So I was, for many years, a paper and dice role-playing guy. I was introduced to the concept by my older brother Todd. He was in High School, me in Junior High, and one day he came home from school with one of his friends talking about how great a time they had playing this game called Dungeons & Dragons. It was the first time they'd played and the Dungeon Master apparently took them on a ride. My brother ended up buying his own D&D set and tried to run the game with a few of his friends from the the neighborhood and myself. Well, it didn't go over with us the same way it did with him and so role-playing in that particular part of the hood came to an end...
A few years later, I was accepted to the High School of Art & Design in Manhattan. It was a tremendous commute for me, coming from South Ozone Park, Queens, NY. Well, it was for just about every student who attended. A&D is pretty much centrally located in NYC and the alum come from all over the 5 boroughs.
Anyway, after the first semester of my freshman year, I met a guy named William Corpening. He was running a superhero RPG called Champions. I don't remember exactly how we met, but I remember seeing him and the rest of his crew playing in the lunchroom. They all seemed to be having so much fun and it reminded me of the excitement that my brother had when he and his friends came home raving about their adventure. Somehow or other, I ended up joining that campaign and never really looked up from a character sheet or the results of a dice roll for a long, long time.
There was a lot going on in my life during these formative years and I could explain how role-playing and the people I ran with saved me from a lot of stuff, but this exhaustive diatribe isn't really about all that...
As it turned out, William and I lived pretty close to each other. What a coincidence. We took the same train home and sharing the commute opened the door to a real friendship and soon we were hanging out away from school. He had a huge influence on my entire creative process and to this day, when I stop to look at why I do certain things when I write or draw, I always go back to some specific moment and in most of those memories he's there.
I loved role-playing. There's no two ways about it. For the first year though, it had never even entered my mind to run my own game. I'll never forget the day that it did. Will and I were walking through Baisley Pond Park, on the way to my house, talking about the game. I had all these ideas about what I wanted to do with my character. He was walking beside me with his head down, hands in his pockets, grunting or smiling in response to each new thing that came jumping out of my mouth. After listening to me ramble on for the longest time, looked up and said, "You need to start running your own game. You'd be perfect for it."
... Wow. I was flattered and scared all at the same time. Being very immature I relished the idea of being the man behind the curtain, but at the same time, I was scared that people wouldn't like my game and therefore not care who was behind the curtain. After thinking about it for a couple days (or maybe it was just one night, I don't remember =P ) I decided I would give it a try. I know I was terrible early on. I had trouble constructing stories and being prepared. What I did have going for me, however, was my willingness to completely embarrass myself and my love for taking a non player character (NPC) and making it as interesting as possible. Every NPC, no matter how matter how small their role in my story, was drawn and given as much personality as I could fit. I acted out everything, and loved that my game was highly interactive for the players. Over time, I honed my craft. I started running with other RPG crews, taking bits and pieces from every game master I encountered. In some respects, I was an absolute mess as a GM, but I believe the good outweighed the bad in my game.
I became the converter. People who had absolutely no interest in role-playing or people who absolutely looked down on it, like so many do, would end up hooked. So many great players, great people, that have sat with me... I'm having a nostalgic moment, bear with me... There is nothing better, no payoff more satisfying than a players reaction to the game you're running. I lived for those moments while role-playing... and I think they all did too.
I like to think that I was a good GM. I played with some of the best out there. In the end, my prideful side wants to use the old Bret "The Hitman" Hart catchphrase... The best there is, the best there was and the best that ever will be... But the truth of the matter is that Will was the best. He probably still is. I'm sure he will be for a long time.
To Mike M., Konstantine, Sid, Alex and Rick G., Patti, Mike L., Vixen, Bruce, Dan, Pete, Steve, Jesus, AJ, and to you Will... Thank you so much.
