Gaming - The WEG

I've been playing tabletop or LARPing* RPGs** since I was 11 years old. Now, that might not seem impressive (and I am dating myself now...) but that's 20 years of gaming. That is a LOT of time devoted to one hobby. I often think, "What if I had played an instrument that long? What if I had learned business savvy that entire time? What would I be now?" But quite frankly, I am SO fulfilled by this one little piece, that it has become a HUGE piece of my life. (Plus, the only other hobby I've done as long, started hand in hand, and that was art.)

The fine art of roleplaying, for me, involves sharing a story with friends. You'll find all manner of gamers out there. Those who love the system, those who love their characters going through certain scenarios so that they can feel empowered, some who love the equipment and "character building" that comes from creating a person to plop down into the game. But I'm all about the sharing.

I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself. Who can blame me when it's such a big thing in my life? Let me lay out the basics...

"Gaming" for me (even though I live near Vegas) has nothing to do with sports, gambling, or anything so mainstream. It deals with consoles sometimes, but most times, it's dealing with role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons, World of Darkness, or other games. It's part acting, part story telling, and part dice rolling. It involves creating a character, setting that character into a story being told primarily by one person, and then adding a random factor to the luck your character has.

The person running the game is the Game Master or Dungeon Master, depending on which term you prefer. Some call that person the Storyteller. And there can even be more than one. They create the setting. Non-player characters, events, buildings, etc. It's a daunting task. It's a task that I love.

 

The reason I'm bothering to explain all this is because inevitably, at some point, my posts will bring this up. I'm not JUST an artist, I also play tons and tons of RPGs. I text game with buddies, I run a weekly session online with friends who are in different states, I collect books for systems, even if I rarely play said systems. So, there will come a day when it's a blog topic.

Like today.

So, part of running a game is building a sense of anticipation. Players have spent time, creativity, and energy building characters, and usually get a little attached to them. So, one of the tools I employ is the Wicked Evil Grin (WEG). This is where I tell a player something seemingly inane (the forest is still ... too still) and then flash my WEG. They know at that moment, they're in deep shit. But they're not sure what or why! That's the beauty of it. 

Using the WEG too much can make it lose effect. I would estimate that I use it once every six months, across ALL the games I play or run. But when I do use it, I save it for choice times. It's an amazing tool. I recommend it highly to all out there running games.

So now, it's my turn to ask questions, and hopefully get some comments.

Have you ever participated in an RPG? Was your character badass? Was there a specific moment you will ALWAYS remember? Share that and anything else. :)

-Me

*LARP: live action role play. Meaning, go out, act like your character, beat each other with sticks and use fake spells. It really is as nerdy as it sounds, but SO FUN.

**RPG: role playing game. As explained above.