Good Day and Well Met Everyone.
My name is Ray and I'm from Saskatchewan, Canada, aka The Middle Of Nowhere
Not sure if I really have a favourite dice but the d20 is probably the one I've used the most so I'll go with that one. I'm really drawn to unique, themed dice though, like
these. I have all their sets and they are so cool!
My role-playing journey has been a rocky one. As far back as I can remember I've always enjoyed fantasy and science fiction. I still love the Shannara series of books by Terry Brooks. Unfortunately, due to the satanic panic era I never got the chance to try gaming. The closest I got was catching a glimpse of one of my friends' older brother sketching out a map on graph paper which really intrigued me. Surprisingly, my parents didn't seem to have any issues with computer games. One of my favourite games was Darklands. I remember playing that forever. I still have the original box with the 10 or so 3.5" floppies that it came on as well as an update disk that was mailed to me after purchase. Anyhoo...not sure where I was going with that...
My first actual experience with rpg's was when I hit university in the tail end of the '80s. I found a group and started playing Shadowrun. I really enjoyed that and played for most of my university years if I recall. After I started work I drifted away due to extensive traveling and no internet. I'm not sure exactly what piqued my interest again but I think it may have been around '05 when I went back to college and discovered chainmailleing as a hobby (from a classmate) which resurrected my interest in all things fantasy-related. I started searching and discovered that there was a whole new gaming world out there with systems of every shape and color that you could think of.
I initially stumbled across the Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game so that was my entrance back into the gaming world. The price was right (free) and it seemed simple enough to pick up quickly. I lurked around their forums and dabbled in a few PbP games which I enjoyed but work, family, and other hobbies always kept competing for my time. Unfortunately, I've come to accept the fact that I'm like a squirrel with hyper-active ADHD. I have so many hobbies and I just keep flitting from one to the next and never stick with any one thing very long (although I do keep circling back around). I had hoped that as our kids got older I could get them interested and I would have a ready-made gaming group. I did GM a handful of games with them over the years but it never got past a single session here and there. It was around this time that I also discovered Kickstarter and starting building my collection of books. Most of them are old-school type games as that seems to be what I'm drawn to. I have a shelf full of Castles & Crusades, Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Sorcery, Old-School Essentials and a smattering of other things that I look at, read once in a while, and dream about playing...someday. Our youngest 2 kids are getting to the end of their high-school years though so my gaming group hopes are fading.
Anyways, sorry for rambling on and if nothing else I will get some enjoyment from reading about others' gaming escapades.
