I don't make any pretenses about my nerdiness. I have nothing to hide. If classifications of dweebie people exist, i suppose i would fall into the "academic nerd" category (poindexter, perhaps?), although i do dabble a little in anime, superhero, and comic book geekdom and have been known to enjoy really dorky RPG video games.
That being said, i have had, until recently, little understanding of what probably are the most mysterious and reclusive of all nerds in the nerd kingdom - the Gamer Nerds. I am not talking about your standard Final Fantasy-playing video game junkie. I speak of the true original gamer, one who plays tabletop games (usually socially, but not always) - games such as 'Magic: The Gathering' and 'Dungeons & Dragons.'
I began my hesitant journey into the gaming world when Ethan (I will unfairly blame him for all of my new dweeb-ass interests from now on) brought home some Magic cards he borrowed from a friend who is pretty into this kind of thing. I hadn't seen anyone play Magic since i was in 5th grade. I recall that being a big year for Magic and Pogs - all the boys in my class would play these games at recess. What losers. Of course, i only say that because i was never asked to play. Guess we know who the saddest little loser of all is. Sigh.
Anyway, Ethan taught me how to play Magic a little. It can be kind of fun, but there are a lot of rules and it's relatively complicated. I am not so sure my attention span is cut out for Magic: The Gathering.
Having received a small taste of the gaming world, i felt prepared to dive right into the depths of the Gaming abyss - the ultimate social hangout for the world's most hopelessly socially awkward people - a Dungeons & Dragons meetup. Ethan took me. He had been to his first D&D meetup a few weeks prior. His description of the people there had fulfilled my expectations, but i had to see for myself. I knew that as nerdy as i profess myself to be, this would be a whole different level of nerd - maybe these people would somehow know i wasn't one of them. Maybe they would find my presence offensive. This was a thrilling thought. Was there such a thing as a hornet's nest of Gamer Nerds? I had to find out.
The short answer is no.
Not surprisingly, there is nothing remotely threatening about Gamer Nerds, not even when there are a lot of them on their own turf. In fact, i would say Gamer Nerds are probably the gentlest and warm-hearted of all the nerds in all of the Nerd Kingdom.
The D&D meetup was appropriately held in a basement - the basement of a gaming store in the middle of Manhattan. It's called Neutral Ground, if anyone's more than a little curious. The room contained 7 or 8 large tables and several people that bore various stereotypical traits akin to those of the comic book guy (Jeff Albertson) from the Simpsons. Greasy rat tail hairstyles, shamelessy dorky gamer shirts, rampant obesity, and scraggily facial hair - in one way or another, most of these people were utterly true to their stereotype. And it was glorious.
Everyone was exceedingly friendly and nice. When i shyly admitted that i had never played before and had no understanding of the game, i was kindly reassured by the other players at my table that they would help me out. And they really did. No one made me feel like a pain in the ass, and i found it very easy to become involved in the game, even though i didn't grasp all the subtle rules.
From what i could discern, Dungeons & Dragons is essentially a board game in which one person (the Dungeon Master) narrates a story (often prefabricated stories are used) while everyone else is some sort of Tolkien-esque character with various specific skills. The characters all work together to complete some sort of quest outlined by the Dungeon Master's story. Yes, it is extremely geeky. There is a reason people make fun of it.
Usually, everyone gets to design their own character, but when i played, our Dungeon Master assigned us premade characters. Mine was a female Level 1 Eladrin Wizard (whatever the hell that means), called Althaea Gildleaf. The image i have included above is my piece for the boardgame, the artistic representation of Ms. Gildleaf. Our Dungeon Master let us keep our character pieces. What a decent fellow.
The game itself was rather enjoyable in many ways. Some of the players got really into their characters, occasionally inserting some cheesy elf or dwarf jokes during our little quest, which was fine because everyone seemed happy to get carried away by the spirit of the game and all the geek humor it entailed. The players took strategy and problem solving pretty seriously, and i was surprised at the amount of spontaneous creativity that was required. It was also interesting how easily everyone worked together to achieve certain goals throughout the game. Due to the fact that every character had unique skills, each player at some point made a significant contribution to the completion of the quest. Say what you will about the huge dweeb factor of D&D, it was nevertheless quite entertaining.
All in all, i was thoroughly satisfied by my little excursion into the Gamer world. I feel like i have better insight into the social life of the Gamer Nerd. D&D meetups truly are a place for misfits, but the beauty is that they welcome anyone from any walk of life. I have a newfound appreciation for these people who are seemingly non-judgmental and are quick to accept anyone, even my critical ass.
