"My" group...

This is a tough topic for me to discuss, but I feel like I need to address it.

There have been times during my gaming "career" where the group has been pretty thin and times where we have had an abundance or players.  We have moved all over changed jobs and marital status.  We have had health problems and argued.  As such I jealously guard admittance to our group like a bouncer at a club.  In my mind somewhere there is a price to pay to play.

Our group has its founding in our hometown during the dark times.  If you have played DND during the 90's you know what I mean.  Hiding the books, and even leading an almost double life.  Our membership has always been a dichotomy of the socioeconomic and social strata from our hometown.  We could not have been more different outside of game night.  During the game we were equal, and formed lasting bonds that have made us friends, nay, brothers for 20 years.

During our groups long history many additional members have rotated in, we have played in other groups, and played numerous other games, but we have always been at our best at the table playing DND.

For these reasons, and many more, I am pretty protective of this group, this cadre, this Band of Brothers.  I know I rub people the wrong way, or may come off as a dick, but to me this is the thing that has pulled me though every tough time and helped me celebrate the good times.  We have a fantastic group, filled with awesome players and everyone brings something unique to the table.  I have never been more proud to be a part of this group.

10 Sessions in...

After weeks of rocking the original 5 man party the group has added 2 additional players.

We now have:

A cross-dressing Elf Bard/Witch and
A swarthy Dwarven Rogue

These new players are adding new and exciting views to the mix. One of the players is bringing an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the game system to the table.  He is the GM's friend and they run Pathfinder Society games together locally. 
The other additional player is a veteran of Leviathan's 5th edition game and brings a unique flavor to his characters that only years of crushing and being crushed by the 2nd ed ruleset can bring.

While I have had my own reservations about groups getting to large and unwieldy I am trying to look at this as an opportunity to become a better player and not have to "white-knuckle" every encounter.

Thanks for reading.