Comments on: Be a Nerd in Public

By: NPC Comic - Hey Look! It’s Read An RPG Book in Public Week Again!

NPC Comic - Hey Look! It’s Read An RPG Book in Public Week Again! — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:45:26 +0000

[...] may recall that this also happened back in March when I went over the three levels of nerd stigma. Well it’s here again, for the second time this year! Unfortunately, I don’t think [...]

By: sweatyapple

sweatyapple — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:34:11 +0000

haha yea drow/nightelves, that’s what happens when you mix all your fantasy together.

And yeah now I’m clearer on the whole RPG book. Tried to get into the whole tabletop thing, but when the dungeon master starts drawing half naked pictures of your character and starts pulling you aside to whisper in your ear about a secret that none of the other players are supposed to know about, it gets a lil skeevy.

By: Qralloq

Qralloq — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:37:01 +0000

Oh! and I ordered a copy of Diaspora, as it looks cool and I’ve been wanting to play a sci-fi game.

By: Qralloq

Qralloq — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:36:09 +0000

I think there is a fifth level of nerdiness… live action roleplaying in public. Some friends of mine used to play the LARP version of Vampire: The Masquerade at the bar. They’d be wearing special amulets that let other LARPers know they were “in character” and then they could do whatever it is that LARPers do.

As to the stigma, I believe that there is one, and I downplay / skip that hobby when discussing my activities with my employer, as I’m in a professional services consulting company.

By: maryvarn

maryvarn — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 01:28:28 +0000

@Redwood: That is so awesome!
@StormBringer: Thanks! And welcome!

By: StormBringer

StormBringer — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:43:53 +0000

I think the last one got eaten or something. I wandered over here from the Read an RPG Book in Public page on Facebook. I like the blog so far! Drop over to the Citadel of Chaos, we don't have 'nerd stigma', just plenty of discussions about vintage role playing games!

By: Redwood Rhiadra

Redwood Rhiadra — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:47:09 +0000

There’s a fourth level of nerdness – playing tabletop roleplaying game *in an MMO*. I run a D&D game in Second Life (with our avatars sitting around a virtual table, rolling virtual dice, and moving virtual miniatures on a virtual map.) Since I live alone and don’t drive, this has been the only way for me to get a group together.

By: Mashiem

Mashiem — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:05:19 +0000

Nice. Checked out you comic, and I envy your style. Might have to read it through to see if I’ll be a regular. ^_^

And too true about the imersion of dicelessness (is that even a real word?).
The most entertaining and atmospheric session I ever GMed was a mini-campaign of “Call of Chutuhlu” where I had all the character sheets and handled all the mechanics. Ah, good times… ^_^

By: inkbard

inkbard — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:01:25 +0000

While it’s true that this sort of thing may not make a huge difference in the long run, there’s certainly no harm in it either. And it’s certainly no sillier than any host of other events. ( Talk Like a Pirate Day anyone? )

In any case, I’ve met far too many other Roleplayers or MMO players by noticing something they were reading or wearing to pass up the opportunity to connect with new people. Not to mention it’s a good excuse to dust off systems I haven’t looked at in a while. Hello there 7th Sea!

By: inkbard

inkbard — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:41:37 +0000

Thanks for the recommended reading! A diceless system intrigues me as any way to make the rules simple helps in getting folks into RPGs. I’ve had many friends show interest over the years then balk at the seeming complexity of the mechanics.

I suspect that you’re right. Most folks wouldn’t differentiate between someone that gets worked up over stats and gear and a person that gets worked up over history and lore. (And neither are mutually exclusive. Omnomnom, stats.)

And I drew it myself. It’s also my twitter avatar @inkbard.