Mostly I would categorize myself as a "computer nerd", although I definitely would qualify for several other species of nerd also. During my teen to young adult years, my group of friends did almost every geek-type pastime that was available to us. We held LAN parties 6 times a year, built our own computers, played the whole spectrum of board games, went head to head in Halo, and watched Mystery Science Theater regularly.
My friends, none of that compares to these 3 words.
Dungeons & Dragons.
It's really amazing that we never tried Dungeons & Dragons (DnD) sooner. Although my friends and I definitely ran in those social circles, we never really ran into anyone that played it (although we did have some enthusiastic LARPing acquaintances). About the closest we came was playing computer games that ran on the similar dice-roll mechanic.
My experience with DnD started a little over 2 years ago. My brother Jason had pointed me towards a podcast that was simply 3 guys and a Dungeon Master (DM) trying to save the world. Not only was the podcast hilariously entertaining, but it sounded like they were having so much fun! For the first time I had a glimmer of understanding why people love this game.
Shortly after this, my brother and I had the opportunity to attend PAX. It had been a dream of ours to attend a gaming convention, so we hopped on a plane and flew west 1,500 miles to Seattle. In the midst of a whirlwind of game-related activities, we knew we had to make our way to the Wizards of the Coast booth and try this thing called DnD. After a short intro game, we were hooked.
So, why, if we attended PAX over 2 years ago, are we just getting around to starting our first game now? It's called life, my friend. We have had a couple of "failed launches" along the way, and I have to give all the credit to my dear husband for taking the reins and saying "we're doing this" (although our friends Ike and Bryce who bought him the red box starter set deserve their share I suppose). Mix that with a semi-dedicated group of nerds who can manage to carve out a Sunday night every week or so, and you have it.
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| Things don't look good for Yoda-Gandalf of Dumbledore. |
P.S. Trevor's computer ate all the pictures I took except this one, so I'm sure there will more to come after our next session!
for the record. my coputer didn't eat the pictures, it was user error.
ReplyDelete"Things don't look good for Yoda-Gandalf of Dumbledore."
LOL
I rember the look on his/her face. Not sure if yoda gandolf is a woman or a man I haven't pressed the issue.