Was Santa Claus the reason you started playing D&D?

[Obryn]

It was a gift, but not for Christmas.

Some family friends stayed with us for a few days, and one brought his dice, the red, 3-hole-punched Basic book, and Keep on the Borderlands.

The four of us played a session and I remember having a great time fighting an owlbear. The next day, the DM and I ran a solo session, since I got into the game so much. I was so proud when my magic-user made it to level 2.

Anyway, when they left, he left me with the game, the dice, and the module since he was moving on to Advanced D&D. (And, several years later, I had my folks buy all his AD&D books when he was done with it.)

-O

 

[Krensky]

I got a red box basic set years and years ago. Wasn't quite my the first introduction to RPGs (If I remember right the Mayfair Batman RPG was) but it was my first to D&D as a game and not a cartoon.

I don't know many kids that are old enough yet so I am gonna grab a few RPG starters from the company store and put them in the Toys for Tots barrel. It's my randomized make a new D&D player initiative.

Despite not being a fan of 4e, I'm probably going to do the same. It'll be better for them then a video game or some idiotic board game.

EDIT: Oh... Crap. That was not a dig or reiteration of stock criticisms. I meant that completely straight.

 

[der_kluge]

Santa didn't introduce me to D&D....

Jesus did!

That wacky Jesus...


My answer - no.

My longer answer - my story is kind of unusual. My oldest sister actually bought the red boxed set at KayBee Toys one year because it intrigued her. She held on to it for a while, and didn't quite know what to make of it. She ended up giving it to me. I had it for quite a while as well, and enjoyed the solo dungeon, but never did quite grasp the concept of the game. It wasn't until well into high school that I actually learned how to play it with a group (and that was 1e).

 

[Scribble]

I decided one day that I wanted to check out what D&D was. A short time later my sister bought me the black boxed set (with the big red dragon on the front.)

 

[Angel Tarragon]

No, but he was the reason I got to attend my first GenCon.

 

[Greg K]

Yes, but Santa Claus gave a copy of the Holmes Basic set to one of my friends. I just happened to be there when he got it and we began trying to figure out the game on the spot*.

About a month later, we met another group at our school already playing 1e and joined them.

* I still recall us thinking, initially, that the hit die is what you rolled to hit your opponent.

The funny thing is that, if had I not been called to dinner one evening about a year earlier, I would have begun playing oD&D with some of the older kids. It was at that dinner when my parents had announced that we were moving and took us to see the new house. My first new friend at the new school was the guy, who got the basic set

 

[Qualidar]

It was a gift, back around 1982, I can't remember if it was for my birthday or Christmas. I had previously been looking through my best friend's AD&D stuff. I remember it was the equipment lists that fired my imagination. Thieves' Tools!! I loved playing thieves!!

 

[Korgoth]

No... but my D&D stuff did come from Toys R Us.

I was about 8 when I first saw the Moldvay set in the hands of some fellow kid who I didn't know very well. We played something based on it... and it was enough for me! I had to have it, and my guardian units duly acquired it.

Do kids still shop at toy stores? I think having a kid-accessible version of D&D in Toys R Us, Wal Mart and Target is key.

Scott... I know you guys went in a particular direction with the 4E Starter Set, and that's a done deal. But have you gents considered doing a "D&D Jr."? I wouldn't necessarily call it that, but hopefully you get the idea (I'm a Gaming Minimalist about D&D... but I don't suppose you'd call it Minimalist D&D either)?

 

[The_Baldman]

I played for the first time in 82' when I was 11 in the church basement with some older kids. My neighbor was with me so he got his mom to buy him the red basic boxed set. I asked for it for Christmas so Santa got me the blue expert set and the advanced monster manual. So not the best pairing of items to start my D&D career (I guess I can call it a career at this point kinda) but Santa tried his best. The expert set had none of the rules for 1st-3rd level in them so I had to borrow my neighbors books all the time. This Adv. D&D made no sense to me for a while either. I still have both those items in my collection on the shelf. The box the Expert set came in is long destroyed and gone. I have the books though. My AD&D MM still has a sticker with my name on it on the inside cover (a gift from my grandma that year so I put my name on everything I could find that year).

 

[Altamont Ravenard]

I think I bought (or asked for) the red box set after I saw it in a hobby store, because I watched the TV show.

AR