So, here I am again opening a topic about one of another passion of mine; tabletop RPGs.
I would like to know what are your experiences with RPGs, past and present (and future).
I started to play in highschool, 17 years ago (oh my..). My first one was Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, of course. Played a female 1/2 elf ranger. A few months later we discovered Vampire: The Dark Ages, followed by Vampire: The Masquerade.
I was having fun with AD&D but I identified myself more with Vampire. I've always been a fan of the LOTR books, DragonLance books and Baldur's Gate videogames but I was in a phase that I digged more vampire stuff, like Anne Rice's books so I naturally prefered Vampire.
From then on, I played several characters in Vampire, and great campaigns of evilness.
Soon I discovered other games like Star Wars (D6), ShadowRun (2nd Ed), several french RPGs (Rêves de Dragon, Prophecy, Polaris, all 3 superb), Legend of the 5 Rings.
In more recent years I've tried Exalted, several other products from WhiteWolf, Fading Suns, Warhammer 40K, and Star Wars (d20).
I tried videogames RPGs but that is not even close. I like to portray and play characters, and most preferably, without the need to roll dice and depend on variables, pure roleplaying.
17 years later I still play, not as often as I'd love too, but I built a small but strong friends group and we sometimes play togheter. Anually we have a retirement weekend devoted only to that. We've been playing Call of Chtulhu (d20) in the past years. We unite in an almost desert village (a friend's parent's summer house) 60ft (20meters) from the sea. At night, we hear the wves clashing against the rocks as we play the horror game with dim light and some fine beverages. Really good ambiance!
What are your experiences?
Cheers