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I'm a weekend warrior when it comes to gaming.  By day I am a PC Field Technician in the Cincinnati area doing hardware warranty replacements primarily on Dell PCs.  I technically also do Gateway, Panasonic, and Lenovo PC work, but those service calls are few and far between since Dell holds such a large chunk of the US user base (I would say 98% of my calls are Dell).  I easily put 500 - 1000 miles a week on my car since the territory is about 200 miles in diameter.

I have a daughter who's almost one, but she already has a set of plush dice.  She loves it when I bring up YouTube and play the muppets Mahna Mahna song.

Since I'm on the road for work I can't check the Wizards website.  However, I frequently think about character concepts or article pitches for Dragon while driving between jobs which sometimes can be upwards of an hour long.

Most people who know me know I play D&D.  I don't hide the fact nor do I announce it.  It just seems to come up int he course of conversation eventually.  Then again, I rarely see my co-workers since we don't have an office.

I have played with many people who fit into all walks of life.  From the stereotypical anti-social basement dweller to doctors, university librarians, couriers, janitors, pharmacists, bio-engineers, print shop operators, military personnel, network admins and lawyers.  I find that the "non-stereotypical" players I have met have all been through the RPGA.  Most of the "stereotypical" players I have met through other means and played in home games with them.  Most of them wouldn't dream of playing in the RPGA.  I think the RPGA attracts a more socially open person.  That's one of the reasons I like participating in the RPGA.  I get to meet and play with a lot of people I otherwise wouldn't (sort of geek solidarity I guess).

I have been an escrow officer at a land title company (I manage the money as it moves between real estate sales and refinances) for the last five years. Before that I was in the U.S. Army for thirteen years - four enlisted, nine as an officer, got out as an O3E (captain). My bachelor's degree is in public relations.

I just bought my second house where I live with my wife (non-gamer, but supportive) of ten years and 5-year-old daughter (her birth prompted me to leave the service - it was a very hard decision to make).

Been gaming since 1984 and got started with the red boxed set. Moved on to the blue expert boxed set, than jumped into AD&D after a year or so of the red and blue boxed sets. I was on the Nyrond triad in Living Greyhawk the last two years of the campaign.

I have to credit my early D&D years for getting me into reading. Early TSR work, especially Mr Gygax's material, sent me to look words up in the dictionary way more than any school teacher or class room work ever did.

Feb 4, 2010 -- 10:49AM, JRedGiant1 wrote:

I think we need to remember that this thread is only representative of respondents. If I lived in my parent's basement and worked for a chicken shack, I probably wouldn't talk about it.

Excellent point. While I absolutely love hearing about successful, well-adjusted gamers (and try to surround myself with them during my pursuits of the hobby), the sad truth is that we have a certain stereotype for a reason.

Hello Hello, I'm a I work in a NOC at Stanford University. All my co-workers are jocks who think I'm a geek. I spent 6 years in the military 3 of wich were as an Airborne Ranger (I played D&D with my platoon seargent). I've been married for 10 years and have a 10 yr old son who plays dnd with me. My wife won't touch it; however, she has gone from threatening to throw my books away to watching me and asking questions about the game. Maybe in another ten years she'll actually play. I also have an electrical engineering degree though I never worked in the field.

Feb 4, 2010 -- 11:36AM, dkay807 wrote:

Feb 4, 2010 -- 10:49AM, JRedGiant1 wrote:

I think we need to remember that this thread is only representative of respondents. If I lived in my parent's basement and worked for a chicken shack, I probably wouldn't talk about it.

Excellent point. While I absolutely love hearing about successful, well-adjusted gamers (and try to surround myself with them during my pursuits of the hobby), the sad truth is that we have a certain stereotype for a reason.

fwiw: I've actually been pleasantly surprised at the social adeptness of most LFR players in my own area (which I view as a fairly non-selective sampling). Since D&D is a social game, I figured less socially adept gamers would gravitate more to different venues.

Of course, D&D's genre and the rules heft will still tend attract certain stereotypes (i.e. people that like rules and fantasy, which can sometimes be at odds with liking people and liking to fit in). I don't expect all the LFR gamers I meet to be completely socially adept, but I would speculate that the hobby has made them more socially adept than they would be otherwise.