The History of Original Dungeons & Dragons

Comments · 1.6K

• TO

  @tonydabaloney · 1 year ago

  I'm 72yrs old and first played D&D in 1974 when it first came out. I played it from then til early 1980s almost daily. Being a Tolkien fan, it really filled a spot I didn't know was empty. I had a group that met at a neighbors house to play. I've never considered myself a typical need except for this. Now I'm still gaming ,but do so on line. Best thing about being 72 and retired is I can indulge in whatever I like. Wife doesn't quite get it, but I'm proud to say I have a squad of gaming grandkids. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. My only regret is not saving all the D&D toys I accumulated. I had everything including many,many volumes of Master notes and worlds and characters I created,  along with all the figurines and dice. I had it all. If I went back to the old neighborhood, I bet I'd still find my buddy living in the same rundown house with the smell of pipeweed in the air. At the time we thought we were spending a fortune on all that stuff, but now would be collecters items now.😢😂😢

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• IA

  @iapetusmccool · 6 years ago

  "If there are exactly 300 bandits there will absolutely be a magic user". Good to know bandits have such well-organised and precisely defined employment structures.

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• BL

  @blockmasterscott · 4 years ago

  In the late 70s and early 80s D&D gave me an outlet from life. I cannot overstate just how much Gary Gygax saved my sanity.

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• EL

  @eldergroan · 6 years ago

  the first time i played D&D was with a buddy of mine named Mark in the early 80's.  he had the game because his mother was creating maps for this company called TSR.

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• EL

  @EliNikkanen · 6 years ago

  D&D was my life in the late 70’s.  I had no money. I always wanted the blue box set (loved looking at the the cover at the store) which was before the basic red box set. I just memorized everything I was told about the game. I would sometimes find a way to get some change and would go to the hobby shop and buy a cheap lead figure.  I think like 25 or 50 cents. These were in a glass shelf and you had to tell the shop owner which number you wanted. I could never be able to afford a 15 dollar giant.  I was lucky at one time to be able to get the Tom Meier elven archer with the star belt buckle, so cool (long gone now). I had no dice or anything so at recess at school we would just talk roll play. The dm would just say yes you defeated the monster or no you didn’t. I spent time after school copying pictures that were copies by other kids from the books, that I would borrow (that is, I would just get to borrow their drawings not any book). At the time I didn’t even realize life was bad but looking back, being poor sucks!

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• DA

  @darlenehoover6577 · 6 years ago

  My husband started playing in 1982 on the old Gagax rules. I started playing 1st and 2nd edition in 1990. We got our kids into it and they now play with friends every Sunday.

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• JO

  @johnarmenta2199 · 6 years ago (edited)

  And to think, all this was being developed BEFORE "Personal  Computer"  was even a thing. I still have all of my D&D and AD&D books from  the late  70's  and early 80's. I still have  a number of modules, and TON (figuratively) of dungeon dice. They are my treasures! . .  . p.s. -  I am 54 years old. Still a kid at heart!

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• AD

  @adzi6164 · 4 years ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqVotn4UDFg&amp;t=106">1:46</a> Medieval combat so realistic it even featured EARLY FIREARMS.

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• TH

  @TheMonkePrince · 6 years ago

  I really want another one of these videos for every past version

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• DH

  @DHRGrafix · 6 years ago

  I first played D&amp;D at the Science Fiction, Horror &amp; Fantasy &nbsp;convention in L.A. in 1977. TSR was there promoting their new game. They were giving demos to people at the convention that wanted to sign up and learn to play. I was with 2 friends that had played before. I never had. We signed up to play. As luck would have it the DM was Dave Arneson himself. I got to learn how to play from one of the creators of the game which at the time really helped. As the video said the original 3 books were more of an outline. It helped to have somebody that knew the game fill in the gaps.

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• AA

  @aa-tx7th · 6 years ago

  So much of our culture was created by Tolkien and DnD. &nbsp;Our world would be so different if it werent for LotR.

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• JO

  @johnkarper5021 · 6 years ago

  I started playing D&amp;D in the late 70&apos;s when my brother wanted to try this new game he found. &nbsp;It was him, two friends, my girlfriend (now wife of over 30 years), her brother, and me. &nbsp;He was the DM and we took turns as &quot;Caller&quot;. &nbsp;Over time, I played with a lot of other players, and I still get together weekly with friends to play. &nbsp;A couple of those friends are from the beginning years, and many more were met along the way. &nbsp;I have had the gamut of DMs, from the &quot;killing the party early and often&quot; type, to &quot;the world is benevolent and wants them to survive&quot; type,. There have been Monty Hall dungeons full of magic and treasure, to magic is so rare the third level fighter is sometimes using a dagger because it is the only +1 weapon in the party. &nbsp;Some nights are more screwing around and Monty Python references, while others are really focused on teamwork and taking out that dragon or cult harassing the nearby town.<br><br>The odd numbered D&amp;D versions always seem to be the better versions, with 2 and 4 being weak\neutered versions of the previous versions. &nbsp;(Anyone want to run a Druid after they became clerics with a bad spell list and no decent armor in 2?) &nbsp;We have tried other D20 versions (Pathfinder, etc.), and other types of games, like Superheroes and others, but always seem to come back to D&amp;D after a bit.<br><br>I always laugh at the &quot;geek&quot; motif attributed to D&amp;D players. &nbsp;Some of our early players were military - marines, army rangers, air force, etc. &nbsp;Some of our players have masters and doctorates and run a college English department, while others created their own companies including construction and concrete businesses. &nbsp;Some are now retired and still have a blast. &nbsp;Our imaginations (and Gygax&apos; crew&apos;s imaginations) &nbsp;have lead to lifelong friends.<br><br>If you have not tried D&amp;D, get some pizza and try it with a seasoned DM, and see if there is a new world of friends waiting out there for you!

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