Do you remember your first time?

No, I'm not posting to the wrong group, I just wanted to get your attention ;-)

I was wondering how everyone started playing (A)D&D. Trying to explain the game to someone who has never played it demonstrates how esoteric D&D is (compared to Monopoly anyway!).

I first started playing around 1981-82. Someone at school (we were aged about 12) produced the Basic set which was current at the time. Every breaktime was soon filled with the sounds of heroic(ish) fantasy adventure. Within a fortnight it seemed nearly our whole year (the boys at least - the girls were far too sensible for this childish game!) knew the Caves of Chaos (part of the Module called "The Keep on The Borderlands", B2), inside out and back to front. From here on most of us were hooked (one friend of the time is still a player in my campaign).

We played a series of adventures (I think calling it a campaign would lend it too much credibility) using basic rules characters. In the end we even ended up trying to play AD&D modules without AD&D PCs or AD&D rules (Dwellers of the Forbidden City, I1). Guessing what druids were like or what a minor globe of invulnerability was lent an "interesting" flavour to proceedings! At that time I'm not sure we even knew there was a difference between basic and advanced D&D. Well, we were very young!

From then on of course it's all been downhill, and aside from five years at medical school (too little money, too much studying) I've played ever since.

I'd be interested to hear how other players started and whether anyone's ever managed to match the sense of wonder associated with that first adventure? (Even if you've played to a "higher" standard since).

14th Dec 1996