Re: OOC thread
I'm writing this quickly, because I've got other things I probably ought to be doing, but I wanted to dash some thoughts that occurred to me about this stuff, so forgive me if my grammar fades in and out here...
It has occurred to me why my interest in playing non-humans has waned over the years. See, I've been playing rpgs for a rather long time. No. Really. I'm 47 today and discovered AD&D, et al. when I was 13 or 14.
There was a point just after High School when I was trying to figure out what I was going to do and the things that seemed most interesting also seemed the most difficult (so I did the logical thing and ran away) a thought occurred to me: it doesn't matter whether I get an interesting job or actually 'Do' anything, because I've got rpgs. I can do whatever, be whatever I'd like in them. So, I can get a shit job and just get on with things, because I'll always have this outlet.
In the 20 or so years since then I'm pleased to say that I've actually managed to 'Do' some things in my career and life, go figure. That is, I didn't actually let myself live the life I wanted through my gaming while I trundled through things. I did, however, use my gaming to test out approaches to various problems and opportunities. The characters I've played at certain times in my life I don't think I could play today, because I'm not that person any more. Or perhaps it's more accurate to say that I could play those characters, but I'd play them differently.
Now, saying this I do mean to say that I've done this with every character I've ever created. Nor have I done it consistently when I've been playing a given character during one of those times when I was actively using rpging as a means to figuring out how to do whatever it was that I figuring out how to do. It does mean, though, that today I'm am far less interested in playing characters much younger than I am or that are non-human. (I've also never really played female characters and I think that this also reflects the very personal nature of my approach to gaming.)
So, yeah, while I play because I like games and I like the improv nature, etc. of rpgs that I've been able to use them to figure how to best 'play' myself in the real world has probably resulted in my characters becoming more and more like me, even if they are better looking, smarter, stronger, more highly skilled, etc. than I actually am.