How were you first introduced to D&D?

[Jabba Von Hutt]

After reading Chris Pramas' review of 4e's ability acquire new players. I wondered how many current players actually learned how to play D&D by picking up some of the published product at the time? Without someone else showing the basics, that includes sitting and watching others play. It seems that Chris believes that D&D (or role playing ) can be taught simply by reading an introductory manual. I just can't see 5 people assume 1 DM and 4 players learning D&D simply by reading the books if they have no previous RP experience. It's just the nature of the type of game. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Fenes]

After reading Chris Pramas' review of 4e's ability acquire new players. I wondered how many current players actually learned how to play D&D by picking up some of the published product at the time? Without someone else showing the basics, that includes sitting and watching others play. It seems that Chris believes that D&D (or role playing ) can be taught simply by reading an introductory manual. I just can't see 5 people assume 1 DM and 4 players learning D&D simply by reading the books if they have no previous RP experience. It's just the nature of the type of game. Maybe I'm wrong.

From what I know, the ones I started playing RPGs with in 1991 did exactly that - picked up the books and learned the game - a few months earlier to me meeting them.

However, that was before the internet. These days, I can't imagine anyone picking up the books, and using them without also checking the forums.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Group therapy, Spring 1991. Met a good friend there. He introduced me to first edition. I fell in love with DnD then and I've never stopped gaming since. I've broadened my horizons to other systems (GURPS and Rifts being 2nd faves). Fell in love with the D20 system when it cam out and started converting my homebrew for it. That was my first homebrew, and it will always be 3.5.

I'm on board for 4E, and when I get my Leatherbacks in late October or Early November, be sure to look for my Reveillie Goues Fourth creations thread.

 

[mhensley]

It was a piece of cake to learn how to play.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

I was introduced by my older brother (who posts as Heselbine on these forums) who brought me in to his gaming group and kindled my interest.

Now I'm DMing myself and over the summer I'm likely to introduce a new player to the game - so it goes.

 

[Silvercat Moonpaw]

I bought the 3.5 Draconomicon because it was about dragons. Found out it was a game. Bought some more books because I thought they might be cool. Started picking up on the mechanics as I read.

I learned to play this game by reading the instructions. On my own.

It's possible.

 

[Bagpuss]

Basic Set 1 as illustrated above. Learned from the books and taught my friends.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

An adult friend of my family -- who was a school bus driver for a while -- found a copy of the D&D Expert Set rulebook (without a cover, even) on his schoolbus. After looking it over and finding it pretty cool, he gave it to me and I devoured it.

I honestly have no idea how I managed it, but for a couple of months I wrote adventures and DMed for my friends using only that book. (My dungeons had lots of giant scorpions and vampires, but no orcs or dragons ... ) I must have simply invented a bunch of rules to fill in what was missing, but it's been so long I just don't remember.

Anyway, a couple of months later and I got the red-book basic set and had a grand old time with B1 through B4 -- especially B3 (boxed text! genius!) and my own creations -- and then three or four years later I embezzled from my own paper route to buy the AD&D Players Handbook.

I never ended up playing D&D with Wade -- the school bus driver -- but he was the kind of adult who would have tried it and probably enjoyed it.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

By a couple of other kids in 1978 who had the OD&D books.

 

[DeusExMachina]

I'd been introduced to Shadowrun (2nd edition iirc)by a couple of friends first and we played that for a while until the group fell apart. Then another friend introduced me to his AD&D 2e campaign, which turned into a 2 year blast ending with my rogue saving the world (granted after having set the world destroying monster free in the first place, but that was part of the fun)...
Stopped for a few years and then got started again with 3e and never stopped since...