Dungeons and Dragons

Oh my, you read that right. My friends and part of my family are ready to toss me away. But yes, I have returned to the earliest known Diane gaming world. Max, Carol and I drove down to my brother's house after work today to see if it was even possible for us to begin playing the game again.

Here's the story.

Once upon a time, long, long ago in a town far, far away, a young girl graduated from college. With no immediate plans in her future, she moved home and got a couple of jobs. It so happened that she returned to the familial abode during the year of her brother's final high school grade. The little brat that had annoyed her for so many decades (ok, about 1.8) was actually interesting!

He and two of his friends were playing a strange game called "Dungeons and Dragons" and having a blast being creative. So, without further ado, she figured out how to make it more comfortable for them to play by adding music, atmosphere and food. She also learned to play the game with them.

Hours and hours of endless creative fun passed that year. The girl and her brother were able to become friends and peers. But, alas, he graduated and went to college and she left town for a job far away. Whenever they managed to be home together, sporadic games of D&D would occur, but it was never the same again.

I honestly just figured that with the rapid growth of computer role-playing games (RPGs) and then the onset of online RPGs, Dungeons and Dragons was a thing of the past. About 4 years ago, a rather strange young man came into the print shop and was copying player character sheets and maps for an adventure. Lo and behold, I found that the paper gamers were still quite active and in fact, the publishing company just released the 4th Edition of the Game.

I purchased the set: Dungeon Master's Guide, Monster Manual and Player's Handbook. I purchased some dice: 8-sided, 20-sided, 12-sided, 10-sided, 4-sided. Oh yes and a few regular six-sided die as well. Jim started designing his adventure for us and this evening we settled in with pizza, pop (diet mt. dew for me - 25 years ago, it was regular mt. dew and Hostess ho-hos. None of us can do that regularly now!) and books in hand.

We were lame. Many things have changed, many things were forgotten in the last 25 years. But, we had fun nonetheless. And the best part was introducing the game to my nephews and my husband. I need to study the Player's Handbook and get some of the rules under my belt again.

It's such a great way to spend an evening. There is constructive play, lots of conversation and you actually have to think creatively. I had a lot of fun, Max had never played before and thought it was fun. This is going to be a blast!

I'm a female Elvin Cleric. I can cast spells, heal, and wield a weapon. Now, how could life get better than that?