no category.: Dungeons & Dragons (or In Praise of Guilty Pleasures)

The year was 1985. And an event was about to occur that would forever change my shy, awkward prepubescent years. No, it wasn't my first kiss, or my first soccer goal, or anything else that might have helped me join the ranks of the cool 4th graders. In fact, it was something that was going to ensure my place in the halls of Geekdom for many years to come. It was the day I bought my first Dungeons and Dragons books (sound angelic choir here). I had been captivated by the game for some time, with its lushly illustrated rulebooks and dice of varying colors and shapes. And somehow, despite warnings from the media that the game caused kids to murder their friends and commit suicide, I convinced my parents to take me to Child's World and let me buy the Basic Rules set. Once home, I carefully unpacked the various items from the bright red box; the Player Manual, the Dungeon Master's Rulebook, the six polyhedral dice, and I followed the directions to create my very first character, Theiton, the fighter. In the years that followed, I purchased more of the seemingly endless books on the market. And I spent many a night combing through my beloved D&D books, surveying the evocative pictures of warriors, wizards, and mythical creatures, and studying the detailed graphs of weapon damage and spell effects. The funny thing was that I never actually played the game. It was a bit too complex for my ten-year-old mind. And, let's be real, I didn't really know anyone else who played. (note to self: If I ever write a memoir of my childhood be sure to call it "I was such a dork, I couldn't even find anyone to play Dungeons and Dragons with). So as the years went by, I moved on with life. I tried new and exciting things like...talking to girls, playing sports, and combing my hair. And eventually the tragic day came when I decided to sell my D&D books. Little did I know at the time that my failure to have actually played the game with which I was so fascinated would haunt me for years to come. And haunt me it did, like a dream deferred. Years later, I found myself walking into hobby stores just to brush my fingers along the latest D&D books. I even tried out some role playing games on the computer to no avail. Nothing, it seemed could fill that void.

So fast forward about 20 years. I'm married and a father. I've done all the school I ever want to do. I'm enjoying my work. And I'm looking for a hobby...something with a manageable time commitment, that has a social aspect, and is just plain fun. Could it be? That, as an adult, I might still satisfy my unfulfilled childhood longing to play Dungeons and Dragons with actual living, breathing people? Well, about six months ago I did some research and discovered that there is an entire community of people my age still playing D&D. And with a little effort, I managed to gather a group of five other thirty-something D&D enthusiasts. Here's the group as it stands today...

Matt: playing Kefis, the Minotaur Ranger
Early: playing Sixty, the Halfling Rogue
Julie: playing Hardin, the Human Fighter
Justin: playing Dilip, the Human Cleric
Cory: playing Gutter, the Shapeshifting Druid
And yours truly: serving as Dungeon Master.

Once the group was established, it was just a matter of buying some books and getting the hang of the rules. And now that we've been playing for about 6 months, I have to say, Dungeons and Dragons is way more awesome as an adult than it ever was as a kid. It's amazing how much it helps when you actually understand the rules, and have the capacity to create a compelling and mature story for your characters. So this post is my tribute to my new D&D group, a bunch of adults who are finding the time once a month to be kids again. It's also my tribute to guilty pleasures in general. As adults, I think we all need to find the time to do the things we love to do, without having to worry about productivity or maturity or societal expectations. Whether that means knitting, or doing crosswords, or getting together with a bunch of friends and pretending that you're a band of heroic adventurers out to save the world from evil.