In this little section, we’d like to discuss the tech that’s getting us through the pandemic.
I’ve become obsessed with table-top roleplaying games (TTRPGs) lately. Mind you, I don’t actually play them. Though I have played Dungeons & Dragons, Vampire: The Masquerade, Rifts, GURPS, and dozens of other TTRPGs over the years these days I’m more into just sort of collecting and reading them.
When the pandemic started (and I still figured quarantine would only last about 6 months or so) I started doubling down on subscription content services such as Netflix, Hulu, WWE Network, Xbox Game Pass, and others.
But, after nearly a year of binge-watching and playing video games instead of jamming on the beach, making new friends, and going out to eat, I’m about ready to lose it. I need an even bigger escape than TV shows and video games can give me.
Enter DriveThru RPG. This website sells TTRPG games in the form of PDF files.
Back in the day we’d all walk down to the local comic book or gaming store and spend hours browsing books, drooling over fancy dice and playmat sets, and wishing we could afford some of those massively expensive board games and figurines the clerks kept on the shelves behind the counter.
But now you can peruse gaming books and purchase them digitally from the comfort of your home. Heck, you can even play D&D and Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0. and almost any other game using one of the dozens of online virtual tables available (or just through a Zoom session with your friends).
However, as I mentioned, I’m not looking for a group or necessarily trying to play TTRPGs at all right now. I’m actually systematically purchasing and reading as many books in the Palladium Books “Multiverse” of roleplaying games as I possibly can.
And I’m just doing it for the lore. Re-reading old Rifts and Heroes books from the early 90s reminds me of a simpler time when my world wasn’t on fire. And reading the newest books gives my imagination new places to explore without committing to a narrative or story.
Sometimes just seeing a page full of numbers and statistics for creatures, weapons, and magic that doesn’t exist fills me with a sense of comfort no bestselling novel or blockbuster movie can.