sigelphoenix

These past couple of weeks have been pretty crazy, and not just because of my illness and research paper panic. I also finished up my first ever roleplaying campaign just yesterday, after marathoning the last few sessions.

Back in September of 2005, I heard that chasdini was planning to run a D&D campaign, and he invited me to join along with zinjadu and ratzeo as players. I was extremely hesitant and nervous at first, because my prior experience with RPGs had been so limited - maybe half a dozen D&D sessions back in high school, wherein I had no idea what was going on and was only told to roll a d20 and hit things. On the other hand, the other three have been playing D&D for years. (Clearly, I had a deprived childhood. XD)

ratzeo, however, who has ever had more faith in me than I do, convinced me that I could do it. Everyone was aware of my inexperience and was willing to work with me. And anyway, the game sounded like a lot of fun.

I still remember the excitement and near-terror I felt that first night, when we were sitting in zinjadu's apartment, each of us awaiting our turn at our individual introduction. (I was going to have to start out all by myself! The horror!) Luckily, we knew from the get-go that we were all going to start out amnesiac and be given character builds from the GM himself, making us all equally clueless about what was going on at first. Still, I was half-worried that I would somehow get my character killed and/or ruin the campaign.

I didn't, of course, and the campaign sailed along smoothly. The story, as we eventually realized, was an account of the origin of the Jedi order and the founding of the Republic. It was an amazing interpretation of Star Wars mythos, using source material from Star Drive and d20 rules (not that I really understood what that last part meant). Oh, and Elvish language for the naming system. XD Spanning 27 adventures and split up into - of course - three episodes, "The Rise of the Republic" told the story of us three "outcasts" (translated as "Jedi," of course) who saved the universe. And, in the end, gave up our mortal existence to do so. Spoiler alert! XD

Of course, this all sounds quite Serious and Dramatic, which it was ... except when it wasn't. Because if the players are dorks, inevitably the characters are as well. Anyone who's read any of the fic that we've written - especially anything written by zinjadu XD - already knows that. So, yeah, we were noble and wise and powerful - but we also did a lot of Dumb Shit.

Which is why, in the end, I'm so sad to see this campaign end. The story reached its natural conclusion, and ended well, so I don't regret that. I'm just sorry to let go of the lovable and sometimes-stupid characters we've built up through roleplaying - not to mention the myriad hilarious and wonderful NPCs. I'd always heard about people getting attached to the characters they play, and could never truly sympathize - well, now I understand.

So! One more bit of woobiness, before this post gets lost in utter maudlinness. I owe thanks to the people who gave me so much fun over the past year and a half: chasdini, the brilliant GM, ever engaging and challenging; and my fellow players, ratzeo and zinjadu, who taught me patiently and trusted me to RP with them and, most of all, were Big Huge Dorks with me. It's because of you guys that I've spent so many Saturdays doing things that most grown-ups would be embarassed to do (or at least admit), and loved it.

You also get the blame for making me into a full-blown D&D addict. XD