Casting Shadows

On Day 3 of #RPGaDay2022 we had the question, ‘When were you introduced to RPGs?‘ and for many people that included mention of the people and situations involved in that introduction. Today, on this eighth day of the eighth month, we have ‘Who introduced you to RPGs?‘ where we can get into the specifics that matter in a month-long event of sharing and positivity about the person or people that were with us as we began our journey into becoming roleplaying gamers.

As I mentioned on Day 3, I was a newcomer in a less-than-welcoming town but was eventually welcomed into a progressive series of groups thanks to the power of D&D. Before that could happen though, I needed to meet the person who would introduce the game, and so roleplaying games, to me.

That process required a person who was open-minded, empathetic, of eclectic interests, and in a bit of a social freefall themselves. Where I opted for introspection and solitude, he opted for outgoing humor and a casual disregard for the calcifying cliques of the school. Little by little, thanks to his willingness to talk about his interests, and thanks to the sincere efforts of our science teacher that year to connect with anyone and everyone who showed even a glimmer of interest in learning, we started to communicate. He talked about movies. He talked about books. He talked about computers. He talked about photography and photo developing. He talked about local ghost stories. He could and would talk intelligently about so many things (thanks to having so many older brothers and an inquisitive mind) that it was inevitable we could find some common ground.

I never could have found that ground on my own.

He didn’t much care for what people said about people, or what attitudes they held about popular or unpopular things. He made up his own mind. He always had music that no one else was listening to, and was watching movies and reading books that other people would pass over. He followed his interests and was willing to share them openly. He had the capacity to enjoy the enjoyment of others and would do things to heighten that enjoyment.

I think he was often made to feel small, young, and troublesome by his older brothers. Interestingly, he did not behave this way with the younger kids that were in our gaming group. He was a good egg.

I was lucky to have met him.