It's D&D's 40th anniversary. Tell me your D&D history, and what it means to you!

[skinnydwarf]

I started playing in 1993, when I was thirteen. I had wanted to play even earlier, when some other Boy Scout kids were playing it at camp. The senior patrol leader and DM was designing a tank for the game, and I thought that was awesome. My mom wouldn't let me play though because, "Don't those D&D kids do drugs?"

A year or two later another (apparently more respectable in my mother's eyes) Boy Scout started up a game and I joined. My first character was was a 1st level wizard, whose name escapes me at the moment. All I remember of the first game was we were in town, some orcs attacked the outskirts. When it was my turn I fired my one magic missile, and then hid on the edge of the battle trying to throw daggers.

Eventually that campaign ended when I wasn't there. The DM apparently got frustrated, and had the castle we were exploring collapse on everyone. Yup, rocks fall, everybody dies it not just a myth.

That summer the kid down the street started DMing his own game, and I played a dwarf fighter, thus beginning my love affair with the stout folk. I still remember how proud I was to come up with such a great back story for my guy- he was an orphan because his parents were killed by orcs, and he wanted revenge!

The fact that there no orcs in Krynn (where the DM wanted to set the game because he loved Dragonlance) was kind of lost on us.

 

[Storminator]

Long ago I went from Risk to Chess to Melee. We played a million games of Melee, then Wizard, then Death Test. Then one of the kids at school decided to run us thru his own adventure, with these AD&D rules. We went to a hippy grade school, where the kids were "allowed to design their own curriculum." Yeah, D&D, with breaks for football and Risk.

I missed the 2e era, coming back to the idea of gaming regularly in the late 90s. With no one else around I threw together a PBeM, and during PC creation I found this website by Eric Noah, and we converted the game to 3e. Been playing regularly ever since, and both my sons have started playing. This summer we move to Texas so my wife can work at Reaper Miniatures.

This past weekend I helped run a Scouting event where patrols of scouts come by and try their hand at various scout skills. The winning team at my station was called The Owl Bears.

PS

 

[Mark CMG]

In the early 70s my friends in the neighborhood and I were wargamers, Risk, Avalon Hill chit and hex games, as well as miniature wargames, and that included Chainmail when it came on the scene. After D&D was released in 1974, most of us added that, and soon other RPGs, to our gaming rotation. It's been a great 40+ years of gaming and D&D has been a huge part of it.

This was posted on the GM's Day Facebook page and elsewhere

 

[ccooke]

Initially, a 3.0e game I play in was scheduled for Sunday. Unfortunately, that had to move a few weeks.
Then a 4e game I run was scheduled... but that ended up being next weekend.

So what the hell. I asked around and ran a 5e one-off via IRC. Well, it was supposed to be a one-off; we're meeting again to play more on Friday.

 

[Toriel]

I started playing D&D in 1980 a few months before the release of the Deities & Demigods and I haven't really stopped since. There was this slightly older student reading the Basic Rulebook if I remember correctly. I asked him what it was. He replied it's a role playing game, would you like to try? I've been hooked ever since.

I can also say that D&D probably saved my life. I spent 5 year in high school, the last 4 of which were like a walk trough hell with almost daily bullying and intimidation. Thankfully I had D&D to take my mind off school.

So happy birthday D&D and thank you for all the good times.