D&D General Your first D&D experiences?


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I was driving somewhere back in 2000 when I heard an advertisement on the radio for the D&D College Tour. I’d transferred to Ohio State that year and remembered a friend of mine who went to school there would set his away status to “Playing D&D in the Union” every Saturday, so I went over to check it out. I picked up some tat, which I still have, and then went to the Union that weekend to play my first D&D game. I made a fighter, which the group helped me name (Gorman). I think I ended up getting the books as a Christmas gift. I played 3e with that group for a while, then my friend and some others split off to run our own game.

I eventually got my turn to DM. My game was very strange because I made it up as I went along. It was set ostensibly in the Realms, but since I never bothered to read any of the books, I just used the names on the maps and made the rest up. I’m sure someone who was deeply into the lore would have had a conniption, assuming the campaign itself didn’t do them in. That campaign is still a source of memes though all these years later, so I must have done something right. We took a break from D&D for a while, but we eventually came back, and I’ve been our forever DM ever since (other people run other games, but I’m the run who runs something D&D-like).

I’m also still running for that and one of the other guys from our college group these 22 years later.

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A quick look at the props and I calmly thought: "Cool, a flashdrive with 3e logo". Then the big "2000" hit me...
 

My first ever game was a GURPS fantasy game at summer camp before the sixth grade.

My first D&D game was an AD&D 2e game where I made a barbarian with a magical loincloth. I remember nothing else about it. Except...

A thing that has bugged me since that very first session. What is happening here? Is this a human pose? Seriously, try doing this in the mirror.


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That, sir, is called busting a door with style. Things you learn at Barbarian School in class Busting Doors Advanced: How to Mix It with Beyoncé-inspired Moves.
 


I bought the 1E books before finding a group, managed to get into one that was running a one shot with starting PCs, played some kind of half elf fighter/mage. The main thing I remember about that first adventure was getting stuck alone someplace with a zombie and killing it with a couple of lucky arrow shots as it was shambling in my direction. After that, I became a regular, rolled up several other PCs and ran them through a whole bunch of printed and homebrewed adventures....
 

pogre

Legend
A cousin introduced me to D&D in 1975. Got the three book set and we "played" something we called D&D. I did not fully understand the game until I got the Blue D&D box (Holmes) in 1977. I must have taken my group through B1 In Search of the Unknown a few dozen times.

We started going up to the gaming club at a nearby university and it was a hotbed of gaming designers and new ideas. Guys would come up from time-to-time from Decatur (home of Judges Guild), or over from Bloomington-Normal (Games Designer Workshop), or from Wisconsin (TSR). We sometimes got pushed to the side as kids, but for the most part everyone was very gracious and kind to us.
 


5e game with some people on the internet. Was playing the classing Edgy Drow rogue. During character creation I said, out loud "I'll take (proficiency in) Slight of Hand because I want to steal crap" (harsher words were used but grandma looks on this forum).

DM took us to a ruined dwarven city with a bunch of skeletons in clouds of gas. Decided to do the rogue thing and sneak up on them and give them a good stabbing. Proceeded to roll a natural 20 on both stealth and my attack roll and kill the skeleton in one hit. Then the rest of the skeletons decided they wanted to party too and proceeded take me to zero. The Paladin then decides to jump in, pick me up, and throw me out of harms way of the skeletons. Needless to say I've been hooked ever since.

I've also gotten better at playing the game and making characters, at least I hope so.
 

Mistwell

Crusty Old Meatwad (he/him)
1979, I was at a Jewish weekend summer camp. In a cabin with other kids I didn't know. Top bunk looking down, and members of the cabin invited another cabin over and they all started to play D&D. I had not even heard of it but I had just read Lord Of The Rings and couldn't believe people were playing hobbits and elves and dwarves and humans in their own adventure.
Got home and asked for all the books for my birthday.
 

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