If you play a game where you wear chain mail, you might not have a life. If you wear chain mail in the real world, you definitely don't have a life.

Notorious: Why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself?

Becca: HI EVERYBODY! I'm Rebecca.

N: Rebecca, when I met you, I knew you as the girl in the K Records shirt, but I later found out you lead a double life. Care to share exactly what that is?

B: Sure thing. I play an MMORPG. It's my secret love.

N: What MMORPG would that be?

B: Dark Age of Camelot, with the Shrouded Isles expansion, of course.

N: I guess the first question i have about that is how do you go from modelling and going to shows to sitting online pretending you're in medieval England?

B: Actually, I play in the realm of Midgard, which is actually based upon Norse mythology. The realm that takes place in medieval England is called Albion. We hate the Albs, but we hate the Hibs more. My transition to a role-playing geek was an easy one. I was dating a guy who spent hours playing Dark Age, and since it was a long distance relationship, I figured it would be fun to join him. I started out with the regular Dark Age software, but for Valentine's Day my then-boyfriend bought me the Shrouded Isles expansion pack and a new video card. I was set. THE WATER ACTUALLY REFLECTED AND THE LAVA GLOWED.

N: What attracts you to a game like this?

B: I really like bludgeoning wee wolves to death with my hammer. I am a healer, so I'm not much of a fighter. Most of the time I am in a group with the duty of buffing, healing, and resurrecting the characters with stronger fighting abilities. I like that people heavily rely upon me, but mostly I just like bludgeoning stuff.

N: How much do you think the character you portray reflects your personality in real life?

B: I think my character (her name is Bethesda PrettyPony) is pretty true-to-life for me. She's a tall brunette Norsewoman with a seriously hot bod. That part is not so much like me...but the fact that she takes on the responsibility of handling other people's lives and feels obligated and take care of everyone is a lot like me. That's why I chose to be a healer. I have some other characters that I hardly ever play that are fighters.

N: I know for a fact that you have a real life, but not everyone who plays online games does. Have you noticed any kind of contrast in the way people interact online as opposed to in person?

B: Oh yes, definitely. I was constantly being hit on by other players. Female players can get SO FAR in this game. I was constantly being given gold, cloaks, and dye by players who clearly wished they could be so bold in real life. It's always fun to get drunk and play on the role-playing servers. You have to "speak" in a manner appropriate for the times and if you don't, you're kicked out. This one guy came up to me and said something along the lines of, "Hello my fair maden, dost thou desire to venture forth into the west?" It's hilarious. I remember finding a website of some player who actually chronicled her Dark Age love affairs with screenshots and logged conversations. She was actually attractive and intelligent, it shocked me that she felt a need to find men on an MMORPG. Other than the obvious "living vicariously" aspect of role-playing, I've noticed people act a lot tougher. My then-boyfriend once reamed one of our guild members because he called me "love." I think in real life the guy I was dating would have just given him an ugly look. As for me, I acted pretty much the same. I'd venture into an empty field and type /dance and just hang out until something came along for me to bludgeon to death.

N: I know that you were also on MOC for quite some time. Which group of come-ons were more offensive?

B: Oh, MOC all the way. I had gotten so used to receiving im's that said, "Send n00dz plz k thx." In Dark Age, I at least reaped the benefits of getting hit on. Do you know how expensive black dye is? It's like 10 gold or something. Some guy bought me enough to have a hot all-black outfit. N00dz vs. gold...hmm. Tough choice. I think people perusing MOC expect the girls on the to be easy. The guys in Dark Age anticipate girl players to be prudish virgins who need to be wooed.

N: Which was more entertaining?

B: Dark Age, without a doubt. I used to dream about playing Dark Age. A friend of mine lived with me for about 2 weeks and when she heard the opening music for Dark Age, she knew I'd be out of commission for at least 5 hours. The amount of time I spent leveling Bethesda is unbelievable. Once you're in a good group and are racking up XP like mad, you completely lose track of time. Sites like MOC, Friendster, LNC, and LiveJournal are pretty limited in their possibilities. Message boards/Friends lists are pretty much the only things you can do. In Dark Age you can play Realm-Vs-Realm, role play, duel, go on kill tasks, group, or go on raids. The possibilities are endless. The anonymity of Dark Age is nice too. I could have grouped with someone I see every day and never realized it. With social websites, you can't do anything without someone recognizing you.

N: Did DAoC ever intersect with your real life though?

Sure, I like shows, haircuts, and being hit on. But what I really like is a guy who knows when and where to use the word 'thy'. And what it is to 'mezz' someone.

B: Oh God, all the time. I'd be up all night playing and have to be at work at 9 AM the next day. I'd drag into work and do a half-ass job because I was too exhausted. There were times where I would log on and tell myself I'd only play for an hour and then study, but then I would end up finding a good group and playing for 4 or 5 hours. It's amazing my grades are as good as they are, considering the neglect my schoolwork received when Dark Age was involved.

N: What was the worst experience you had related to the game?

B: Hmm, one time I was soloing out in Gna Faste and I kept getting killed by things that were blue to me. When things are "blue" to a player, it means the chances of the player having an easy battle are really high. Things that are yellow are level to you and you can kill them on occasion. This time around, I kept getting caught off guard by blue things and dying over and over. I had like 6 bubs of experience and died so many times that I lost it all. I wasn't really feeling the game that day. Bad move.

N: Do you feel like your indie rock friends would look at you differently if they knew what you did for fun?

B: Some of them might, but if they don't find the humor in my secret life they need to relax. That's what always annoyed me about the "indie rock" scene. People care too much. So what if I play MMORPGS? I know plenty of ridiculously good-looking people who spend hours a day playing Everquest and Dark Age. It's all in what we do in the wee hours of the morning...

N: Since you're not with the guy who got you into DAoC, what's it been like for your current boyfriend to adjust to your nerdery?

B: My current boyfriend and I have actually been off-and-on for two years, so my nerdiness is nothing new to him. I actually created him a character in Dark Age and introduced him to my new uber-nerdy ways. He likes the game. I think he's more into FPSs. I liked the freedom of RPGs. FPSs were never really my thing.

N: Well, before we wrap this up, why don't you tell us your favorite story from your time playing DAoC?

B: Let's see here...one time I was swimming around and came across this really huge loch-ness monster named Njessi. He was purple to me and there was NO WAY I could fight him, but I swam ashore and mezzed him so he'd come for me. He came ashore and totally killed the hell out of me, but it was really funny to see a loch-ness monster chasing after a woman on dry land.

N: Any advice for those of us who might try to straddle real life and online gaming?

B: It always worked to game really really late at night and attempt to have a normal life during daylight. If you're playing Dark Age, get the expansion pack because you can alt-tab out of the window and attempt to use the internet for another purpose while you're gaming. That's about it. I usually heavily indulge in my vices, so I'm not exactly the right person to be giving advice about this.

N: Any shout outs you'd like to make to your hardcore DAoC homies?

B: Yeah, a big what-up to Garbon Zobean, ThaCheat IzGrounded, Jackman, and Olodan. Holla at anyone who was ever in "Those Who Hunt Elves", too.