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Message: <blockquote data-quote="PeacemakerSG" data-source="post: 5406447" data-attributes="member: 53077">I was 10 years old when the call came in during the summer of '77.  An invitation to play something I've never heard of, nor understood what it was from the description over the telephone.  But a summer night with the entire neighborhood gang sounded good. The mechanics were kept simple, and while short, the adventure was amazing.  My head was spinning with excitement after that fateful evening.  A month later, school back in session (7th grade), I overheard some classmates speaking in terms that sounded a lot like that game I had played.  They were inhaling the contents of a curious looking book, which turned out to be the Players Handbook.  "There are books?!!!", I silently exclaimed.  That Christmas I had saved enough paper route money to splurge for the three core books.  I devoured them.I had a wonderful six year run with AD&D, dabbling in a few other RPGs in the duration.  A somber 18 year hiatus, from table top gaming, began at the early death of our beloved friend, first and favorite DM, to Leukemia in the fall of 1983 (he was only 20).  That plus a transition to college pushed gaming nearly out of my attentions but was not completely forgotten.  I continued to accumulate items, most of MERP, lots of TSR/WOTC stuff, and a few other things of interest but I never played.  From time to time I found a few hours here and there to continue "work" on my campaign world, story ideas, and notes about improving RPG systems.  Life marched on.In March 2001, by chance, I noticed a poster in front of a WOTC store, a place I had walked by a number of times, glancing but not breaking the threshold.  It stated that D&D games were to be held in the store on the weekend.  With encouragement from my sweetheart, and courage to risk opening an old wound, I showed up for the game.  It was WOTC's effort to introduce 3.0.  I picked up where I had been on the first night when I was 10, playing my heart out, rules inexperienced but ready for action.  It took only a few session to learn this new version (I skipped playing 2.0 even though I had some of the books).  By the end of May I was hooked, again.  Then the store manager made me an offer - we'll pay you to DM.  From the summer of 2001 through the spring of 2002, I was a professional Dungeon Master.  How cool is that!  Apparently I was a hit, scoring as many as 21 players in my game some days.  By spring's end, WOTC decided to end gaming in the store, choosing to dedicate the floor space to merchandise.  I invited a small cadre of players to continue my campaign in my home.  That game lasted for almost four years.  Afterward I went back to being a player, my first love, as others in this group took turns at running games. In 2009, life interrupted game time and to be fair to the other players, I stopped playing due to the lack of regular availability on my part.Presently, I am relocating my family and will look to join or create a new group.  Reinvigorated after 18 years, I now spend more time in effort to complete a novel and a gaming system with an accumulated 34 years of playing, scheming, and dreaming.  That first adventure, long ago on a warm summer night has not been forgotten.  I have memorialized it in chapter one of my novel-in-progress.  It's good to dream.RIP Peter, and thanks.</blockquote>

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