Getting Older Is Okay Where D&D Is Concerned

I'm sure that many of you that take the time out to checkout what I'm saying over here at the Warlock's Home Brew probably started gaming back in the late 70's early 80's which makes us all around the same age and most likely the of the same generation (remember the whole 'Generation X thingy way back?).

Many of you started playing this fantasy game at a very young age, for me I was 10 years old. I was also the oldest in our group and thus the default Dungeon Master. Sure we had a great time exploring dungeons and killing things and taking their stuff and rolling up characters and all that goodness but, as a 10 year old, what did I know about the ins and outs of bringing a sense of realism to the game? Not much. My reality was pretty much colored by Science Fiction movies and comic books. We played on nonetheless.

So here we are, 30 years later and I find myself back behind the screen. Yeah, I took about 25 years off of playing RPGs as I stepped into the rivers of life but, like many of you, I too have returned.

Yes I have returned and returned much wiser (without a doubt this can be argued) in the ways of gaming.

With this older age comes a new perspective, for me anyway, on running my games.

Life experience has given me a better background to run my campaigns. I can flesh out my NPCs to give them a more realistic color than I could when I was 10. Same goes for my cities, towns and plot-hook and situations. Don't get me wrong, the game is just as insanely hilarious and at times disturbingly twisted as ever but I think that there's just more of a sense of groundedness that experience can bring.

Also with age comes the concept of just letting go. We're all in this campaign together so lets drink some beers, laugh a lot with some friends and have a good time! Playing off the cuff has become a much easier endeavor as flexibility has become the philosophy.

And with these years of experience comes patience which really lets me paint one hell of a mini! I've come a long way from the green paint glob with the bright red mouth. Though minis play a small part of our game, when I do get a chance to sit down and paint it is quite a satisfying experience!

When I was younger and playing these games, I always wanted to run games like the adults that I saw running games, I always wanted to paint those miniatures like those skillful hobbyists of the time.

Well, now with some life experience under my belt (and still colored by science fiction and comic books, mind you) I do and it's fantastic! It's one hell of a game and it's more fun than ever.

So here's to all of us (Grognards?) that have made it to this point to run and talk about our games and in living life have become better games!