I did a thing on Twitter.
[Image Description: A Twitter timeline of 13 threaded posts from the account @djregular.
Alright, had a rubbish day, but it's nothing sharing a story about my first time LARPing while black. Buckle up for #RPGblindspots.
My 1st RPG love was Vampire. For a kid who didn't have too many other friends that dug punk and gothy things it was a lifeline.
I was a fiend for all the books, but aside from play-by-post, or chat rooms, I couldn't share the love with anyone until private school.
I fell in with some misfits who were into RPGs, and my best friend said he knew a guy who was running a LARP in downtown Chattanooga.
If I was interested he'd just tell the ST about and if there was a spot open, they'd bring me in. I was GEEKED and said yes immediately.
I combed over the three or four pages of LARP info that was in the 2nd Ed. V:tM book at the time, started character brainstorming...
My creation? A modern day warrior-poet, inspired by Jim Carroll, the 90s spoken word boom, and an endless diet of samurai flicks.
Spent my whole week writing his backstory and making him a mixtape to match, so when Friday night came, I was practically vibrating.
When we got to the cafe that was the meeting point, I got the first bit of bad news. The GM already had characters he'd be passing out.
Which, you know, not ideal but no problem. I'd just keep Christian in the stash for some other time, and I'd still be PLAYING. But who?
The GM looked at me. Sorted through his cards. Then handed me a character whose name I can't recall, but his origin is stuck in my mind.
Clan: Ventrue Human life: Runaway slave Sire: His master/overseer
That's how I learned that no matter how much of myself I saw in a game, some folks couldn't fathom it 'cause of my skin. /fin #RPGblindspots ]
So I posted the first story today. If you Twitter, you can join in with the hashtag #rpgblindspots. You can also share your stories on Tumblr as well and tag ‘em.