Tabletops & Me

How I got started

In 1974, the first edition of Dungeons and Dragons was published, it is considered the first of the modern tabletop role-playing that utilized singular characters instead on controlling an army. There have been other editions published throughout the years and off shoots and other movie and game universes have taken up the mantle that I will mention later on in this book. If you can dream it or think it, the world is yours to create. Essentially, you and others in your group create characters where you choose their race, gender, class, alignment, deity (if you so choose) and any quirks your character might have. You also have your Dungeon Master, who weaves the setting and controls the flow of combat but ultimately tells you and the others in your group how the actions you are pursuing are affecting the world around you.

I have only been playing for roughly 8 years now, but have always been interested in the fantasy genre. A dear friend of mine had said that he was going to start playing and I asked if I could join. My first character was created specifically for me, just by simple questions that were asked. "Do you wanna fight up close, or maybe with ranged weapons or magic?" His name ended up being Torgrim Battlehart, a Dwarf Fighter and also Cleric. What I have enjoyed is that he embodied much of how I am as a person or how I like to play video games. But, the great thing about these kind of games is that you can create any type of character and generally be whoever you wanna be. Want to play as a female but are male in real life or vice versa? Go for it, this is a genre that has no boundaries for what you want to do. Well, there are dice rolls that determine the outcomes of things you want to do. But, you have the choice to try and you will succeed at times and other times horrendously and hilariously fail.

So, one Saturday afternoon, I showed up to the house where for roughly over a year the group I was in would get together, roll some dice, and play the adventure that was created for us. The outside world was forgotten, politics not brought up and we just played and had an overall fun time. I had actually brought my girlfriend, who would become my wife soon after, to one of these sessions. This had become a part of my life and I wanted to bring her along for this fun journey that I and my friends were on. She had never played before and I was nervous that my very nerdy pals and I would possibly drive her away. What happened was that she got drawn in almost as much as I was drawn in. We decided to get married and my DM was my best man and my friend was one of the pastors at our wedding. We also rolled a d20 near the end of the ceremony and we ended up rolling a 2, but my friend being the awesome person he is, told us that our love and commitment to one another added a +20 to our roll.

What I am trying to get at in this first chapter is that these games can help bring one another together and create lasting bonds of friendship that can last a lifetime.