Oyez, Oyez, Oyez!
Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2014 4:35 pm
My first roleplaying game experience started during the summer while attending a day camp held at one of the local elementary schools. It was raining that day which meant that we would be spending our day in the gym and adjacent hallway until it stopped. On rainy days the counselors would bring out stacks of board games and set-up the film projector to play movies like the Little Rascals or old silent films featuring Charley Chaplin and Buster Keaton. That day I was bored and wandering around. I came across a group of older boys in the hallway playing on long table that was set-up to prevent us from wandering the reset of the halls in the school. They had a large detailed map laid out in front of them. I walked over and watched them. One person (DM I guess) was telling the other boys about a sword hanging in a garden and pointing to it on a very detailed the map. I watched and listened for as long as I could until one of the boys noticed me. Being several years younger (6 or 7) from the boys (10-11) I got the traditional "get out of here". I moved away but still stayed in ear shot so I could still listen. I didn't get to play but defiantly wanted to.
Soon after while visiting what I guess you could describe it as a general store, it had clothing, sporting equipment, and shoes on the main floor and upstairs had a small toy section, I discovered a freestanding point of purchase display of AD&D Players Handbook and Monster Manual. The P.O.P. used the artwork of the horned statue featured on the player's handbook. The artwork mesmerized me. I'm sure I bugged my mother to purchase them but she didn't.
A couple years later for either Christmas or my birthday my parents gave me Moldvay's Basic Rules Box Set for D&D which was newly released. Unfortunately I was not very strong reader or enjoyed reading but I did my best to read the rulebook. I would read the book in little spurts writing the word "stop" (still visible in my book) when I did. Even after I finished the rulebook I still didn't understand how to play. It wasn't until a year later that I got my first real taste. An older boy hosted an introduction to D&D session at our local library and my mother signed me up. He showed us how to make up a character and started us through a module. The module he started us on was S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks. We didn't get very far. We missed a room with laser pistols and once we started encountering the robots we were toast. The following school year I changed schools and was lucky to be placed in a class with three other D&D lovers. During recess when everyone else was on the playground playing, we would sneak back into our classroom and play D&D.
Classic D&D will always be my favorite game, but over the years I have been fortunate to find other players that have introduced me to some other great roleplaying games. Some of my favorites are Call of Cthulhu, West End Games Star Wars, Cyberpunk 2020, and Hero Systems Champions. I am always looking to try a new game or an out-of print game to add to my list of favorites.
Soon after while visiting what I guess you could describe it as a general store, it had clothing, sporting equipment, and shoes on the main floor and upstairs had a small toy section, I discovered a freestanding point of purchase display of AD&D Players Handbook and Monster Manual. The P.O.P. used the artwork of the horned statue featured on the player's handbook. The artwork mesmerized me. I'm sure I bugged my mother to purchase them but she didn't.
A couple years later for either Christmas or my birthday my parents gave me Moldvay's Basic Rules Box Set for D&D which was newly released. Unfortunately I was not very strong reader or enjoyed reading but I did my best to read the rulebook. I would read the book in little spurts writing the word "stop" (still visible in my book) when I did. Even after I finished the rulebook I still didn't understand how to play. It wasn't until a year later that I got my first real taste. An older boy hosted an introduction to D&D session at our local library and my mother signed me up. He showed us how to make up a character and started us through a module. The module he started us on was S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks. We didn't get very far. We missed a room with laser pistols and once we started encountering the robots we were toast. The following school year I changed schools and was lucky to be placed in a class with three other D&D lovers. During recess when everyone else was on the playground playing, we would sneak back into our classroom and play D&D.
Classic D&D will always be my favorite game, but over the years I have been fortunate to find other players that have introduced me to some other great roleplaying games. Some of my favorites are Call of Cthulhu, West End Games Star Wars, Cyberpunk 2020, and Hero Systems Champions. I am always looking to try a new game or an out-of print game to add to my list of favorites.
