Why do we do it?

[drcpunk.livejournal.com]

So, why do we play rpgs? Why do we gm rpgs? Or larps or pbems, if you prefer?

I'm not asking for abstract reasons. I'm asking for up to 10 moments in an rpg -- or larp or pbem, if you prefer -- that you point to and say, "That. That's why."

Comments

[drcpunk.livejournal.com]

Wow. I had to cut my comment on my comment on my 'blog. Guess what? There's a maximum comment length of 4300 for lj. Here's the rest.

Man, limiting it to 10 is hard, especially if one GMs vs plays. I could easily pick as many more, for playing, gming, and larping as a separate category. Tomorrow, my answers might be different.

I was tempted to say, "Michael Miller's Weekend at Bernius -- all of it", which mnemex thought instructive because it points out the flaw in the question I ask. There were many good single moments, but the gestalt was grand. We were all older, fairly serious gamers in the sense of being serious about play, and about half of us had played together a year ago, in another of Michael's FVLMINATA games. And the name tags and the way they kept getting moved around were just delicious.

[jl8e]

I was cheating in that way for the "Old Man Marley" one, since he was a PC in a more-or-less semester-long game.

But damn, he was a work of genius.