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Dungeons & Dragons: The Coolest Thing I've Ever Heard!
- Thread starter Gentlegamer
- Start date
thedungeondelver
Adventurer
My first brush with DUNGEONS & DRAGONS was a copy of B2 KEEP ON THE BORDERLANDS and a set of TSR's blue dice (with black crayon!).
There's enough of the rules in B2 that I was able to intuit how to play, and the rest went from there...
Oh, there's stories of Moral Panic, not having a copy of the PLAYERS HANDBOOK for decades, my own stuff submitted to TSR at the tender age of 11, and so on, but that's for another time...
Halivar
First Post
I was 8, and my friend Charles' older brother played D&D with his friends on the picnic table near the playground. Me and Charles would listen in while his brother told these elaborate stories. Every once in a while he'd say these magical words:
"What do you do?"
And they would tell him. It was like magic to me. I remember me and Charles used to go hide, and make up stories for each other, and then we'd use the magical incantation ("What do you do?") to prompt each other to tell the protagonist's side of the story. We called it "Science Lab", and it was always centered around that week's MacGuyver episode.
One time Charles' older brother over heard us, and he and his friends mocked us. "Wow, they think they're playing D&D. What a couple losers." I felt pretty humiliated, and had a deep and avowed hatred of "gaming nerds" until college. Then I made friends with one, and he invited me to my first game of D&D. I swear, the first time the DM asked me what my character did, it was like all the old magic came back.
It was amazing. I'll be playing D&D (in one way or another) until I die. Pinky swear.
"What do you do?"
And they would tell him. It was like magic to me. I remember me and Charles used to go hide, and make up stories for each other, and then we'd use the magical incantation ("What do you do?") to prompt each other to tell the protagonist's side of the story. We called it "Science Lab", and it was always centered around that week's MacGuyver episode.
One time Charles' older brother over heard us, and he and his friends mocked us. "Wow, they think they're playing D&D. What a couple losers." I felt pretty humiliated, and had a deep and avowed hatred of "gaming nerds" until college. Then I made friends with one, and he invited me to my first game of D&D. I swear, the first time the DM asked me what my character did, it was like all the old magic came back.
It was amazing. I'll be playing D&D (in one way or another) until I die. Pinky swear.
gamerprinter
Mapper/Publisher
I was 15 (in 1977), my next door neighbor's grandson, who was 4 years younger than I, had the red box with him - his teacher recommended the game to him as a means to help with his dyslexia problem for the reading exercise. He introduced me to the game.
It was almost a year later before I found locals playing and I began my regular sessions of D&D then.
Been playing ever since...
It was almost a year later before I found locals playing and I began my regular sessions of D&D then.
Been playing ever since...
Rhenny
Adventurer
I was about 13 (back in the 70s), and I was sleeping over at a friends house in New York City. All the other kids had gone to sleep, but I was sitting in a big leather chair in the family study. I saw the Basic D&D box on the shelf. I took it down and opened it. It blew my mind.
I stayed up all night, alone, just reading and trying to wrap my head around the concept. It was a thrill like no other I had experienced. When the others woke up, I put the materials back into the box and put the box back on the shelf. I didn't tell anyone about what I had read. I think I felt as if I had found a magical treasure that nobody else would understand. In fact, I didn't understand the whole of it.
Although I didn't play at that time, my D&D radar was switched on. A year later, another friend of mine mentioned that he played D&D, and on a school trip to Malaga, Spain, my friend taught me how to play during the 6 hour flight. We rolled dice on those little flip down tables and everything.
After that, I joined a game back home and that was the beginning of years of gaming.
I stayed up all night, alone, just reading and trying to wrap my head around the concept. It was a thrill like no other I had experienced. When the others woke up, I put the materials back into the box and put the box back on the shelf. I didn't tell anyone about what I had read. I think I felt as if I had found a magical treasure that nobody else would understand. In fact, I didn't understand the whole of it.
Although I didn't play at that time, my D&D radar was switched on. A year later, another friend of mine mentioned that he played D&D, and on a school trip to Malaga, Spain, my friend taught me how to play during the 6 hour flight. We rolled dice on those little flip down tables and everything.
After that, I joined a game back home and that was the beginning of years of gaming.
My first group got into the game a lot older than many. We were in our early 20s, living in a small town and not much to do but get drunk on a Friday or Saturday night. A guy we all knew was invited over to a party one night and he brought these two boxes, one red and one blue. We sat around the table while he explained things to us and we played for a few hours, and then a few hours more. This was around 1980/81.
We quickly got hold of the 1E books when they became available (in our area), and then also moved on to 2E when that came out. Most of our experience was with 2E. There were about 6 in the small group of friends who played, and we all took turns being DM.
What made the game for me was that despite having these rule books, the underlying tone was to use what you liked, discard what you didn't, and just have FUN! I still use that premise today when creating my campaign world.
We quickly got hold of the 1E books when they became available (in our area), and then also moved on to 2E when that came out. Most of our experience was with 2E. There were about 6 in the small group of friends who played, and we all took turns being DM.
What made the game for me was that despite having these rule books, the underlying tone was to use what you liked, discard what you didn't, and just have FUN! I still use that premise today when creating my campaign world.
Olaf the Stout
Hero
I still remember my first D&D adventure. My home group teacher in the 8th grade (first year of high school in Australia) saw me reading one of the Lone Wolf books one morning.
She (yes, she!
) asked me if I'd ever played D&D before. I said no and she offered to run a game for me and my friends. We would play once a week at lunch time.
Being total noobs, we didn't really know what we were doing, but it was still great fun. I later discovered that she was running us through the 1E adventure "The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan" (at least I think that is what it was).
I can still remember investigating the diorama, throwing the people in the diorama on the ground, only to see them come to life and attack us!
Other great memories of that game included finding a sword that let me turn invisible and dancing around (in game) singing "I am invisible, I am invisible!" (I was 13, it was exciting) and burning myself while picking up a large container of hot oil to tip on a vampire that we had accidentally "activated" and was starting to reform.
I don't remember thinking it was the coolest thing I ever heard, but it was definitely a fun time that I look back upon fondly.
Olaf the Stout
She (yes, she!
) asked me if I'd ever played D&D before. I said no and she offered to run a game for me and my friends. We would play once a week at lunch time.Being total noobs, we didn't really know what we were doing, but it was still great fun. I later discovered that she was running us through the 1E adventure "The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan" (at least I think that is what it was).
I can still remember investigating the diorama, throwing the people in the diorama on the ground, only to see them come to life and attack us!
Other great memories of that game included finding a sword that let me turn invisible and dancing around (in game) singing "I am invisible, I am invisible!" (I was 13, it was exciting) and burning myself while picking up a large container of hot oil to tip on a vampire that we had accidentally "activated" and was starting to reform.
I don't remember thinking it was the coolest thing I ever heard, but it was definitely a fun time that I look back upon fondly.
Olaf the Stout
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