Dungeons & Dragons

I have had a love affair with Dungeons & Dragons for my whole life. I grew up with friends who had the first edition. I have a full shelf of D&D books and modules, mostly Advanced D&D and 2nd Edition Advanced D&D. I played regularly at that time (the wear on the dice in the picture has been well earned). I had invested loads of money and time into what I owned before I was even out of high school.

After school, the members of my regular group drifted apart. I tried a couple of other groups, but never really resumed regular play until a few years ago when I started playing on-line with one of my original group. Using Skype and video sharing, we’ve been able to get together around once a week, even when he’s half-way around the planet.

But, we still play 2nd Edition, and honestly, I had no intention of upgrading to new version of Dungeons & Dragons. I had learned the rules of 2nd Edition, we created house rules that fixed the things we didn’t like, and expanded what we did. We both have the same set and it all just works.

Over the years, I did try out the 3.5 edition (and felt ill doing so). It didn’t feel like it was my gaming system and the rules seemed off.  What is wrong with THAC0? (To Hit Armor Class 0.) Why do I need extra character classes? What is a feat? After a couple of games played with someone else as the DM, I knew I didn’t want to buy those rule books.

Basically, I intended to die holding onto my classic game system (and I still intend to do just that, none of it is for sale, and none of it counts for the Minimalism reduction I am doing). However, I’ve been given the motivation to try the latest version of D&D, the 5th Edtion. Over the weekend someone recommended I check out a local game store in downtown KC at 221 Southwest Boulevard called Pawn & Pint.

And that is what brings me here today. In speaking with Edward, he suggested that I might consider DM’ing people through the world I created and that clicked immediately in my head. I already do that with my friend over Skype, there’s no reason I couldn’t do that for others. The catch is that most people today play the 5th edition, but he said it really is an improvement over the 3.x and 4th editions.

Ug. Well, crap… Time for research. I hit the internet and started reading reviews and soon found people telling me that 5th edition is a lot like the first and second editions, but brings in the handful of things people liked in the later editions. Hmm, that sounds good…and now I own the latest Players Handbook, DM’s Guide, and Monster Manual. (Yeah, I really needed a huge push, didn’t I.)

I’ve got a little bit a reading to do to catch up on the rule revisions, but I am hopeful that the 5th edition will be something that draws me back into doing more with Dungeons & Dragons. It may also give others a chance to explore the fairly large world I have created.

As I read the books, I’ll talk about my impression of the rules and let you know how things work out.