Roleplaying on a Sunday afternoon

First roleplaying session yesterday, after a long time, was quite OK. I'd say a success, but that would sound prideful, as it was me who directed the thing, and it's the players who should say, at the fullness of time... There were four of us, counting myself, two friends and a guy who used to work in my office. We stayed in contact and, when I learned he was an active roleplayer, I invited him over. Three players are enough, but not plenty; if someone cannot make it to one session, you have to cancel, since it's a bother to direct only two players. That's for me, at least. The new guy was to bring along another player, but she couldn't make it this time.

The game is World of Darkness, the players play regular human characters (for now!), and the setting is present-day Rosario (with a couple of supernatural touches, obviously). This is the second time I use this setting, and I'm re-using some of my previous notes, but the characters are all new. I find it easier to play this way, and the sense of familiarity with the surroundings allows the players to move more naturally than if I were to stage the game in, say, New York or London or an unspecified Gotham-like city, as others do. With everybody pinned down on the real map of Rosario, we all know (and need not argue over) how much time it takes to go from character A's house in the suburbs to character B's downtown apartment.

I'm not really into roleplaying activism, but I do believe it's a good pastime. In some cases it may be a form of improvisation theatre, and it sure is relaxing, when all goes well. (There are many, many ways in which it may go horribly wrong, but you can see them coming.) So try it if you can.

And, since we're at it, I'll recommend a website... It's a group of RPG fans who try to raise awareness of this hobby, which is still unknown to many in Argentina, and viewed as strange by others, and organize game sessions in events such as Leyendas and (recently) Cinecomix. (My brother is in the group.) They're called Sierpes del Sur and they've just opened up a forum. It's all in Spanish, but there's a chance some of my bilingual readers may find it useful.