DAY TWENTY-EIGHT - What a MOAT!

If you haven't heard already, Watamote is a manga series turned anime series about a super otaku girl who is also very, very bad at social situations. I'm probably understating a lot here but you get the idea.

I was thinking about the series today in combination with my DMing experiences thus far. Like I think I've stated before, I thought it was kinda funny that despite my love for fantasy and writing, I didn't get into Dungeons and Dragons until fairly recently. Today I realized that the major reason was most likely the roleplaying.

That's not to say I don't want to roleplay but instead that I am scared to. Or perhaps intimidated, who knows.

I've always held semi-secret aspirations to act or something. I think that's a fairly common desire. It's fun to pretend to be someone else for a little bit, right? But roleplaying... I guess like any social or public thing, you are putting yourself out there for your audience. Obviously the gaming table should be a friendly and inviting place; far different from the Broadway stage or what have you. Putting yourself out there is still a big step.

My last few DMing experiences I felt like my roleplaying fell flat. I copped out often, either by breaking the fourth wall or by referring to characters in third person. I want to work on that, but as I helping customers I realized something.

So that Watamote bit at the beginning? Not entirely pointless! I can't even bring myself to say hello or goodbye to a stranger at work when they walk in. How am I supposed to roleplay an entirely different character when I can't even properly greet someone?

Despite all the negativity here, I think I'm getting better at roleplaying. I eventually wanna be able to get really into it but... Rome wasn't built in a day, they say.


Eric