Survey

[Bryan Palmer]

Name: Bryan Palmer
Age: 39 (yes, I believe that I have so far earned the
title "grandpa")
Sex: Male
Ethnicity: Caucasian (sorry it's the statistician/evaluator
in me!)
Occupation: Program Evaluation Coordinator (fancy name for
"statistics" guy)
Current Location: Tempe, Arizona State University
Years Role Playing: 9
Gaming Experience: Battletech, AD&D (primarily Birthright and
Greyhawk), Star Fleet Battles, Top Secret, Twilight 2000, Star Wars,
(many others with limited experience)
I've always wanted to DM in AD&D put was somewhat concerned about the
vast difference in the level of experience between myself and my fellow
gaming companions (at times I believe they participated in D&D while
still in embryonic states!). Using the Birthright campaign and all of
its political nuances put the players on unfamiliar ground (having never
ruled entire countries) and allowed me to incorporate what I felt were
true challenges (better known as nasty politics). We operate the game
on two levels 1) e-mail for domain turns and 2) monthly gaming sessions
for true adventures. We have to work this way since all of us "older
guys" (my PCs are actually in their late 20s - early 30s) have full time
jobs and families. The main "regent character" doesn't even live in the
area anymore. He moved to Austin, Texas and commutes to Phoenix
once-a-month (he tells me it's just to play this game but I'm not quite
buying that line). Even being so far away, he still provides me with a
wealth of information through fax and e-mail. There are four PCs in my
campaign and each has commented to me that the Birthright game has
renewed their waning interest in AD&D.

PS: From a statistics/evaluation standpoint, it's awfully
interesting to see how well the international community is represented
on this listserver, and I have to say Como que vai! To Bearcat (I used
to live in Brazil and would sure love to see that beautiful place again)

[John Ewan]

Name: John Ewan
Age: 42 until April; Bryan - 39='granpa'? I have an 8 year old.
Sex: Male
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Occupation: Sysop/Customer Support for MPG-Net
Current Location: Key West, Fl
Years Role Playing: 20
Gaming Experience: I first bought the small white box with the 3 booklets,
and Chainmail! when I was in the US Navy and had *no* idea what they meant!
D&D in homegrown campaign of Robert West of the
'infamous Robert West Curse System' ; AD&D (primarily homegrown campaigns of wildly
variant nature

[HSwiftfoot]

Name: Kevin Moss
Age: 37
Occupation: Nature Center Director (I like druids and rangers...)
Status: married, one child
Location: Canandaigua, NY (near Rochester)
Role Playing Experience: 18 years (Jeez...has it really been that long since I
bashed my first skeleton?!)

Gaming Interests: Been a wargamer and history buff all my life, played a lot
of Squad Leader, PanzerBlitz, Waterloo, Ceasar's Legions, etc....got turned on
to BASIC D&D (remember that?) in college, and soon graduated to EXPERT and
finally ADVANCED D&D. Also have played TRAVELLER, STAR TREK: THE RPG, TOP
SECRET, CALL OF CTHULHU, and SKYREALMS OF JORUNE (an amazing setting but an
incomprehensible game system.) For the last 10 years I have DMed and played
with a tight, small group of 3 gamers in an ongoing, multi-faceted and
incredibly complex series of campaigns in the Forgotten Realms. I've always
been the main DM. We had an abortive attempt at a Dark Sun campaign but
decided it was too weird and gritty for us. Last year we finally decided we'd
gotten fed up with FR (sound familiar?) and were trolling around for something
new...

To be totally honest, it was the artwork that aroused my curiousity about
Birthright,
that and a look at the Conspectus. It also aroused the wargamer in me, but I
was also intruiged by the strategy/diplomacy aspects, and the blending of all
that with role-playing. So I bought the box set to check it out. What I
discovered was the best gaming world TSR has ever created, bar none, a world
much more interesting and playable than Forgotten Realms. (No offense to
Mssrs. Grubb and Greenwood...hey, it kept our interest for 10 years, it can't
be all THAT bad!)

Anyway we are in the process of preparing to kick off our first BR campaign
and are really excited about it. We each have created two characters apiece,
one a regent and one a non-regent. The first center of action is going to be
the Giantdowns/Tuarhievel/Dhoesone area. Since we live apart and only get
together for real gaming a couple times a year, we're going to do our domain
turns, strategy, diplomacy, etc via email and the role-playing and tactical
stuff when we get together. It should prove interesting...

Sorry to have rambled on a bit. Let me also say that I have enjoyed this
newsgroup, even though I don't always have time to read every post or
contribute a whole heckuva lot. Its been great communicating with other
people who have the Birthright syndrome. Its we who will keep this campaign
setting alive! Keep it going, guys!

Hasta la pasta!

[swords]

Name: Mike Bauer
Age: 20
Sex: Male
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Occupation: College Student/Grocery Clerk
Current Location: Bandon Oregon
Years Role Playing: 8
Gaming Experience: AD&D, D&D, Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Planescape,
Hero's Unlimited, Rifts, Vampire, Werewolf, Wraith, Changling, Robotech,
Gamma World, Star Wars, Shadowrun and the most favored of all Birthright.


It is neat seeing who is from where on the list. I just wish there were
more people over hear on the west coast near me playing the game as well.


Mike