getting another pregnant just to please your grandmother.

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Not to sidetrek this thread, but I am really interested in the ages of those who would jump at the chance to leave this world...

 

[Henry]

Corinth, While I disagree with almost every one of your points, and debating them isn't going to change either you or me, it does make a very valid point that this kind of offer, or even a more realiztic one to leave everything behind, isn't for everyone. It all has to do with what you have to lose, and what you stand to gain.

In your case, you make the example that you would have very little to lose in your eyes if such a choice were offered. For someone like myself, or another here with family and friends they loathe to leave, it would be a heart rending choice. To me, I AM living the good life right now. I am making a difference to dozens of people around me. I have security, stability, and independence to do most anything I please. I am also grounded enough to know that my place in the scheme of things is not so large, and I could be replaced. But there is one person in my life for whom I could not be replaced, and that fact is what makes a huge difference for me.

In truth, I would make a terrible adventurer - and I harbor no illusions about this. This is why I play D&D and RPG's - because it's fun to get a little taste of that vicarious living, without leaving a good life behind.

I recently realized that there were things in life I was missing, however - but all these things are in my grasp, I just never took them. I am now making plans to change those, but none of them require me to drop all I hold dear and go. Maybe I have all the ambition and hunger for power of a hobbit, but I've got what I need within my grasp, and it's not a bad feeling.

In reality, I hope you find life currently fulfilling, and if not, I sincerely wish that you find what you desire. In the context of the old wizard and the portal, I say shove the old man aside and grab that suitcase! Just send us back a note out of thin air every once in a while to let us all know how you are doing.