Life and D&D Collide
Last week's Dungeons and Dragons session had my character trying to flirt information out of an unwitting participant.
Let's back up a second. I play a Tabaxi Ranger (basically a humanoid cat) with a -1 charisma, meaning I literally have negative people skills. I cannot make conversation or be persuasive or diplomatic. At all. And I was charged with flirting. That went over about as well as one would imagine and literally the only thing I had going in my favor is that the object of said flirtation was already interested.
I've been playing less than a year and still have a lot to learn. Half the time I have no idea what's going on, but I do think it's funny how each character we create and play has bits of ourselves in them, and vice versa. We get a chance to see how our alter egos react to different (albeit outlandish) circumstances and use the resources at hand to navigate obstacles.
It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that I was my negative charisma Tabaxi (I still am in a lot of ways). I'm awkward and cynical and honestly surprised that I've made the friends I have. It also occurs to me that I may not have ever gotten together with my husband if I hadn't already sensed he liked what he saw and wasn't scared off by me yelling at him or making stilted conversation when I finally remembered his name and decided to talk to him again several months after our first meeting.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is, that if you do get involved in tabletop RPGs, use it as a learning experience. Each character has something to teach and apply to real life. Yes, it's fun, but cooperating with different personalities and varying skill sets does teach resilience and resourcefulness. And for that, I am thankful.
Nerd talk: done.
Let's back up a second. I play a Tabaxi Ranger (basically a humanoid cat) with a -1 charisma, meaning I literally have negative people skills. I cannot make conversation or be persuasive or diplomatic. At all. And I was charged with flirting. That went over about as well as one would imagine and literally the only thing I had going in my favor is that the object of said flirtation was already interested.
I've been playing less than a year and still have a lot to learn. Half the time I have no idea what's going on, but I do think it's funny how each character we create and play has bits of ourselves in them, and vice versa. We get a chance to see how our alter egos react to different (albeit outlandish) circumstances and use the resources at hand to navigate obstacles.
It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that I was my negative charisma Tabaxi (I still am in a lot of ways). I'm awkward and cynical and honestly surprised that I've made the friends I have. It also occurs to me that I may not have ever gotten together with my husband if I hadn't already sensed he liked what he saw and wasn't scared off by me yelling at him or making stilted conversation when I finally remembered his name and decided to talk to him again several months after our first meeting.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is, that if you do get involved in tabletop RPGs, use it as a learning experience. Each character has something to teach and apply to real life. Yes, it's fun, but cooperating with different personalities and varying skill sets does teach resilience and resourcefulness. And for that, I am thankful.
Nerd talk: done.
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