Dungeons and Dragons is one of those games you still get shit for when your friends find out you play. And no, not just your non-gaming friends. I know plenty of gamers who love nothing more than to prod me about my level nine wizard. Well, I'll have them know that my wizard is totally awesome and boss and cool.
I started playing D&D when I was in elementary school. My friend Kyle, who lived up the road had the core second edition books. He and I were the only two kids in a 25 mile radius that enjoyed computers more than 4 wheelers and daddy's Skoal, so finding other party members was a little difficult. Okay, it was impossible.
Kyle would always DM, and I would always play through his scenarios. The first few we went through involved little more than a village located treacherously close to an ancient and evil keep, usually filled with nasty orcs and goblins. It was during these days that I learned to play the warrior. It was the only real choice I could make, being the sole player for the party. It was an uncomplicated class, high hit points, high damage.
Needless to say however, my warriors died. Often. Often and in horrible and nauseating ways. Dissolved in a vat of acid. cleaved in twain by a spike trap, swallowed up to my chest in mud which then turned to stone then slowly picked apart by the denizens of that foul dungeon. Luckily my characters came from a long line of bulky, stupid and alarmingly similar fighters.
When I lost my tenth warrior I decided we could not continue until we had more people to play. By then I was able to convince my friend Levi to join us occasionally (about as often as he could forge a note from his parents so he could get on my bus). Levi, being new, took the warrior mantle from me and left me free to explore my options. Kyle allowed me to keep my level (then a whopping 4th) and told me to look at the spellcaster. So I did.
Wizards, I found, while very fragile, were quite useful for support and decent ranged damage. Finally, I could sit back and let Levi take the hits...
In part 2...
Our first real game, the drought, and the high school years..
