Day Three, 11/3 Session Two: 679 words

“You ever worry about your soul?” asked Samantha.

Steve, playing in character, answered, “I don’t think I have one.”

“Of course you do!” said Samantha.

“I don’t have much use for anything I can’t see, hear, or feel,” said Steve.

“You can feel your soul, can’t you?”

“No. Can you?”

“Of course. I can feel it when I see the sun rise every morning. I feel it whenever you slay some animal so that we can eat. I feel it whenever I see one of my friends getting hurt.”

“That’s not the same thing as a soul.”

“Are you so sure?”

Steve was indifferent to the actual role-playing in this role-playing game. Samantha really seemed to like it, though. And since Steve really liked Samantha, he always upped his efforts to role-play whenever she wanted to do a scene. Steve had come to understand about the constant back-and-forth pull of a roleplaying game, between collaborative fiction and statistics-driven game.

“A lot of people, they tend to lean heavy on one over the other,” said Jordan to him, one Sunday morning, before the others had arrived. “I, however, strive for a balance. I think RPGs are at their best when there’s the right amount of both, like a yin-yang thing, right?”

Steve of course had little experience with such things, but found himself agreeing with Jordan. The others seemed to vary. Kinsey very clearly preferred the more gaming-aspects of RPGs. It’s not that he hated the roleplaying bits...he admits freely that an RPG wouldn’t be an RPG without the “RP,”....but he always regarded the role-playing as an afterthought, compared to the meticulous planning and calculating he did in the numbers across his character sheet. Samantha was on the other end of the spectrum. Though she didn’t roleplay all the time, she was frequently the first to jump into character when Jordan described the latest situation in-game to the players.

Over the weeks since joining the group, Steve had learned a lot about the complexities of role-playing games. There’s more than enough stats, techniques, and strategies to rival or even surpass most sports. Every game carries its own system, and even subsystems, of rules and practices. Every GM has their own techniques and priorities. Every player has their own preferred method of play. Role-playing, Steve had discovered, is a hobby every bit as varied as the people who played it.

*  *  *  *  *

Jordan sat at his desk. The clock on his computer displayed 2:08 a.m. He placed his tired head in his tired hands and sighed deeply.

Jordan kept trying to remind himself that his problems were good problems to have. It wasn’t working, though. He just wished he didn’t have problems.

Coming up with a viable session for this coming Sunday seemed like an increasingly daunting prospect. Mentally, Jordan assessed the situation: Steve and Samantha were on a roadtrip and would be out this weekend. He now has a new player, Heather, brand new to roleplaying, joining him this session. Mark is about ready to beat the shit out of Kinsey. Kinsey does not realize this, and will likely get the shit kicked right out of him, as a result. Scott and Paul, who showed up last week, have not been returning his emails. He’s not sure if they’re in or out for this coming Sunday. So with two of his regulars gone, as well as a big question mark on two of his new players, continuing the campaign seems like a dubious proposition. However, a new game on top of the regular game seems equally dubious, not to mention how to merge Heather into the regular game next weekend. Also, if Jordan doesn’t talk to Kinsey, Mark will...with his fists, most-likely. Though Jordan actually believes a good ass-kicking may do Kinsey some good, he doesn’t want it happening during his game.

I’m going to have to figure out something, Jordan thought. But it’s not going to be tonight. With that, Jordan headed to bed, logistical details dancing along his ceiling as he laid in the dark.