“I’ve got… a 20-sided die.” (“d20” via curious_spider)
For the past week, I’ve been listening to a Dungeons and Dragons Podcast, where three guys who create web comics play an adventure. It’s just them a and a DM (who happened to write the Dungeon Masters Guide, 4th Ed.).
It is, quite possibly, the nerdiest thing I’ve ever done.
And, I couldn’t be enjoying it more.
As many of you know, me and my homies in High School used to roll the dice. Our game was AD&D (2nd Edition). We played it pretty loose and fast (no encumbrance, maps or mini-figurines — plenty of magical weapons and god-like stats), but we loved it.
Mock though many may, I find it difficult to recall more enjoyable evenings as a youth — than those spent in my friends’ basements. Laughing, drinking soda, eating junk food, listening to music and — yes — using our imaginations. Eventually, we stopped playing by senior year (thanks, mostly, to the “crack-cocaine” version of D&D — Magic: The Gathering) and, ended up moved along in the world.
Every so often, we’d have pipe dreams of getting together and gaming for a weekend (like with the passing of Gary Gygax last year). Jokes about magic missles and jaunglers scores flow freely. But time, as you get older, doesn’t usually allow for such things to happen. Too many moons to align.
Nostalgia for those D&D games came flooding back last week, however, when I read a series of stories by Wil Wheaton (the actor). He decided to introduce his son (and his son’s two friends) to the world of D&D, by DM’ing an adventure for them. Though the writing contains some gaming terminology, it’s a still fantastic account of what it’s like to play — and, moreover, experience it for the first time. You can really get a sense of how it ‘clicks’ in the kids heads that this is something completely different from other games they’ve played. And what a blast it is. My favorite passage:
“As you crouch down to leap away, she looks down at you and snorts contemptuously. She slashes at you with her left claw, but when it snaps closed, you’ve already lept through her grasp! You lock your hands around the neck of this statue, and spin around it, tucking your feet in and avoiding the wyrmling’s bite. You let go of the statue, somersault in the air, and land on your feet behind her.”
“That was so cool,” Nolan said.
His friend and I both nodded. I realized that I was having a lot of fun visualizing the action in my head, and describing it to them all as evocatively as possible.
They ended up killing the dragon shortly after that, thanks to Nolan’s successful use of his Daily Power, a Brute Strike that hit for 23.
“Drawing on all your strength, focus and training, you pull your maul back and let out a mighty Dwarven battle cry as you swing it around your head. The wyrmling’s eyes narrow, then widen in surprise as you land a mighty blow right on her skull. She howls in rage as the force of your attack slams her head against the wall. She lets out a short, sharp, yelp of pain, and then collapses to the ground,” I tipped the mini over on its side and after a brief but dramatic pause I added, “you have killed the dragon.”
The three of them cheered.
It’s wholly different experience than video games (which we all know I love). It’s a social (rather than solitary) experience. You only get one life, and your only limit is your imagination (and, how well you roll).
You can read the posts here: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Epilogue.
So, after reading them, it led me to download the podcast. I’ve been listening all week, and I’m really getting a kick out of them. I find myself laughing as their exploits remind me of some my own (in the D&D world).
Which lead me to writing this post to tell you how much I loved — and still love — D&D. If it’s good enough for Stephen Colbert and Eddie Izzard, it’s good enough for me.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go read up on this 4th Edition stuff. No more THAC0? Madness! (Anyone want to get a game together?)
