I love pen-and-paper roleplaying.

It’s a creative outlet. Especially creating characters. I’d be making up fictional characters with or without roleplaying games; RPGs just give me a chance to let them interact with my friends’ made-up characters. It’s a unique form in that way. And as creative as it is to be a player, it’s orders of magnitude more so to be a gamemaster.

I enjoy performing. A lot of the time, roleplaying is hilarious. Get a bunch of creative people around a table, having fun together, and it often behaves like improv comedy. My friends and I have catch phrases we still use — and laugh at — that came out of games from years gone by. I love getting the laugh. I also love a good dramatic moment too, and roleplaying can provide those just as well. Roleplaying games are basically a venue for amateur (wannabe?) stand-up comics and actors.

I like my friends. Go figure. Getting together for a game gets us all together. I appreciate that, now more than ever. Life has gotten busy, and it helps to have an event on the calendar, an excuse to see each other.

I’ve talked about why I game at length with my friends. What about you? What brings you to the table?