How were you introduced to RPGs?

[Jeff Wilder]

My mom's best friend's boyfriend drove my school bus. He found a coverless copy of the D&D Expert rulebook and gave it to me. I inferred the underpinnings (that were in the Basic rulebook) and off I went.

Until I received the Basic set that Christmas, none of my dungeons had dragons or even orcs in them ... because I didn't know they existed. Lots of vampires and giant scorpions, though!

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

Closest option is "A family member introduced me". A better option for me would have been something like:

"While visiting a distant relative, I stumbled across a monster manual and spent the rest of the holiday poring over it, then received the game as a gift after my parents apparently talked to his parents to make sure it wasn't satanic like they were saying on the teevee."

 

[Richards]

My cousins introduced D&D to me and my two brothers during one memorable visit over the summer. They brought pre-generated PCs for us to choose from, threw us into a dungeon they had created, and there was no looking back. That Christmas, my brothers and I each received one book of the core AD&D books: I got the DMG, the next brother in line got the PHB, and the youngest got the MM. We learned the new system and started bringing several of our friends into the fold.

Johnathan

 

[Coldwyn]

I got introduced to RPGs twice, both times by accident:

we had family vacation on the island of Sylt when I was around age 8 and a fit of bad weather forced us to stay indoors for some time. My dad decided to drive over to the local library to borrow some games so we could pass the time. He came back with a DSA box (local german rpg) and we had a blast.

Later, at around age 12, some class mates took me along to a holiday in southern france. En route, we stopped by at our LFGS to get some alpha edition Magic cards. Well, we bought some Paranoia books instead, which got me hooked and, sadly, spoiled for the rest of my gaming life

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Hello, I'm The Auld Grump, and I'm a wargamer.

I was a wargamer when a brand new game showed up from a small company called Tactical Studies Rules, and several members of the wargaming group that I was in at the time decided to make a spinoff group to try this new game, in the darkened and seedy recesses of the Unitarian church basement. (Ironically, one of the members of this spinoff group was a Catholic priest, who had been sneaking into the local U/U for his wargaming fix....)

So, I guess I count as having an invite by a group, though I was one of the founding members, back then.

The Auld Grump

 

[Stormonu]

There was a bit piece on the NBC national news about the guy who disappeared into the steam pipes up North. They showed some shots of a game in progress (with minis), and I told my dad I wanted the game.

I'm actually surprised he bought it, considering what the piece was about.

 

[malcolypse]

i was probably about ten when a friend wanted to introduce me to d&d. he gave me a dwarf fighter and proceeded to send me with no concept of how the game was supposed to work after a dragon that killed me in one round.

i never played a game with him again, and didn't roleplay again for a few years. i had met some friends that were into the game and i played a few sessions that didn't wow me, but the friends were great and as we matured, the games got better and better. they still are getting better and better, when we have time for them.

when i was about 13-ish, my cousin married an avid gamer. they talked to me about gaming when i mentioned it, and they decided that i should come spend a week with them one summer. she and her husband became my gamer gurus and they hooked me with super-being stories that were nothing like the comics that i had grown bored with, but turned supers into very real people with an abundance of new and interesting things to do other than beat up the most recent bank-robber-with-powers-and-a-funny-suit or have their youthful ward get hooked on drugs.

now, a little over twenty years into the hobby and i'm looking forward to passing it on to my neices and nephew soon, and someday to my little ones.

 

[Ahnehnois]

I thought it was a terrible idea (playing D&D). Friends sold me on it. Good thing I did. I have trouble imagining an ad or FLGS getting me (or any newcomer) to start gaming.

 

[IronWolf]

I got the Dungeon! boardgame for Christmas. In the box there was an ad for the 1981 Basic and Expert sets. I saw the artwork on the basic set and knew that I wanted that game.

I think this is the way I was introduced as well. I say think as I can't recall exactly what motivated me to get the basic set to start with. I know I got the basic set via one of those deals where you sell greeting cards and if you sold so many you could choose an item from the "prize" list - I chose the D&D basic set.

I also had the Dungeon! board game and I do think it predated my experience with the actual D&D basic set, so I think this is the path I took into the RPG.

 

[David Howery]

when I was an innocent youth, I was walking down the street, and a man in a trench coat and hat lured me into an alley. Then he asked me if I wanted to play D&D.


Nah, not really. I first noticed the game when in a toy store (the one place in town that sold board wargames), and noticed a big display of D&D miniatures. Later I found out about the game that went with them....