I am not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow but the money that comes from it allows me to have the things that matter; a roof over my head, food and the ability to level up IRL.
Plus the annual bonus has come in handy for getting some things I've had my eye on for a while.
So Dungeons and Dragons, the most famous of all table top role-playing games released a starter set for their new 5th edition last year so I decided to get it. D&D has always fascinated me, as it has had some sort of presence in much of the media I consume on a daily basis, whether explicitly or in the background. I had experimented and bought the starter set years ago for the much maligned 4th edition. I never got round to running a game for it, and in much of the research I discovered that it was a combat heavy game with little focus on the role play, a factor of which D&D was really famous for.
Three significant things finally brought me back to wanting to finally try D&D: They were the Community episode Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Wil Wheaton's web series TableTop and the novel Ready Player One.
Community is one of my all time favourite television shows. This superb episode was what introduced me to not only the show's brilliance but how powerful and simple D&D can be. (Much better and less sexist than the Big Bang Theory's handling of it)
Check out this really fun fan trailer for the episode to get a taste of it.
TableTop is an excellent web series hosted by Geek hero Wheaton, that focuses on hobby games and one episode was dedicated to the Dragon Age RPG, based off the best selling video game series, of which Bek, my wife is a massive fan! I loved the focus on story and developing a character, with the combat elements being a fun addition to the whole proceedings. The game uses a different rules system to D&D but the effect I feel is the same. Have a look at the episode here.
My current choice of my all time favourite book Ready Player One features a entire segment in which main character Wade Watts navigates his way through a recreation of one of D&D's most famous module adventures, Tomb of Horrors. So with my interest raised again, it seems the Geek deities of fate conspired to bring the new edition of D&D to my attention, and what sealed the deal was the new game was putting the emphasis on role-playing again.
So this week, the starter box game in the post. It's a big box, mostly filled with cardboard padding but contains, two booklets, one that contains the basic rules and instructions on how to play and the other a starter adventure, The Mines of Phandelver. In addition are several pre-generated character sheets and a nice set of dice.
So I plan to get a group together to try this game out, and instead of seeking an experienced Dungeon Master to help us on our way, I am undertaking a rather scary mission: I'm going to teach myself how to DM. I know there is going to be quite a lot involved in the process, all of it very daunting, but I figure throwing myself in at the deep end is better than not getting in the water.
I will chronicle how my efforts go and will hopefully write up about my first gaming session soon.
The mission starts now and I think I have earned my first level by buying a Dungeon Master's screen.
Progress right?
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