The term nerd has been thrown around a lot the past couple of years. Urban Outfitters is selling frame-less thick rimmed glasses and The Big Bang Theory is one of the most popular sitcoms on television. Anybody who has ever played Nintendo Super Smash Brothers or liked Star Wars can claim that they’re a “nerd.” The truth is liking the Lord of the Rings movies doesn’t make you a nerd, it makes you a human being; The Lord of the Rings movies were awesome for everybody. No, real nerds will dedicate their lives to some fringe hobbies and really delve deep into that fantasy world . Now I’m not bashing anybody for indulging in these activities, I’ve partaken in a couple of these myself, I just want to share some things that are truly unabashedly geeky.
Magic the Gathering
You have to really be able to dedicate yourself to nerd lifestyle to play Magic: The Gathering. For the uninitiated Magic: The Gathering is a card game that boasts over 12 million players. Each game represents a battle between wizards known as “planewalkers” who cast spells and mythical creatures to defeat their opponents. There are tournaments and a community of professional Magic players. What makes Magic a game for true nerds is the fact that you must learn the lore of the world created by different cards. Additionally, there is a monetary hit when playing Magic. If you are into The Lord of the Rings you really just have to purchase the DVDs and maybe some memorabilia If you are into Magic you have to constantly be purchasing cards to improve the quality of your deck. Magic the Gathering is basically Pokemon based in an world with elfs, bogs, and trolls.
Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000
This is one that I will admit to participating in during my more formative years. Warhammer and Warhammer 40k are two different tabletop miniature war games. Warhammer takes place in a traditional fantasy world where players control different races such as humans, Elves, Dwarfs, Goblins, and Lizardmen. Warhammer 40k takes place in the year 40,000 and players control different alien races such as the Tyranid (my preference), Space Wolves, Orks (future orcs), and Space Marines. Both games require that players meticulously paint miniature figurines, build elaborate battlegrounds, and once again learn the reality documented in the various race “codex”. This hobby takes literally hours before users are even ready to begin to play and to top it all off… it’s really really expensive. A simple Battleforce set containing 43 plastic miniatures costs $125 which doesn’t even factor in the price of paint. Games Workshop, the company that creates all the miniatures, also released a Lord of the Rings and Hobbit series of miniatures to satiate any LOTR fans who don’t want to adopt a new fantasy world.
LARPing
LARP stands for life action role playing. The practice has been lampooned in movies like Role Models and the new feature film Knights of Badassdom starring Peter Dinklage. However, if you want to see the reality of this sub-culture check out the documentary Darkon which is currently available on Netflix. Darkon shows the intense inner workings of the people who organize the campaigns and the strange relationships that are borne through assuming these characters. A traditional LARP campaign involves both player characters and non-player characters (npc’s) who have the ultimate goal of defeating different “boss” characters through the use of spells and combat. Don’t worry, nobody is actually wielding Claymores instead LARP participants will wrap a hockey stick in Styrofoam and make bean bags that represent different “spells”. This is something I could probably never do. I couldn’t suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy myself, but everybody in that documentary looks like their having a blast.
Lore
Geeks love their lore. Anybody can play a video game or read a book. True fantasy geeks will not be satisfied just knowing the main characters in a story. They want to trace the lineage of the family, they will read supplementary text, and they will always argue. Just check on the social media site reddit. There are tons of subreddit’s dedicated solely to the discussion of lore. The only one that I frequent often is The Elder Scrolls subreddit /r/teslore. Which discusses the Universe presented in the Elder Scroll games like Morrowind and Skyrim. The forum answers some burning questions like “Is there any evidence linking Argonians to Tsaesci?” It’s some riveting stuff.
Also as Roman from Party Down so eloquently explains… never confuse fantasy and sci-fi.
Tabletop RPG’s
This stereotype has been beaten into the ground by every high school movie released in the past 30 years but as much of generalization as it is tabletop RPG’s are just as popular as ever. The gameplay has also evolved over the years, not only are there the traditional Dungeons and Dragon’s campaigns but the powers that be have created tabletop versions of almost every genre and style. I personally have played the Star Wars tabletop and I have heard of friends playing Blaxploitation campaigns. Table top RPG’s are still around because they are the most free form way to role play. We’re even planning an RPG night for Modern Thrill.
