Most of the time when you read about RPGs in the context of the Middle East, the acronym refers to rocket propelled grenades. Not so in Doha. Here, it refers to role playing games. At least, it does now!
This may come as a shock to you, but I am a nerd. To maintain my certification, I have to engage in at least 40 hours of stereotypically nerdy activities annually. So this year I decided I wanted to try role playing games again, for the first time since I was about 14. (Actually, I think I was just nostalgic for the years I played with my older brothers. Thanks, Doug, for being a good story teller! And thanks, Mom, for telling him he couldn't kill any of us in the stories.)
If you don't know what role playing games are, think of a 3-year-old playing "Let's pretend...", except with some actual structure. One person tells the story while the other people in the group take roles as characters in the story and make it up as they go along. Usually, they have some mission to accomplish (go back in time to prevent a disaster, save the kingdom, etc.). To add some realism and challenge to the game, an element of chance is added by involving dice. If the story involves the group being ambushed, for example, the narrator (usually called the game master), rolls the dice to determine whether the ambush succeeds or whether someone in the group notices it in time to sound the alarm. If someone wants to pick a lock, they have to roll the dice to see if they manage it or not.
I mentioned my interest to a friend during a party at our house, and he said, "Hey, me too." We found one more guy in our congregation who we were pretty sure was at least as nerdy as we were, and played a few sessions of a game set in a fantasy world. Then one of them moved away forever and the other went to another country for the summer, and I thought that was the end.
Then out of the blue, I received an email in response to a post I'd written on a forum months ago, asking if anyone else here in Doha was interested in role playing games. A guy named Ignacio from Madrid (he goes by Nacho), said he'd found two other people who wanted to play, and would I like to join? So last week we all met for the first time with Nacho narrating the story, this time set in modern-day Doha. This week, we had another guy join, and next week, there's supposed to be another one. Our group is representative of the Doha population: overwhelmingly (okay, completely) male, young, expat, and international. As I wrote before, Nacho is from Madrid, I'm from Ohio, Naqib is from Syria, Thomas is from France, and Salama is from Cairo. We've had a lot of fun.
Honestly, this is the first "club" I've belonged to or consistent hobby I've had since I graduated from BYU in 2006. I've tried playing Ultimate, but I just don't enjoy it enough to practice and get good at it. I'd much rather talk to people than throw things to them. I'm kind of surprised at how good it feels to just be with people based on a shared interest, but with nothing else in common (like profession, religion, or task). I'd forgotten.
So there you have it. If any of you reading this is in Doha and wants to come try it out, too, let me know.
This may come as a shock to you, but I am a nerd. To maintain my certification, I have to engage in at least 40 hours of stereotypically nerdy activities annually. So this year I decided I wanted to try role playing games again, for the first time since I was about 14. (Actually, I think I was just nostalgic for the years I played with my older brothers. Thanks, Doug, for being a good story teller! And thanks, Mom, for telling him he couldn't kill any of us in the stories.)
If you don't know what role playing games are, think of a 3-year-old playing "Let's pretend...", except with some actual structure. One person tells the story while the other people in the group take roles as characters in the story and make it up as they go along. Usually, they have some mission to accomplish (go back in time to prevent a disaster, save the kingdom, etc.). To add some realism and challenge to the game, an element of chance is added by involving dice. If the story involves the group being ambushed, for example, the narrator (usually called the game master), rolls the dice to determine whether the ambush succeeds or whether someone in the group notices it in time to sound the alarm. If someone wants to pick a lock, they have to roll the dice to see if they manage it or not.
I mentioned my interest to a friend during a party at our house, and he said, "Hey, me too." We found one more guy in our congregation who we were pretty sure was at least as nerdy as we were, and played a few sessions of a game set in a fantasy world. Then one of them moved away forever and the other went to another country for the summer, and I thought that was the end.
Then out of the blue, I received an email in response to a post I'd written on a forum months ago, asking if anyone else here in Doha was interested in role playing games. A guy named Ignacio from Madrid (he goes by Nacho), said he'd found two other people who wanted to play, and would I like to join? So last week we all met for the first time with Nacho narrating the story, this time set in modern-day Doha. This week, we had another guy join, and next week, there's supposed to be another one. Our group is representative of the Doha population: overwhelmingly (okay, completely) male, young, expat, and international. As I wrote before, Nacho is from Madrid, I'm from Ohio, Naqib is from Syria, Thomas is from France, and Salama is from Cairo. We've had a lot of fun.
Honestly, this is the first "club" I've belonged to or consistent hobby I've had since I graduated from BYU in 2006. I've tried playing Ultimate, but I just don't enjoy it enough to practice and get good at it. I'd much rather talk to people than throw things to them. I'm kind of surprised at how good it feels to just be with people based on a shared interest, but with nothing else in common (like profession, religion, or task). I'd forgotten.
So there you have it. If any of you reading this is in Doha and wants to come try it out, too, let me know.
