How'd you get into D&D?

[Jace]

I'm finding myself replaying AD&D: Pool of Radiance for the NES and am having a ball with it, it was the first D&D anything I played. I didn't play anything like real D&D in till I found a group of people who would play an edited form of D&D miniatures that used a DM and a story arc. I didn't even know D&D was a role playing game in till they told me, I always thought it was a game series for consoles based off some books.

[Tribulations]

We had a board game called Dark Tower. I played it with my mom a bunch but never knew it was DnD until many, many years later. After that it was about 2-4 years when i played a game of DnD at about 8 years old with an older neighbor. Still remember the red adventure booklet with the worm on it, though can't remember what it was called. I enjoyed it bit that would be one of the few times i got to play before adulthood. Around 13 i found someone who played Darksun. Never actually played, but a few of us made characters. To tbis day Darksun is one of my favorite campaigns.

Then i wouldn't play for 7 more years again. This time Ravenloft. But it was out print AD&D Ravenloft. The DM was about 10 years older and didn't like the idea of my halfling speaking in ebonics. Didn't help he pickpocketed other PC's. He didn't live long. After that i met some peoplemy age and played a bunch of games, but any DnD was left for me to GM as since I limed it I bought the books and knew the rules best. To this day, if someone in our group plays DnD I am default GM. I am by far not the best GM in any regard, but I am good enough to get by and have a good time.

[kenmeister]

I went to a summer program called College Academy and "Dungeons & Dragons" was offered as a course, so I took it. Yes, back in the 80s D&D was much more widespread.

[Jace]

Originally Posted by kenmeister

I went to a summer program called College Academy and "Dungeons & Dragons" was offered as a course, so I took it. Yes, back in the 80s D&D was much more widespread.

Ya there's some random and messed up college courses, mine has a course called hockey talk. All it is is you sit in a room with 39 other people and watch hockey then talk about it, not like how it get good at it or how what team won, just talk about it. Would have took D&D course if they had it lol

[DukeofDellot]

I was LARPing... and after an amazing day of getting cracked in the nuts three times, I got to play my first tabletop run by our champion. The game was called Paranoia... and it was so amazing. Later Axgar's bother was moving and he offered to run a DnD game if we helped him move in. So he got the books from his brother and what games we played.

We had twelve party members, and I was the only healer... Needless to say, I grew rather fond of the game.

And that was only like four years ago... hm... well, then I guess when you grow up constantly being told DnD is evil, you get intoduced to it pretty late.

[Naresh]

I've been around DnD almost from birth... I've been involved in DnD for roughly 18 years in one form or another... whether rolling dice, acting as a moster, providing sound effects, DMing or playing

admittedly I didn't do the last two at 3 months old...

[mountainbound]

I started with the "blue" box set. DND was taboo in my household, and I needed to keep my habit on the down low for a few years. The only place in town that sold DND books was a local hobby shop. To get there, I had to walk about two miles... traversing an old cemetery, crossing a busy highway, and tiptoeing through a yard with a nasty dog. As a 12 year old, getting the books was an adventure in itself.

[Hextor]

I started in college, with one of those "friend of a friend" meetings. I honestly thought it was lame for years (never having actually played it), but figured if my friend's friend was running the game it might be interesting (he was quite the character.) It was a $hi&load of fun. Long story short, I moved home afterward (college, not the game) and have been slowly expanding my habit for the past few years.

[Ganf]

http://www.play.net/gs4/I would rather address this as to when I got started Roleplaying, because DnD is just a lesser aspect of that for me. I started DnD about 6 years ago, just to put a date to it.

Roleplaying I started 15 years ago, back when AOL 2.0 was the shig and girls were almost non-contagious enough to sit in the same room with. I had read tolkien, which got me poking around on the internet with my 28k modem that took me to places at mercurial speeds, and I found on AOL (maybe it was 1.0?... can't remember if I had just recently upgraded or not.) a game called Gemstone III (now Gemstone IV). If you haven't noticed it before it's a text based MMORPG (a heavily supported MUD, if you're familiar with the genre). Roleplaying used to be heavily emphasized, but the atmosphere has slackened quite a bit, and where it was a free game back in the day it now has a monthly fee, anything from 15 to 80 dollars depending on the type of account you want.

But back then? AOL 2.0??? This? For free? It was a religious experience for an 11 year old kid who had only played the Sega Genesis until that point. Hundreds of other people acting like elves and dwarves and halflings while running about slaying orcs? If I had the time I'd still have an account.

This started me on roleplaying. I went from this to MUDs, lots of them, and from there to everywhere. DnD has been a latecomer for me, I've avoided it due to a stink of commercialism that you can smell from across international borders. But eventually you run out of options.

[dragonfire]

I started playing cause I went to go visit a friend, and when I got there he and some of his other friends were playing so they invited me to join. Ive been playing ever since, as long as I could find a group. But I got real happy once I discovered PBP

[kombatmedik]

I listened to the Penny-Arcade/PVP D&D podcasts, and it seems like a fun time. I'm just now getting into it, as others have told me that 4th ed is the best one for newbies to get into.

[wvuchihuahua]

I was about 12 years old when the first edition of D&D came out. Of course I got it because "Dragonlance Chronicles" was my favorite series of books. I played regularly until about 15. Got back in to the game during second edition while I was in the Army. Now I have returned and using 3.5. I am new here and wonder where I might be able to post about how to play a "prestige class". I am trying to go from a Gold Dwarf fighter to a Great Rift Skyguard and am clueless on how to do it without seeming like a complete idiot to my buddies.

[idilippy]

Try the Game Rules forum, someone can probably help you in there.

For me the Baldur's Gate games for 2e and first Neverwinter Nights for 3e/3.5e got me interested in the Forgotten Realms Setting, which got me interested in D&D after I started reading some of the FR books.

[Ballingray]

My brother put me through the D&D Adventure contained in the old Basic Set Rules (Red-Box back in the mid-80's). Anybody remember the old series (Basic, Expert, Compendium, Master and Immortal)?

[kenmeister]

Originally Posted by Ballingray

My brother put me through the D&D Adventure contained in the old Basic Set Rules (Red-Box back in the mid-80's). Anybody remember the old series (Basic, Expert, Compendium, Master and Immortal)?

I run a regular monthly game of it, in fact, for my wife and two other friends. We mainly use the hardback volume those rules were compiled into called the Rules Cyclopedia. It is still probably the best rpg framework out there for someone (like myself) who wants to add a lot of house rules on top of. My house rules document is about 25 pages long

We play at a cafe (can't use my house, long story), so we don't use minis. I think the RC is the best version of D&D for that style of play.