I play Dungeons & Dragons. More specifically, I play Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition. That is what I grew up on, and that is what I am most comfortable with, both as a Game Master and as a player. I have dabbled into other versions of D&D (primarily 4th) and have also done a bit of GURPS (however, not nearly as extensively as I would like). When it comes right down to it though, my default home base is, and perhaps always will be, D&D 3. And that frightens me.

It frightens me because there are a lot of really awesome things out there that I would like to try. Different games like Shadowrun and Burning Wheel, Warhammer 40K and Eclipse Phase. And I worry that I will never play them because they are so different than my bread-and-butter.

Even within my own system there are challenges that I have yet to man up and overcome. Pathfinder has an amazing variant system for armor and hit points that I am in love with on paper. However, when I think of the work involved in teaching my players and converting all of my creature stat sheets... It becomes overwhelming. Then I say, "Screw it. My system is fine and we are all use to it, so it's not worth the trouble."

Have I become too comfortable? Am I at a place now where I'd rather just deal with my system as is, rather than expand into something new, simply because I'm use to it? I think this is the inherant problem that creates the system wars and raging arguments over announcements of new mechanics. We all become so use to what we play, and fear having to go through the process of learning something completely new. It was the jump from D&D 2nd Edition to 3rd, and from 3rd to 4th. It's why new RPG systems never quite catch on as much as D&D has.

We... I need to overcome fear.

Nobody is forcing you to change into a new system or style completely – Devoting yourself to using only a d6. Your home will always be your home. But there is nothing wrong with taking a vacation every once in a while – getting some fresh air and maybe some new decorating ideas. Who knows, when you come back maybe you'll think of changing the color in your dining room or the couch in the den.

If we stay in the same ol' rut and never leave the trail, we'll never know what else is out there. Maybe I'll love using vitality instead of hit points...Maybe I'll hate it. The point is – I'll never know until I try it. And in the back of my mind, there will always be that itch. That small part of me that wants to just throw it all on the table and say "This sounds awesome: Let's do it."

But, maybe there's something to be said about yellow and the comfy space on my old couch...

Boose.