Twenty Five Years

[Greyhawk_DM]

For me, I remember guys talking about the lastest adventure they were on, the monsters they were fighting, the spells so and so had just gotten etc...I starting talking to a mutual friend and he and I went to a game that they were having. I was new so I didn't have any characters so I borrowed two PC's from the guy that brought me to the game. A monk and I think a fighter, but not real sure. So off we went into "The Queen of the Demonweb Pits" module. That was around 1982-1983 [not sure of the date] but it is close. The rest as they say is history.

 

[talinthas]

i think it was 1981 that i was born...
oh, wait, we're talking gaming =)
heh. i discovered gaming, and dragonlance, in 1993. 2nd edition, tales of the lance box set.
yeah, i'm young =)

 

[pogre]

d10s? You mean those new fangled things that replaced our 20 siders for percentile rolls?

d20s!?
You mean those new fangled things with the teens marked that replaced my "d10" and d6 combo.

Christmas break 1975 - delving into a massive dungeon my cousin created.

I used to get my brother to do my share of household chores by working on a dungeon for him to go through.

I was talking about my experiences at GenCon 17 with a former student of mine and he was kind enough to point out he was not born yet. geez...

 

[fusangite]

What a couple of relics. I didn't get started until '81 myself.

That was the year I started too. Still, I continue to be troubled by one of my players' remark during a discussion of our dice that my D6 from the Basic Set was older than he was.

Thanks for bringing this up. I should plan something cool for June 2006 for my 25 year anniversary. While my first game is not that memorable, buying the set was in that (a) my right leg began spontaneously bleeding for no reason on the way home from the shop and (b) the purchase of the game had been recommended by a child psychiatrist instead of medication or further therapy.

Edit: I realize some members of ENWorld probably wish the psychiatrist had recommended something different.

 

[diaglo]

I was talking about my experiences at GenCon 17 with a former student of mine and he was kind enough to point out he was not born yet. geez...

i remember Gen Con 17. i still have the t-shirt somewhere.

let me just add my signature line to this walk down memory lane.

Original D&D (1974) is the only true game. All the other editions are just poor imitations of the real thing.

 

[hong]

i remember Gen Con 17. i still have the t-shirt somewhere.

So, would that be the GenCon of 1817, or the GenCon of 1917?

 

[Theron]

i remember Gen Con 17. i still have the t-shirt somewhere.

let me just add my signature line to this walk down memory lane.

Original D&D (1974) is the only true game. All the other editions are just poor imitations of the real thing.

A friend of mine played in an "old school" session at Dragon*Con this year. They used the White Box rules, tons of old TSR dice, and a first printing of "City State of the Invincible Overlord". It took them three hours of play to go two blocks and they had six combat encounters along the way.

Incidentally, the other day, I found my copy of Metamorphosis Alpha and was once again struck by how minimalistic things were in the early days. Five buck, thirty two page rules set with holes you could march a regiment through, and mostly crummy art. But who knows how many hours I devoted to it?*


*Judging from the condition of the spine, many, MANY hours.

 

[Mercule]

d10s? You mean those new fangled things that replaced our 20 siders for percentile rolls?

Oh, sure. Rub the salt in. Want some lemon juice, too.

It's not my fault the rat bastard took mine. Since he thought you "rolled for AC", that's probably exactly what he's using them for.

It's okay though. These d10s are the ones I took to con and ended up having someone take to the judges to see if they were loaded. Of course, that was because I took the ragtag band of Highlanders I was given as a newbie and marched them uphill, through his cannons, and then fed him his elite Napoleonic guard.

Ah! Never have those dice left my side (figuratively speaking, I'm a nerd, not a freak) since that day.

 

[Theron]

d20s!?
You mean those new fangled things with the teens marked that replaced my "d10" and d6 combo.

Point of order...

There were no d10s in the original TSR dice. There was a pink d20, a white d20, a pale blue d12, a green d8, a very clunky and sharp edged orange d6, and the Yellow Caltrop of Mother Crippling (d4).

With the exception of the d6, they were also incredibly soft. My white d20 is almost round and most of the numbers are unreadable due to living in the pocket of my jeans for most of my high school years.

 

[jrients]

A friend of mine played in an "old school" session at Dragon*Con this year. They used the White Box rules, tons of old TSR dice, and a first printing of "City State of the Invincible Overlord". It took them three hours of play to go two blocks and they had six combat encounters along the way.

I've considered doing something similar at our next Winter War in Champaign, Illinois. I recently acquired the second half of the tournament module used at Winter War 4, some 26 years ago. (The tournament was published by Judges Guild as the modules Tower of Ulission and Sword of Hope.)

EDIT: misspelled sword.