The Cult of Geek Personality

I was talking about D&D's 30th anniversary book with
the wife of a friend the other day. The new book has a
foreword by Vin Diesel, which oddly enough lends the
greatest role-playing game of all time slightly more
credence then it previuosly had. D&D is kind of a go
to geek joke. Even people who play D&D and love it
will make fun of the other people who play it that
they find REALLY geeky. I always had a particular
hatred for people who insisted on refering to D&D as
AD&D (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons) just because the
new edition of the game that came out around 1980 so
named. But the ADVANCED part was really not necessary,
it was largely the only real version of the game in
existence, they just liked how it sounded. As if only
stupid people played mere D&D. NO sir, we are ADVANCED
and SUPERIOR individuals who's vorpal blades do not go
snicker snack. Whatever. Douchebags.

With that said, I've got this group of friends who
have been playing the same role playing game for 22
years. Thing is, it isn't D&D or even AD&D, it's a
game called Journey Beyond. You've never heard of it
because only they play it. You see, they made it up
because they couldn't figure out the rules to D&D. I
mean, there are a lot of books to read and if you are
starting off totally on your own, D&D is a bitch. Most
of us learned by hooking up with people who walked us
through it and then one can see that it isn't all that
hard, there are just a lot of charts to consult to see
what happens when you roll your dice. No biggie.

They managed to simplify this game down to one simple
concept. "Roll whatever I tell you that you need to
roll in order to succeed at what it is you are
attempting." The guy in charge has a minor God complex
and basically lets people he likes get away with more
stuff than people he has judged as weak. It is
something to see.

They are getting ready for their annual reunion. I go
to watch and piss on everythkng. I'm surprised they
let me. Mostly I sit nice and quiet for hours until I
spot something fucked up and then I get to call
bullshit on it. I am allowed this luxury because the
guy running the game likes me and finds my comments
amusing. This throws their little universe out of
whack. I don't have to be nice or buy chips or pizza
because I don't have a character in the game.

It's a rel fucking cult I tell you.

__________________________________________________