TheAuldGrump
First Post
diaglo said:
Same here. I still miss some of the old Avalon Hill wargames that got me started.
The Auld Grump - Waterloo...
Does Anyone Come Into D&D 'Cold'?
- Thread starter WayneLigon
- Start date
Same here. I still miss some of the old Avalon Hill wargames that got me started.
The Auld Grump - Waterloo...
ThirdWizard
First Post
I started with action figures. It makes sense!
Back when I was a kid, we had lots of action figures. My brother and I would take turns chosing one of them to be the main character that we would control. Then the other would stay in the bedroom for hours setting up an intricate world that the main character would interact with, with an ultimate goal. There were no rules, and it was completely free form, but I would venture to call it roleplaying.
Now eventually we heard about D&D and actual roleplaying games. We weren't sure about it, had no idea how to get our hands on one of the books, but we heard that there were these special many sided dice. Neat! So at Walden Books one day we saw a set and bought it. (They didn't carrry D&D as far as I know, we didn't see that, and really wouldn't have known what it looked like anyway.)
So, we had these dice, but we really had no idea what they were for. What we did have was Final Fantasy. So, we did the next best thing. We wrote our own RPG and played it. I still have character sheets from that RPG. I created an entire setting, rules, stats, the works. Well there were only two stats and we just made up spells as we went along, and some numbers just got insanely high, but it was fun darn it. I was like 11, gimme a break.
Finally, finally, I got the AD&D 2nd ed. PHB. I don't remember how I got it, actually. My parents were iffy on the whole D&D thing; I was about 15 at the time, this was around '95 actually (thanks, you guys make me feel so young). I didn't know of any groups, so I read the PHB (no DMG, no MM) and started my own game with people who had never played before. Talk about green! We made mistakes that make what you see on ENW look brilliant. The chart for HD, for example, I misinterprieted. I thought you rolled 1 die at 1st level, then at 2nd you rolled 2 more, then at 3rd you rolled 3 more, etc. By 5th level the PCs had... um... a lot of hp and I never understood what was wrong. They were just so unkillable! But, I digress.
Eventually, I figured things out, and became a rather good DM (on player testimony). It wasn't until two years ago that I actually got to be a player, even. I jumped right in as the DM. Quite the ride.
So, that is how I joined the hobby.
Back when I was a kid, we had lots of action figures. My brother and I would take turns chosing one of them to be the main character that we would control. Then the other would stay in the bedroom for hours setting up an intricate world that the main character would interact with, with an ultimate goal. There were no rules, and it was completely free form, but I would venture to call it roleplaying.
Now eventually we heard about D&D and actual roleplaying games. We weren't sure about it, had no idea how to get our hands on one of the books, but we heard that there were these special many sided dice. Neat! So at Walden Books one day we saw a set and bought it. (They didn't carrry D&D as far as I know, we didn't see that, and really wouldn't have known what it looked like anyway.)
So, we had these dice, but we really had no idea what they were for. What we did have was Final Fantasy. So, we did the next best thing. We wrote our own RPG and played it. I still have character sheets from that RPG. I created an entire setting, rules, stats, the works. Well there were only two stats and we just made up spells as we went along, and some numbers just got insanely high, but it was fun darn it. I was like 11, gimme a break.
Finally, finally, I got the AD&D 2nd ed. PHB. I don't remember how I got it, actually. My parents were iffy on the whole D&D thing; I was about 15 at the time, this was around '95 actually (thanks, you guys make me feel so young
). I didn't know of any groups, so I read the PHB (no DMG, no MM) and started my own game with people who had never played before. Talk about green! We made mistakes that make what you see on ENW look brilliant. The chart for HD, for example, I misinterprieted. I thought you rolled 1 die at 1st level, then at 2nd you rolled 2 more, then at 3rd you rolled 3 more, etc. By 5th level the PCs had... um... a lot of hp and I never understood what was wrong. They were just so unkillable! But, I digress.Eventually, I figured things out, and became a rather good DM (on player testimony). It wasn't until two years ago that I actually got to be a player, even. I jumped right in as the DM. Quite the ride.
So, that is how I joined the hobby.
hero4hire
Explorer
My mom and her bf bought the 3 pamphlets back when I was 6.
He designed a basic dungeon-crawl and they let me play!
They eventually lost interest but I didn't...
But I was basically on my own until D and D Club when I was 12 (when such things werent taboo yet).
Some of my fondest memories were of Mr. Kirnie's (my english and homeroom teacher)mega-dungeon and our quest for the mysterious Flyst.
He designed a basic dungeon-crawl and they let me play!
They eventually lost interest but I didn't...
But I was basically on my own until D and D Club when I was 12 (when such things werent taboo yet).
Some of my fondest memories were of Mr. Kirnie's (my english and homeroom teacher)mega-dungeon and our quest for the mysterious Flyst.
I put other, because I'm not sure of where my brother picked it up. He heard about it from some friends, asked our mom for it for Xmas (79..I was 7), we got the boxed set with the red cover, b2-keep on the borderlands and those groovy plastic dice. They also sent a box o fI think 6 miniatures and a set of paints. First game was with my dad, his gf, her daughter, me, and my brother dming. I think that was the last game for everyone else, but my brother and I kept playing that and other rpgs for years. Eventually my brother went into that odd realm of real life, with an occasional gaming break for nostalgias sake. I still play, though not basic D&D anymore 
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Aaron Blair
Foren Star
.Aaron Blair
Foren Star
Soullessweare
First Post
BALDURS GATE I figured out the basic ADD rules from this one.
Then Fallout. Then I went to university, the big city and there were people actually playing the game
Then Fallout. Then I went to university, the big city and there were people actually playing the game
tylerthehobo
Explorer
Oh, yeah, I guess since somebody tossed in the "I was told D&D was eeeevil" bit, I should mention that I quit Brigade (kind of like Protestant boy scouts) all because the scout leader started telling us about the evils of dungeons and dragons. Probably my first (of far too few) stands against authority figures - I had a heck of a lot more fun playing d&d than practicing knot-tying.
Back to the matter at hand, as I mentioned, my experiences with d&d pre-dated computer rpgs, for the most part. I'm actually surprised I don't see more people posting that. Most folks I know who play are in their 30s and missed the whole CRPG thing by a mere year or three. (is there an old fart smilie for the boards? I'm starting to feel like there should be...) We got into CRPGs because of the pen-and-paper ones.
Back to the matter at hand, as I mentioned, my experiences with d&d pre-dated computer rpgs, for the most part. I'm actually surprised I don't see more people posting that. Most folks I know who play are in their 30s and missed the whole CRPG thing by a mere year or three. (is there an old fart smilie for the boards? I'm starting to feel like there should be...) We got into CRPGs because of the pen-and-paper ones.
freebfrost
Explorer
I have to thank my eldest sister for introducing me to the game. It was 1980, and for my birthday she got me a copy of Marion Zimmer Bradleys "House Between the Worlds", and the D&D blue boxed set.
So I read the novel (which is about a D&D-esque type game that actually lets people travel to another world), and then figured out that this must be the game the story was based on, and started reading it.
Well, the next day I invited over a bunch of friends and had them make up characters and that weekend I ran my first group through B2 - Keep on the Borderlands!
Haven't stopped since!
So I read the novel (which is about a D&D-esque type game that actually lets people travel to another world), and then figured out that this must be the game the story was based on, and started reading it.
Well, the next day I invited over a bunch of friends and had them make up characters and that weekend I ran my first group through B2 - Keep on the Borderlands!
Haven't stopped since!
Wombat
First Post
If we are to count non-rpgs as background, I would have to list a couple AH board games, a lot of miniatures battles, and hundreds of books -- history, some fantasy, some sci fi, a lot of adventure books. When I got my first copy of D&D, it was through a company that I had turned to in the past to purchase miniatures for wargaming -- they weren't even quite sure how to advertise the new game: "A new game for medieval and fantasy gaming that apparently doesn't need a board or minis, but only paper and pencil."
But I thought we were simply talking about coming to D&D (or whatever) without having been first introduced to the game via other people who play the game, or possibly via through having heard about the game first.
But I thought we were simply talking about coming to D&D (or whatever) without having been first introduced to the game via other people who play the game, or possibly via through having heard about the game first.
Committed Hero
Hero
sjmiller said:
I have a friend who tried D&D after Ars Magica; but the rest of the group convinced him to try it so it doesn't count.
D&D would rule the "what was the first game played" poll but I bet we'd get some interesting answers.
