I am Stormborn! (which is not something I normally feel inclined to say, but since everyone else has said they weren’t…)
Gender and RPGs.
My general impression is that the majority of players are male but sense a female community is present if not as vocal. Stormborn, you indicate you met your wife in the community. Do you feel women are equally represented or is that something that is still evolving? Finally, if there are any women in the community here, I would love to hear from you. For whatever it's worth, I'm female.
As Raef said, my group right now is two females and myself, but that is uncommon. I think that Piratecat was right in saying that about 20% (maybe 25%) of regular gamers are female and I think its still evolving, although greater efforts could be made on both the part of the producers of RPGs and the retailers. I do think that some are better at it than others. White Wolf seems to have the largest female demographic for its Storyteller/telling systems; and, this is purely speculation based on minimal evidence, women seem to be drawn to other games that are related to RPGs such as collectable card games (which is where my wife stated) and board games.
Religion.
Again Stormborn, you have a religious background and are currently engaged with a Christian community. Given your level of involvement in RPGs (significant by your description), how would you describe balancing the two worlds? Have you come up against intolerance and, if so, how did you navigate it? While my understanding is admittedly limited I do know that certain elements of the Christian community have reacted to RPGs negatively. Your activity in two seemingly opposing worlds interests me. I'd love to hear more about that if you feel inclined to share.
Not to start a sermon around here but there is a phrase “Do not cast your pearls before swine.” Regardless of what it means in a religious context, I feel that at its heart it means “do not present things to people who will not understand or appreciate it.” Basically, I know that the majority of people, especially in my current congregation, wouldn’t ‘get’ RPGs so if it should ever come up I just tell them I play games and that I do some freelance writing. I am of the right age, and background, to remember the DnD = Satanism stuff and that makes me somewhat hesitant to just go around telling people about it. However, now I feel that most people wouldn’t feel that way, even if they might have in the 80s. Nor am I ashamed of being a gamer, I simply choose not to let that be people’s initial impression of me; particularly not pulpit committees that might be interested in hiring me. To those people that do know me and have for a while I have no problem talking to them about it and even encouraging them to find out what it is like. There is, for example, an RPG from Green Ronin called Testament, which is based on settings of the Old Testament (I wrote one of the first adventures for it, called No Other Gods, for Highmoon). In the right context I would consider using it to help teach people about various eras in Israel’s history. Ultimately RPGs are simply a genre of entertainment no different than any other and have their ups and their downs, although over all I think they have more ups than downs. Could it lead to interest in the occult? Sure. So could reading some of the best selling Christian writers of the 20th century, Tolkien and Lewis. So could watching TV, going to the movies, or studying history. A lot of what comes out of an activity relates to what people put into it.
Game Curiosity.
Most all of you indicate the best way to learn about RPGs is to play. I would agree. Are there venues to do this online free of charge and, if so, are there any you would recommend for someone completely green? Failing that, it sounds like I should seek out players in my community. How likely (purely an opinion question here) are people to open up their circles to someone like me? My time is somewhat limited, hence my question about playing online. I suppose I could find the answers digging around the forum a bit more but any way finding help you'd be willing to offer would be greatly appreciated.
Other people have made good suggestions about that. All I will suggest is that you find a local game store and approach one of the people that work there. Tell them that you are interested in RPGs but have never played and ask if they know of a game that you could join, or even if someone would be willing to get a group together to run a one-shot for you. June 23rd is Free RPG Day (
http://www.freerpgday.com/ ) and if a store is participating in that they will likely be able to help you in someway. If you lived in central Alabama I (we) would be happy to run a one shot for you.
Other Gaming Habits.
Are you interested in other types of gaming? Video games, etc. If so, which ones? What platforms? And what percentage of time do you devote to gaming outside the RPG format?
Sure. I have played collectible card games including Magic, Shadowfist (my favorite I think), Call of Cthulhu, and World of Warcraft as well as boardgames from the traditional to things like A Game of Thrones, Arkam Horror, and Battle Lore. I have limited experience with miniature games as I don’t paint but play occasionally with Raef’s husand, games like Warmachine, Warlords of Aegyptus, DnD minis, and someothers. I have played PC Games, but not MMORPGS, off an on for a while, mostly RTSs like the original Warcraft series, RPGs like Baldur’s Gate, or puzzle games. We got PS2 for Christamas and have loved Katamari, Star Wars Legos, Kingdom Hearts, and are currently playing through Kingdom Hearts II. My wife likes watching the story more than playing.
