How I got into RPGs (dragons not included ... )

by Emma Bamford

I like ‘Lord of the Rings’ as much as the next person, but fantasy has never been my genre of choice to read or watch.

See, if you’d asked me to play an RPG about 18 months ago, I’d have said no. Because it’s all fantasy, and dragons, and “you’re an orc in a tavern” and that. I have approximately zero interest in any of those things. But I like improv, and writing, and so I wanted to give an RPG a try (but not Dungeons & Dragons, because that’s a *proper* nerd game).

Despite that, I *did* end up starting with D&D, with the most human-character-who-wasn’t-actually-a-human in the world (I didn’t want to be playing a “fantasy” character). But I saw what was involved, and how it was played, and it was everything I wanted to be. It’s still a *nerd game* but it doesn’t have to be. I* might be playing a tiefling (a what now?) but I have characteristics, faith, morals that are just the same as humans in the real world.

And then I was introduced to Call of Cthulhu …

Steve and I played that starter game together, which is more of a ‘choose your own adventure’ game, and we really liked it. For me, I liked the human side of it. You’re a regular person in the 1920s. You have limitations, just like normal people. You can drive a car, you can use a library, you can do first aid. You can also punch, shoot and kick at monsters that have come straight out of the Argos Catalogue of Creepy B******s. You’re a human dude with human dude, but still with those opportunities to improvise and act and, sometimes, try and Fast Talk your way out of a crisis.

It’s RPG but without the dragons. (Interestingly, there’s a great book about playing RPGs – ‘The Ultimate RPG Gameplaying Guide’ by James D’Amato, which is very educational and insightful for people who either don’t understand RPGs, or who don’t want to play a fantasy-based game).