D&D and the Olympics
Posted By Kathleen David on August 19, 2004
Dungeons and Dragons is 30 years old today. To celebrate they are going to be playing D&D at GenCon this evening. I can remember when the first books came out. The Dungeon Masters Guide was a really big deal back then. I have two groups I played with. I had my regular group that met at my house and then an occasional group that would meet irregularly usual Saturdays after we had seen a movie. We would play the game and talk about the movie we just all saw. It was fun to go through the adventures that the GM would create. I think everyone who played has one character that they will always remember above all others. Mine was a Ranger who by the time I retired him had two nasty scars one on his face and one on his arm which gave him a very surly appearance. We also got into one of THOSE discussions that happens in D&D. It was about sexuality and the percentage of the population that was suppose to be homosexual. We figured out what the die roll would be. I rolled it and ended up with a gay Ranger . He stayed in the closet with his fellow adventures but would slip off into town for a night of fun. I think I still have his character sheet somewhere. I can remember when we saw our first character sheets. Before that you used a lot of lined paper. I think I still have my dice somewhere. I know that I have a complete basic D&D boxed set at my parents house.
My 41st Birthday is coming up soon. I find it interesting that Ariel, Peter and my birthdays are in the same month and if Ariel
Well, in case I’m not around (or alive) to do so at the time, happy birthday, Kath!
I don’t know if you ever watched Freaks and Geeks, but there was a great episode where they spent the night playing D&D with one of the freaks (played by James Franco) who named his dwarf “Carlos”.
I remember that — Carlos the dwarf.
If memory serves, that was F&G’s season/series finale. Man, what a great show — I wish it had been given a chance to find an audience. I mean, hey, any show that gives Joel “MST3K” Hodgson recurring guest spots is bound to kick ášš. 🙂
I didn’t realize today was D&D’s 30th birthday. That means my little brother is all of 18 days older than D&D. This probably means something … not sure what. (Maybe I should start calling *him* Carlos the Dwarf and see what happens.)
And happy almost-birthday to Kath! (And to Peter, from the sound of it.)
TWL
If you still play, let me suggest Kenzer and companys Hackmaster game for that old style D&D feel. Its mainly 1st and 2nd ed mixed together with some new bits of goodness.
Jeff
hi