Wombat
First Post
Today is a Very Geeky Day for Yrs Trly.
Thirty years ago today I started playing rpgs.
I remember this very clearly simply because I was about to head off to a Boy Scout jamboree or camporee or somesuch in Coalinga, CA. I was really not looking forward to this, but I was already in my uniform and about to pick up my pack when I heard a van pull up -- O! Blessed UPS with my latest order from Brookhurst Hobbies! I had already been playing miniature wargames for about 4 years at this point, buying much of my material from Brookhurst, when they put in an ad about a new type of wargame, a very weird one that didn't need miniatures and only needed paper and pencils. Something called Dungeons & Dragons. And there, in the very (ta da!) nick of time, my order arrived. So that weekend while everyone else was off touring the oil fields or talking about CB radios I was murmuring about ochre jellies, hit points, and character classes.
No one had the slighest notion what the heck I was talking about...
But within the month my brother Alex, and my friends Todd Berman, Mike & Tim McGee, Kevin Strass, Lars Sather, and Ian Beste had been introduced to a brand new obsession.
And about two weeks ago I was able to run the First Game for my niece Megan and nephew Cody (see attached). Doesn't get much better than that.
Now let me talk about Biloxi Mississippi.
There is one man early in the history of D&D who is sometimes forgotten. His name was Lou Zocchi. He ran a game store down in Biloxi, right near the base. He clientele were primarily service men, of course, who all loved Avalon Hill and SPI games, as well as some miniatures. He heard about D&D early on and new it would be a winner with the troops, so he not only stocked it, he promoted it big time. Early on he was one of the few people you could get those really weird dice from. I met him a couple times when he came to early conventions. He was part huckster and part Southern gentleman, but he was there in the forefront, making sure that D&D didn't stay a purely regional phenomenon.
Today Biloxi is ruined.
So my charge to you on this day, my young gamers, is twofold -- go out and do something exceptionally geeky today and then spare a thought to those down in the Gulf region whose lives have been so devastated. Play an old Talking Heads album. Play a silly game. Give some cash or blood; if you can't give that, think of giving a book or two.
Peace out, folks!
Thirty years ago today I started playing rpgs.
I remember this very clearly simply because I was about to head off to a Boy Scout jamboree or camporee or somesuch in Coalinga, CA. I was really not looking forward to this, but I was already in my uniform and about to pick up my pack when I heard a van pull up -- O! Blessed UPS with my latest order from Brookhurst Hobbies! I had already been playing miniature wargames for about 4 years at this point, buying much of my material from Brookhurst, when they put in an ad about a new type of wargame, a very weird one that didn't need miniatures and only needed paper and pencils. Something called Dungeons & Dragons. And there, in the very (ta da!) nick of time, my order arrived. So that weekend while everyone else was off touring the oil fields or talking about CB radios I was murmuring about ochre jellies, hit points, and character classes.
No one had the slighest notion what the heck I was talking about...
But within the month my brother Alex, and my friends Todd Berman, Mike & Tim McGee, Kevin Strass, Lars Sather, and Ian Beste had been introduced to a brand new obsession.
And about two weeks ago I was able to run the First Game for my niece Megan and nephew Cody (see attached). Doesn't get much better than that.
Now let me talk about Biloxi Mississippi.
There is one man early in the history of D&D who is sometimes forgotten. His name was Lou Zocchi. He ran a game store down in Biloxi, right near the base. He clientele were primarily service men, of course, who all loved Avalon Hill and SPI games, as well as some miniatures. He heard about D&D early on and new it would be a winner with the troops, so he not only stocked it, he promoted it big time. Early on he was one of the few people you could get those really weird dice from. I met him a couple times when he came to early conventions. He was part huckster and part Southern gentleman, but he was there in the forefront, making sure that D&D didn't stay a purely regional phenomenon.
Today Biloxi is ruined.
So my charge to you on this day, my young gamers, is twofold -- go out and do something exceptionally geeky today and then spare a thought to those down in the Gulf region whose lives have been so devastated. Play an old Talking Heads album. Play a silly game. Give some cash or blood; if you can't give that, think of giving a book or two.
Peace out, folks!
