Roleplaying in the 80s

S'mon · November 03, 2013, 02:59:59 AM

Quote from: TristramEvans;704753THIS is pure liquid nostalgic.

That was a lot of fun, thanks! 1984, wow - I even saw the Fighting Fantasy RPG on the shelves, so it must have been about the time I got into RPGs; I'd started with FF gamebooks about a year earlier. I was 11.

noisms · November 03, 2013, 04:50:03 AM

Am I right in thinking that when they sit down to play the guy sitting next to Ben Elton is a young Jervis Johnson?

Omega · November 03, 2013, 05:34:39 AM

Quote from: noisms;704866Am I right in thinking that when they sit down to play the guy sitting next to Ben Elton is a young Jervis Johnson?

Could be.

flyerfan1991 · November 03, 2013, 08:22:17 AM

Wow, that Fellowship of the Ring box from ICE really took me back.

About girls playing D&D, maybe it's a regional thing, because the girls I knew growing up were actively hostile to the concept of D&D (and the boys who played them in particular). It wasn't until I went away to college in the late 80's that I discovered that girls played D&D too.

Omega · November 03, 2013, 07:23:31 PM

Quote from: flyerfan1991;704875Wow, that Fellowship of the Ring box from ICE really took me back.

About girls playing D&D, maybe it's a regional thing, because the girls I knew growing up were actively hostile to the concept of D&D (and the boys who played them in particular). It wasn't until I went away to college in the late 80's that I discovered that girls played D&D too.

Ashland was alot better. :cool:

dragoner · November 03, 2013, 08:04:58 PM

Quote from: flyerfan1991;704875About girls playing D&D, maybe it's a regional thing...

Or group by group; that is sort of how it works outside of gaming as well.

flyerfan1991 · November 04, 2013, 12:49:27 AM

Quote from: dragoner;704992Or group by group; that is sort of how it works outside of gaming as well.

Perhaps so, but I do think regional influences are a factor.

I would have loved to have gamed with girls back in high school in the 80s, but I also think that my teenaged self would have been suspicious at first if a girl had suddenly dropped by and announced she wanted to try out D&D or MERP. I'd seen enough practical jokes on my fellow geeks back in the day for me to not be completely trusting.

dragoner · November 04, 2013, 01:17:27 AM

Quote from: flyerfan1991;705019Perhaps so, but I do think regional influences are a factor.

If you were in Ohio, I don't think north-central Indiana was much different, we get a lot from Chicago though.

I also have four sisters, so growing up, I was always surrounded by girls.

YourSwordisMine · November 04, 2013, 05:36:02 AM

Quote from: noisms;704866Am I right in thinking that when they sit down to play the guy sitting next to Ben Elton is a young Jervis Johnson?

The fellow in the white shirt? I do believe it was, it looks like him. That was Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson at that table... Pretty big names in the UK gaming scene.

It was funny seeing the Games Workshop store, back when they sold other games. Pretty cool.

I was really surprised that the video wasn't really derogatory against gaming and those that played them. There were a few cringe worthy moments, but still wasn't that bad...

The only thing I remember from that time was all the hate... I lived through the Satanic Panic, so felt ostracized for being a gamer...

flyerfan1991 · November 04, 2013, 06:55:26 AM

Quote from: dragoner;705021If you were in Ohio, I don't think north-central Indiana was much different, we get a lot from Chicago though.

I also have four sisters, so growing up, I was always surrounded by girls.

Actually, it does depend in what part of Ohio. SW Ohio is heavily Catholic, as is the farming region North of Dayton. SW Ohio is also much more politically conservative than NE Ohio, which has an impact in how personalities such as television evangelists are perceived.

But the Four sisters does have a big impact. I keep telling my son, who is sandwiched in age between his two sisters, that he should be glad he has sisters who are geeks.

Omega · November 04, 2013, 08:50:36 AM

Quote from: flyerfan1991;705035Actually, it does depend in what part of Ohio. SW Ohio is heavily Catholic, as is the farming region North of Dayton. SW Ohio is also much more politically conservative than NE Ohio, which has an impact in how personalities such as television evangelists are perceived.

But the Four sisters does have a big impact. I keep telling my son, who is sandwiched in age between his two sisters, that he should be glad he has sisters who are geeks.

Ashland is about 200miles NE and even there we had problems. We also had girl gamers. So there is some tradeoff I guess.

You know if we start reminiscing about Certain Ethnic Role Players only you and I are going you get the joke...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piJYjHUJQLo

ggroy · November 04, 2013, 09:10:38 AM

How common were "frothers" at gaming stores back in the day? (As depicted in the OP youtube link).

Other than when I played 3.5E or 4E D&D games at a gaming store, I didn't really hang out at gaming stores when I wasn't actively playing an rpg game. I didn't really come across "frother" gaming store customers, as depicted in the youtube video.

Over the last decade or so, the "frothers" I came across were usually other players I previously played rpg campaigns with. When we would go to happy hour or supper, such individuals would be "frothing" like crazy about their D&D character or other "current events" topics in the tabletop rpg world.

flyerfan1991 · November 04, 2013, 10:05:36 AM

Quote from: Omega;705043Ashland is about 200miles NE and even there we had problems. We also had girl gamers. So there is some tradeoff I guess.

You know if we start reminiscing about Certain Ethnic Role Players only you and I are going you get the joke...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piJYjHUJQLo

I actually do get the joke, but that's because I had college friends from the Cleveland area. Not so many Polish immigrants in SW Ohio, but we do have pierogies.

Philotomy Jurament · November 04, 2013, 10:34:13 AM

Quote from: thedungeondelver;704812Girls, then later women, have gamed with the various groups I've been in pretty much from the start.

Same, here.

dragoner · November 04, 2013, 10:35:38 AM

Quote from: flyerfan1991;705035Actually, it does depend in what part of Ohio. SW Ohio is heavily Catholic, as is the farming region North of Dayton. SW Ohio is also much more politically conservative than NE Ohio, which has an impact in how personalities such as television evangelists are perceived.

But the Four sisters does have a big impact. I keep telling my son, who is sandwiched in age between his two sisters, that he should be glad he has sisters who are geeks.

Sisters were generally OK, like I said, it was my sister that got me into roleplaying.

As far as Indiana, Lafayette to be exact; we have a huge engineering school: Purdue, and tons of factories. Indiana as a rule is considered conservative, and very many Catholics; but we never had any trouble at all. There was a big university group, then smaller groups clustered and broken off from that; my group played in the public library.