It started in High School when a friend of mine invited me to play White Wolf's Hunter. The system is pretty basic, and it's set in modern time, so creating a character was simple enough. I was a psychic who had become famous using her talents. I was beautiful, wealthy, and could handle a gun well enough to defend myself. I wasn't going to be charging into any battles, but that was fine - this was my first time gaming, after all. I decided to take an onlooker's approach.
Through the course of the campaign, I became hooked. Since then, I've played Hunter, Star Wars, Marvel, Zombies, Dungeons & Dragons, and even a home-brew system some friends of mine created. At this point, D&D is my favorite, simply because I've had the opportunity (and ability, when my muse is in the mood) to create two of my favorite characters of all time.
The first was a tiefling rogue named Kira. She helped me "break the ice," so to speak, my freshman year of college. For those of you who don't know me that well, I'm very much an introvert. I'm not big on parties and large gatherings because I get incredibly anxious and generally just feel awkward. I am a nerd, though, and so I decided to check out my college's Anime Club. While I was there, a senior invited people to join the D&D campaign he would be starting the next week. There was my in. I created Kira in a rush, and her backstory was non-existent. Boom - amnesia. What better way to start?
Outside of my roommate, these were the first five people I can really say I befriended. We met every Friday and gamed after dinner until around four or five the next morning, staying in character more than 90% of the time. It was fabulous. I was enjoying a favorite hobby and actually making friends in the process. Kira became an escape, in that I didn't feel awkward while I was playing. Her story (with the help of the DM, of course) became more than intended, and so she became larger than just the character I threw together in a couple nights' time. Kira helped me start college.
The second of my favorite characters was born much more recently. Since I graduated college, started working full-time, got married, etc, I neglected gaming for a few years. That is, until a friend of mine invited me to play in a campaign run by someone else he knew. Of course I was interested. Thus, Caharin was born.
Initially, I had an idea to meld two characters (one from a TV show and one from a video game) into one, with some alterations. I hadn't put much thought into her backstory yet - I figured that would come to me after the character was created. A few ideas swirled around, but nothing really concrete. The campaign only lasted a few sessions, but I hung onto the character, determined to get her the 15 minutes of fame she deserved. Little by little, her story fell into place. Her attitude and outlook despite the odds continually helped me keep my real life problems in check. My introverted anxiety causes me to feel overwhelmed and generally just "blah" most of the time. Caharin's focus and drive started overlapping into my life, and honestly, I was grateful.
She truly debuted in the second rendition of the campaign, run by the same person. The world, Amayas, is his creation, this character, mine. Eventually, our story will manifest as a novel, but until then, I'll continue to write bits and pieces of Caharin's life as the words come and post them here. I don't write enough, and perhaps this will keep the fire under my fingers. Comments are always welcome and appreciated, but try to remember that this is what I do for fun, instead of going to parties or social events.
I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed playing/writing. :)
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