A Geek Girl's Guide to Observation

What to do when you're bored on a Saturday night

Game stores are interesting places. It’s as if they are their own little worlds in and of themselves--places where geeks can go and let their geekiness run loose, knowing that everyone else in the room is just as geeky as they are.

Well, almost.

After much weeping and wailing and knashing of teeth, I managed to convince myself to head down to Dragon’s Keep on a Saturday night several weeks ago, since I’d been invited to come to the game after my lying escapade in December (See Geek Girl #4). I took some deep breaths, told myself there couldn’t really be anything that scary going on down there, and walked down to the store without pausing to think.

Well, it turns out I was wrong. There were several very scary things going on down there. But as it turns out, scary can be fun too.

Highlights of the evening included a long conversation on the general attractiveness of fudge, (“Have you ever seen an attractive fudge?” Don’t ask.) and a “Who’s on First” routine between the DM and a player who was rolling up a new character.

Player: I want to play a psychic.

DM: A sidekick?

Player: Yeah, a psychic.

DM: Why would you want to play a sidekick?

Player: What?

DM: Shouldn’t you play a character and have a sidekick?

Player: No! Not a sidekick. A psychic.

DM: Oh, right. A sidekick

Player: * glares *.

DM: * evil grin *

Player: So can I play a psychic?

Bystander, just tuning in to conversation: Why does he want to play a sidekick?

Me: No, a psychic.

You get the idea.

As much fun as it was to watch their game, here is what I discovered: I am not interested in observing other people’s campaigns. Apparently some people find it interesting to “just watch,” but I am not that easily entertained. I want to play, to be involved. When the characters fight, I want some blood on my own hands.

Um, I mean, on my character’s hands. Right.

I also learned that not everyone plays D&D the same way. I’ve always played with the same group, and we play in what I’ve now discovered is a fairly “nice” style. Our characters never actually get killed. We get into danger, but no one ever dies. It is the DM’s job to scare us, but when it comes down to it, (s)he’s never out to kill us.

This wasn’t the case with the campaign I observed. In the one evening I was there I personally witnessed four characters die with a single hit, all before initiative had been rolled. This campaign was a character killer.

All I could think was, if your character dies so often, think of all the math you’ll have to do rolling up a new one.

Sounds like my own personal little Underdark to me.

I wasn’t going to go back, but ended up getting invited to actually play in a game on Thursdays (not a character killer), and met some very cool people in the process.

So I guess good things do come of conquering fears--even fears as irrational as my fear of game shops.

I am happy to report that in the spirit of the Geek Girl Survival Guide, I am now officially a girl who hangs out at a game store. After much skulking outside of such establishments, quaking with fear, I have joined an Iron Kingdoms campaign down at Dragon’s Keep. Tonight was the first time I was able to walk down to the game store without having to give myself a pep-talk first. I wasn’t afraid, and what was more, I was excited about going.

I so must have failed my wisdom check. But I’m awfully glad I did.

Discuss it in our forums.

Written by MsFish on February 03rd, 2006