Dungeons and Dragons Anyone?

[Calma]

Hey, I know there are a few who enjoy a few hours of fun playing this game.
Thought I'd start a thread about the game.

So, if you play or even if you don't and want to know what it's all about
Drop in and say hi!

What edition do you play?
What is your favorite class?
Describe some of your characters.
Who is your favorite character?
How about letting us know a bit about your current adventure.
Do you prefer playing or DMing?
And how long have you been playing?

I play AD&D 1e. (Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. First Edition)
I play many classes, but my favorite is fighter.
I like playing and DMing equally.
Been playing since 1984.
My favorite character is a tie between my first and my current character.

T'Git is my first character. (the 'g' is like when you say 'George')
6'11" Female Elf with blonde hair and green eyes.
Fighter from Taur Anon.
She came to be named T'Git because we played on Tuesdays
And at that time, my days off were Wednesday and Thursdays.
Her name is short for Thank God It's Tuesday.

My current favorite character is Darius Emanuel Parkington-Hurst.
Arch Mage of Achleyon.
5'11" Human Male with long white hair and ebony eyes.
He walks into a room and fills it up.
In a land that is mostly against Magic and those who wield it,
He boldly proclaims his skills and dares you to do something about it.
And yes, he's Marley's father.

Our current adventure is being run by my bff who turned me onto the game.
We are running 2nd and 3rd level characters
And are looking for ingredients for a medicinal potion.
We'll be going all over the Kingdom of Achleyon.

I'm running four characters on this one.
Hey, I do it all the time. We have only three players.

Marley Granger Parkington-Hurst.
Magic User. Level 2
Human Female.
She's 17 with light brown hair and blue eyes and is 5ft 5in tall.
She's a teenage girl who has moments of giggles
But is serious about her magics.

So, there you have some of my game.
How about you?

If you have any questions about the game, I'll try to answer them.
I don't claim to be an expert, but I'll do my best.

Happy Gaming....

[Highdruid_Cairns]

I played a little bit of D&D, some 2nd edition but mostly 3rd edition. I first started playing in like '98 or '99. Rangers are my favorite class, and then Elves are my favorite race.

I haven't played in about 6 years, 8 years if you actually count when I last played with other people at an actual table. For a few years I had to play online 'cause there was no one around who played anymore (life take everyone in different directions after all) but I gave up online playing 'cause it turned out to be too unreliable.

Favorite character would have to be my Gnome Cleric named Bappin. Devout pacifist. Should have heard some of the other characters/player complaining when he'd heal an army of goblins.

Anyway, no current characters a I haven't played in a while. I might have my character sheet for Bappin somewhere, I'll dig around and try to find it.

[Calma]

That's the way a neutral character is supposed to be.
They take care of their people first then look to the enemy's needs.
You played him well, HighDruid_Carins.

I've never played a Gnome though other players have.
I don't put restrictions on what a player can run.
It ruins the game for everyone.
I have rules, of course, but not to the point of tying the hand of my players.

I enjoy the times we play and I think my players do to.
Great fun around the table.

[Shadowfax]

D&D? Yep, we go way back.

I started playing around 1982. At first it was just with family, my dad DM'ing the very first dungeon I went in. He spent spent hours creating a dungeon that me and older sister explored...kinda. He was good at creating rooms and halls, but he forgot to put anything in them!

DM: "You open the door and see a 20' x 20' room with a wooden door across form you."

Shadowfax: "Is there anything in the room?"

DM: "No, it seems to be empy except for the door."

Shadowax: "Nothing?......again?. We enter the room slowly looking for traps."

DM: "You find nothing....no traps."


This was before we discovered that they had premade adventure modules!!!!

My dad even ran an NPC who also knew nothing! Elvin was his name, funny how some things stick in your mind after 30 years!


This went on for hours and we got real good at mapping dungeons!

Later on is was just my older brother and sister playing and sometimes a few friends would join in, but I don't think they shared the same adventuring desire that we had. We also played Star Frontiers and Gamma World.....that was kinda neat considering the cold war was still on and it might become reality one day! The last D&D game I played in was probably around 1990 or 91.................it's been a long time!

Recently I gave all my modules and books (a stack about 18" high!) to my nephews who currently enjoy the game. So my collection still lives on in Clearwater Florida, that makes me a little happier.

P.S. I kept all my lead figures (150 or so), they ain't getting them!




Shadowfax!

[Calma]

Shadowfax,

I give your dad huge props for playing the game with you.
I do ok with dungeon mapping, but tend to get confused after a bit.
Most times we don't map, just hope for the best.
Don't talk to me about traps.
Too many times I've had stuff blow up in my face because of them.
Stoopfid dice never roll right when you need them too...

Neat that you passed on your gaming things to your nephews, though.
Love that they are being used and loved.

I've never used mini's.
At first our table was too small to properly use them
Then when my babyman man and his best friend built me one
There were too many people at the table to set out a map.

Did you paint them up?
I know people who have.

[Shadowfax]

Yes, I painted them. Some came out pretty good I thought. I would give them a black wash (watered down black paint) last of all and that would highlight all the folds in the clothing, equipment etc... it gave them a more realistic look.

We used the figures mainly in battles so we could visualize where everyone was at! We also ran 3 to 4 characters each, throw in a dozen hobgoblins and things could get a bit fuzy. We also had a 24" inch sqaure piece of vinyl that had 1" squares printed on it and we marked the walls with a grease pen to further help see things. When the fight was finished we wiped it off for the next battle.

I will never forget the squeaky voice my father gave 'Elvin' (He was an Elf BTW!.....imaginative!!........ ) Why we kept that know nothing NPC was beyond me. Looking back now we probably kept him in the party only to hear my dad do his silly voice!


Shadowfax!

[Calma]

I can understand where mini's would come in handy.
We just never used them.
Yours sound great, btw.

I would have loved to hear Elvin's voice.
Must have been a riot to see your dad doing that.

I sometimes use different 'voices' for my characters
But most times they end up sounding all the same.

Well, exept for Tallee.
She's my little thief who sounds like she's from the Valley.
So blonde...
So ditzy....
So good at picking you pocket.

[Morwenna]

Back in 1982, after about 4 years of miscellaneous acquaintances in the SCA telling me I ought to join a D&D campaign, finally my best friend (my downstairs neighbor at the time) snookered me and a guy who used to travel to conventions with us into our first adventure (right after getting home from a con, BTW). It was AD&D 1st edition, and the world was her own invention. We brought in several other players after that, one or two at a time, and by the time the dungeon in her living room finally had to give up because too many people got lives (her included, when her job went away and she had to move back in with her mom) and game sessions were becoming too few and far between, my two characters had got up to about 6th level (only--she had her own way of keeping score) and we had gone through about 20 other people. She kept all the character sheets, which is OK sort of because sometimes she drags out one of them as an NPC in her current adventures or even as a one-shot player character for a drop-in player. Most of those other players weren't really interested in hanging onto their characters anyway, or even in playing D&D later on. But her world lives on at the conventions where she has a few regulars who play every year, sometimes twice if they go to more than one of the same cons she does. I rarely play in her world anymore beause when I'm at a con there are so many other things I want to do! Anyway, my characters there are a female human cleric named Nierri, who's been killed and resurrected, singed all over and at last sight was still trying to grow her long amber hair back... and a male halfling fighter-thief named Ranyc who spends an inordinate amount of time surreptitiously watching that cleric who's slowly growing her hair back, and wondering what makes her tick... Our friend knows, though, that my two characters are MINE, and she wouldn't DREAM of subletting them out!!!

Hubby and I have been playing at home in an AD&D 2nd edition milieu with an older married childless couple who have been gaming for many many years and have amassed a whole library by now. But with all that material there's no way they're going to invest in anything from future editions; after all, they're retired! Anyway, in there I have a dozen characters, because we used to go by the rule that in order to advance a character had to spend a certain number of weeks in training, and in a long-term adventure (such as Undermountain, which was the one we landed in when we started playing with them), we had to keep coming up with more people. Now, of course, we're doing a number of different scenarios, so we bring in whatever characters we feel will be best in that spot, keeping an eye to eventually giving each one a chance to rise in level. All my characters in this one are female, because the wife (the most-often DM) likes to have people playing their own gender, so when she's in charge my character is the only female in the party! Last I looked there were 2 humans, 2 half-elves, 6 elves, a gnome, a dwarf, and a halfling. That makes 13, doesn't it? And I've invested a lot of work into these gals. Most of them now have rather involved backstories, and one day I set out to write it all down, and it takes the form of each one addressing all the others one day in their off hours and telling her story. I still have about 3 to go (the dwarf [the most recent] and a couple of elves). They're quite a mix of classes, with a slight majority of clerics (most multiclassed), and there's actually a paladin. The world here is mostly Forgotten Realms, though adventures can come from any source, though the couple often played Judges' Guild in the old days and most of the husband's powerful characters came from that world. It's just understood that there are a lot of gates around... He used to be the mapper, but somewhere along the line the job fell to me, which is fine. The husband takes charge sometimes, and sometimes one of the other players does; right now another player is running it, so I'm not the only gal in the party this time!:)

Hubby has even more characters than I do. I only have one file box full; he's halfway through his second one. He started playing with various friends long ago (in fact he was one of those who tried to interest me in playing before my buddy succeeded), and he's built up a whole cast of characters from then. Then he had a few from our friend's games, and sometimes he still plays in hers and brings in one of his oldies from before. And now there's a whole cast that plays in the couple's games; but right now he's running one of his real old characters in there! (Yeah, there are plenty of gates...)

Who are my favorites? The halflings of course: Ranyc, whose backstory would even astonish our friend the DM; and Azalea, the cleric-thief who's sassy and talented but surprisingly honest. (No, I can't see any scenario where those two would meet. If they did they'd be more like long-lost cousins than like a couple.)

[Calma]

You've been playing two years longer than I, Morwenna!

Hey, we have lots of gates, too.
And I don't even want to get into how many characters I have.

Sounds like you are having some real fun playing the game.

Rarely do we run a module.
We usually run homebrew scenarios.
Sometimes when I'm stuck for ideas, I look at a module for inspiration.

Most of my characters have backstories, too.
Some more detailed than others, though.
Love your names, btw.

Can you give us a hint of the adventures you go on?

The last time we got together, it was so much fun
Because the other person we played with actually got into role playing.
All our characters were interacting and working as a team to get back our stuff.
We were ambushed with sleeping darts and woke up hog tied and with only our clothes.
Our characters are in their teens and on their first or second adventure.
We have a Paladin who yells: "Hold ye Varlets!!" then dives right into it.
We have to keep reminding him that not everything is a varlet.
Of course we did tell him that the people who took our stuff were varlets.
And he went to town on them.

It was so much fun.

Have a good game.

[Morwenna]

We use figurines too; the hosts have quite a few, mostly painted. They do come in handy for laying out marching order and battle plans. Our friend from the 1st Edition has a lot of figurines too, and at that time I wanted some for myself. But as time went on blank figues became harder to find, and now I don't think they even make the lead ones anymore. Something in me wanted to get into painting them myself, but that's a lost opportunity now.

[Calma]

We'll be playing this Friday and I will be running the game.
The party will be on another trek to find one of the five hidden domes.
The Domes are like stasis chambers from the time befor Achleyon was destroyed.
They contain important records, seeds, and at least one person from the court of the Garvin the First.

It'll be for 4-8th level characters.

Wish me luck...

[Shadowfax]

Ooooooooooooooo.....I'll be there in spirit and I roll 20's all the time......even on the six sided die!



Shadow-gygax!

[Calma]

Ooooooooooooooo.....I'll be there in spirit and I roll 20's all the time......even on the six sided die!



Shadow-gygax!

I'll leave a chair open for you at the table, buddy.

But no miss-rolling of the dice....

[Morwenna]

Right now my human cleric (the one in the 2nd Edition game, Ipemri, and if you think I modeled her on Nierri you're right) is in a group that just finished up a relatively short adventure and is about to embark on another in the same area, after allowing time for 3 other party members to train for their next levels.

ETA: I miscalculated in my first post; I only joined the SCA 3 years before starting to play D&D, so it can only have been that long at most that people were trying to get me to play!

[Silverberry_Spritely]

I played 1st ed. years ago - I need to get back into it.

[Calma]

Silverberry, do any of your friends like to play?
If not, maybe you can try to turn them onto the game.
The only other thing I could suggest is going to a local comic book store
They might have a bulletin board with people looking for gamers.
The bad thing about that is you never know what you are walking into.


Morwenna, you win the award for holding out.
I held out for about six months before my friends talked me into playing.

I'm almost ready to DM Friday.

[Silverberry_Spritely]

O_o

*tries to imagine drag queens and rednecks playing D&D*

I'll try the comic book store.

[Calma]

O_o

*tries to imagine drag queens and rednecks playing D&D*

I'll try the comic book store.

Now, that would be an interesting table for sure.

[Morwenna]

When I started, this guy and I had come home with our friend from an SF con (I had just moved into the apartment upstairs from her the week before, though we had been friends for about 3 years, and he lived down the street); and she had been gaming for several years already, so when we landed at home from the con, what she said to us was, "What you need is a good first-level dungeon!" Under her guidance, we each rolled up 2 characters, and played them ever since. We acquired several other players after that (including hubby, while we were still single), and lost a few. The guy dropped out after some years but I stuck with it till her at-home sessions ended. Then I laid off for several years before hubby and I started playing with the couple. Meanwhile hubby (while we were single and after we were married) had been taking part in 2 different groups in succession. We've been playing with the couple for several years now; neither hubby nor I can remember exactly how many, it could be as many as 10 but I doubt it's that long. We play weekly, usually, on Sunday afternoons through suppertime (which usually involves pizza), but often there are things that prevent a quorum: conventions, out-of-town guests, holidays, vacations, overtime, etc. So maybe we play about 30 to 40 times a year. Right now there are 6 of us: two couples and two single guys.

[Calma]

We play once a month because our third member has other things to do.
She's the only one still working and she does dancing as well.
So, to have time with her husband, she has limited her gaming to once a month.
I can totally dig that.
It's a game. Take care of your life first.

My bff still comes over every Friday and we do things that pertain to the campaigns.
Just little tweeks that improve the game, I think.

Morwenna, I love how you got roped into the game.

[Morwenna]

Correction: I was living in her building at the time (where was my head last night??), yes, but actually in her apartment, because the apartment upstairs wouldn't be vacated for another few months yet! Most of my stuff was boxed in the basement, and my furniture was parceled out over half of southern Connecticut, it seemed. And she gave me the living room closet for the time being. I came with a cat, too.

I became the chronicler for the games at her place. Somewhere (in storage, I presume) is the big notebook with all those notes! She kept the sheets, but I kept the chronicles! I used to ensconce myself underneath her funky table lamp (it looked like something out of an old movie--it would have fit right in with steampunk--and her family's nickname for it was Professor Fate), notebook in lap, glass of liqueur at my side, scribbling away, and still playing 2 characters!

[Calma]

Whoa, talk about major multi-tasking.
The third member usually takes notes as to what is happening
But that's just to let us know what we did and where we ended the game

Have you ever lost a character in battle?

I have, but I always have them ressurected.
It costs, but I don't like loosing a character.

I have no qualms against setting the party up against some real baddies,
And possibly getting a tpk, but I always give them the option of having them brought back.

There are some DM's that will take first levels into deep trouble
And they loose their character within the first 30 minutes of the game.
Then they have to sit and wait until the party finds a town to bring in another character.
Then the players have to wait until that player has rolled up a new character.
Sort of messes up the flow, if you ask me.
But different strokes, I suppose.

[Morwenna]

Yes, I've lost and resurrected a few. I haven't lost anyone permanently. Fortunately I've played with intelligent and (somewhat) compassionate DMs. (I.e. there's always a way if you think hard enough.) I'd really hate to lose any of them permanently; I invest so much in them. I'm just an author at heart, I guess.

In our current setup we don't chronicle; we just make note of the circumstances when we've had to time-stop for the day. But now we map. In the other one we didn't map; she would do it for us, bit by bit.

[Calma]

Well, we won't be gaming tonight.
bff-2 emailed from work and she has to work late
So, it'll be next Friday when we game.

Gives me more time to plot their dimise.


But bff is still coming over so we can do some other stuff.

Have fun at the SCA event, Morwenna.

Later...

[Morwenna]

We did have fun at the event, and a nice time at BIL's for dinner yesterday. So we didn't play yesterday; we're planning to this coming Sunday. We'll probably take another day off later this month for other reasons. Lately I guess we've been averaging 3 times a month, what with the SCA and with SF conventions, and with another member sometimes having to work weekends.

After we have another go at the third DM's world (which we just finished an adventure in), we just might (if he gets his act together) play another leg of the adventure the husband was running last year; he took over from his wife at a certain point in the proceedings because the complexity suited him better than her. But he has a LOT of prep work to do right now (which is why we took a break and played a few shorter scenarios with other characters for several months), so he's been given a heads-up!

I don't know if hubby or I will ever have the nerve to run a campaign. The sixth player used to run them long ago (hubby played in them some years back), but now he's a stroke patient so I don't know if he has it in him to do that any more. He can certainly play, but his hands are awkward now and he might not have the patience with himself. He hasn't asked to run anything since he started playing with this group (pre-stroke), so maybe he just hasn't wanted to anymore. Hubby used to run some private scenarios long ago, when he was trying to get some goodies for his characters, when he was in between groups, so at least he has the mechanics understood. I probably do too, but I have a lower confidence level than the rest of them, I'm sure...

[Calma]

Oh, I wanted to DM, but I was scared to do so.
But I took the leap just to give my bff time off.
Yeah, it started out stupid, but I got better.
Well, I like to think it got better anyway.

We're still on for this Friday
I have to do a bit of tweaking, but I'm ready to go.

[Shadowfax]

Have your players bring an additional pre made character or two!

Ask for this is a darkened room with a flash light shinning up at your face ...... followed be at least ten minutes of maniacal laughter!

Shadowfax!

[Morwenna]

Ooh, you're bad...

[Calma]

Read a rather interesting statement on another site:

*You know it's too late when the DM smiles.*

Yeah, I've been there and done that.


Sure, you can bring another character just in case,
But unless you are running more than one character at a time
The player has to wait until the party completes the battle, or whatever
Before the DM can bring in the new character.
In the meantime, the player who lost his/her character is just sitting there
Not much fun, imo.

I usually run three characters per game because we only have three players around the table.
I've had characters go down in a massive ball of fire or by a poison Orc blade,
But I've always been able to have that character brought back.
It costs a pretty coin or days in service, but they were able to continue their adventuring ways.

Here's a map of Magaden.
Just one of the places we play in my world.

Any maps you would like to share?

[Morwenna]

Pretty cool. I love maps. But no, we usually play in a commercially-mapped area, and anyway I haven't mastered the art of posting pix online. (Ask anyone who's wanted to see cat pix or craft pix or food pix, in my favorite Guild threads. )