Aging goth geek seeks renewed youth, character creation tips

[Villikissa]

Greetings, all!

 

I just signed up on here, after a friend posted a link to the site on Facebook, because I've been trying for some while now to motivate myself to get back into the gym, and I am enough of a gamer that this approach immediately appealed to me. My RPG experience has been more World of Darkness than anything else, with occasional diversions into Deliria, Wild Talents, Spirit of the Century, Call of Cthulhu, Shadowrun and probably a few others I can't think of offhand, but I did start out with D&D, once upon a time...

 

The Quest(s):

 

My "quest" is probably a little less epic than many around here - I don't have any aspirations to be a competitive athlete of any kind, I don't need to lose some massive amount of weight, or anything similarly ambitious. I had actually managed to get myself into somewhat decent shape over a period of several years, but ended up falling off the exercise wagon a couple of years ago (mainly due to financial difficulties at the time causing me to fall behind on my gym payments, and lacking the space or self-discipline to replace that with equivalent exercise at home). Plus, I used to bike everywhere, but a year ago moved to a less bike-friendly area (the suburbs - due to the apartment market nearer downtown in my city being really tight these days), so I haven't been doing that as much.

 

Since then, I've become much more aware that, despite my stunning immaturity youthful demeanour, I really am getting to be middle-aged, and have become much more aware of diminished strength, flexibility and energy. Plus, I've got arthritis in my knees and ankles, which had been getting better while I was exercising regularly, but is now getting worse again. (Also, I've gained back about half the 50 or so pounds I lost while I was working out regularly, although weight is really not my major focus.) I So, if I don't want to start feeling like an old lady, I need to get myself back into shape! I used to be able to dance the night away at goth clubs and go on hour-and-a-half bike rides - now I get winded just shooting imaginary zombies in the park with Nerf guns, with my 6-year-old.

 

I know the next challenge period doesn't start for a while, but I think I have a reasonable idea of my objectives - get joined up at a gym again (and start actually going), bike more, and try to also get a little more physical activity into daily life even when I'm not specifically working out. I work at home, as a web developer, so I'm sitting in front a computer for most of the day, and there seems to be an increasing amount of evidence that that's really bad for you even if you do get exercise outside of work hours. I'm thinking of - since I listen to music pretty much non-stop while I'm working anyway - instituting a policy of a one-song dance break every couple of hours. My musical tastes have broadened since my clubbing days, but still include a lot of stuff that's up-tempo enough to dance to - even if these days it's as likely to be Finnish folk metal or Bollywood tunes as it is to be The Sisters of Mercy or something.

 

The Character Question(s):

 

Now, on the character creation front, I'm leaning toward ranger, though I think I've got my profile set to adventurer at the moment just to keep my options open. I like to do a lot of different things... I actually like the idea of the assassins' activities best, but realistically, I'm not likely to be in good enough shape to do any of that stuff any time soon. Although if I eventually move back into my previous neighbourhood, there was a circus school nearby...

 

What I'm having trouble deciding on is race. The "look in the mirror" part isn't really giving me many clues. I'm a fair bit taller than most women (5'9"), somewhat overweight but not too much (maybe 25-30 pounds), reasonably attractive... Probably the most unusual thing about my appearance is that I look much, much younger than I am. People usually guess me as about 15 years younger than I really am - sometimes more like 20 years. I still periodically got carded buying booze into my early 40s. I don't really have any idea what D&D race that's most likely to equate to - I tried that little quiz that was linked from one of the character creation pages, and it gave me Amazon, which I'd never heard of as a race at all, and it's not listed in the wiki. I'd originally been thinking maybe half-elf or something, but D&D elves are shorter than humans (even though Tolkien elves are taller), so that's probably not so appropriate. I really don't want to have to be an orc or troll or something just for the height...

 

Really, the one that jumped out to me most on the wiki page was tiefling - but the old-school kind, not the 4th edition revision! I did play a tiefling in the last D&D game I was in (which was in the Planescape setting). At that point, they were just described as "part human, part Something Else", with the Something Else being typically lower-planar (i.e. demons, devils, etc.). They could have a wide range of heights and weights (including some really unlikely combinations), and had anywhere from 1-4 randomly generated magical abilities and a similar number of odd physical quirks. Kind of like Darwin's grab-bag of magical creatures. But I don't know if "Just because I like tieflings!" is really a valid reason for choosing that one... Any ideas?

[DarK_RaideR]

-My RPG experience has been more World of Darkness than anything else, with occasional diversions into Deliria, Wild Talents, Spirit of the Century, Call of Cthulhu, Shadowrun and probably a few others I can't think of offhand, but I did start out with D&D, once upon a time...

-I'm thinking of - since I listen to music pretty much non-stop while I'm working anyway - instituting a policy of a one-song dance break every couple of hours. My musical tastes have broadened since my clubbing days, but still include a lot of stuff that's up-tempo enough to dance to - even if these days it's as likely to be Finnish folk metal or Bollywood tunes as it is to be The Sisters of Mercy or something.

-Really, the one that jumped out to me most on the wiki page was tiefling - but the old-school kind, not the 4th edition revision! I did play a tiefling in the last D&D game I was in (which was in the Planescape setting)

Oh hi there... want to be friends?

 

First of all, welcome to NerdFitness. I've only been around for little less than a month myself, but I've seen it's a place of amazing, supportive people and I wish you enjoy it as much as we all do. Now, to answer some of your questions...

 

- You don't need to have an "epic" quest. Every person sets his own goals, depending on what they want to achieve. Some do sports, some aspire to do crazy tricks or insane amount of reps, others want to lose weight, you name it. It doesn't have to be grand and it doesn't have to compare to other folks' goals. It just has to be what you want for yourself.

 

- The current challenge is near its end, but you don't have to wait for a new one to begin. You can start your own off-challenge thread, commonly referred to as a "battle log" and write down your progress there. The main idea is to be accountable. For some, the pressure of "how am I going to the forums to post that I didn't do that?" is helpful in pushing them to do things. Others just need to keep a log to see how they're progressing. Some people need to be told they're doing good and want some cheering to put them back on track when they fall off the wagon. Some just want an audience to cheer them on, to share their joy and have someone to tell when they break a personal record or do something amazing.

 

- As someone who's almost finishing their first challenge, I'd say it's a useful experience to test the waters. You test what goals are too low or too ambitious. You learn to adjust your goals when life events mess with your schedule. It's useful in seeing what you want to work on, which in turn helps you decide what guild you want to join.

 

- Speaking of guilds and characters, just remember it's all in good fun. Guilds are meant to connect you with people who might have similar goals to yours. They also do weekly mini-challenges which are fun. The stats are meant to reflect your progress and might be useful in realizing where you've stayed behind. As for the race, it doesn't have to be fantasy (I've seen Fallout Zombies and Bene Gesserit Assassins) and it just has to reflect how you feel about yourself. You might want to pick a Shadowrun elf, since they're pretty taller than average humans, or a tiefling (yay Planescape!), a WoD creature or whatever you feel like. And you can always change that later. I started out as a human, not feeling like any of the standard fantasy races, wanted to be a Shadowrun Troll but I'm neither tall or muscular enough, switched to githzerai when it came to me that their mentality reflects mine to a great extent.

 

Hope I've answered your questions, feel free to ask away

[sylph]

 

- Speaking of guilds and characters, just remember it's all in good fun. Guilds are meant to connect you with people who might have similar goals to yours. They also do weekly mini-challenges which are fun. The stats are meant to reflect your progress and might be useful in realizing where you've stayed behind. As for the race, it doesn't have to be fantasy (I've seen Fallout Zombies and Bene Gesserit Assassins) and it just has to reflect how you feel about yourself. You might want to pick a Shadowrun elf, since they're pretty taller than average humans, or a tiefling (yay Planescape!), a WoD creature or whatever you feel like. And you can always change that later. I started out as a human, not feeling like any of the standard fantasy races, wanted to be a Shadowrun Troll but I'm neither tall or muscular enough, switched to githzerai when it came to me that their mentality reflects mine to a great extent.

 

Exactly this! Your guild, race and even stats are mostly for entertainment value. Also, they are in no way permanent. People will do a challenge with the assassins, one with the warriors, pop over to the scouts, back to warriors, etc. 

 

We assassin-y folk have all kinds. It's not about your ability, it's more about your activity and desire. If you feel like an assassin, pop over to our section and have a poke around. For a group of killers-for-hire, we're really quite a friendly group. We also have a bunch of circus-type folk (myself included) and if you open up the Assassin Phonebook (also in our section) you can see what kind of activities everyone is doing.

 

For the record, I think "I like Tieflings" is a perfectly valid reason for choosing that as your race.

[Villikissa]

Oh hi there... want to be friends?

Sure!

 

- You don't need to have an "epic" quest. Every person sets his own goals, depending on what they want to achieve. Some do sports, some aspire to do crazy tricks or insane amount of reps, others want to lose weight, you name it. It doesn't have to be grand and it doesn't have to compare to other folks' goals. It just has to be what you want for yourself.

OK, that's good to know. I was a little worried that people who were trying to lose 200 pounds would hate me for only being mildly overweight, and/or people who were trying to run marathons and bench-press cows would look down on me for being under-ambitious...

- The current challenge is near its end, but you don't have to wait for a new one to begin. You can start your own off-challenge thread, commonly referred to as a "battle log" and write down your progress there. The main idea is to be accountable.

That sounds like a good way to get started - I think I'll do that. Thanks!

As for the race, it doesn't have to be fantasy (I've seen Fallout Zombies and Bene Gesserit Assassins) and it just has to reflect how you feel about yourself. You might want to pick a Shadowrun elf, since they're pretty taller than average humans, or a tiefling (yay Planescape!), a WoD creature or whatever you feel like. And you can always change that later.

Ooh ooh, if I can pick from any source, the sky's the limit now! I just had a look around, and saw goblin princesses, mutants, superheroes, and various other non-D&D things... I could be a House Scathach Sidhe, or a Qualmi (were-lynx), or or or.... So many possibilities! I may have to change it periodically just out of sheer indecisiveness.

BTW, I clicked on that "Beer Yoga" link in your signature, and felt immediately compelled to sign up. What an awesome idea!

[Villikissa]

We assassin-y folk have all kinds. It's not about your ability, it's more about your activity and desire. If you feel like an assassin, pop over to our section and have a poke around. For a group of killers-for-hire, we're really quite a friendly group. We also have a bunch of circus-type folk (myself included) and if you open up the Assassin Phonebook (also in our section) you can see what kind of activities everyone is doing.

Cool, I may do that... I suspect I may end up flitting around between the guilds. I like variety. 

For the record, I think "I like Tieflings" is a perfectly valid reason for choosing that as your race.

Good to know. I wasn't initially sure how strict the "base it on what you see in the mirror" thing was...

[DarK_RaideR]

OK, that's good to know. I was a little worried that people who were trying to lose 200 pounds would hate me for only being mildly overweight, and/or people who were trying to run marathons and bench-press cows would look down on me for being under-ambitious... 

I can relate to that. Discovered NF after I'd turned my life around and almost made my goal weight. Sometimes I feel bad demolishing my goals when other people struggle to keep up with theirs. However, it's a personal thing to a great extent. It's about you, your goals, keeping yourself accountable and be inspired by others. Trust me, this is such an amazing community, no one will judge, hate or look down on you, it's only support, encouragement, cheering and inspiration!

 

Ooh ooh, if I can pick from any source, the sky's the limit now!   I just had a look around, and saw goblin princesses, mutants, superheroes, and various other non-D&D things... I could be a House Scathach Sidhe, or a Qualmi (were-lynx), or or or.... So many possibilities! I may have to change it periodically just out of sheer indecisiveness.

That's it, go hog wild and have fun

As for the indecisiveness... wait till you start thinking about what Guild to join after your first challenge xD

 

BTW, I clicked on that "Beer Yoga" link in your signature, and felt immediately compelled to sign up. What an awesome idea!

It is. Preferrably on a miserable Monday morning at work.

 

 

Oh hi there... want to be friends?

Sure

Let me re-phrase that...

• Call of Cthulhu
• Shadowrun
• Planescape
• Music addiction (metal, even if it's Finnish folk... goth... not my cup o' tea, but can't go wrong with SoM)

I think I love you

 

 

 

 

 

(j/k, but it's that much exciting to find people into these things)

[MaD MaLKaV]

Ok neat ideas here. Sorry, I'm stuck on my race too. Just got lucky to find some Call of Cthulhu, Shadowrun, and World of Darkness fans hanging out in here to give me awesome ideas like old school Tiefling and Githzerai. Something randomly just made Dremora come to mind, although I don't want to have to say "A challenger is near!" everytime I see someone.

I found it hilarious that my first thought reading the intro was "Shadowrun elves were taller," and then reading Raider's first reply saying the same. Fairy cat looks like an awesome decision to have ended up with.

I think I'll go see what type of fun you lovely people are getting into this challenge.