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Role Playing and Me
I started Role Playing back in the '70s, with Red Box D&D. My buddy Jim was the DM, and I made up a character
named Steven Lawrence. Steve was an anomaly in the D&D game, a wanderer from another world, a place called New York.
His mother had died on the street, his father in jail, and Steve was well on his way to following one or the other when he
was pulled through a Well of Many Worlds to replace the party's thief. Steve had a Leather Jacket (AC 8), and a Switchblade
knife (1d3 damage), and a cool set of thief's tools and other gear that allowed him to survive fairly well on the streets.
Might not be entirely within the rules, but it was just an interesting back story for a "fish out of water" character.
Several adventures and three levels later, Steve had been polymorphed into a four foot tall lizard-man based on
the Dromeosaur. His outlook on life took a drastic change for the worse (he went nuts), and he began acting erratically,
calling himself Slar. Things looked bad, and then my mother got religion. Suddenly, "that evil game" wasn't allowed,
and I bid Slar a fond farewell.
In 1985, I got back into RPGs in a big way, with the Marvel Super Heroes RPG. My mother had no problem with
comics (I guess she hadn't read many), and saw no harm in the game. It took all of about a month for me to figure out
how to put together a sword and sorcery campaign using the Marvel rules. Later, I got into Top Secret, and eventually
Cyberpunk 2013, Mekton, BattleTech, RoboTech, and a host of others. Finally, a buddy asked if I wanted to play AD&D
2nd edition. I explained that I had played D&D, and 1st Ed. AD&D, way back in the 70's, but was unfamiliar with
the new system. They brought me up to speed, and my new DM, Richard, helped me resurrect Slar.
Now a Fighter/Thief, Slar fit right in to the party of Plane/Time hopping heroes in a campaign shared by Rich,
Ralph, and Dan, the three DM's. Slar ended up kicking butt, and earning his spurs fighting evil lizard men, an invading
army, and the forces of the Temple of Elemental Evil. When I needed an alter ego on the web, I went with the one I knew
best, Slar.
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Get Personal with the Game Master
I used to get questions not related to gaming, so I thought I'd answer a few. I was born in 1967 (figure
my age out for yourself), in Southern CA, and live in the Inland Empire with my wife, daughter, three cats and my in-laws
(mother and brother). I attend college, and am working towards a teaching cert and mathematics degree, with hopes of
teaching high school math.
I vote the issues, and am sometimes conservative, sometimes liberal, and sometimes out of left field somewhere.
I support the war in Iraq because I'd rather, in the current paranoid climate, keep our troops well away from my civil rights.
Besides, we made a mess of the place, and it is only right we stick around to help clean it up. I voted for Bush in
2000, for the Libertarian candidate in 2004 (protest vote, and my wife wouldn't let me write in Cthulhu), and will vote for
whichever party puts up the best black or female candidate in 2008 (hey, I can hope).
And as for the issues... Gun control? It means hitting what you aim at. But seriously, there are responsible
measures that could be taken, I just haven't seen anyone willing to make the compromise to pass them. Abortion?
Well, I won't get one on moral grounds, but it isn't my body, and it isn't my choice. Do I like them? No.
Would I stop you from getting one? No. Religion? Your's is your business, and mine is mine. If you
feel like sharing your spiritual views, great, just don't expect me to agree with them. The Minute Men? Well,
I'd like to see them along the Canadian Border, since that is where the 9-11 Hijackers came across. Personally, I say
we open the southern border, issue taxpayer ID cards, and let the Mexican Gov't know we have a 50%+1 policy. That means
that as soon as we have one more Mexican citizen than Mexico, we get to annex them.If anyone comes up with any other issues
for me to address, send me an e-mail and I'll try to get to it.
We'll see if I come up with anything else to post here later; till then, adios.
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