How were you first introduced to D&D?

[redcard]

Graph paper and D6's and playing cards. I made my own dungeon crawler. We had, at the time, four stats. We had "Offense, Defense, Health, Magic Points." I'd never even heard of D&D.

So I typed it all up, got it printed out on my dad's electric typewriter, took it to a copy shop and played with friends for a good long while. We didn't really have much in the way of things written down with regards to monsters and what not.

One day, I took it to a game store, being the naive 12 year old kid I was, and showed it off. The guy laughed at me and about put me in tears. When he figured out he really hurt me, he calmed me down and told me that he was sorry, that he thought I'd just copied it out of something. See, I was a product of divorce, and grew up in a part of the country that considered RPGs "the Devil's work." My church handed out Chick tracts. My local bookstore refused to stock RPGs, etc. I'd never seen them before, ever. I just liked board games and thought this was a natural extension.

So then showed me the first edition stuff. My father bought it for me, and I started playing that with my friends instead of our old "graph paper game."

 

[pawsplay]

In 1982, I encountered a Monster Manual at a summer church retreat. I was 8. I had no idea what it was for, however, and for a while went with the theory it was some kind of encyclopedia of folklore, and the idea it was associated with a game was intriguing but confusing. A few months later, the next door neighbor kid, an older did, introduced me to D&D shortly before my nineth birthday. By the time I was 11, I was DMing (badly) and started playing AD&D.

By age 12, I was into Talislanta, Star Wars, TMNT, GURPS, and my own designs. By 13 I had stopped playing D&D altogether, and apart from a brief AD&D campaign in 1994, would not resume until 2000, with 3e.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

I read about Dungeons & Dragons in the novelisation of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and then happened upon a one-volume British edition of the "red box" Basic Set a few months later. This was in early 1991, so I was about ten years old.

For those who never bought that product, it teaches you to play as a solo player first, starting with a sort of short story where you play a fighter and attack a monster, then by a sort of Choose Your Own Adventure-style sequel where you meet up with the cleric Aleena to venture into a dungeon and eventually fight the Chaotic wizard Bargle. Each step, you roll more dice.

Then they introduce the full rules, and the DM's section has a sequel dungeon intended for a full party. The first level is fully mapped-out, the second level is mapped but not populated, and the third level is left for the new DM to design completely.

Pramas's comments about the new Player's Handbook not really teaching a completely inexperienced player how to play don't bother me so much, because I understand that Wizards of the Coast is planning a new introductory product for later on.

 

[Jabba Von Hutt]

I think you're wrong

Back in 1975 Games and Puzzles magazine ran a two page article on this new game from the 'states called "Dungeons and Dragons". It talked about it briefly and showed an example dungeon map. I was inspired, and although I couldn't afford the price of the rules (it was about 20 times my weekly pocket money!) I wanted to play, so I wrote my own rules (about half a page of A4), drew a dungeon and got to it.

When I got the opportunity I bought "Greyhawk" (supplement 1) because I could afford that )) and that plus some guesswork and some magazine articles got me going on D&D proper.

I've never had any problems just picking up the product and running with it.

Cheers

I would place you in the 1st generation of RPGers where you had no other choice but to teach yourself. But, I think historically more people had some sort of exposure to the game or RGPs before ever picking up a book or box. Look at the number threads where although not formerly taught how to play, self taught people were exposed to it by an older family member or friend of a friend.

 

[drothgery]

First time playing was summer between high school and college when my sister's boyfriend at the time started a game. But I didn't start playing more seriously until a few months later, when the group I was hanging out with on-campus decided to start one up. Which lasted the better part of four years.

 

[Nightchilde-2]

Late 80s (don't remember the exact year), my parents..not knowing the monster they were to create by doing so...bought me the red box. I read it, taught myself how to play and have never been the same since.

 

[xechnao]

I was inspired, and although I couldn't afford the price of the rules (it was about 20 times my weekly pocket money!) I wanted to play, so I wrote my own rules (about half a page of A4), drew a dungeon and got to it.

I liked reading this.

 

[Altamont Ravenard]

I think I saw the cartoon, then saw the red box at a hobby store. The rest, as they say, is history.

AR

 

[redcard]

On that note, Best Buy has the Cartoon for $40. All 27 episodes

Just picked it up this weekend.

 

[Scribble]

One day I woke up thinking I wanted to play D&D... I don't remember why?

I talked to a "friend" about it on the bus... he said he had the red box and would be willing to be a DM. He leant me the box so I could read the rules... I did, but also read the Keep on The Borderlands... (I didn't know I wasn't supposed to, and it was cool!)

He was mad. He didn't DM. He was insane anyway and ended up moving away.

I then bought the big black boxed set (with the Eastly dragon on the front) and read that crazy set of cards it came with...

Then I ran Zanzer's Dungeon for some friends.

Took me a while to figure out a lot of RPG concepts... (ohhhh we should talk in first person? Why would I ever fall for ventriloquism? I know the player cast it? ooooooh I should base stuff liek that on the monster's INT not me...)

Zanzer became a reocurring villain in my games for a while... Even Magic jarring into an Elf, so he could show up later able to fight and cast magic after he'd already been killed twice... (I ran the dungeon for two groups of friends at two seperate times who then all joined into one group...)