Your First Character and their impact

[Felix]

AD&D 2nd edition elf thief/wizard. Sneaky with spells.

He didn't last too long (the high school upperclassman who was DMing us graduated), but there have been plenty of characters who have followed his mold. I just can't do without skills.

 

[ThirdWizard]

My first character was an elvish female named Bambi. She died in her first encounter because another PC's response to a watchman's "Who goes there?" was to shoot him in the head. The party was quickly dispatched by the city guard.

I did not play D&D again after that for several years.

 

[exile]

My first D&D character (Red Box) was a male thief with a hand axe. He really wasn't much better defined than that. Other than fighting couple of wolves at the entrance of a dungeon, I don't remember much about him.

I do periodically still play thieves, but I play about equal parts male and female characters. It's been a long time since any of my characters used a hand axe, at least as a primary weapon.

Chad

 

[Wombat]

I play very, very rarely. Instead, I run the games...

I GM 80+% of the time in my 30+ years of gaming.

So while I remember my first game very well, I don't remember my first character at all.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

My first character was an Elf from the Basic set. Not being aware of Norse mythology at the time I named him Thor because I thought it sounded good. One DM I played with decided to have the god Thor show up, annoyed I was using his name, and lay the smackdown on me.

The character itself had little impact on characters I played since, but the manner of his death impacted my tolerance for bad DMs.

 

[Halivar]

My first character was a first-level Ftr/MU in a game with level 13 PC's (and a level 20 Psion/Cleric). He died four times in the first two sessions.

I don't play spellcasters anymore.

 

[Calico_Jack73]

I discovered the ElfQuest graphic novels before I got into D&D (Larry Elmore Red Basic Set). Being a big ElfQuest fan my first character was, of course, an Elf and I preoccupied my time with tracking down a Dire Wolf cub to raise as a mount.

Nowadays I for the most part prefer power-hungry-though-not-necessarily-evil Wizards and Rangers that are more reminiscent of Indiana Jones than Aragorn.

 

[SpiderMonkey]

I mostly DM, so take all of this with a grain of salt.

My first character was the sample fighter who fights Bargle in the Red Boxed Basic Set. Good times. No impact, really. My first batch of characters after that were fighters, but my first big deal character was a Magic-User.

After that, I got addicted to thieves in 2e, and then thief/magic-users.

With 3rd ed, while I've dallied with them, I have no desire to play rogues or arcane casters anymore. I've fallen in love with paladins and clerics. I just can't get enough of buffing, going to town with a greatsword, and then healing whoever needs it. Maybe I'll get burnt out and go exclusively monks (but as I currently detest the class, this seems unlikely).

Any carryover from my first character? I voted "no." I still prefer good aligned characters and humans, but I'm not sure that's due to Red Boxed Set.

 

[kenobi65]

My first PC (made using the Basic D&D boxed set in 1982) was an elf named Rolf. I only played him three or four times. I don't think he had any lasting impact on my gaming, other than maybe I play a fair number of elves (but that could be just as much about Tolkien).

Now, my *second* PC was a human fighter named Olivia. 25 years and multiple conversions later, I still play her occasionally.

 

[TheYeti1775]

My first character was a 1E Bard (the 1st PrC), he died via Distingration in the 4th level of TOEE.