Once upon a time, long ago, a cousin of mine who probably wouldn't admit it anymore introduced me to a game called Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, a game which was then in it Second Edition. It was a game that had everything a young man could ever want: Dragons, Dungeons, Gold, Fighting, Dice...
It was an adventure that never had to end because, once you were done with the current adventure, you could queue another one up. When I got tired of my dwarven fighter/mage/thief I could switch to playing my elven bard or my human paladin (which I _on no level_ fudged the rolls to make, unless you count reality) and off I would go in pursuit of more treasure, or that one annoying twit that kept arresting people and wanted to know what happened to the magistrate's amulet and why someone said they thought they saw me wearing it. (And that NEVER HAPPENED. Now, had someone said they saw it in my backpack, that may have been a different story.)
Now, if you were in the mood to be pedantic (and if you're reading this, you're most likely a geek, a nerd, or both) you may be tempted to point out that my introduction to the game Dungeons and Dragons wasn't really my introduction to D&D overall. I had loved the cartoon when it was on Saturday mornings, even if I thought the Dungeon Master was a little creepy. But honestly, who wouldn't? I kind of still do.
And it didn't stop there. I discovered the various game world box sets: First Greyhawk, then Spelljammer, Forgotten Realms...
I could go on. The really important part is that the box sets led to books. I was introduced to The Dragonlance Chronicles by my friend Jeff Cauldwell, and I fell in love with the world of Krynn and fantasy literature in general (IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT, JEFF!!). My sister grabbed me one of the Greyhawk novels for Christmas one year. The Dark Sun novels were freaking painfully amazing and gave me flashbacks to the Thomas Covenant novels. Then came Spelljammer and it's take on space travel. OMG DUDE!!! Trek/Wars in D&D. I was in love.
And then came the Dwarven Nations trilogy. I have a serious love for the dwarven folk and, while I enjoyed Flint Fireforge (and named both D&D and Everquest characters after him) the reason I'm writing a dwarf centered novel, the reason I'm reading an unrelated series about dwarves now, and the reason I started the last campaign I DM'ed in a dwarven town was really The Dwarven Nations Trilogy. I love the little buggers. Hardworking, no-nonsense taking, and yes, I am one of THOSE McCoys (if you don't believe me ask a Hatfield) never giving up, stubborn asshole, and orc skull splitting dwarves are the most bestest things about fantasy fiction.
Wait what?
You disagree? You're wrong. Dwarves are objectively the best thing that ever happened to fantasy anything. There is no counter argument.
But I digress.
As usual.
Digression is, however, my strongest skill as a blogger.
Anyone who reads fantasy fiction and hasn't read R.A. Salvatore's Forgotten Realms novels needs to have their head examined while they're wandering off to the bookstore to grab copies. Start with Drizzt Do'Urden and then head over toward Cadderly the cleric afterward. I haven't reviewed the books here because it's been a long time since I read one, but they are magnificent. What's more, the Forgotten Realms are extremely popular in not just Salvatore's novels, but in pretty much everything D&D that takes place in digital form: Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, even Tiny D&D Adventures the old Facebook app before the Google Play store was a thing. And, of course, for pretty much all of the D&D movies.
I know I'm in the minority in that I loved all four of the movies. I know that most of you would disagree. I know that the first three movies basically felt like bad B movies. I've also sat at more than one gaming table and I have to say that most of those tables couldn't even aspire to be B movies.
And the thing with D&D is that it doesn't even matter which form you prefer. Someone else out there loves it as much as you do and they'll be happy to discuss it with you. I've seen it happen. Two geeks sitting next to each other not knowing each other and all of a sudden someone mentions painting minis or playing video games and two hours later they're best friends talking about stuff they've done in the game. I have personally walked up to someone reading a copy of a D&D novel at the library and started a conversation. She was cute, too, only I was married at the time. (But if you're reading this, I'm divorced now!) It happens.
And listen...
I'm not here for the Edition Wars. I've never played Basic D&D regardless of what color the box was. I started with Second Edition, but my buddy Pat (RIP, brother. I told you that shit was bad for you.) had a first edition copy of Unearthed Arcana and it never really occurred to us to convert anything. I've played Third Edition, missed Fourth, and have played and DM'ed 5e. It's time for the proverbial "every edition has its strengths and weaknesses" routine, only I'm not going to bother. Play what you like. Leave others alone and, if you're not a dick, you can sit at my table.
The crazy part is that D&D is not just a game either. It's a creative outlet. The first worlds I created, I created for D&D and for the Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game (First Edition). If you can read through all of the various subclasses and/or kits and can't come up with a new twist on an old trope (even if it's just by tweaking something there) then I can't help you. It's all there. And if it's not there, you can create it.
That is why, in my opinion, the greatest of all forms of D&D is the homebrew edition. Why? Because it's all about a DM, their players, and what works for them. I've never seen the sheer volume of homebrew that I see in D&D anywhere else. Even if you play modules, I can pretty much guarantee your group is home ruling SOMETHING at your table. The Rules at Written have been trampled over so many times that it's laughable. I LOVE THAT ABOUT THEM.
Oh, right. Podcasts. I forgot the podcasts. That's probably because I don't listen to them because I suck and you should hate me. Or sumfin'. If my cousin Hallie finds out I haven't watched/listened to Critical Role she's probably gonna kick my ass. I'll get around to it at some point. Probably. I should probably watch/review a season of something at some point. Someday. When I get the time. But never mind me. I know a lot of people love them and that's what matters.
Oh crap, I forgot the art. I love the art. Larry Elmore is basically the greatest artist ever to pick up a paint brush but there have been a whole bunch of amazeballs fantasy artists and a lot of them have made D&D related artwork. And then there are the magazines...
Listen, I've gotta work in the morning. I need to end this here.
And yes, I know the whole gaming license thing made some people mad. Wizards retracted all the crap and fixed the problem. Everyone is back to making their money again. It's all good. Let's all move on.
Roll those dice. Have fun storming the castle. Kill the dragon. Loot the horde. Whine to your DM because you can't afford full plate at first level. But fire it up folks and let's lay some D&D. Thank you, Mr Gygax for the endless hours of fun and fellowship your creation has provided. Here's to hoping it lasts at least another fifty years.
Some Dungeons & Dragons related merchandise is available for purchase at the links below. If you click the links and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.
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