When I was 17, I was really big into theater (I was a part of all my schools drama productions in High School) and really big into writing, so my High School boyfriend decided to get me into his Table Top group that played Vampire: The Masquerade every week. I had no idea what this "Roleplaying" thing was or how it was supposed to work so he picked my Clan for me - a Malkavian.
The group I started playing with took it... really seriously. Like an exclusive club. They made up some rules that were really restrictive and, when I enjoyed the first game I played and decided to ask if some of my other friends could join, they said no. You couldn't try new clans because YOU were the clan you picked after all. No new characters. Etc Etc
Eventually, I picked up my own copy of the main book and read through it, realizing a lot of the rules they had were just rules they made up. Instead, I decided to start running campaigns on my own. I let all my friends play (Starting small) and learned the ropes of GMing (They called it Storytelling in V:TM) over the next year. By the time I was 19, I was running games quickly with 20 people on average - most of the people from the original group I played with moved over to me as their GM.
I really began to enjoy crafting stories for people. Making plots that people could get lost in, making NPC's that people would take about for YEARS, putting in twists and turns they could never see coming. My big difference as a GM was I always had a "PC" character that hung with the main group, though they didn't make any plot altering decisions, they were always around to see how my character would form friendships and stuff. I learned later a lot of GMs don't actually roll a "PC" sort to speak, but I liked it, it always made me feel more connected to the group.
Anyway I was a GM for V:TM (And eventually Mage) for... 5 years before I stepped in FFXI as my first MMO. I was newly 22 and thought that everyone in MMO's rped. I just thought it was what people did, little did I know. I started the only RP LS on the server and went from there.
Why I RP? I still enjoy writing and acting. For acting though, I'm not really one to be on stage anymore, so RP lets me kind of get the bug out. I love crafting stories. I really love being a GM and have people live in my stories. I love seeing people talk about how exciting a scene was - not knowing that I had my hand in that talking to the villians and making sure they new what they were doing. Or doing a roll20 session and having people talk about how cool it was.
On the player side: I love seeing where my character is going to go. I love watching relationships form and characters grow and writing stories about her and all kind of things.
Roleplay is pure creativity and I really like the creative outlet.
Fun Fact: My dad hid the fact he played D&D from me and my sister until I got into V:TM to which he said "Thank God I stop stop hiding I'm a nerd."
The group I started playing with took it... really seriously. Like an exclusive club. They made up some rules that were really restrictive and, when I enjoyed the first game I played and decided to ask if some of my other friends could join, they said no. You couldn't try new clans because YOU were the clan you picked after all. No new characters. Etc Etc
Eventually, I picked up my own copy of the main book and read through it, realizing a lot of the rules they had were just rules they made up. Instead, I decided to start running campaigns on my own. I let all my friends play (Starting small) and learned the ropes of GMing (They called it Storytelling in V:TM) over the next year. By the time I was 19, I was running games quickly with 20 people on average - most of the people from the original group I played with moved over to me as their GM.
I really began to enjoy crafting stories for people. Making plots that people could get lost in, making NPC's that people would take about for YEARS, putting in twists and turns they could never see coming. My big difference as a GM was I always had a "PC" character that hung with the main group, though they didn't make any plot altering decisions, they were always around to see how my character would form friendships and stuff. I learned later a lot of GMs don't actually roll a "PC" sort to speak, but I liked it, it always made me feel more connected to the group.
Anyway I was a GM for V:TM (And eventually Mage) for... 5 years before I stepped in FFXI as my first MMO. I was newly 22 and thought that everyone in MMO's rped. I just thought it was what people did, little did I know. I started the only RP LS on the server and went from there.
Why I RP? I still enjoy writing and acting. For acting though, I'm not really one to be on stage anymore, so RP lets me kind of get the bug out. I love crafting stories. I really love being a GM and have people live in my stories. I love seeing people talk about how exciting a scene was - not knowing that I had my hand in that talking to the villians and making sure they new what they were doing. Or doing a roll20 session and having people talk about how cool it was.
On the player side: I love seeing where my character is going to go. I love watching relationships form and characters grow and writing stories about her and all kind of things.
Roleplay is pure creativity and I really like the creative outlet.
Fun Fact: My dad hid the fact he played D&D from me and my sister until I got into V:TM to which he said "Thank God I stop stop hiding I'm a nerd."