Honestly, for somehow not knowing A Song of Ice and Fire existed before the Game of Thrones TV show. I have no idea how it flew under my radar like that.
Please turn in your geek card, sir/madam.
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I have never seen the LoTR extended editions, I have never watched a horror movie/played a horror game, never watched Star Trek, never played tabletop, I don't like most anime and jrpgs, I dislike maths...
And that about covers it.
And that about covers it.
I claim to love anime, but I don't watch very much at all. I've seen like...pffffffffffttt...3 in the last 2 years? Might just have something to do with the fact that I wore out the whole "High school teen life" because that's what most of the anime I've watched did.
I'm obsessed with video games and I've never once been to any sort of convention about them. Though I'd love to, so I guess that doesn't count.
I'm obsessed with video games and I've never once been to any sort of convention about them. Though I'd love to, so I guess that doesn't count.
I felt like I needed to give in my nerd card around the time the PS3 slim or so came out, because till the middle of that generation I knew next to nothing about specs, graphics cards, ram and stuff and I knew more about games than most of my friends 
-I probably would not be suited to be a GameStop employee because I fail to keep up with the latest AAA titles... (Pretending is fun?)
-I LOVE giant robot/mecha anime.. but can not name a single Gundam model name...
-Still watches the Pokemon series dubbed... Has been rotting for Team Rocket since Black & White...
-Love me some Touhou... I know more about the non-canon doujins than I do the main series...
-Loves the lore of .Hack//... Would probably fail the easy quiz based on said lore...
-Prefers Persona 3 over Persona 4... (Let that REALLY sink in...)
I think my biggest moment would be when I tried to defend every single Hulk comic, even though I have never read a single Hulk comic in my life... and I still haven't... The friend who wanted me to defend them would never let me hold that down, especially when I told him beforehand that Hulk was my favorite of the current Avengers...
-I LOVE giant robot/mecha anime.. but can not name a single Gundam model name...
-Still watches the Pokemon series dubbed... Has been rotting for Team Rocket since Black & White...
-Love me some Touhou... I know more about the non-canon doujins than I do the main series...
-Loves the lore of .Hack//... Would probably fail the easy quiz based on said lore...
-Prefers Persona 3 over Persona 4... (Let that REALLY sink in...)
I think my biggest moment would be when I tried to defend every single Hulk comic, even though I have never read a single Hulk comic in my life... and I still haven't... The friend who wanted me to defend them would never let me hold that down, especially when I told him beforehand that Hulk was my favorite of the current Avengers...
I've never watched the original versions of Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
Also, I read tons of manga, but because of that I tend to forget what a manga is about. I don't get a lot of Naruto discussions, for instance. Not that anybody likes Naruto anymore...
Also, I read tons of manga, but because of that I tend to forget what a manga is about. I don't get a lot of Naruto discussions, for instance. Not that anybody likes Naruto anymore...
I was just going to make this a general post, but since you seem pretty knowledgeable on the topic, I figured I'd just ask - uh, what would you recommend for a group of hopeful table-top RPG players who... have absolutely no experience with table-top RPGs?KingsGambit said:
I ask because I and several of my friends have never played a table-top RPG, but we've all expressed interest in learning and getting into it. Trouble is, the only sources of knowledge I really have about it are my father, who played 2nd edition DnD but sold off all his source books and such years ago, and the DnD stream I watch on Twitch (When they bother to actually stream, that is - they're bad at keeping a schedule) Distance used to be a problem, but after finding out about Roll 20 being a thing we're all pretty confident we can manage to try it at least once. We just don't know where to start. Most of my prospective players don't even know there are RPGs outside of Dungeons and Dragons, so there goes my hope of getting into World of Darkness...
At the OP: I generally try to be honest with what I am or am not into, and keep from feigning interest in something I dislike or never tried before. That being said, there are several... gaps in my nerdy knowledge. For instance:
- Never read anything by Tolkien. Until the Hobbit, I never even watched any of the movies. Always ended up falling asleep whenever I sat down to watch Lord of the Rings.
- Never read an actual comic book. Plenty of webcomics, and I bought the first few issues of Fables (Though I'm waiting for the game to complete before I read them) but not once have I bothered to get into it and, to be honest, I'm bored with superhero fiction in general.
- A lot of classic games, basically anything that predates the Playstation 2, are outside the breadth of my knowledge. Starfox, Megaman, Metroid - never played any of them (Except for Adventures, but...) I came into too late to catch any of 'em.
OOOOOOoooooooooooooooh boy...
- While I've played through all of X1 - X3 and most of X4, I've never beaten a single classic Mega Man game.
- While I was able to beat Legend of Zelda and Adventure of Link (the two NES titles on the original carts) I was only able to do so with ZeldaDungeon's website on and right in front of me.
- While I've always been able to beat my rivals, the elite four, the various criminal teams...I have never been able to catch em' all. Not even back in the first two generations when such a goal was possible without waiting for event Pokemon and event Legendaries.
- No interest whatsoever in Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead...but I'm re-reading the Harry Potter saga for the umpteenth time.
- Loved Sonic Adventure and 06...never beat SA2 or any of the originals. Also hated Colors (on the DS)
- While I've played through all of X1 - X3 and most of X4, I've never beaten a single classic Mega Man game.
- While I was able to beat Legend of Zelda and Adventure of Link (the two NES titles on the original carts) I was only able to do so with ZeldaDungeon's website on and right in front of me.
- While I've always been able to beat my rivals, the elite four, the various criminal teams...I have never been able to catch em' all. Not even back in the first two generations when such a goal was possible without waiting for event Pokemon and event Legendaries.
- No interest whatsoever in Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead...but I'm re-reading the Harry Potter saga for the umpteenth time.
- Loved Sonic Adventure and 06...never beat SA2 or any of the originals. Also hated Colors (on the DS)
I've never caught a shiny Pokemon that wasn't scripted. It wasn't for lack of trying, but now I don't really like Pokemon and hate the whole concept of shinies.
I have never watched Star Trek nor Doctor Who, and I'm not planning to do so in the near future.
I guess that's a geek card revokation level offense.
I guess that's a geek card revokation level offense.
Hey, do try and give Gargoyles a chance tho.Eamar said:
As for on topic...yeah usually when it comes to the comic books...then again...let me one up this.
Any of you plebeians know who Alan Ford is? No? Well then, your geek badges, please, thank you (and please, please don't strap them to a boomerang bomb or something).
I don't tend to enjoy fantasy which isn't of the science variety. This includes Tolkien and Tolkien-esqu fantasy and the Warcraft franchise. For me to take interest there needs to be energy swords, impractical lasers and space battles clearly written by people who have never studied strategy.
I didn't think Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was that bad.
It really, really wasn't, IMO. It may not have been as good as Raiders of the Lost Ark, but it was still alright.
Heck, I think the same about the Star Wars prequels; they may not have been as good as the original trilogy, but they were by no means the terrible blights upon humanity most make them out to be.
EDIT: Oh, just thought of one that's really gonna make people tell me to turn in my Geek Card...
I've never read the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The movies? Great, some of my favorite fantasy films ever, but the books? I tried, but I just could not get past Tolkien's painfully stuffy and boring style. I've read The Hobbit, mind you, so I know Tolkien can write something more engaging than LotR, but for some reason he decided to make the things a chore to read, instead of making them an engaging read that keeps you hooked and wanting more.
I just do not understand why those books are so popular.
It really, really wasn't, IMO. It may not have been as good as Raiders of the Lost Ark, but it was still alright.
Heck, I think the same about the Star Wars prequels; they may not have been as good as the original trilogy, but they were by no means the terrible blights upon humanity most make them out to be.
EDIT: Oh, just thought of one that's really gonna make people tell me to turn in my Geek Card...
I've never read the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The movies? Great, some of my favorite fantasy films ever, but the books? I tried, but I just could not get past Tolkien's painfully stuffy and boring style. I've read The Hobbit, mind you, so I know Tolkien can write something more engaging than LotR, but for some reason he decided to make the things a chore to read, instead of making them an engaging read that keeps you hooked and wanting more.
I just do not understand why those books are so popular.
I know I'm not the one you directed this to, but I would recommend "Dungeon World." It's effectively a heavily-simplified D&D geared mainly toward RPG newbies, but my group of veterans still has a ton of fun with it. If you end up liking it, it's open-source, so there are tons of fan-made character classes and supplemental rules you can mess around with, and it's not that hard to make your own custom stuff if you understand how the system works.Saetha said:
All you need is the rulebook, the character sheets, pencils, two six-sided dice, and one or two other kinds of dice depending on the class you're playing.
It's a good "gateway RPG," and you can find it here: http://www.dungeon-world.com/
Other RPGs I recommend when you want to move on to the more complicated stuff: Pathfinder (fanmade version of D&D, the best one imo), Shadowrun (cyberpunk with magic), Honor & Intrigue (pirates and politics, my personal favorite RPG ever), B.A.S.H. (superheroes), and Ironclaw (D&D with furries).
As a geek I fail in two major areas:
Firstly, anime. I never understood the appeal and fascination. I have had friends try and explain it to me, made me watch some, and I've read summaries. I even kept an open mind when I watched them. Newp. They have zero appeal for me. Not calling them bad or anything, but they are not for me.
Secondly is comic books.
Never could figure out the appeal. I remember being in the fourth grade, a classmate prattling on to me about the history of the hulk or the avengers or something. Being big into stories I urged them to continue, but the convolution, the retcons, and the continual plot twists that verged on absurd/sensational, kept me away even as an eager young kid that loved reading. Generally the narrative structure of comic books tends to leave me hanging and disinterested, along with the tone and characterization changing from writer to writer made it hard for me to care. I've honestly tried reading a few series, including focusing on single narrative arc, which I'm told is better, but just... bleh. Total disinterest.
To summarize my view on comic books: Save for a small handful of graphic novels, I have yet to read or hear about a comic book story that I found to be more satisfying and compelling then simply reading the wikipedia summary.
Firstly, anime. I never understood the appeal and fascination. I have had friends try and explain it to me, made me watch some, and I've read summaries. I even kept an open mind when I watched them. Newp. They have zero appeal for me. Not calling them bad or anything, but they are not for me.
Secondly is comic books.
Never could figure out the appeal. I remember being in the fourth grade, a classmate prattling on to me about the history of the hulk or the avengers or something. Being big into stories I urged them to continue, but the convolution, the retcons, and the continual plot twists that verged on absurd/sensational, kept me away even as an eager young kid that loved reading. Generally the narrative structure of comic books tends to leave me hanging and disinterested, along with the tone and characterization changing from writer to writer made it hard for me to care. I've honestly tried reading a few series, including focusing on single narrative arc, which I'm told is better, but just... bleh. Total disinterest.
To summarize my view on comic books: Save for a small handful of graphic novels, I have yet to read or hear about a comic book story that I found to be more satisfying and compelling then simply reading the wikipedia summary.
I often fail to remember the names of the many Robins Batman has accrued over the years. One of them is Nightwing and that is... Dick Grayson? And his son, of course, whose name is ummmmm Dick Wayne. And Bruce Timm? Oh wait no. Um. Fuck.
Also, I can't read Transformers comics without a tab open to the Transformers Wiki at all times, cos I can't retain hardly any of those bastards' names. I think I'm justified in that there are a lot of Transformers.
Also, I can't read Transformers comics without a tab open to the Transformers Wiki at all times, cos I can't retain hardly any of those bastards' names. I think I'm justified in that there are a lot of Transformers.
Without knowing your group or your interests, these suggestions will be rather general. I think you're really going to need to pick a game and have one person learn enough to run a game. For that you'll need a rulebook and a "scenario" to run. By scenario, I mean a ready to go story/adventure, which may or may not also include pre-rolled characters.Saetha said:
The advantage of using prebuilt characters and story are that it takes away a couple of hurdles which, from the offset will add complexity to the game which, as beginners, none in the group are equipped to deal with. The "DM" of the group will at first, have to be the driving force. Without one, you'll sadly be aimless as a group and, unlike with CCGs, a tabletop RPG cannot be approached in the "learn as you play" way when no one knows the rules.
So amongst your friends, pick a game and a DM. The game, you may be in luck...the Escapist post here [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/133518-Tabletop-Day-Free-RPG-Bundle-Available-Now] mentioned a free giveaway for Tabletop Day of many source books (including WoD). Once you've agreed on a game and a brave soul to be DM, they can find a suitable adventure, ruleset and characters for the group to enjoy. They need to learn enough of the rules (with any changes they want to make) to run the adventure and the rest is learned by playing. All players should take responsbility for making sure they are at least equipped with dice and any other materials. It would also help if they can learn some of the rules too.
Expect the first outing to be slow, especially the very start, but once underway you learn and solve problems only when you encounter them which makes it quite digestible. From this point all will learn as they play, including how different characters/classes work f.ex. Getting started is the hardest part tho but if your group are keen and you have one amongst you willing to take a lead role to drive the adventure for the others, you'll manage it.