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I became an avid role-player in high school. I loved the fantastical elements, you got to be a part of the movie instead of just watching it, and its main appeal was the enjoyable excuse it offered to get a group of similarly goofy friends together on a regular basis. Even at our most dedicated times my groups always spent about one third of the time playing the game and the other two thirds just enjoying each other’s odd-ball company. The rush of video games, enhanced by actual interaction with flesh and blood friends.
For my first couple years of high school the platform of choice was Dungeons & Dragons, the gaming system most people start with and many hold to. Set in the world of medieval fantasy you create your characters choosing their race, such as elf or dwarf or human or centaur, then select a class, such as warrior or magic user or bard. You then have a starting budget of points to assign to their traits, such as strength or dexterity or intelligence which will affect how successful you are at your class, and a budget of coin to equip them with weapons and supplies.
The person running the game has the maps, details, and potential enemy stats whether they have created them themselves or purchased them in a kit. They describe the situation, often with the aid of drawn maps…