Didn't know D&D existed when I was 14, no idea what kind of adventures I would have written then.
14 Year old You vs The Today You
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Gloomshroud
First Post
When I was 14, D&D was magical and wonderful. I played wizards. Always. (Still do, actually, though I DM mostly).
My games were high fantasy/swords n' sorcery. This was the era of Conan, Red Sonja, and the like. Fantasy was a harsh, grim world. Dragons roamed free, damsels were ALWAYS in distress, and the kobolds were dog-faced rats, not lizards.
Elminster walked with us, and our dice were only ONE solid color (usually orange). THAC0 was our god, and skills were afterthoughts (except for the devious thieves). Mules and carts were quintessential adventuring gear, and if the gelatinous cubes didn't kill you...the mimic would. Or the "fireball death pit of enclosing walls" trap. We knew who Mordenkainen, Bigby, Haversham, Otiluke, Leomund, and Tasha were. They sometimes allied with us against the very evil overlord/sorcerer/tyrant. Evil was evil. Good was good. Kill the thing, take its stuff. Kill bigger things. It didn't matter WHY the gnoll was in the ballroom, it only mattered that it had a keen, vorpal broadsword.
Undermountain was Halaster's Emporium of PC Death, and the gods of Faerun were the first ones. No replacements. Miniatures didn't matter, and your DM ALWAYS tried to kill you, no matter what. Railroading didn't exist because no one understood DMing except DMs. You'd better roll well, because FUDGING also didn't exist. Things in the woods would eat you. If you saw a sign reading "HERE THERE BE DRAGONS" it meant to go on would mean certain death. Not a "PC - tailored" encounter which was totally beatable.
WE KNEW HOW TO RUN AWAY!
Yes. Those were the days...the tales I could tell. Of dwarven anvils of Moradin that spewed gems of great value upon striking it. Inverting a mind flayer's head and butt, of a barbarian kit gone awry (think raging against friend AND foe) and when death actually MEANT something.
These were D&D's glory days, my friends. To have experienced them was an honor.
My games were high fantasy/swords n' sorcery. This was the era of Conan, Red Sonja, and the like. Fantasy was a harsh, grim world. Dragons roamed free, damsels were ALWAYS in distress, and the kobolds were dog-faced rats, not lizards.
Elminster walked with us, and our dice were only ONE solid color (usually orange). THAC0 was our god, and skills were afterthoughts (except for the devious thieves). Mules and carts were quintessential adventuring gear, and if the gelatinous cubes didn't kill you...the mimic would. Or the "fireball death pit of enclosing walls" trap. We knew who Mordenkainen, Bigby, Haversham, Otiluke, Leomund, and Tasha were. They sometimes allied with us against the very evil overlord/sorcerer/tyrant. Evil was evil. Good was good. Kill the thing, take its stuff. Kill bigger things. It didn't matter WHY the gnoll was in the ballroom, it only mattered that it had a keen, vorpal broadsword.
Undermountain was Halaster's Emporium of PC Death, and the gods of Faerun were the first ones. No replacements. Miniatures didn't matter, and your DM ALWAYS tried to kill you, no matter what. Railroading didn't exist because no one understood DMing except DMs. You'd better roll well, because FUDGING also didn't exist. Things in the woods would eat you. If you saw a sign reading "HERE THERE BE DRAGONS" it meant to go on would mean certain death. Not a "PC - tailored" encounter which was totally beatable.
WE KNEW HOW TO RUN AWAY!
Yes. Those were the days...the tales I could tell. Of dwarven anvils of Moradin that spewed gems of great value upon striking it. Inverting a mind flayer's head and butt, of a barbarian kit gone awry (think raging against friend AND foe) and when death actually MEANT something.
These were D&D's glory days, my friends. To have experienced them was an honor.
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When I was 14 I could tolerate people who wanted to roleplay as vampires.
Stormonu
NeoGrognard
I happen to still have some of those hand-written dungeons I made back when I was 14 (which makes them about 26 years old).
It would be a tragedy and a travesty to run anyone through them. In some states, it might be considered a crime against humanity. They make the Forest Oracle look like pure gold.
Needless to say, I've gotten much better since then.
It would be a tragedy and a travesty to run anyone through them. In some states, it might be considered a crime against humanity. They make the Forest Oracle look like pure gold.
Needless to say, I've gotten much better since then.
Ycore Rixle
First Post
Very cool. I have a couple of old hand-written D&D pieces myself. In one, my friend (no, seriously, it wasn't me... it was my friend!) has this dungeon. Every single room starts with, "The party hears a *click*" and goes on to describe the deadly trap in the room. No monsters, ever.
Vegepygmy
First Post
Cube: The D&D Adventure.
WayneLigon
Adventurer
D&D didn't exist when I was 14, but hey
I'd say we don't try as many different systems as we did back then. There aren't as many around, and they're all much more costly to get started with compared with the disposable income (100%) I had when I was a teenager, vs. now.
I'd say we don't really roleplay as deeply as I did back then. Having a character background of four or five typewritten pages long was certainly not unusual for us. We had reading lists much like the back of the DMG - 'Here, to really understand this setting, go read these seven or eight novels that were dusty before you were born' - and that was perfectly acceptable and agreeable. Also some smattering of medieval architecture, history and warfare wouldn't hurt. We'd have spit at the concept of the 'beer and pretzels' game.
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Ed_Laprade
Adventurer
When I was 14 D&D was still ten years away. And I didn't even hear about it till the late seventies. Nor was my first experience with it pleasant. Despite all that, I'm still here. (Even though I haven't actually played for several years, except for a few one-shots.)
Longtooth Studios
First Post
Great topic. Bring back the good old days.
14 would have been 23 years ago.
Today I am mildly ashamed of me then when I...
Rolled d20s for ability scores. I am still not sure how we thought this was OK, but the whole group did it at the DM's request.
Abused wishes, both as a player and a DM.
Fought dragons who were waiting in a large room behind a single closed wooden door.
Had a spell book with every spell from every source we could find. (abused wish)
Things I do now that I would be mildly ashamed of at 14....
Work more than I game. How did this happen?
Remove gaming from the very top of my priority list.
Play anything other than D&D.
I lost those three blue d6s that rolled every character I have ever played.
You still aren't working for a major game publisher? What the hell have you been doing?
14 would have been 23 years ago.
Today I am mildly ashamed of me then when I...
Rolled d20s for ability scores. I am still not sure how we thought this was OK, but the whole group did it at the DM's request.
Abused wishes, both as a player and a DM.
Fought dragons who were waiting in a large room behind a single closed wooden door.
Had a spell book with every spell from every source we could find. (abused wish)
Things I do now that I would be mildly ashamed of at 14....
Work more than I game. How did this happen?
Remove gaming from the very top of my priority list.
Play anything other than D&D.
I lost those three blue d6s that rolled every character I have ever played.
You still aren't working for a major game publisher? What the hell have you been doing?
Whoever said that is a retard.
When I was fourteen I was stealing cars, getting plastered in beach parties, burning down cane-fields (what? they were gonna burn anyway...), selling drugs at my high-school, riding dirt-bikes through back-streets and down river pathways and nicking stuff from department stores.
Actually, you know, my life is pretty boring now, I'm basically a recluse... maybe there's something in that philosophy of adventure writing after all.
When I was fourteen I was stealing cars, getting plastered in beach parties, burning down cane-fields (what? they were gonna burn anyway...), selling drugs at my high-school, riding dirt-bikes through back-streets and down river pathways and nicking stuff from department stores.
Actually, you know, my life is pretty boring now, I'm basically a recluse... maybe there's something in that philosophy of adventure writing after all.
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