Nerds love role playing. There are so many different kinds of role playing that Wikipedia, the encyclopedic holder of all information nerdy, that they have a multi-part section on the subject. They even put together really nerdy videos, like this one:

What is it about role playing that excites nerds so?  It’s all about escapism, a theme that will be replayed ad nauseum within fairly short order around here.  Nerds spend much of their lives wishing they were somewhere else doing something else, preferably somewhere where their abilities to memorize random bits of arcana and trivia will pay off.  Since that universe doesn’t really exist outside of a Jeopardy! set, nerds have to make one up.

In most cases, role playing for nerds either takes place in an imaginary future or an imaginary past, or at least an imaginary world with elements from either the past or the future.  Sometimes, just to complicate things a little, nerds will mix the two.  The end result, however, is always the same - a world where arcane, obscure knowledge reigns supreme, where any feat of strength can be easily overcome by a proportional feat of intelligence.  From there, the only question remaining is how immersing of an experience the nerd is looking for.  Role playing can be as consuming as dressing up in funny outfits, and as ordinary as sitting at a desk with five of their closest friends, rolling numbered geometrical shapes around, while scribbling on sheets of paper containing strange, inscrutable tables.

Categorically speaking, nerds engaged in role playing should never, under any circumstances, be approached in a way that is contrary to the customs and traditions of whatever world they think they’re belonging to at that moment.  Failing to respect this rule may result in mild violence, or at least a whiny talking to about how you are “no fun” and “unwilling to play along”. When addressing a nerd engaged in role play, it’s vitally important that you address the nerd as if he or she was convincingly successful in bringing their world “to life”.  This is a very similar dynamic to a certain group of white people and traveling - bursting a nerd’s illusion about their ability to bring an imaginary world to life will lead to a very unhappy nerd, along with all of the consequences inherent in such a change of emotional state.

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